A visit
to the eastern part of Turkey
passes through fascinating regions with impressive historical places as well as different traditional cultures and lifestyles, and the beauty
of the countryside in all its variations is indescribable. Bear in mind
that the three routes outlined here can be joined together if you have
more time available. Alternatively, many people combine places listed
here with others; for
example,
Cappadociaand Nemrut.
Trabzon, ancient Trebizond, is famous for its port on the Black Sea
coast,
its catch of anchovies, its ability to survive numerous invasions, and its Christian population
in Ottoman times. The surrounding countryside is amazingly green and
hilly, and tea and hazelnuts grow in abundance. The best example of the
traditional type of house of the
region is the house where Ataturk used to stay. The best
church is Haghia Sofya (Aya Sofya or
Church of The Divine Wisdom) built between 1238 and 1263. It combines both
Christian and Muslim architectural trends and has some of the most
outstanding Byzantine frescos in the world. It was restored under the
supervision of David Talbot Rice and David Winfield.
The
name Sumela is an abbreviated corruption of the Greek Panayia tou
Melas meaning Monastery of the Black Virgin. In 385 a monk
called Barnabas arrived with the famous icon of the Virgin painted by
the apostle Luke, and after a visitation he placed the icon on a shrine
in a cave high up a sheer cliff face. The monastery developed on this spot
in the 6th century, with more additions in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In Byzantine times, the Comneni emperors from Trebizond held their
coronations here rather than in Constantinople. The Orthodox priests
only left in 1923, under the exchange of populations agreed in the
Treaty of Lausanne, taking their icon with them. What they couldn't
take, however, were all the incredible frescos that cover the walls. The
walk up to Sumela follows a pleasantly shaded zigzagging path.
Uzungol, or Long Lake, 99km from Trabzon and 1,090 meters above sea level,
is a beautiful lake where you can see some of the wonderful timber
houses common in the region. It is a good site for a picnic or barbecue,
and it is possible to go trekking to the nearby peaks and glacier lakes.
The
road leading inland to Ayder (1,300m) is one of the most scenic and
passes through the village of Chamlihemshin and Storm
Valley, where you will see the quaint traditional narrow stone bridges
of the region. Zilkale Castle is nearby. Once at Ayder, you can take advantage of the
thermal baths which are good for skin problems and rheumatism as well as
sheer relaxation. The countryside is spectacular, and hikes in the
Central Khatchkar Mountains are a good way to work off all that home-made local pastry!
There are many trekking routes and if you're interested a longer stay
can be arranged.
Rize
has such dense vegetation that one can see every possible shade of
green. Rize is synonymous with tea, which was introduced here at the
start of the last century, and has a Tea Institute where you can see the
plants and taste the best teas. The hills around, which are covered with tea
bushes, are also the home of the famous Anzer honey. If you are
traveling on to
Eastern Turkey, a winding road with spectacular scenery leads to Erzurum
through the highest drivable pass in the Pontic ranges.
Erzurum is on a high plateau nearly 2,000 meters up. It was ruled by
many civilizations including Byzantines, Armenians, Arabs, Seljuks,
Mongols, Ottomans and Russians. The way up to the castle passes some of
the oldest houses, and the best view of the city can be had from the
ramparts. The Great Mosque, Ulu Cami, built in 1179 by the Saltuk
(Turkish) Emir, has an unusual wooden dome. The 13th century Chifte
Minareli Medrese, or Twin Minaret Seminary, the largest of its time, is
known for its elaborate stone carvings. Not far away in a picturesque
quarter is Uch Kumbetler, or Three Tombs, which dates from the early 12th
century and has some nice decorations. Erzurum is one of Turkey's most
important ski resorts, renowned for its long skiing season and excellent
slopes.
Kars,
once a flourishing city founded by the Armenians, has a checkered
history. It was taken by Seljuks, Mongols, Tamerlaine, Ottomans and
Russians before being given back to Turkey by Lenin and Trotsky. Today
it is famous for its cheese, carpets and felt. The Cathedral of the
Apostles, built by the Armenian King Abbas in 937, was converted into a
mosque only 100 years after its construction. The nearby Tash Kopru, or
Stone Bridge, is made of the same volcanic rock as the church.
The castle, destroyed and rebuilt by the Russians, is open as a park
with good views of the city. The museum has an interesting ethnographic
section (this region is famous for its kilims and carpets), some ancient
pottery and the bell and doors from the cathedral.
