Şanliurfa - Gün 2

Today, I have been in Turkey for exactly 2 months.

We checked out of our pension this morning, and only had a minor conflict with our host over the price. We ended up just walking away, and he didn't stop us. Sometimes, the "family-run" pensions are really nice- they give you guidance, feed you, and provide an inexpensive place to stay. Sometimes, I'm just sick of all the hassle of bargaining.

We arrived in [Şanli]Urfa, and were immediately approached by people halking their bus-companies' benefits or talking about their pensions. Nothing screams English-speaker more than 3 women travelling, without headscarves. By some chance, I meandered into the "Star Batman" bus line, and got some tickets for a fast, cheap, and nice bus home later that evening. They even gave us a driver to drive us to the Gölbaşı area and show us around a bit. Not an English-speaker, but that's sometimes a nice change.


The fish pond of Gölbaşı
A short history of Gölbaşı: One day, Prophet Abraham was in Urfa destorying pagan idols, when King Nemrut punished him by lighting him afire. Instead, God turned the logs to fish, and Abraham landed safely on a bed of roses. Even today, it is said that anyone who catches one of the carp in Urfa's fish pool will turn blind.


Carp jumping over each other for food


Urfa had many Turkish tourists, but very few foreign tourists. We saw many boys wearing these Arabian scarves (Sharon called it a "Yasir Arafat Scarf"). The sellers would wind it up on around your head (as in the photo) to take a photo.


Gölbaşı


The end of the fish pond, and the roses which cushioned Abraham's fall.


Rose Garden and fish pond


A castle wall on the hill above a mosque


Gölbaşı, with some threatening clouds


A view from a Cafe
It is still Ramazan, so restaurants do not serve food (or drink, usually). We bought some snacks at a local bakkal and snuck up into a cafe overlooking the Dergah for "lunch."


The Dergah through an arch


A snapshot of the bazaar
We spent a fair amount of time wandering through the bazaar. Somewhere in that photo I think there's a man with a donkey, or perhaps he's hiding behind something.

On the streets they were selling plastic bags of hot concentrated çay, along with limonlu- the hand soap which smells like wood cleaner, spices, and the various usual bazaar items. This was the first time I had seen butchers with shops in the bazaar. The winding roads of the bazaar also had too many shoe stores, barbers, and some great fabric stalls.

Naturally, I broke down and bought a carpet of Kurdish design:



The view from Çardaklı Köşk
It began drizzling, so we headed for dinner. It was just late enough that the restaurants were beginning to open. However, as you can see in the photo, the eateries were empty at 5:30pm, but all set for large groups to break their fast together.


Lisa, looking over her "loose woman"
For dessert, we had şıllık, which translated to "loose woman." It was walnuts, wrapped in a thin, doughy pastry, and of course, set in a pool of sugar syrup.

After our meal, a group of high school girls came to our table and talked to us in English (sometimes, the locals practice their English with us).

We spent the rest of the evening sitting in the lobby of an expensive hotel, drinking çay and (real) coffee, listening to some traditional Turkish music. The waiters were all wearing traditional Ottoman costume.

Urfa was the first town where I had seen the men wearing a sort of baggy pants similar to the shalvar of village women. I suspect it's related to some Ottoman fashion that was never quite phased out here. It was also the first time I saw men wearing turbans here. Much of the stereotypical Middle Eastern fashion has long left Turkey, but it still lingers in the villages (and especially the southeast).