URFA/MT.NEMRUD/HARRAN
For our stay in the region of Urfa we are booked at the Harran Hotel, a tourist class hotel with single beds (but a good bathtub), for a couple of nights. There is a leak in the ceiling of the bath and constant dripping. However, it is in a good location where we can experience the nightlife of the city on Saturday night. We also can walk to an Internet cafe just a couple of blocks away and be online for $1 US per hour. The only problem is that the Turkish keyboard is a little difficult to figure out and the place is thick with smoke. This is not unexpected since 77% of the adult(?) population smokes. The food does not compare to other places we stayed and the continental breakfast is rather sparse.
For dinner we meet in an roofless open area around a vast swimming pool where thousands of pigeons pretty much rule the area.
We are thrilled to discover that a henna ceremony is taking place in a private room of the hotel and that Leslie and Marie are invited to visit. (No men allowed.) Here there are woman and young children (boys and girls) dressed in their finest. The women are primarily in elegant western gowns although some wear traditional veils when arriving at the hotel. The bride, in her western wedding gown, is seated several levels above the others in the room and we are taken to meet her to wish her well. Participants greet us, touch us and say, "Welcome." They encourage us to stay and participate. However, we feel as if we might be intruding and quickly return to the men in our group.
Later the children from the ceremony swarm around us in the hotel, wanting to practice their English and pose for several pictures. A joyous exchange --
Many Muslims believe that Abraham was born in a cave in Sanli Urfa, which was known as Ur in ancient times. Many pilgrims visit the site. There are separate entrances for men and women. After leaving your shoes behind and crouching through the low entranceway, you enter a tiny mosque. Straight ahead, behind a wire screen, is the cave and a spring with flowing water. Women fill receptacles brought from their homes with the holy water. People bow or sit silently in prayer. Because of the number of people in such cramped quarters, it is difficult to view the cave. Even though some may be skeptical of the claim made about the cave, the reverence felt inside gives testimony to the sincere belief of those who come to the site.
Area around the entrance to Abraham's caveIn the town of Sanli Urfa there are also two pools with sacred carp. If you look at the picture above, in the distance you can see two pillars. One myth has it that these pillars formed the giant slingshot from which Abraham and Zeliha were slung by her father when they confessed their love to him. Abraham was turned into fire which then became water, forming the first pool. The wood from the fire turned into carp which are now considered sacred. Zeliha's tears became the other pool with a fountain. Around the first pool we saw many families with small children feeding the sacred carp.
Throughout Turkey we see groups of men lounging and engaged in animated conversation, while we see no such groups of women. We learn from our guidebook that there is still a belief that women are supposed to stay in their homes. We see these guys when we stop to hire a bus to take us on the twisting mountainous road to Mt. Nemrud.
Mt. Nemrud is one of the most unique sites we have ever seen. The trip to the summit takes several hours as our hired driver navigates the dozens of switchbacks and hairpin curves. For us it is an enjoyable ride as we take in the spectacular scenery that is revealed around each turn. Atop a 7056 feet peak are strewn the remains of human statues ordered built by the egotistical Antiochus I (69-38 B.C.). His idea was to construct images of gods and himself to lead the way to a new religion. His tomb is located behind the statues inside the 150 feet high peak made from crushed stone.
The statues became headless many, many years ago as the result of earthquakes.
Once in the parking lot, it is still a 20-30 minute climb to the top. In Tom's case it is a donkey ride. Holding tight to the two rope loops on the saddle, he sets off on a shaky, but uneventful ride. The steep descent is another matter. Besides constantly sliding forward and from side to side, his lame leg keeps getting jammed between boulders and the donkey. Ibrahim, the young guide, is quite concerned about Tom's welfare and tries to keep him calm by singing Kurdish folk songs. The ride down seems to take much longer than the ascent, but after a while the parking lot comes into view and Tom is home free.
Tom and Ibrahim
In spite of the rough journey the view at the top was definitely worth the discomfort of the trip.
