Eastern Turkey - Days 1 - 7

Ha! Fooled you! There is nothing here yet because we have only two days after the end of our weeklong Eastern Turkey tour to pack and get ready to come home. Also, my camera broke halfway through our trip, so I must rely on the promises made by three other travelers to send me pictures from the last half. If even one of them remembers, I will be able to post pictures from the entire trip; otherwise, there will be no pictures from the 1200 year old Holy Cross Church on an island in Lake Van, among other beautiful places. Either way, it will be awhile before I post them.

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures to whet your appetite for more images of this amazing part of the country.

Next post will be from home in Hampton.

Gorusuruz!

Southeast Turkey - Day 6

For more photos, see: http://www.anatolianphotos.shutterfly.com/

Today we head back to Ankara. But first we visit two museums in Gaziantap, where we stayed last night.

Hasan Suzer Ethnographic Museum – Hasan Suzer was a very wealthy businessman who bought a large house, built in 1905/06, and turned it into a museum. He never lived in the house, but had it fully renovated, furnishing the rooms in period pieces, with mannequins in regional garb. Having seen a lot of such restored Ottoman houses, we breezed through this one, impressive though it was in its own right. To me, the most interesting room was the arched cellar, which wouldn’t surprise me if it were a whole lot older than the house above it. In the rooms upstairs, I was impressed with the size and grandeur of the "Mother-in-Law Room." Ottoman families were extended families, all living in the same building, but with different quarters surrounding the central open courtyard. As for the artifacts within, the most interesting to me was Lawrence of Arabia’s motor bike, which he used when he worked as a spy. (I never made it through the entire movie, which I thought was colossally boring, so I don’t know who he was spying for).

Gaziantap Museum – After leaving the Hasan Suzer Museum, we wandered down a beautiful alleyway, renovated and cleaned up for the tourist trade. On either side were pretty cafes and shops, which I would have liked to wander through. However, we were on a mission to visit the Gaziantap Museum, with its treasure trove of mosaics taken from Zeugma in the last fifteen years or so.

I thought the mosaics in Antakya were spectacular. These are even better! They are huge, far more colorful, and by and large in excellent condition. One exception, although definitely huge and colorful, is the large mosaic entitled "The Marriage of Dionysos and Ariadne," which, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, was partially looted the night it was discovered by archaeologists. It is mounted on the wall, next to a photograph of the previously intact mosaic, with a big question mark in the stolen gap, requesting information about its whereabouts and asking for its return.

One of the highlights of the large mosaic collection is a fairly small one entitled "Cingene Kizi" , or "Gypsy Girl." It is only a fragment of a larger piece but has quickly become an icon of the museum and of Turkey. We see it now in tourist brochures for the country and on advertisements, and its image was recently painted on the side of one of the Hacettepe academic buildings. It is called Gypsy Girl because of the type of scarf on her head and the large hoop earrings she wears. On the other hand, because of the part in the middle of her hair, some speculate that it depicts Alexander the Great (???). It sure looks like a woman to me, but then, I’m not an archaeologist or classical historian.

In the same room as the Gypsy Girl is a large collection of coins displayed in about a dozen cases. I arbitrarily looked at one case on the side of the room, when my eye fell on one coin that looked little different from the hundreds of others on display. Except it depicted a huyuk (flat hill), with a little temple on top! Can I have found this easily the very coin archaeologists used to determine the exact location of this temple at Zeugma? I called over our guide, Onur (also an archaeologist) and he said, "Yes, that’s it!" Wow.

Tonight we are catching a bus to the far eastern part of Turkey, even farther east than trip took us. And so, I will refrain from saying more about the incredible mosaics in this very special museum, other than to add that only 5% of those found in Zeugma are on display. A new museum is about to open (designed by the husband of one of Larry’s Hacettepe colleagues), enabling more of these treasures to go on view. And, once the Zeugma "in-situ" museum is completed, some of the mosaics will be reinstalled in the excavated villas under the museum’s roof.

One interesting bit of information I forgot to put in yesterday’s blog about Zeugma is that historical date for the site ends in the year 1048; that is more than 1,000 years ago when this city was last known to be a key metropolitan area in the region.

