Turkey |
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Sanliurfa
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| 1. |
05 Nov 2008 Wed 04:10 am |
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Pilgrims come from all over to visit Sanliurfa, which according to some, is the birthplace of Abraham. It is also purported to be site of his famous near-assassination by Nero, and pools of fish mark the spot where he landed after escaping Nero´s furnace. Everyone who visits here makes a point of feeding the sacred fish, and legend has it that anyone who catches one will die or go blind, depending on who you ask.
These are the fattest, most overfed fish in Turkey, maybe anywhere, and yet, when food is dropped into the water, they fight frantically over every morsel as if they were on the brink of starvation.
http://debnemens.blogspot.com/
Yes, that is a man in a lavender headscarf. Many men wear them.
Take a side trip to Harran, another claimant to Abraham´s life story (he is considered a major prophet in Islam). It has a dry and dusty middle-of-nowhere feel to it, near the Syrian border with more Arabic spoken than Turkish.
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| 3. |
05 Nov 2008 Wed 11:42 am |
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Pilgrims come from all over to visit Sanliurfa, which according to some, is the birthplace of Abraham. It is also purported to be site of his famous near-assassination by Nero, and pools of fish mark the spot where he landed after escaping Nero´s furnace. Everyone who visits here makes a point of feeding the sacred fish, and legend has it that anyone who catches one will die or go blind, depending on who you ask.
These are the fattest, most overfed fish in Turkey, maybe anywhere, and yet, when food is dropped into the water, they fight frantically over every morsel as if they were on the brink of starvation.
http://debnemens.blogspot.com/
Yes, that is a man in a lavender headscarf. Many men wear them.
Take a side trip to Harran, another claimant to Abraham´s life story (he is considered a major prophet in Islam). It has a dry and dusty middle-of-nowhere feel to it, near the Syrian border with more Arabic spoken than Turkish.
We visited both these places last year and still I remember them as if it were yesterday. They are fascinating places. If you get the "right" guide in Haran he will get you inside the perimeter fence at the ruins of the oldest university in the world - fantastic.
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| 4. |
05 Nov 2008 Wed 11:45 am |
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It was amazing to see all the lavender headscarves,as Trudy said,even on the men. I´d never seen people all wearing the same colour in the same city before and in the market,stall after stall selling nothing but this colour.
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| 5. |
05 Nov 2008 Wed 11:48 am |
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We visited both these places last year and still I remember them as if it were yesterday. They are fascinating places. If you get the "right" guide in Haran he will get you inside the perimeter fence at the ruins of the oldest university in the world - fantastic.
We loved both places too! Urfa was so atmospheric (and cheap!)
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| 6. |
05 Nov 2008 Wed 12:29 pm |
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We loved both places too! Urfa was so atmospheric (and cheap!)
Our friend took us to a fantastic restaurant where the food and entertainment were fantastic and, as you say, was really cheap. Unfortunately , he spoilt the evening by insisting on rating every element of the meal - face to face with the chef!! How embarrassing!! You can take the restauranteur out of the restaurant but...........
Luckily he is local to the area so we got without being lynched!!
Would love to go back someday.
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