Apollo and Us
Mardin
En route to Mardin we come across a highway checkpoint. This time we have to leave the van while the driver's license is held by the police. After a period of time and an interrogation of our driver and guide, we are able to reboard and be on our way. We notice that all along this portion of our trip there are many, many military installations. And then we realize that we are only 20 miles from the Syrian border. All of this police activity may seem a little strange but we never feel unsafe. In fact we feel that the precautions being taken are in our best interest and in some ways comforting. Maybe we would have felt differently before events of 9/11 but we don't know for certain.
As we approach Mardin we make a detour off the main road. It turns out that our escorts discovered there was a wedding celebration going on and they want us to share the experience. We are warmly welcomed and encouraged to participate in the dancing. This is a celebration that seems like it will be going on all day. Most of the participants are men, who dance and dance. There also are children, including little girls, and one older woman, who captures Marie's heart. Oh, how we wish we could take a picture of her wonderful face. She kisses Marie's hand and then holds the same hand to her forehead. She sits holding Marie's hand and when it is time to leave, she continues to hold onto Marie as she escorts us back to the coach. We experience this kind of warmth all over Turkey but this woman leaves a deeper connection in Marie's heart than many of the others.
We love the pace and energy of the dancers and especially enjoy watching Fatih and Murat join in. Then to our delighted amazement, Murat asks the musicians to speed up the tempo and he performs with the dancers. We like watching him even better than the folk dancers we had seen in Cappadocia. What a good musician he is! We will learn later how accomplished he is when he plays the traditional Turkish drums and sings for us.
Murat dancing with celebrants.We are able to meet the groom and give him money as a wedding gift. Fatih pinned the money to the groom's lapel and we snap this picture.
Mardin GroomFrom what we understand, the bride would be arriving at the festivities later, along with the other women. They would have had the henna ceremony the previous night.
This country wedding is in marked contrast to the henna ceremony we had attended the night before.
Mardin is quite interesting. It is the one place in Turkey where we see the largest concentration of churches which are still in operation. We visit several and realize on a visceral level how difficult it must be to be a Christian in Turkey. One church we visit dates from the 17th Century. It is dedicated the 40 Christian martyrs. There are 15 churches in Mardin and a total membership of 60-70 families. So in order to keep all the churches open the families attend different churches on a rotating basis. What a contrast with 1500 years ago when this was a holy area for Christianity.
Mardin is also a town that is a real meeting of the cultures of Turkey.
Doorway with Hadj Tile
The black and white tile over the center of the door depicts a large block shrine in Mecca called the Ka'aba. One of Islam's Five Pillars is that all able-bodied Muslims make a pilgrimage (hadj) to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. One of the key rituals while in Mecca is to circle the Ka'aba. Thus, the tile indicates that a member of the household has been to Mecca.
A highlight for both of us is the visit to the Deyr az Zaferan Monastery. This is also known as the "Saffron Monastery" because it is built of yellow colored rock. It was founded in 493AD and was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox patriarch for almost 800 years. However, its roots go back to 2000 BC when it was originally a temple to the sun god. We are pleased to have a touching meeting with a priest whose English is much better than he lets on. He tells Tom that Thomas is a good name and the two bond as Tom asks questions about the status of Christianity in Turkey. The main part of the church is 1600 years old. We see a 350 year old walnut gate and a 300 year old bible that is written in Aramaic and Arabic. The total population of the monastery is 25 with 2 priests and 7 children of primary school age. We leave the meeting feeling that it must be difficult to be a Christian in a country where it is against the law to build new churches or to attempt to spread the religion in anyway.
Deyr az Zaferan Monastery
Harran is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world. It is also where Abraham and his wife, Sarah, lived for some time, so it was a "must see" for us. The design of the beehive homes of Harran may date back to the 3rd century B.C.. The houses we see are most likely less than 200 years old. The unique design may have evolved from an attempt to keep the houses cool in summer temperatures that can reach 120 degrees.
Beehive Homes
It was also in this area that we see the remains of the oldest Islamic university in the world. It is especially awesome to view this site in the light of the setting sun.
Oldest Islamic University
744 A.D.
We arrive back at our hotel to find out that air strikes have begun in Afghanistan. We have some concern and questions about our flight back. We wonder if there will be a threat of reprisals against Americans abroad or those on American soil.
In the morning we head to Mersin via Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul.
