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Travelling to Turkey

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Southeast Turkey: Hatay, Urfa, Mardin and Hasankeyf
1.       Trudy
7887 posts
 06 Oct 2006 Fri 10:21 pm

In May & June 2006, I travelled through Turkey. One of the area’s I visited was southeast Turkey. Here some of my experiences and feelings in some cities.

HATAY
Antakya, still called Hatay by the Turkish people, is close to the Syrian border. You experience that for instance by looking at the menu. Instead of only Turkish traditional recipes, there is a clear Arab influence noticeable. Yogurt soup, humus (pea paste) and fresh mint (I made tea of it, which made the waiters frown…) are common.

In Hatay, there are about 1200 Christians, most Syrian-orthodox and a few Roman-Catholics. Two Christian churches are still in use. Every day at six o’clock in the afternoon, you can join to the Mass of the Syrian church if you want to. Except for Mass, the church is hardly open but it is worth a visit! The ceilings and walls are white plastered and almost completely new, lamps and other ornaments are from beautiful cast-iron work. The windows have enamelled glass with biblical pictures.

North of Hatay – half an hour walk or take a taxi, no dolmus there – is a cave of which is said that it is the first meeting place of St. Peter and the first Christians in Turkey. This place is mentioned in the Bible: Acts of the Apostles 11, 26. The Turkish people call this place St. Piyer Kilisesi. There is small statue of St. Peter from 1932. Pope Paul VI was there in 1963 and said this will be a pilgrimage place for everyone who wants that. High above the cave in the stones you can see the face of the Virgin Mary, if you have some fantasy.

Hatay is also famous for its künefe (sweet shredded pastry with cheese), a local delicatessen, and served warm with syrup. When I think of that, my mouth is watering….

Eight kilometres south of Hatay, there is the valley of Harbye. Famous because of the myth of Daphne who wanted to be saved from the advances of the god Apollo and changed into a laurel tree. No laurel trees anymore but a beautiful sight over the valley with its falls – partly artificial – and nice terraces.

The archaeologists of the local museum did a great job. You can see the customary coins, vases, amphora’s and other excavated stuff from Greek, Roman and Byzantine times. What this museum makes so special are the mosaics, meters high and wide. Some almost completely intact, from the second century. Pictures of Eros, Heracles, Oceanus and other Greek gods; pictures of hunt, party’s and mythological stories. The small mosaic stones (about one square centimetre each) are perfectly conserved and made to one big design. A funny one is the one from the two sportsmen whose eyes will keep following you even when you walk away.

URFA
The official name of this city is Sanliurfa but no one says it. According to touristy information it is a very religious place (it is indeed) where unmarried couples and single woman travellers are not so welcome. I did not get that feeling there. In Gölbasi, the pilgrim area you can visit the cave where Abraham (Ibrahim) is born and has lived for seven years according to the legend. Abraham has to hide for King Nimrod who killed all newborn babies because he had heard one of them might be a danger to his throne. In Urfa, it is wise to dress moderate. I wore jeans and long sleeved T-shirts and while visiting religious places of course a head scarf but here that is not enough. They gave me a long coat up to my ankles. In the cave there were tens of praying women (men have a different entrance), some of them silent, whispering, others out loud. Women who stroke the walls or kiss them, who fill bottles with water they say is holy and who very devoted stared at pictures on the walls. This large religiosity made me feel uncomfortable, maybe because I did not understand a word of it. Elsewhere on the site, you can feed the holy fishes.

Urfa has a large bazaar, very disordered. Here you can see handmade copperware. They warn women for lustful hands in this bazaar, happily I had no experience with that.

MARDIN
Famous for its silver smiths I recommend a visit to these shops. For a handful of lira’s (or much more of course), you can find beautiful very fine silver work like earrings. Walking through the old city gives me a real feeling of the Middle East. Yellow coloured houses build to the slopes of the hill, narrow streets, and stairs up, stairs down. Wonderful to wander like this. Six kilometres from Mardin there is Deyrul Zafaran, a Syrian-orthodox monastery of more than 1500 years old. It used to be the head quarters of the patriarch of this church, now it is in Damascus. In Mardin’s bazaar, donkeys are used for transport, in the narrow streets and with many stairs cars would be of no use. Regularly a packed donkey is trotting by or you can hear one bray.

HASANKEYF
At 38 kilometres from Batman, the most nearby city, there is Hasankeyf, a wonderful place of nature. The Turkish government is building a dam there so in a few years you cannot see this gorgeous place anymore, it will be completely under water then, you have to hurry. Hasankeyf is sometimes called little Cappadocia, that I think is overreacted. The gorge with cone-shaped rocks and in rocks built houses is a must to see. High above town you can climb to the local castle, the kale, to enjoy the views. Another thing you should do here is eat fish in the Tigris. Some small roofed restaurants in the middle of this river serve trout, so fresh you can imagine them swum fifteen minutes ago around your feet. To get to these restaurants you have to walk through the Tigris, no problem at low water but when tides rise, water can come up to far beyond your knees. An experience itself. Moreover, if you are afraid to do so, ask for help from the locals. The Kurdish people there are very friendly and willing to help you as a tourist, although they might laugh a bit about you being afraid.

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