Ani, which succeeded Kars as the
capital of Bagratid Armenia, was once a very wealthy city with a
population of 100,000 and was known as the city of 1001 churches. Today,
having been deserted for over 300 years, it is a huge open-air museum of
the finest Armenian architecture. The Lion Gate was added by the Seljuk
leader Alp Arslan, and there are many churches and mosques to explore.
The Church of the Redeemer (1036) was cut in half by lightening in 1957.
The Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (1215) is the best
preserved
one, with animals in relief on the outside and beautiful frescos on the
inside, and some of the scenes depicted, such as the life of Saint Anne,
the mother of the Virgin Mary, originate from apocryphal texts which
were part of the Armenian Bible. The largest of Ani's buildings is the
Cathedral of the Apostles (1010), and it is unusually positioned on a
north-south axis so that light would flood the church only at midday.
Menucehir Mosque (1072), said to be the earliest Seljuk mosque in
Anatolia, was possibly a former Armenian palace.
The road to Dogubeyazit passes through
the foothills of the extinct volcano, Mount Ararat, which at 5,165
meters is the highest point in Europe. According to Christian tradition,
Noah's Arc came to rest here when the flood
subsided (Muslims believe the landing site was further south on Mount
Judi). For Armenian monks, this permanently snow-capped mountain was
sacred and climbing it was forbidden, and even today with its peak often
hidden in cloud it still has a mystical aura. On the slopes of the
mountain is the underground Ice Cave with beautiful stalagmites and
stalactites, and 35km east of Dogubeyazit is a huge 60m deep and 35m
wide crater left by a meteor impact in 1913. In this region, villagers
migrate to the high plains every summer with their livestock, where they
live in their traditional goat-hair tents.
This spectacular 17th century palace
was built on a 2,000m high plateau by Ishak, an Ottoman governor, to
imitate Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Often referred to as the Taj
Mahal of Turkey, this palace has 24 rooms devoted to the harem where
the women and children lived a sheltered, protected and luxuriously
centrally-heated life. The gold-plated doors may have been removed by
the Russians, but they couldn't carry of the beautiful tree-of-life
motifs on the fountain in the inner courtyard. A 16th century mosque
from the reign of Selim the Grim and an Urartian fortress can be seen in
the distance.
Van was founded on the lake shore by
the Urartian king Sarduri I in the 9th century BCE. The modern city, a
few kilometers away, was rebuilt after World War I. At the Rock of Van,
the ruins of the ancient Urartian citadel has many inscriptions in
Assyrian cuneiform and Urartian hieroglyphics that have filled in many
gaps in history, and the world's best collection of Urartian artifacts
can be seen in the museum in Van: Urartian gold jewellery, bronze belts
and terracotta figures are accompanied by Mesolithic rock carvings
(9,000-8,000 BCE) that remind one of Van's prehistoric roots.
Lake Van is the world's biggest
alkaline lake (3,713km2), and is the largest lake of Turkey.
It is so deep (1,646m) that locals believe a creature like the Loch Ness
monster in Scotland lives in the depths; they call it Van Dam!
During Ani's halcyon days, a separate
Armenian state, Vaspurakan, flourished around Lake Van, and its greatest
king, Gagig Artzruni, built a palace and monastery for himself on this
island in 921. The only part remaining today is the Church of the Holy
Cross. It is a wonderful example of Armenian church architecture: the
outside walls are completely covered with awesome reliefs from the Old
Testament such as Jonah and the Whale, Abraham and Isaac, and David and
Goliath, as well as mythical animals and Armenian inscriptions.
Chavushtepe, 22km SE of Van, is the site of the 8th
century BCE Urartian palace and city of Sardurihinili, and is where the
best Urartian artworks were found. It was built by Sardurill in honor
of the War God, Haldi. An inscription states that it arose where nothing
was before - a feat made possible by the construction of the 80 km Menua
irrigation canal which brought water to 5,000 hectares of land; it is
still in use today, nearly 3,000 years later!
Hoshap, meaning Beautiful Water has a castle built
by the local Kurdish despot Sari Suleyman in 1643. The enormous iron
doors reveal the ruins of the council room, baths, prison cells and
harem. The keep has watch towers and places from where boiling hot oil
was poured over the enemy.
