Blogs from Urfa, Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East - page 2

Dag 235. Under frokosten bestemte vi oss for at vi ville paa guidet tur, for aa se omraadet rundt Sanliurfa. Vi spurte Aziz om han hadde tid idag, siden han reklamerer for ulike turer i omraadet. Ferida sa til Aziz at hun og Jane hadde planlagt aa gaa paa Hamam idag, og hun fikk da “kjeft” av Aziz - hun maatte skjonne at det var viktigere for de aa faa inn penger. Litt for kl. 10 var vi paa plass i bilen, klare for aa se Harran - som var forste stopp paa turen. Vi saa forst ruinene av moskeen Ulu Camii, som sies aa vaere den eldste moskeen i Anatolia. Den er bygget i det 8. aarhundre av Marwan II. Minareten er gjenkjennelig med sin kvadratiske fasong, som er svaert utypisk tyrkisk. Ved moskeen hadde ... read more

A lots of memories came to me during my stay in this town. Everithing was the same how was two years ago. Very happy to meet another time the same people and to see that they didn't forget me. İt was nice to spend here a week everiday roaming and get lost in the bazar surrounded by the curdish culture and lıfe... read more

Saban is 22 years old and just recently graduated with an English degree from a university in Tokat, Turkey. Outgoing, friendly, and eager to practice his English a bit, we bumped into this remarkable young lad in the spotless new bus station (which really felt more like an airport) in Keyseri. He approached us as we finalized our ticket, asking if we would like to hang out together to kill the 5 hours before the bus to Urfa left. We happily accepted his invitation for a rendezvous and settled on a cafeteria in the station to get a bite to eat and to relax before the long, all night bus ride. For three hours we sat and talked to Saban, learning about his studies at university, looking through pictures of his friends, and sharing our travel ... read more

One of the things I love about traveling without an itinerary is that plans can change on a moment’s notice. My plans were to leave Cappadocia on an early bus to Kahta, near the base of Mt. Nimrut, with my Canadian friend Errol and then continue on to the mountain. We packed our stuff up in the morning and checked out of the hostel. Then we headed down to the bus station to buy some tickets. The man at the counter informed us that every bus (they were not that regular) to Kahta was full for that day and the next. We briefly considered a tour to the area, but the thought repulsed us both. We asked the man what other destinations were available that day and in the general direction we wanted to go. He ... read more

Geo: 37.0294, 37.9903 GUN 3 GUNLERDEN CUMARTESİ Halfeti'den akarak fırat kıyısından Birecik 'e ulaştık. Birecik, Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesinin Orta Fırat bölümünde Urfa iline bağlı bir ilçe merkezi... Fırat ırmağının sol kıyısı üzerinde , deniz yüzeyinden 340 m yükseklikte kurulmuştur. Evler ırmak boyundaki dar bir düzlükte ve bunun gerisinde yükselen dik bir yamaç üzerine yayılır.( Aix en Province modeli ) Bu yamaç üzerinde bir de kalesi vardır. Fırat, Birecik'in bulunduğu noktadan itibaren aşağıya doğru ufak çapta nehir nakliyatına elverişlidir. Bu sebeple Birecik eskiden beri kara ve nehir ulaşımı arasında bir aktarma yeri olarak önem kazanmıştır. Daha sonraki devirlerde İstanbul-Bağdat demiryolunu Birecik'ten değil de biraz güneyden geçmesi ve kervan ticaretinin eski önemini kaybetmesiyle kasab... read more