Cilician Gates – Back on the road to Ankara, we approached the Taurus Mountains, the chain of mountains separating the southeastern plains we have been visiting from the rest of Anatolia. After climbing into the mountain chain, we passed through the famous Cilician Gates, the only pass through these mountains, and one widened and fortified by various conquering or defending armies. Perhaps the most famous was Alexander himself, as well as the armies of the First Crusade. Equally famous, but carrying out a very different mission, was Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul), who passed through here on his way to the Galatians.

Southeast Turkey - Day 5

For more photos, see: http://www.anatolianphotos.shutterfly.com/

Bald Ibis Sanctuary

Leaving Sanliurfa, we approached the Birecik Dam, another of the GAP dams, this one also on the Euphrates (Firat) River, like the larger Ataturk Dam of an earlier post. Stopping at the back of the dam, we visited a wildlife refuge constructed to protect and, increase the population of the nearly extinct Bald Ibis. Today, there are about 100 birds left in captivity, an increase from the 30 birds known only a few years ago. The hope is to increase the numbers to the point where they can be released and once again allowed to migrate to Africa for their winter habitation, in hopes that they will thrive and continue to return to this area in the warmer months. A few dozen nests attached to the back of the dam enabled us to get close enough to see the birds in, on, or approaching their temporary homes. One bird, sitting on top of the winter cage that prevents them from leaving during migration season, was close enough that we got a good look at its size and distinctive profile.

Rumkale – Traveling to the other side of the dam, where the water has accumulated into a large lake, we boarded a boat in the village of Halfeti. Cruising along the waters, we made a brief stop in front of an inundated village, where it is said that only three or four people continue to live. The village’s mosque roof can be seen just below the water’s surface; its minaret rises eerily out of the water.

The highlight of the boat trip was a longer stop at Rumkale, the Hellenist/Roman strategic fortress that looms over the waters and, before the dam project, over the mighty Euphrates River. Wikipedia says "the site was occupied by various Byzantine and Armenian warlords during the Middle Ages," which would explain the church ruins in some spots. The word "Rumkale" means "Roman fortress" although "Rum" generally refers to both Greeks and Romans.

We disembarked and climbed a fairly steep, winding path up to the fortress, where, looking down, we could see why this particular location was such an important strategic location during the area’s long history of clashes throughout its long history. It goes without saying that it also provides a gorgeous view.

Returning to Halfeti, we decided to have lunch on the boat, where I had some type of fish kebap, with a marinade that was terrific. But I forgot to ask the cook what was in the sauce, darn! I’ll have to experiment on my own when I get home.

Zeugma

The city of Zeugma (meaning "bridge passage" or "bridge of boats") was once a thriving city of 80,000, the largest easternmost city of the Roman Empire, and bigger than the city of Pompeii. Originally founded by an officer of Alexander the Great, it was located on the Euphrates at a point where merchants thrived from the movement of goods along the Silk Road between Antioch (Antakya) and China. Evidence of the wealth of some of the inhabitants includes ruins of villas spilling down a hillside to the Euphrates.

Alas, the GAP project, and specifically the construction of the Birecik Dam mentioned above, threatened the inundation of this historically important site. So, beginning as recently as 1992, an international group of archaeologists, led by a team from the Gaziantep Museum, began an emergency rescue project to excavate as much of the site as humanly possible before the rise of the dam’s waters. The excavation staff, worked feverishly, even under harsh conditions during the winter months, so as not to leave partially renovated finds to the mercy of looters. Several dozen large mosaics, even more spectacular than the ones we saw in Antakya, were removed to the museum before resumption of the dam construction project, which was temporarily halted to allow for the excavations.

One team found a very large, complex mosaic depicting the marriage of Dionysus. After covering the mosaic overnight, the excavation team returned the very next day only to find a large chunk of it had been stolen during the night. The remaining mosaic, displayed on a wall in the Gaziantep Museum, has a large question mark in the middle of it, with an appeal for the return of the missing chunk.

Today, we watched as construction workers erected supports that will ultimately create an "in-situ" museum, covering select villas that remain above water. The plan is to partially reconstruct the villas and reinstall some of the mosaics, so they can be viewed in their proper context. We’ll have to come back in a few years to see the finished museum.

Looming over the excavation is a very large "huyuk," on top of which can be seen a little bump of a hill. My photographs did not catch the "bump" on top. One of the Zeugma excavators, looking up, wondered if the huyuk, with its bump, was somehow related to a very old coin he had seen either onsite or elsewhere (I can’t remember where he saw the coin), depicting a hilltop temple to the god Tyche. Curious, he and a few others partially excavated the "bump" to find, to his amazement, that it was the very temple depicted on the ancient coin! Our guide said that he had seen the coin in the Gaziantep Museum, but it was among hundreds of others, so he was doubtful he would be able to find it again to show to us.