Hasankeyf was originally founded by the Romans at the
eastern-most point of their empire on the banks of the Tigris. The ruins
of the palace and the old city date from the 12th century when it was
the Artukid Turkoman capital. Many of the ruined houses have interesting
decorations, and the 15th century Zeyfelbey Turbesi is a red-brick
onion-domed tomb decorated with colored tiles.
The view of Mardin, a picturesque hillside town with
many old Arab houses, is magical. There are a few old mosques and even
the odd church hidden in the backstreets. Mardin was once the home of
the Syrian Orthodox (Jacobite) Church. The founder of Syrian Orthodoxy,
Jacobus Baredeus, was a 6th century bishop in Edessa who rejected the
belief of the two natures of Christ, emphasizing instead the oneness of
the humanity and divinity. The monastery of Deyr-as-Zaferan, founded in
762, was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox
patriarch from 1160 until 1922.
One room contains the sedan chairs used by the patriarchs, another is
their mausoleum, and in the chapel the patriarchs throne is carved with
the names of all the patriarchs since 792. The history of worship at the
site goes back even further, as an underground vault is said to have
been used for ritual sacrifices by sun worshippers 4,000 years ago.
This city of a quarter of a million people on the
banks of the Tigris claims to be one of the oldest settlements on earth,
and 5,000 years ago was part of the Hurrian empire. The city's 6km long
black basalt walls are mainly Byzantine. Hasan Pasha Hanı, a striped
16th century caravanserai, is now the home of some interesting carpet
and handicraft shops. Ulu Cami (1091), the oldest place of Muslim
worship in Anatolia, was founded by the Seljuk Sultan Nalik Sah on the
site of the Syriac Cathedral. Parts of the adjacent courtyard and the
Mesudiye Medrese (1198), the first Turkish university of Anatolia, were
added by the Artukids. The most fascination point to notice about these
buildings is the use of pillars from former ages: each column and
capital is different and Greek designs and inscriptions are found
alongside decorative Arabic script. The Syrian Orthodox Church of the
Virgin Mary, once part of a 17th century monastery, is also interesting
to visit. If you want your wish to come true, you need to crawl 7 times
under the four-legged minaret which stands in the middle of a road in
the town centre.
Urfa, ancient Edessa, is important for both
Christians and Muslims because of the cave where the prophet Abraham was
born. Nearby is the carp-filled Pool of Abraham: according to Muslim
tradition, when the Assyrian King Nemrut attempted to burn Abraham for
destroying idols, God intervened, turning the fire into water and the
firewood into fishes. An additional biblical connection is that the
locals believe this region, on the edge of the Mesopotamian plain, was
the original Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived.
Harran, one of the
oldest settlements on earth, has been inhabited for at least 6,000
years. Abraham lived here for several years, and it prospered as an
Assyrian trade colony. Under the Romans it became an important centre
for learning, and after the Arab conquest, the first Islamic University
was founded here. Today, it is famous for its beehive houses and the
remains of its fortress.
Although the Bald Ibis is now technically extinct in
the wild in Turkey, the surviving birds are bred in semi-captivity at
their natural home in Birecik. The Turkish government runs this site and
spends over $1,500 a month feeding them on a mixture of fat-free mince,
special bird food, boiled eggs and grated carrot. For local people, the
arrival of the Bald Ibis every February was a cause for celebration, and
one day it is hoped that this tradition will resume. Unfortunately, as
long as the birds encounter hunters and negative environmental conditions on
their migration route, releasing the few remaining bird would mean
complete extinction.
Gaziantep museum
holds the mosaics uncovered in the last-minute excavations at the Roman
city of Zeugma, a site now under the waters of the Birecik dam. Among
the many mosaics on display are Zeugma's 'Mona Lisa', with staring eyes
that follow you wherever you go, and Achilles being recruited to fight
in the Trojan War. These superlative mosaics are a wonder to behold, and
one can only imagine about the other incredible mosaics that have been
lost forever.
Yesemek was the
stone quarry and sculpture workshop of the Hittites. It was most
probably set up under Shuppiluliuma I in the 14th century BCE. Today,
more than 300 finished and unfinished statues and reliefs carved out of
a mauvish-grey basalt are spread over a large area. From studying these
remains we know something about the sculptors' techniques: firstly the
forms were roughly chipped out, then detailed carving and polishing was
carried out, and lastly the final polishing was done. No one knows what
happened to these craftsmen when this vast studio was invaded by Sargon
II at the start of the 8th century BCE. Maybe they were carried away to
work as slaves for their new masters.
