Blogs from Urfa, Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East

Mehmet (Alisons brother in law and Faro's brother was our guide for the day, he arrived in time for breakfsat with us, then we were off to the Siverek Livestock Market. It was already very hot, but Mehmet's car was airconditioned so the 50 km drive was very pleasant. The day temperatures have been in the high 30 deg's while we have been here. Mehmet parked in the shambles of trucks, carts, horses and livestock and said to us he would see us in an hour. We thought we were on a guided tour and at first wondered how we would get around. It was no problem as everyone just everyone wanted to talk with us and be our friend, everyone wanted their photo taken. So it took a while to get around but it was ... read more

The village of Yuvacali has about 800 residents, unfortunately there is very little employment apart from agricultural work so many of the men spend 6 months or more away on the Mediterranean Coast working at various tourist locations in the entertainment and hospitality trades. The Nomad Tours project has given employment to several families and income for the village. There is a high infant mortality and birth defect rate amongst the families and in fact there is only 3 seperate surnames in the whole of the village. I was told that there is a lot of cousin inter marriages. As a result of the project there is now a full time funded teacher for the village school, water to all homes since 2008 and a sewerage systen has recently been put through. Gifts are encouraged and ... read more

Urfa & surrounds Woke early in our lovely rooftop bed & listened as the village slowly awoke. Animals, people starting to stir. Halil and Pero were up early, moving around the house and yard, feeding cleaning, preparing. Had cay sitting out the front and then it was time for Pero to make the bread. In the storeroom she measured out the flour into a plastic tub, added what may have been salt, added water and began to skillfully mix then knead the dough. The kneading is quite a vigorous activity, kneeling on the ground, using the knuckles with body weight behind - better than a workout at the gym I think! After that she went off across the yard and came back with an armful of sticks. She set out everything she needed - a hotplate ... read more

Yuvacali As promised, there was a young man with a sign saying Nomad Tours Turkey and an older man there to collect us. The young man introduced himself as Fatih, and turned out to be the son of our host family in Yuvacali. He spoke quite good English. The other man was the driver for this short journey. We loaded our gear in the car, ducked to the loo where Kim changed into her long skirt (required for women visiting the village), and then headed off on the drive to the village of Yuvacali (pron Yuvajaler). The village is in the middle of a flat, pretty much treeless plain, with a large settlement mound sticking up in the middle of it. It's a small village built of stone and concrete. We arrived about 9:30am at the ... read more

Další den jsme se vypravili dvouma dolmušema (minibusy) do Urfy. Sanliurfa je město ležící poměrně blízko k hranici se Sýrií známé tím, že zde bůh učinil zázrak a zachránil Abramáma odsouzeného k upálení tím, že oheň proměnil ve vodu a dřevo v ryby. Urfa má hodně mešit, hrad, kdes se inkriminovanej zázrak odehrál, nádhernej park s vodníma kanálama pod hradem a směřuje sem poměrně značný množství turistů. Většinou ale spíž z turecka a okolních muslimskejch států, takže anglicky se tu domluvíte jen těžko. Kvůli zachování původního rázu města nesmějí mít domy víc než dvě patra. Náš hotel se nacházel v centru, kam nás osobně dovez majitel rovnou z nádraží, které je naopak jak je místním zvykem od města co nejdál. Zrovna byl den voleb a tak v autě spolu s náma jela celá rodinka vracející se ... read more

14. Gün Nemrut dağında Gündoğumu, Kommagene Krallığı ve Harran Otel odasının Telefonu sabaha karşı 02:30’da çaldı. Özkan o saate kadar uyumamıştı. Üstümüzü giyerek Battaniyelerimizi aldık ve bizi Nemrut dağına götürmek üzere bekleyen Minibüslere bindik. Minibüsler yaklaşık 1 saat yol aldıktan sonra bizi Nemrut dağının zirvesine yakın bir yere bıraktı. Şansımıza hava çok güzeldi. 10 dakikalık bir tırmanıştan sonra Nemrut dağının Tümülüsüne ulaştık. Çevresinde hala kar vardı. Daha önce de Malatya üzerinden Nemrut’a çıktığım için aşağı yukarı neler yaşanacağını biliyordum. Tapınağın en önünde yerimi aldım ve battaniyeme sarılarak beklemeye başladım. Herkesi sessizliği davet ettiğim halde, bağrışmalar arasında güneş doğdu. Fazla etkilenmedim çünkü daha önce gündoğumunu daha önce görmü... read more