Sanliurfa First Impressions
It was a long and tiring but uneventful trip from Nice to Istanbul and then from Istanbul to Sanliurfa. (See my guide to visiting Sanliurfa) On the bus ride from the airport to the Grand Babil Hotel, I found myself talking to a lovely young woman who is a resident of Sanliurfa. Filiz works for an international aid agency who is involved with helping Syrian refugees. When I asked about the earthquake last February she spoke on detail about how scared she was. She also told me that the archaeological museum was still closed which I hadn’t known. Very disappointed. There’s nothing Grand about the hotel but it is well located. I was astonished to find this NYTimes article appeared on the day I arrived! Sanliurfa is a dry town. I was glad I picked up a jagermeister at the airport. I would have slept better if the call to prayer hadn’t woken me up at 5am. After picking up a map at the tourist office this morning I was able to finally arrange my excursion to Gobleki tepe and Karahan tepe tomorrow. The head of the tourist agency informed me that tensions are quite high right now and there … Continue reading →
Gobekli tepe and Karahan tepe
The world’s oldest Neolithic sites, Gobekli tepe and Karahan tepe date from around 9000 BC. Their discovery changed how archaeologists tracked human history. Before Gobekli tepe it was thought that humans developed agriculture after which megaliths and religion emerged. Nope. Throw out the old books. The builders of Gobekli tepe were hunter gatherers who hadn’t yet discovered the wheel and yet managed to erect this megalithic site filled with giant statues. Was it a temple? That’s the supposition but no one really knows. A recently discovered cistern means there may have been a settlement. It was in use from 9500 to 8000 BC. Visiting these two sites was the purpose of my visit (or pilgrimage?) to this strange corner of Turkey. I started roughly around 9:30 from Sanliurfa with Sore tours. One other guy joined us, a Turk who was late. Radwan is a Kurd who pointed out that Kurds were prompt, unlike Turks! As a side note, the region is also heavily infiltrated by the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group. Gobekli Tepe Radwan spoke excellent English and clearly had read up on the subject. As we approached he pointed to another mound next to the main excavation point that … Continue reading →
Harran
Harran is said to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited spots on Earth, founded between 2500 and 2000BC possibly by Sumerian traders. The history is more fascinating than the visit.
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Mardin
Beautiful and unusual Mardin, sprawls over a hill only 20 miles from the Syrian border and 120 miles from the Iraqi border. Historically, Mardin was linked to northern Syria and northern Iraq through the Artuqid dynasty which ruled the territory from the 11th to 13th century. The population is Arab, Kurdish and Syriac. Undamaged by the earthquake of February 2023, the town opened its doors to Syrian refugees as well as other dispossessed people from the region. The stunning 12th-century Artuqid architecture qualified it for its denomination as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Looming over it all is a fortress Whatever I ate the night before did not agree with me one single bit. I slept poorly and had to run to the bathroom numerous times. I meant to get up early to say goodbye to Klaus and Martin as they were on their way to do the same tour of Gobleki and Karahan tepe but I overslept. Desperate to leave the dreadful Grand Babil Hotel I dragged myself to the bus station and boarded a bus to Mardin. Klaus and Martin raved about Mardin so I changed my plans and decided to visit it. The only problem was actually … Continue reading →
Konya
I staggered into Konya at 6.30am after an all-night 14-hour bus ride from Mardin. It sounds worse than it was. Turkish buses are first rate. There was plenty of leg room and I was lucky that the seat next to me wasn’t occupied. The bus companies are highly competitive; they try to outdo each other with amenities. There was wifi, chargers, snacks, drinks and frequent rest stops. At some point in the middle of the night we even stopped for a hot meal. Nevertheless I was exhausted by the time I checked in to the Seljuk Hotel. The spacious, comfy room was a perfect place to gather my forces and plan my my trip to Catal hoyuk. I did manage to swing by the tourist office who recommended a taxi driver they work with. The other alternative would have been a train to Cumra and then a taxi which didn’t sound like fun. The following day I set off to explore Konya’s main attraction, the Mevlana Museum. Although now a museum, the place also holds the tomb of Mevlâna Jelaleddin Rumî, founder of the Mevlevi order of dervishes, commonly called the Whirling Dervishes. Rumi is a saint with a message of peace and love … Continue reading →