On top of Mount
Nemrut lies the final resting place of the Commagene kingdom's most
famous and egocentric ruler, Antiochus I, a tomb beneath an artificial
mountain peak of piled stones. Archaeologists have yet to discover a way
to open the "tomb to rival that of Tutankhamen" without destroying
everything. The Eastern Terrace, from where one can watch a miraculous
dawn, has five sitting statues of
Antiochus I and his celestial
relatives, who each represent both Greek and Persian deities. Further
around, the western temple has further statues, reliefs and
inscriptions, including the world's first horoscope: that of Antiochus
on the coronation of his father, Mithradates, on July 14thy 109 BCE.
This site is on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The road up to the summit passes the Karakush (Blackbird) Tumulus of
Antiochus' wife, the 2,000 year-old Roman Cendere Bridge, and Arsameia,
the ancient capital of the Commagene kingdom with the famous relief of
Hercules and Mithradates I Callinicus shaking hands.
The Neo-Hittite fortress of Karatepe is second in
importance only to Hattusha in terms of the reliefs and artefacts
discovered. Karatepe was
founded in the 8th century BCE by the Hittite
King Asitawanda, who ruled the Adana plain and made Karatepe his summer
home. Statues of lions and sphinxes protected the citadel, and the
reliefs on display show musicians entertaining, a mother breast-feeding
her baby, and even the king at dinner with a monkey under the table
waiting for crumbs. The bilingual texts found here, the first examples
of Hittite hieroglyphic writing, were key to deciphering Hieroglyphic Luwian.
Antakya, ancient Antioch on the Orontes, was founded
in the fourth century BCE by Seleucos Nicator. By the second century
BCE, it was one of the largest cities in the ancient world, with a
population of over half a million. This was undoubtedly one of the
reasons why Saint Peter the apostle came here with Saint Paul and Saint
Barnabus to found one of the first Christian communities. The word
Christian was coined
in this city, and the cave church where Saint Peter
preached his first sermon is still here, with a facade added in the
thirteenth century by the crusaders.
Antakya's Archaeological Museum holds the world's
best collection of Roman mosaics. They are just incredible, with
subjects from abstract designs similar to those on today's Turkish
carpets to scenes from everyday life and Roman mythology, including the
Rape of Ganymede, the Marriage of Tethys and Oceanus, and a rather
fearsome rendition of the evil eye.
At Harbiye there is a beautiful grove with
mesmerizing waterfalls. This is ancient Daphne, where Anthony and
Cleopatra were married and the home of the Antioch Games, which became
more famous and important than those at Olympus. One thing you won't see
is the magnificent temple of Apollo, which was dismantled by Christians
who used the stones to build their churches.
The mountain-top monastery where Saint Simeon stood
on his pillar has spectacular views of the sea coast, and down on the
sea front, once the ancient port of Seleucia ad Pieria, is the famous
Tunnel of Vespasian, a feat of engineering that prevented the harbor
silting up. There's also a unique Roman cave graveyard carved out of the
rock near the tunnel.
Adnan is an active member of KARED (Kapadokya Tourist Guiding Association),
TUREB (Federation of Turkish Tourist Guide Associations), and WFTGA (World
Federation of Tourist Guide Associations).
Adnan's guiding services are brought to you by Honeycomb Tours, Urgup, a TURSAB
member (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies-License Number 5361). This is a
website of
This website is designed by Colleen Ridgeway and Adnan Tanguler. All rights reserved.
Web Design by Colleen Ridgeway. All rights reserved.
This is a copyrighted website.
Version 3.1
Trabzon, ancient Trebizond, is famous for its port on the Black Sea
coast,
its catch of anchovies, its ability to survive numerous invasions, and its Christian population
in Ottoman times. The surrounding countryside is amazingly green and
hilly, and tea and hazelnuts grow in abundance. The best example of the
traditional type of house of the
The
name Sumela is an abbreviated corruption of the Greek Panayia tou
Melas meaning Monastery of the Black Virgin. In 385 a monk
called Barnabas arrived with the famous icon of the Virgin painted by
the apostle Luke, and after a visitation he placed the icon on a shrine
in a cave high up a sheer cliff face. The monastery developed on this spot
in the 6th century, with more additions in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In Byzantine times, the Comneni emperors from Trebizond held their
coronations here rather than in Constantinople. The Orthodox priests
only left in 1923, under the exchange of populations agreed in the
Treaty of Lausanne, taking their icon with them. What they couldn't
take, however, were all the incredible frescos that cover the walls. The
walk up to Sumela follows a pleasantly shaded zigzagging path.
