Turkey's Magical Highways Day 21

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Last day of our trip was spent in Gazientep. We took a tour of the Old Town area of Gazientep which is one of the oldest cities in the world -- said to be 5,600 years old. Our hotel is over 300 years old which seems quite young to the Turks. We visited the Whirling Dervish museum, a mosque, an underground cave area that is now a tea café and had a delightful lunch at perhaps the most famous restaurant in the city. We had perhaps the best baklava ever, which is what Gazientep is noted for. We spent lots of time wandering through the many markets in the Bazaar of Old Town. We tasted the wonderful pistachios which are different from ours in that they are fresher and not necessarily roasted. We also tasted Turkish pistachio taffy which was really rich!!

Here is some latest news that Bob found on the internet. Last night, 38 vehicles with troops were deployed from Urfa to Suruc. We left Urfa yesterday morning and drove on the same road that these troops traveled just several hours later. We were within blocks of Suruc and could see the city clearly from the road. We just spoke with our bus driver who is from Urfa and he told us that he has personally seen recent mortar fire and bombings. We are scooping CNN so follow us, not the reporters.

We will leave early tomorrow a.m. for our trip back home and comfy beds. It has been a great trip and is highly recommended to any who love to learn about history of the world, Abrahamic religions and archaeology. Of course, the culture is also fascinating. Our friends Laurie & Gary should definitely make the effort to tour Turkey.

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Photos

Cafe in a cave in Old Town of Gazientep.
This cave has many rooms and many levels.

Steep, narrow staircase in caves.
This leads to many levels and very deep under the caves. This picture was taken from inside the Cafe'

Sign hung in courtyard stating the family had made the pilgrimage to Mecca.
This type of sign was seen above several doors --- a proud accomplishment expected of all devout Muslims.

Talat CAGDAS restaurant in Gazientep.
Best known for the BEST baklava in the region plus this is the capital for baklava! Ate lunch here and of course, had some baklava. Famous restaurant.

Shopkeeper
I purchased 3 snack bowls here.

Old Town Bazaar
This is the covered portion of the bazaar in Gazientep.

Courtyard of Anadolu Evleri Hotel
This hotel was made out of a family home from 300 years ago. The courtyard and arrangement of rooms are like those in Morocco and make me think of the Marigold Hotel movie about a hotel in India.

Mysticism is alive and well in Turkey.
These mystic symbols hang in the courtyard of our hotel.

Pistachio's on a tree.
Pistachios on a tree resemble clusters of grapes.

Call to Prayer.
5 times daily, loud speakers announce the call to prayer. Pictured are men doing the obligatory cleansing prior to entering the temple.