Harran to Midyat

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Harran to Midyat

Another jam-packed day on our tour of Southeastern Anatolia. Today we woke with the tiny birds perched on the wires above, who were singing as the sun appeared on the horizon. Actually, we were awoken earlier by some very enthusiastic roosters. There was a light dew on our blankets and even a slight chill in the air but it disappeared VERY quickly as soon as the sun came creeping. By 7am it was distinctly warm!

We watched the Harran household gradually come to life. First one up was the patriarch, who bid us good morning on his way past out taht to the loo. Soon after there were sounds of baby crying and a few people getting up and calling out to one another. It wasn't long before a couple of the women were out watering the yard, sweeping up and generally getting organised. We got up and joined Omer and Ali for some early morning cay and a chat. Ali wanted to know how many children we have then proudly told us he has ten - five girls and five boys. Also three grandchildren. He then proceeded to tell us that many children means many problems! We sat on our little wooden stools and watched the proceedings as more members of the household arose and went about their business. After a while, breakfast arrived - fresh bread (thicker than Pero's, more like a pita), tomato, cucumber, charred peppers, more cay. After brekky we packed up the car, said our thanks and farewells to Ali, and headed off for a very full day.

From Harran we headed east on a narrow road, first surrounded by cotton fields and later, where the pipelines haven't reached, back into desert. Actually, fields of cotton and other green crops would suddenly appear among the dust and rocks in the most surprising places.  The road was mostly bitumen, but only one lane, quite  few damaged areas where the water has overflowed, and potholes - Omer tells us the road will soon be filling up with big trucks as the cotton harvest gets going. Later in the day we did see people a few times out in the fields of ripe cotton - looks like they do it all by hand.

Our first stop was Bazda caves. We turned off the road in a rocky, rugged stretch, came through a dusty old village with stone houses that almost looked abandoned, and parked the car. Just down the way we found a huge entrance way cut roughly into the rock, looming a bit like a tunnel. Down and in we went, to discover these huge, tall caves where, centuries ago, people had cut masses of stones, apparently used in the building of the walls etc of Harran, and possibly also the Han we visited later. As we went further in, it became more impressive. Unfortunately my camera battery died before we got right through, but hopefully the photos I managed to get will give you the idea. Although there was no-one in sight when we arrived, it wasn't long before a gaggle of village children appeared and followed us on our journey. I think they were hoping for money but Omer strongly discouraged us.  We don't know how the rock was cut, but we assume they started higher up and then cut down deeper as the caves are impressively high.

Back in the car and just a shortish trip further along, out in a wide, flattish valley, we came to the Han El  Ba'rur, the ruins of a caravanserai, right alongside the road. It was built during the Selcuk (pron. Seljuk) period to house weary travelers, along with their camels, horses etc. The grand entrance gate has been restored, including the archway with a guard room on one side and a prayer room on the other. You can climb up a very steep set of stone steps to the top - what a great view! Most of the rest of the Han, which is built in a big square with a large open area in the middle and lodging rooms, stables, kitchen etc around the sides, is in varying states of ruin but you can get a pretty good sense of it's size and what it might have been like.

On the road again, and our third stop for the morning was Suayb City, which is a bit like Turkey' version of an ancient Coober Pedy. It was built in a rocky hillside location, with the current village just a little down the hill. Basically, people built themselves houses under the ground. In some there are still steps going down to some cave entrances, and inside cave - rooms, often not that large but I guess equivalent to a small qhouse, with rooms on three sides around the entry way. Some rooms are interconnecting or have anterooms. Many of them have collapsed, either partly or completely. There are also the ruins of some above-ground structures at the peak of the hill, and interestingly the Turkish flag flying - Omer told us it wasn't there when he was last here a few days ago. We were again being followed by some village children hopeful we'd pay them to be our guides. It was a bit annoying.