Uzungol, or Long Lake, 99km from Trabzon and 1,090 meters above sea level,
is a beautiful lake where you can see some of the wonderful timber
houses common in the region. It is a good site for a picnic or barbecue,
and it is possible to go trekking to the nearby peaks and glacier lakes.
The
road leading inland to Ayder (1,300m) is one of the most scenic and
passes through the village of Chamlihemshin and Storm
Valley, where you will see the quaint traditional narrow stone bridges
of the region. Zilkale Castle is nearby. Once at Ayder, you can take advantage of the
thermal baths which are good for skin problems and rheumatism as well as
sheer relaxation. The countryside is spectacular, and hikes in the
Central Khatchkar Mountains are a good way to work off all that home-made local pastry!
There are many trekking routes and if you're interested a longer stay
can be arranged.
Rize
has such dense vegetation that one can see every possible shade of
green. Rize is synonymous with tea, which was introduced here at the
start of the last century, and has a Tea Institute where you can see the
plants and taste the best teas. The hills around, which are covered with tea
bushes, are also the home of the famous Anzer honey. If you are
traveling on to
Eastern Turkey, a winding road with spectacular scenery leads to Erzurum
through the highest drivable pass in the Pontic ranges.
Erzurum is on a high plateau nearly 2,000 meters up. It was ruled by
many civilizations including Byzantines, Armenians, Arabs, Seljuks,
Mongols, Ottomans and Russians. The way up to the castle passes some of
the oldest houses, and the best view of the city can be had from the
ramparts. The Great Mosque, Ulu Cami, built in 1179 by the Saltuk
(Turkish) Emir, has an unusual wooden dome. The 13th century Chifte
Minareli Medrese, or Twin Minaret Seminary, the largest of its time, is
known for its elaborate stone carvings. Not far away in a picturesque
quarter is Uch Kumbetler, or Three Tombs, which dates from the early 12th
century and has some nice decorations. Erzurum is one of Turkey's most
important ski resorts, renowned for its long skiing season and excellent
slopes.
Kars,
once a flourishing city founded by the Armenians, has a checkered
history. It was taken by Seljuks, Mongols, Tamerlaine, Ottomans and
Russians before being given back to Turkey by Lenin and Trotsky. Today
it is famous for its cheese, carpets and felt. The Cathedral of the
Apostles, built by the Armenian King Abbas in 937, was converted into a
mosque only 100 years after its construction. The nearby Tash Kopru, or
Stone Bridge, is made of the same volcanic rock as the church.
The castle, destroyed and rebuilt by the Russians, is open as a park
with good views of the city. The museum has an interesting ethnographic
section (this region is famous for its kilims and carpets), some ancient
pottery and the bell and doors from the cathedral.
Ani, which succeeded Kars as the
capital of Bagratid Armenia, was once a very wealthy city with a
population of 100,000 and was known as the city of 1001 churches. Today,
having been deserted for over 300 years, it is a huge open-air museum of
the finest Armenian architecture. The Lion Gate was added by the Seljuk
leader Alp Arslan, and there are many churches and mosques to explore.
The Church of the Redeemer (1036) was cut in half by lightening in 1957.
The Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (1215) is the best
The road to Dogubeyazit passes through
the foothills of the extinct volcano, Mount Ararat, which at 5,165
meters is the highest point in Europe. According to Christian tradition,
Noah's Arc came to rest here when the flood
subsided (Muslims believe the landing site was further south on Mount
Judi). For Armenian monks, this permanently snow-capped mountain was
sacred and climbing it was forbidden, and even today with its peak often
hidden in cloud it still has a mystical aura. On the slopes of the
mountain is the underground Ice Cave with beautiful stalagmites and
stalactites, and 35km east of Dogubeyazit is a huge 60m deep and 35m
wide crater left by a meteor impact in 1913. In this region, villagers
migrate to the high plains every summer with their livestock, where they
live in their traditional goat-hair tents.
This spectacular 17th century palace
was built on a 2,000m high plateau by Ishak, an Ottoman governor, to
imitate Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Often referred to as the Taj
Mahal of Turkey, this palace has 24 rooms devoted to the harem where
the women and children lived a sheltered, protected and luxuriously
centrally-heated life. The gold-plated doors may have been removed by
the Russians, but they couldn't carry of the beautiful tree-of-life
motifs on the fountain in the inner courtyard. A 16th century mosque
from the reign of Selim the Grim and an Urartian fortress can be seen in
the distance.