It is speculated that there are many more miles of ruins underground. But the area is inhabited today and covered by miles and miles of pistachio trees, some of the highest quality found in Turkey. Despite the loss of so much of Zeugma to the waters of the GAP project, there is likely much more to be done to revive the history of this formerly prosperous region.
　

Southeast Turkey - Day 4

For more photos, see: http://www.anatolianphotos.shutterfly.com/

Harran

Leaving the caravansary hotel, our bags are loaded onto the bus by the two staff members on duty that morning. The claim is that they are the tallest (7 feet) and shortest (about 3 feet) busboys in the world. They make an unusual contrast.

Back on the road, we head west to Sanliurfa, then south to Harran, another open air museum. As we travel down the southern road, we pass by about ½ dozen "huyuks," or "tels," large, flat, barren hills conspicuously rising from the plains surrounding them. These are sites of thousands of years of civilizations. Many of these sites remain unexcavated, and await future generations of archaeologists to investigate the various layers within.

Reaching Harran, we pass by another "huyuk," dating from Chalcolithic (Copper Age) times, currently under excavation. The entire site spills beyond the central "huyuk" and includes more recent city walls, a castle, mosque, medrese, house and church foundations, and the remains of the first Islamic University in the world (or maybe just Turkey; I can’t remember which. Of course, this area was part of Syria once). At the time of its flourishing, the university was a center for the study of astronomy, mathematics, and other sciences. It is said that the instructors at this university taught more creatively than future universities in Anatolia; some of the world’s early scientific discoveries and theories came from this era. Our guide suggests, too, that this city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world. The 8th century mosque ruins are the site of the first "standardized mosque," including a medrese, kitchen for the poor, bazaar, etc.

What sets Harran apart, though, from similar archaeological sites is the current village. Living among the ruins of the ancient city are people whose house-building technique goes back to the 3rd century BC. The current houses, about 200 years old, use tried and true technique of mud brick construction, built in the shape of cones; they are referred to as "beehive houses." Each cone is connected to another by an arched mud doorway. The shapes are stable, assisting in withstanding wind and the intense summer heat, and allow for efficient air circulation. They are quite extraordinary. The photographs I have of the interiors are from a large extended family home that has been converted into a retail shop for local crafts, none of which particularly interested me. But it was great to see the interior of such unique houses. The family lives in a somewhat more modern structure on the grounds. The people living in this village, unlike most other Turkish citizens, are Arabic; their first language is Arabic, the second, Turkish.

Our guide book (which I’m relying on more heavily than usual today because we have no electricity, hence no access to the Internet – again!) says that Harran is the location of Abraham’s sojourn. I will try to verify that if/when I can.

Sanliurfa – While traveling back north to SanliurfaBalikli , our guide explains that, until the 1980s, the town was called simply "Urfa." San (pronounced Shan) means "valorous." Sanli means "with valor." The sobriquet added to the town’s name refers to the valor shown by the townspeople during an early twentieth century battle, in which they repelled French attackers shortly after WWI.

Prophet Abraham's Birthplace?

Our first stop was to Lake Balikli (Lake with Fish) and the supposed site of Abraham’s birth. Our guide tells us that there is evidence that he was actually born in Ur (currently Iraq), but the legend lives on that he was born here and the site has become a pilgrimage destination.

The lake is actually a beautifully designed pool, full to bursting with fish that are considered somewhat sacred. It sits in the midst of one of the most beautiful urban parks we’ve seen in Turkey. There are actually two pools within the park, which sits at the foot of yet another spectacular promontory with a castle at the top. One of the most visible features of the castle are two tall columns overlooking the area.

Here is the story as to why this is such a sacred site and why the park is so beautifully designed and kept. Abraham, who was born in a cave in the hill (I have a photo of the cave), was feared by Nemrut, the king, because of the teachings of the great prophet. He ordered Abraham to be burned to death. But the fire created by the king’s soldiers was so intense that they could not get close enough to bring Abraham near it. Instead, they catapulted him from between the two columns on top of the hill into the fire below. Miraculously, though, the fire turned into a lake and the faggots in the fire turned into fish, the descendants of which we see today. Abraham emerged unscathed. Some versions of the story say he actually fell into a rose bush and thus survived. The King’s daughter, meanwhile, had fallen in love with the prophet and, thinking Abraham dead committed suicide by jumping off the same cliff. She, too, created a smaller lake where she landed, which still exists in the park.

