Sunday, May 15, 2011

urfa, turkey:


After visiting Mt. Nemrut it was on to the holy town of Urfa and then down to Harran, right near the Syrian border (we got so close!). Urfa has to be one of the highlights so far, such an enchanting and beautiful place.  Many Muslim pilgrims visit Urfa, as it is believed that Abraham was born here – we even got to go inside the cave that they think he was born in. It is now like a shrine and full of people praying. The whole precinct with surrounding mosques, lake and parks, is a beautiful area full of people and such atmosphere. In fact we didn’t feel like we were in Turkey at all, as it felt more Middle Eastern than European.

Harran is another place Abraham once inhabited and is a unique little town, home to beehive houses. It’s a very earthy, dusty place, but was really interesting walking around (didn’t see many people unfortunately) and having a look. We were hopping to see beehive houses when we were in Syria, so it was good we had a chance to see them in Turkey.

Overall it was such a fascinating and culturally rich area to visit, we loved every minute of it.


































No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...