Van was founded on the lake shore by
the Urartian king Sarduri I in the 9th century BCE. The modern city, a
few kilometers away, was rebuilt after World War I. At the Rock of Van,
the ruins of the ancient Urartian citadel has many inscriptions in
Assyrian cuneiform and Urartian hieroglyphics that have filled in many
gaps in history, and the world's best collection of Urartian artifacts
can be seen in the museum in Van: Urartian gold jewellery, bronze belts
and terracotta figures are accompanied by Mesolithic rock carvings
(9,000-8,000 BCE) that remind one of Van's prehistoric roots.
During Ani's halcyon days, a separate
Armenian state, Vaspurakan, flourished around Lake Van, and its greatest
king, Gagig Artzruni, built a palace and monastery for himself on this
island in 921. The only part remaining today is the Church of the Holy
Cross. It is a wonderful example of Armenian church architecture: the
outside walls are completely covered with awesome reliefs from the Old
Testament such as Jonah and the Whale, Abraham and Isaac, and David and
Goliath, as well as mythical animals and Armenian inscriptions.
Chavushtepe, 22km SE of Van, is the site of the 8th
century BCE Urartian palace and city of Sardurihinili, and is where the
best Urartian artworks were found. It was built by Sardurill in honor
of the War God, Haldi. An inscription states that it arose where nothing
was before - a feat made possible by the construction of the 80 km Menua
irrigation canal which brought water to 5,000 hectares of land; it is
still in use today, nearly 3,000 years later! 
Hoshap, meaning Beautiful Water has a castle built
by the local Kurdish despot Sari Suleyman in 1643. The enormous iron
doors reveal the ruins of the council room, baths, prison cells and
harem. The keep has watch towers and places from where boiling hot oil
was poured over the enemy.
Hasankeyf was originally founded by the Romans at the
eastern-most point of their empire on the banks of the Tigris. The ruins
of the palace and the old city date from the 12th century when it was
the Artukid Turkoman capital. Many of the ruined houses have interesting
decorations, and the 15th century Zeyfelbey Turbesi is a red-brick
onion-domed tomb decorated with colored tiles.
The view of Mardin, a picturesque hillside town with
many old Arab houses, is magical. There are a few old mosques and even
the odd church hidden in the backstreets. Mardin was once the home of
the Syrian Orthodox (Jacobite) Church. The founder of Syrian Orthodoxy,
Jacobus Baredeus, was a 6th century bishop in Edessa who rejected the
belief of the two natures of Christ, emphasizing instead the oneness of
the humanity and divinity. The monastery of Deyr-as-Zaferan, founded in
762, was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox
patriarch from 1160 until 1922.
One room contains the sedan chairs used by the patriarchs, another is
their mausoleum, and in the chapel the patriarchs throne is carved with
the names of all the patriarchs since 792. The history of worship at the
site goes back even further, as an underground vault is said to have
been used for ritual sacrifices by sun worshippers 4,000 years ago. 
This city of a quarter of a million people on the
banks of the Tigris claims to be one of the oldest settlements on earth,
and 5,000 years ago was part of the Hurrian empire. The city's 6km long
black basalt walls are mainly Byzantine. Hasan Pasha Hanı, a striped
16th century caravanserai, is now the home of some interesting carpet
and handicraft shops. Ulu Cami (1091), the oldest place of Muslim
worship in Anatolia, was founded by the Seljuk Sultan Nalik Sah on the
site of the Syriac Cathedral. Parts of the adjacent courtyard and the
Mesudiye Medrese (1198), the first Turkish university of Anatolia, were
added by the Artukids. The most fascination point to notice about these
buildings is the use of pillars from former ages: each column and
capital is different and Greek designs and inscriptions are found
alongside decorative Arabic script. The Syrian Orthodox Church of the
Virgin Mary, once part of a 17th century monastery, is also interesting
to visit. If you want your wish to come true, you need to crawl 7 times
under the four-legged minaret which stands in the middle of a road in
the town centre.
