14th-15th May Sanliurfa

 

The bus from Mardin to Sanliurfa with three staff in the front and two resting in the back. It is like a party with them showing each other videos, smoking and endless chatter. We usually book seats 2 and 3 as this gives the best view bombing down the road, 110km per hour. Buses in Turkey always have at least two in front, driver and host. The host pays tolls, directs the bus in tight spots, keeps the driver fed and watered. He may also pass out water to passengers.

There are 1million heavy trucks moving freight in Turkey doing 500k trips per day. Turkey has the biggest truck fleet in Europe. In addition it has 750k large and dolmuse buses. The roads get absolutely hammered so drivers weave across three lanes plus verge as it it the least potholed if required. Rail is barely used, no concerns here about greenhouses etc. Priority is freight and people movement. 

Once the intercity bus arrived on the outskirts of Sanliurfa we navigated local bus as close as possible to our accommodation then walked the final 20mins. Hotel down narrow lanes in the old part of the city. Got settled in after sorting out with Google translate as no English spoken.  3pm at this stage so out to the market area to find yet another doner for lunch and then a grocery store for supplies. We like fruit and yoghurt for breakfast whereas a Turkish breakfast is meat, spices, fried peppers etc. We found a bar for dinner which had live music. Cover versions of "Stairway to Heaven" "Hotel California" the Turkish version. Not bad.

The reasons folks go the Sanliurfa is to see the worldest oldest temple, Gobekli Tepe, the Mosaic Museum and Archaeology Museum. We soon worked out that going to the Archaeology Museum, where many of the Gobekli Tepe artefacts are displayed, was the better option compared to the logistics for navigating the 15km out to the site and paying the extortionate entry fee to see, as one of the guests in the hotel said,"see a pile of rocks".

Heaps of interesting artefacts throughout the museum and good descriptions. Before we continued to the Mosaic Museum stopped at the "cafe" ...no americano, no food, only turkish coffee (enamel remover) or heated frozen cheesecake. Ghastly.

This is how the mosaics have been protected. The central mosaic area found on the floors of a Roman villa from 236AD. They were found in 2003 when digging a new sewer line . Worked stopped for ten years while they uncovered the huge area and bought in other mosaics that had been found in the valleys nearby.

Every tiny little piece is no bigger than your nail on your pinky finger.

This is a copy of one of the room floors they found painted on a wall so you can
appreciate the huge undertaking.

We thought it was fabulous. Having seen the Piazza Armerina in Sicily, with its 60m hunting scene, the workmanship and detail was on a par with that.

Below is the museum from the outside and the tombs (since emptied opposite).

As we made our way to the museum we poked our nose into a small trade shop as we like to do and watched a chap hand making the plastic beads used in the prayer beads loops that most chaps are constantly turning in their hand. No extraction fans, googles etc. He gave Jeff one ( matches the one we were given in Iran), so we are well protected. When you think they bang this sort of item out in seconds in China compared to the time spent here. Jeff showed him one of the pens he turns on his lathe at home and gave it to him in return. Both appreciating each others craft.

A water seller at the mosque. Calls from the mosque are 4 times a day, part of the rhythm of the day. Some painful wailing from the Iman whereas others not bad.

The alleyways to and from anywhere.

Mardin

 Mardin is known for its golden hued buildings courtesy of the big blocks of stone used. The old town is on top of a hill and new town at the foot hills. About 1m people live in the region - Kurds, Abyssinians, Arab and Turks.  A classic middle eastern town of rough and tumble. Streets are kept relatvely clean, middle east standard, and buildings defy their earthquake prone situation. Lots of small shops and men drifting around with not much to do. 

Downtown Mardin

Note the numerous steps and broken concrete footpaths

Staying alert and upright is the name of the game.

The alleyways are kept clean generally.

We spent our first morning catching up on laundry, diary, blog then wandering the main street, looking out for the Tourist Office.

Not worth the effort as staffed (loose term) by a couple of old boys, no English or really anything in their office helpful. We wanted to find out which dolmus ( local bus) we take to get to the Otogar to leave for Sanliufra. Young guy on the street told us "yellow M12" so that is sorted. Most Otogars (main bus stations) are 5km+ from the towns, too far to walk given the random traffic. Thankfully many folks do try English for practice. Can be a bit muddled but one gets the drift.

Mum, Dad and son hard at work making the flat breads that everone eats. Not a plastic cap or gloves to be seen and nobody gets sick or dies.

Quite fancied the pants but heard in my head the old quip " does my bum look big in these".

Fancy a copper, zinc, stainless steel vessel of any description.

Found a spot for lunch, a sandwich Turkish style. Jeff enjoyed joining the old boys playing cards, which they will do sitting in the shade for a few hours drinking tea (Cay). Older folks depend on the minimal Turkish pension, any savings but mostly the extended family for financial support. Family homes are passed down through the generations otherwise everyone rents. 

One of the cultural charms of the middle east is that people are self reliant and can make decisions for their safety without the plethora of supports we seem to need in the west. Walking along you dodge holes in the ground, piles rubbish or broken concrete. When you see men working you calculate quickly if you need to take any action.

This was fun, see the gas bottles being hauled upto the top floor by these chaps above the footpath in the main street. I was explaining that in NZ this would be illegal without all the safety drama, even though pedestrians can decide to walk under or avoid as they assess the risk factor.

They were very bemused and am sure they thought I was some batty English woman.