Our guide, an archaeologist, points out that the two columns from which Abraham was catapulted were actually constructed many hundreds of years later, but the legend remains, as does the claim of his birthplace. Perhaps they simply represent a monument to the giant catapult of King Nemrut.

After visiting the sacred sites within the park, including a mosque with a very long, beautiful arched walkway, many of our fellow travelers requested free time to visit the large, convoluted old bazaar area. Larry and I preferred to stay in the heavily used park and take in its beauty and cool breezes. We took a brief detour, though, up the long stairs (in the hot sun) to the base of the castle, but did not go in, as we assumed the tour would resume there. But it didn’t. Instead, we headed to the hotel for dinner.

Our Turkish "Night Out" – After dinner, about half of our group walked to a local "Konuk," or mansion, which has been converted into a type of nightclub with folk songs, drums, and dancing, and servings of the local specialty: cif kofte, or raw meat balls. Yuk! We sat on large floor cushions, in a long, beautiful stone room, listening and clapping to the music. One drummer played the crowd down the center of the room, stopping to "encourage" the guests to stuff bills in the cables of his drum. This was fun.
　

Southeast Turkey - Day 3

For more photos, see: http://www.anatolianphotos.shutterfly.com/

Hasankeyf – One of the oldest historical sites in Turkey and the entire world, for that matter, this unbelievable settlement, spanning more than 10,000 years of human habitation is in danger of inundation by waters of one of the GAP dams, scheduled for completion in 2013. Oh my gosh, the thought of the loss of a spectacular site such as this – an ancient city of caves, cliffs, fortresses, churches, mosques – one of the earliest settlements in the entire world – under water, is enough to break one’s heart.

One of the reasons we took this trip, besides climbing Mount Nemrut, was to see this incredible site before it is drowned by 200 feet of water. More than 20 civilizations have settled here, from early cave dwellers, through Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Artukids, Ayyubids, Seljuks, Arabs, Mongols, Ottomans, and contemporary Turks (not necessarily in that order; it is very complicated). There is speculation that even Marco Polo passed through this beautiful site. This is some of the earliest Mesopotamian history, on the banks of the beautiful Tigris (now called Dicle), which will be lost forever if that dam project is completed. We did our little bit by signing a petition on the site to halt construction of this hydroelectric project at the expense of one of the most spectacular historical/cultural sites in the world.

I am tongue tied as to how to describe the early bridge remains, cliff cave houses (a mini-Cappadocia), cliff top palace ruins, Byzantine churches – all overlooking from on high the Tigris River and surrounding Mesopotamian plains. So I will let a Smithsonian article do the descriptions for me. The address for the article is: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Endangered-Cultural-Treasures-The-City-of%20-Hasankeyf-Turkey.html

If you don’t have time to peruse the article, one sentence is particularly telling: "Hasankeyf and its surrounding limestone cliffs are home to thousands of human-made caves, 300 medieval monuments and a unique canyon ecosystem—all combining to create a beguiling open-air museum. But the city, along with the archaeological artifacts still buried beneath it, is slated to become a sunken treasure . . . despite widespread protests from local authorities, archaeologists, architects, preservationists and environmental groups . . . ." What a sad commentary on today’s illusion of "progress."

Midyat – We reluctantly left Hasankeyf, after an exhausting climb (for me) up, then back down the tallest promontory . Refreshed by a frothy cup of ayran (diluted yogurt and salt), we boarded the bus to the next big city: Mardin. But first we stopped briefly in the town of Midyat, where we walked through the first of the contemporary towns on our itinerary in what was formerly northern Syria. Here, flat roofed houses are closely built on either side of cobbled streets, with no trace of the "yards" we are accustomed to in the West. We visited one large mansion, called Konuk Evine of a 19th century merchant. It is now a museum. Not necessarily typical of other houses – the owner was obviously very rich – the beautiful multi-story house nonetheless reflected the local architectural style of multiple rooms surrounding a gated open air courtyard. The views from the balconies and terraces were terrific.