Urfa, ancient Edessa, is important for both
Christians and Muslims because of the cave where the prophet Abraham was
born. Nearby is the carp-filled Pool of Abraham: according to Muslim
tradition, when the Assyrian King Nemrut attempted to burn Abraham for
destroying idols, God intervened, turning the fire into water and the
firewood into fishes. An additional biblical connection is that the
locals believe this region, on the edge of the Mesopotamian plain, was
the original Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived.
Harran, one of the
oldest settlements on earth, has been inhabited for at least 6,000
years. Abraham lived here for several years, and it prospered as an
Assyrian trade colony. Under the Romans it became an important centre
for learning, and after the Arab conquest, the first Islamic University
was founded here. Today, it is famous for its beehive houses and the
remains of its fortress.
Although the Bald Ibis is now technically extinct in
the wild in Turkey, the surviving birds are bred in semi-captivity at
their natural home in Birecik. The Turkish government runs this site and
spends over $1,500 a month feeding them on a mixture of fat-free mince,
special bird food, boiled eggs and grated carrot. For local people, the
arrival of the Bald Ibis every February was a cause for celebration, and
one day it is hoped that this tradition will resume. Unfortunately, as
long as the birds encounter hunters and negative environmental conditions on
their migration route, releasing the few remaining bird would mean
complete extinction.
Gaziantep museum
holds the mosaics uncovered in the last-minute excavations at the Roman
city of Zeugma, a site now under the waters of the Birecik dam. Among
the many mosaics on display are Zeugma's 'Mona Lisa', with staring eyes
that follow you wherever you go, and Achilles being recruited to fight
in the Trojan War. These superlative mosaics are a wonder to behold, and
one can only imagine about the other incredible mosaics that have been
lost forever. 
Yesemek was the
stone quarry and sculpture workshop of the Hittites. It was most
probably set up under Shuppiluliuma I in the 14th century BCE. Today,
more than 300 finished and unfinished statues and reliefs carved out of
a mauvish-grey basalt are spread over a large area. From studying these
remains we know something about the sculptors' techniques: firstly the
forms were roughly chipped out, then detailed carving and polishing was
carried out, and lastly the final polishing was done. No one knows what
happened to these craftsmen when this vast studio was invaded by Sargon
II at the start of the 8th century BCE. Maybe they were carried away to
work as slaves for their new masters.
On top of Mount
Nemrut lies the final resting place of the Commagene kingdom's most
famous and egocentric ruler, Antiochus I, a tomb beneath an artificial
mountain peak of piled stones. Archaeologists have yet to discover a way
to open the "tomb to rival that of Tutankhamen" without destroying
everything. The Eastern Terrace, from where one can watch a miraculous
dawn, has five sitting statues of
Antiochus I and his celestial
relatives, who each represent both Greek and Persian deities. Further
around, the western temple has further statues, reliefs and
inscriptions, including the world's first horoscope: that of Antiochus
on the coronation of his father, Mithradates, on July 14thy 109 BCE.
This site is on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The Neo-Hittite fortress of Karatepe is second in
importance only to Hattusha in terms of the reliefs and artefacts
discovered. Karatepe was
founded in the 8th century BCE by the Hittite
King Asitawanda, who ruled the Adana plain and made Karatepe his summer
home. Statues of lions and sphinxes protected the citadel, and the
reliefs on display show musicians entertaining, a mother breast-feeding
her baby, and even the king at dinner with a monkey under the table
waiting for crumbs. The bilingual texts found here, the first examples
of Hittite hieroglyphic writing, were key to deciphering Hieroglyphic Luwian.
Antakya, ancient Antioch on the Orontes, was founded
in the fourth century BCE by Seleucos Nicator. By the second century
BCE, it was one of the largest cities in the ancient world, with a
population of over half a million. This was undoubtedly one of the
reasons why Saint Peter the apostle came here with Saint Paul and Saint
Barnabus to found one of the first Christian communities. The word
Christian was coined
in this city, and the cave church where Saint Peter
preached his first sermon is still here, with a facade added in the
thirteenth century by the crusaders.
Rape of Ganymede, the Marriage of Tethys and Oceanus, and a rather
fearsome rendition of the evil eye.
Christians
who used the stones to build their churches.
Adnan is an active member of KARED (Kapadokya Tourist Guiding Association),
TUREB (Federation of Turkish Tourist Guide Associations), and WFTGA (World
Federation of Tourist Guide Associations).
Adnan's guiding services are brought to you by Honeycomb Tours, Urgup, a TURSAB
member (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies-License Number 5361). This is a
website of