Jack hammering the concrete, not a skywire to be seen

Trying their best to maintain the sandstone buildings

In general you see very few electric cars in Turkey, so far anyway. Earlier post I said NZD $2.36 per litre in fact it is NZD$1.11 so fuel no issue. Water from the tap, although ok for use, we, like all residents drink bottled water due to chemicals loaded in the tap water. Only NZ$0.55 cents a litre. No pests, flies or anything that wants to bite you. Bird life limited to crows, sparrows and screams of swifts every night.  A lots of small shop owners have canaries in cages trilling away. 

The food options are of a wider range in Istanbul but elsewhere very traditional Turkish. Asian restaurants are not allowed, very limited Italian. Turkish food very meat laden - lamb and chicken;  ground, cubed, slow roast. A few potato dishes, grilled peppers, aubergine etc with tahini and every other condiment iteration you can imagine. Lots of flat breads and pita that have to be eaten same day unless your teeth are concreted in.

Some good salads which are a saving grace - pomegranates, tomato, an array of beans, quinoa etc. We have become quite the experts on salad bowls. Mezes are very small dishes of food that will cover a table for groups. Limited alchol, a beer if found say NZD $6.50 each but stonking 9% alchol.

Today we decided to take in the oldest church here, church of Forty Martyrs, Mardin Museum and the Zinciriye Mosque. Came across a market under the main street via steep stairs into the dark, only brave or stupid but worth it to see local trades beavering away.

Old boys sit on these chairs, drinking tea and rolling their prayer beads in their fingers later in the day.

Oldest area 600yrs old and packed

Repairing mens clothing. Another chap was making curtains but no photo

The church of Forty Martyrs is very old, 493 CE not in the best shape but probably understandable.

Mardin Museum not overwhelming and gave a good overview of this region.  Somewhat spoilt by hysterical children whose noise volume bounced off the stone walls. We had lunch at one of the rooftop restaurants, humus and flatbread. This particular restaurant is known for its great view out towards the Metospotamia plain. Dust storms can reduce the view.

The Zinciriye Mosque was a beautiful building and a favoured spot for wedding photos.

Brides favour the meringue with mother of pearl and dimante inlaid. Quite the performance getting up the narrow stone stairwells, no handle rails. In fact being disbled here would be a nightmare, no facilites, uneven steps everwhere, no lifts.

On top of the mosque, no attendants other than Mamma.

Mardin as been fascinating and so different to Istanbul. Tomorrow we get a bus to Sanliurfa to see Gobekli Tebe and the mosaic museum.

At lunch

Canakkale & Gallipoli

Canakkale Harbour with Dardanelles Strait ferries in the background

Very busy town being on the otherside of the Gallilopi pennisular. Absolutely heaving with Turkish on holiday, being a Saturday. Just dozens streaming on and off the ferries including multiple buses. Bus stations or Otogars are up to 10km from citycentre so we took the C9 as recomended by our hotel host. The hotel is the oldest in Canakkale, 700years.  A classic interior almost French including the antiquainted plumbing.

We found an upstairs bar, The Kangaroo, which was a great spot to watch the habour comings and goings. A wander around we came across the replica of Troy used in the movie. Actual town just down the road. Lots of seafood bought from the the Argean Sea which is at the  bottom of the Dardenelles Strait and the Sea of Marama at the top. Found a vegeterian restaurant to our delight complete with resident cockerpoo.

Just delivered fresh fish to habour restaurant

Local barber with coloured towels drying outside

Sunday was our tour of Gallipoli with Crowded House Tours. Met our guide outside our hotel, collected another three folks outside theirs and on to the ferry. The guides were a  brilliant foil with one unhinged and the other brimming with information. In six hours we covered NZ no#2 outpost and cemetery, Lone Pine, Johnstones Jolly, Turkish Cemetery, Chunuk Bair, Anzac Cove and commerative site, the embarkation pier cemetery and several more iconic spots bombing around in a mini bus with 12 of us plus guides. At each spot tbe guide, with historical photos would take us back to 1915.  News to us but his and others research showed we were not slaughtered on the beaches but on Ridge no# 2. Troops on the beaches had been brought back by medics in the hope they would be evacuated, which could not happen. Hence later arriving waves troops thought they had been killed on the beach. 

A pilgrimage for Kiwis, Aussies and Turks. Such an utter waste and monumental military mistakes by the heiracy. Sobering to say the least but thankful we could honour this place. We put poppies out at Chunuk Bair.

Lone Pine

Our very competent guide Hasan with photos taken at ANZAC Cove.

Johnsons Jolly - trenches between Chunuk Bair and Lone Pine where Turks and Allied were 10m apart.

Anzac Cove with Sula Bay in the distance where the Brits made their amphibious landings.

Anzac Cove where the 25th April ceremony takes place

Anzacs scaled up this gully in an effort to get to the Dardanelles Strait

Gun placements and remaining guns, rail tracks protecting the Dardanelle Strait which succeeded in destroying or turning back the British and French warships whose intention was to sail up to Istanbul and take it.

Anzacs scaled up this in full kit in two hours

Definitely felt the need to retire to the Kangaroo bar after that epic. 

Next day got to the bus station in plenty of time only to find our booked bus was cancelled. Depot chap useless so we found another bus pronto so we could connect at Tekridrag for the airport. Another kerfuffle when the next  bus had wrong month on the e- ticket.  Not to be deafeated we paid for another, too difficult to argue in Turkish.  

Arrived back to Istanbul airport in plenty of time for our flight to Mardin in the SE of Turkey near the Syrian border. In Mardin found our hotel on the east side of the old city. All yellow stone buildings overlooking the Mespotamian plain.