Blogs from Şanlıurfa, Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East

Early start this morning as I wandered into Anatalya's new city to find somewhere to purchase a bus ticket to Gaziantep which is 12 hours and eight hundred kilometres east. There is not a huge amount there but I didn't want to travel for any longer than that in one go. Eventually I found an agent and purchased a ticket for 8 pm. I then decided to go veg in my room till check out time, I left my bag at the hotel and hopped on the old tram to the Anatalya Museum. I had lots of time on my hands so I spent 3 hours wandering around the museum which was truly fascinating as the collection contains some fine sculpture. After the museum I had a late lunch and returned to the pension to collect ... read more

We left the city of Sanliurfa and started to head to Harran trough the fertile Harran plain. Impressive to see the landscape changing from a desert landscape to a fertile landscape. In about one hour we arrived to Harran. The architectual remains of Harran is very impressive. We entered the area of the old domed houses. The architecture of the houses keeps the houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We spent more or less then two hours and continued our way to Adiyaman. About Harran: The Ancient Anatolian village of Harran is located in Şanlıurfa Province, which lies in the southeast of Turkey, near the Syrian border. The village's official name is Altınbaşak, with the district named Harran. The city was the home of the Mesopotamian moon god Sin, under the Assyrians, ... read more

In the evening we arrived to the city Sanliurfa, where we will have our dinner in an old traditional house, with traditional live music and events. (Urfa Sira gecesi) The old traditional stone house was very cozy. We were all sitting on the floor, which is off course not comfortable when you have a dinner. But with the combination of the live music and folklore shows it was very pleasant. During midnight we were off course exhausted. The day began very early and we were traveling the whole day. Having a party after a day like this, it's was killing us. When we left the party, our travel guide brought us to the lake of Abraham. Seeing this area in the nigh is a must and the idea was quickly to see and go to the ... read more