16th May - Gaziantep

 Onto another bus headed to Gaziantep. A city of 2 million+ surrounded by thousands of hectares of pistachio plantings. 

Taken from the bus window. Pistacios as far as the eye can see.

Gaziantep a place of many small trades, crafts. We got to the Otogar and we thought were pretty smart finding our way to the local bus stop only to find the bus we identified, that would get us the 6km in the centre,  would not be for another hour. Decided to hop onto the next dolmus, follow our google map on the cellphone and hope it headed to the centre. We were in luck. Absolute chaos on the roads with weekend traffic, throngs of people. Passengers see our packs, say "tourist" and try to help in Turkish. Bus driver intimated "you get off now". We walked last km or so, all good.

Everywhere, since Istanbul, we have not seen any non Turk tourists on the intercity, local buses, bus stations or wandering the towns as we have. They are on coach tours or private black Mercedes vans, if at all. Saw a German tour group at tbe Sanliurfa Mosaics (they needed a big bus). So we are a novelty and get stared at a fair bit but never any concerns.

Chap making shoes

Knife sharpener.

Always piles of nuts and spices everywhere.

Chap repairing bicycles. 

Making womens clothing.

Our hotel room at Andalou Everli. Is in a coverted school some 220 years old, 14 rooms, 34 staff, one cat with four kittens. A goldfish pond under threat by kittens. Comfortable bed, quiet ever thankful for. Shower works, taps are around the right way; amazing for Turkey where intentions are good but not quite the finishing workmanship. Drives Jeff mad things off square.

The outdoor dining area.

Baklava is a speciality of Gaziantep (pistachios in pastry). We are not big fans. And of course the Turkish are meat mad - kebabs with liver, kidney, sheep fat? I think not. struggled to find green salad at the end of the day so resorted to cheese on tea biscuits in our room. 

Next day set out to take in the Coppersmith Bazaar and then the Zeugma Museum. Pretty quiet 9am so did not have to plough our way through weekend shoppers.

Need a tin plate. Tinsmith knocking out another dish.

Lots of pieces catch your eye but really we do not need anything.

Delighted to come across a sieve maker. Reminded us of the one we own of my grandfathers which we use to sieve soil but here they are used to winnow grains.

Walked the long way to the museum on the lookout for an HSBC Atm but to no avail. They are the only bank that do not charge fees on cash withdrawals and will dispense currencies other than Turkish lira (many places only take Turkish lira in cash so you have carry wodge of it). Anyway no joy on the HSBC.

Zeugma Mosaic Museum has a 3,000 metre collection of mosaics from the Roman to Byzantine era.  You can identify the difference by the move away from Roman; pictures of people and animals to the more islamically acceptable geometric patterns of the Byzantine era. We felt Sanliurfa was fabulous but these mosaics in Gaziantep were on a whole different level. Most mosaics came from the  ancient township of Zeugma, 50km to the east on the Euphrates River. They were moved because the area was going to be flooded by a new dam early 2000.

Was a very reasonable NZD$25 each to get in and busy as being Sunday.

The detail using these finger nail sized pieces was exquisite

Very large Roman vila floors shown here from above. Must have been painstaking for the restorers to put back together.

The famous mosaic the museum holds is treated like the Mona Lisa, has its own security guard and held in a darkened alleyway to the room of its own.  It is famous because " the gypsy girl" eyes follow you due to the unique artistry of the mosaics. We felt she looks like the girl whose photo was taken in Afghanistan by the National Geograhic. Her eyes were haunting blue reflecting her life thus far.

Tomorrow we make the 5hr bus trip up to Goreme in the Cappadocia region.

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