Down the hill and across the road on what may (or may not) have been the eastern side was an area ringed by a dry stone wall which Omer told us was the Jethro shrine. By pushing open an d metal gate we could enter and found a couple of entranceways down into another cave house, in much better repair than all the others, and this one decked out with carpets etc. Apparently Jethro was a prophet and people came to see him to tell the future. In one corner of the enclosure (on the surface, not down in the caves) we found an area marked out with stones that might be a grave although we're not sure.

Anyway, back in the car for a bit more of a drive to another remote village on a stony hillside, this time Sogmatar. This time we walked up to the top of a large rock. Actually saw our first fellow tourist for the day who was coming down with his guide as we were going up. Not very chatty though so don't know where from. At the top of this hl is a massive flat rock into which there is some Aramaic text carved. On one side is a ledge with carvings representing the moon and sun gods. This ledge was apparently the site for sacrificed to the moon and sun gods as part of the Sin religion. There are apparently seven other temples on surrounding hilltops. Just a little way away (back down the hill and across the village) is a bit of a cave with about ten figures carved into the walls, including one on either side of an arched niche that look to be the moon god. Apparently this was some sort of meeting room or maybe a kind of church.

Back in the car and headed north til we met up with the main highway that goes all the way through to Iraq. Turned right and were soon in the town of Viransehir, where we went into the main part of town for lunch. We went to a doner kebab shop with the guy standing on the street shaving bits off his two (beef and chicken) stacks. Ordered our kebabs, and they brought out a low table and three of the little wooden stools for us to sit on the footpath. The kebabs were delicious - fresh bread and a good mix of meat and salad, but quite huge. The bread was more like a huge, crusty, elongated bread roll rather than the wraps they usually use in Australia. It was interesting people watching and once again not another Western tourist in sight.

After lunch we hit the highway again, continuing east towards Mardin. The old part of Mardin is built up the side of a fairly steep mountain. We entered from the top end and drove down the narrow main street, part of which is one way, through the bustling throngs and on out the other side, turning off into a rugged part of the mountains to visit Deyrul Zafaran, a Syrian Orthodox monastery, which at one stage was the main centre before it was moved to Damascus. The monastery is a beautiful complex built into the side of the mountain and looking out over the Mesopotamian plain. We were able to take a tour over the main parts of the building, along with many other tourists, mainly  Turkish and German. There are some beautiful chapels and downstairs an old stone room from pre-monastery days when this was a site of sun worship. We chatted with a young man in the courtyard who is currently a student here- he is learning to write in Aramaic. He told us about 40 people live at the monastery, including students, teachers, a small number of priests and one monk.

Back to Mardin, where Omer dropped us off for a few hours of free time. We wandered through the bazaar, in and out of tiny back lanes with lots of steps, had a drink on the rooftop terrace of a cafe where we could see the workmen in action on repairs to the Ulu Camii and a great view out across the plain towards Syria, found our way to the Sultan Isa Medresesi, a beautiful piece of architecture, containing prayer rooms, the burial room of the Sultan and a gorgeous courtyard as well as spectacular views over the city and out to the plain.  We met a man who speaks six languages and I gather works there providing info to tourists. He showed us how to take a photo using the pond as a reflector and explained the the fountain out of the wall represents birth, the first small pool early childhood, the second youth, the larger still pool adulthood, the narrow channel old age and the deep pool another world. We were able to get a cay and Jeff got (at the recommendation of our friend) menengic kahve, some sort of caffeine-free coffee-like drink. Had more of a wander around the maze of narrow streets, very beautiful, and it was starting to cool down. Enjoyed this wander until it was time to meet up with Omer. 

We drove a little further down the street, found a park (a real challenge in a cit that was built long before cars were invented!) and went to our restaurant. This is run by the KAMER foundation and raises money as well as providing a outlet for women experiencing domestic violence. We had a lovely meal of cold yoghurt soup, followed by a place of various delicious things that I can't remember the names of, a lovely tomato and cucumber salad with pomegranate sauce. All very delicious.

After dinner it was time to jump in the car again for the drive to Midyat, about 65 km away. Arrived about 9:30 and checked into our hotel. A real bed, shower and power to recharge the phone & camera batteries! And air conditioning. Luxury!

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