Deyrulzafaran Monastery - Back on the road toward Mardin, we stopped just outside the city at a hillside monastery, with a breathtaking view of the Syrian plain, formerly Mesopotamia. This entire area is archaeologically considered "Syria," despite politically belonging to Turkey. It is geologically and historically distinct from the rest of Turkey, so much of our remaining trip is considered a tour of ancient Syria (including Hasankeyf above).

The monastery itself is one of the earliest Christian sites, having been established by Syriac Assyrians, descendants of earlier Mesopotamian settlers, who fled Antakya after a series of Byzantine raids. The monastery, which is still in use by local Assyrians, was built on the site of a 3,000 year old temple to the sun. The most striking aspect of that temple, now in the "basement" of the monastery, is the huge stone blocks forming its ceiling. How the blocks stayed up for 3,000 years without falling on the heads of worshippers (and tourists) was briefly a mystery to us, until I noticed the slant of the cut blocks, which the guide later informed us was precisely why they stayed up. Later, reading about the monastery, I found out that it is also known for the number of scorpions inside the walls; I’m glad I didn’t know this in advance.

Medrese –Back on the road, but before reaching Mardin’s city cemter, we entered a 15th century medrese. Inside, we saw something that puzzled us: two huge photographs, about 15 feet in height, of a contemporary woman, holding her finger to her lips in the classic "shhh" pose. We forgot to ask our guide if this was a contemporary work of art or a not so subtle reminder that this is a school. Quiet please.

Mardin – During our visit, I often referred to the city of Mardin as a "stone city." It fills the preconceived image I have had of a medieval city spilling down a hillside, with narrow alleys, stone steps, and houses with flat roofs radiating one on top of the other in every conceivable direction. Departing from the bus on one of the busy roads accessible by car, we cut through the alleys, where most cars could not go (although a few were able to negotiate the tight squeeze). Stopping at some sights along the way, we proceeded down various alleys, around stone corners that had been sculpted to soften the sharp stone corners, dodging balls being kicked around by the neighborhood kids, and marveling at the elderly man carrying a refrigerator – motor and all – up the hill on his back. Aiieee! My back hurts just recalling that image.

Mardin is referred to as having "honey-colored" houses. This is an excellent description of the color of the stone everywhere around here. The houses even look like honey combs from a distance, with geometric forms clustered one next to the other and hugging the hillside. This is a very charming city.

Two of the places we stopped to see along our walk are: 1. The Post Office. This has to be one of the most beautiful post offices in the world. Formerly a large mansion, it has been turned into the local PTT, with, as with so many of these buildings, a view of the Mesopotamian/Syrian plain. 2. Medrese. Yet another theological school, this one constructed in the 12th century, containing a framed footprint said to be that of Muhammad, as well as the 12th century tomb of Artuklu Sultani, after which our hotel (see below) was named.

Artuklu Kervansarayi (our hotel in Mardin)

We ended our walking tour of the stone city at this evening’s hotel, a caravansaray, named Artuklu Kervansarayi, built in 1275 and lovingly restored as a large stone hotel. A plaque on one of the walls states that Prince Charles stayed here during renovations in 2004. I haven’t been saying much about the hotels we’ve stayed in during this trip, particularly the next several days’ hotels, because they are pretty much nondescript, albeit clean and functional. This hotel, though, deserves some mention. All other caravansarays we’ve seen throughout the country have been single story, with rooms surrounding an open courtyard where merchants kept their animals and merchandise they were transporting along multiple trade routes. All we’ve seen so far are also simply empty historical buildings. This caravansaray is multi-storied, although it is possible that some levels were added after the initial 1275 construction date, and is serving as a functioning hotel.

The lobby is very pretty – all stone and arched ceilings – with a curved stone stairway leading to the rooms upstairs. The narrow hallways are stone, carpeted with Turkish rugs and kilims, and lined with antique furniture. Our room, too, was stone and very charming.

After dinner, Larry, Onur and I explored the multi-level roofs of the hotel, where we had a terrific view of the stone city and the Syrian plain beyond. On one level was erected a rectangular tent like structure, with large cushions on the floor, round copper tables, and nargile, or water pipes, for the guests’ pleasure. The city at night was as beautiful as it was during the day, with the fortress on top of the hill above us lit up with floodlights. Our guide book says, "Everyone loves Mardin." We certainly wish we had more time here.