Alternate Vision

And phewww..back "home" in Adana after a hectic, unforgettable, action packed weekend in Southeastern Anatolia. This weekend was proof enough that by no means is two months adequate time to even attempt to do justice to a country that abounds in historical ruins, exotic culture and heritage, food, music, natural beauty and so much more. Words cannot do justice to recount the experience. Nonetheless, I shall try.

The Southeastern Anatolian Region comprises about thirteen or so cities in east Turkey and has borders with Syria and Iraq. Summers here are hot and dry. I look like charcoal now. We started off the tour at Gaziantep, where literally the "past and present live side by side." I realized from visiting the many museums, castles and ruins that the city has to offer how little I knew about the history of the people here. I seized the opportunity to brush up on Greek and Roman history. The remnants of the ancient city of Zeugma which have been transfered to a museum are a spectacular sight. The rest of the morning was spent checking out the numerous other historical sites in the city including Gaziantep Castle. From there, it was off to Rumkale where the lake joins the castle and the village; one of the finest views of the Euphrates valley.


The castle here, which is now only accesible by boat was built by the Armenians in the middle ages. By mid-afternoon the scorching heat was proving to be a stubborn adversary; I was so tempted to jump off the 50 foot clıff and swim in the lake. Am still not sure what stopped me.

Pictures were taken, stories were told after which we headed for Adiyaman. By the time we checked in to the hotel that night and showered it must have been about 1am. Minutes later, we were rudely woken up (around 2 am) to head to Nemrut Mountain to view the infamous sunrise. Why then were we up at 2 am? The road to Nemrut involved a 2 hour bus ride followed by a painful 20 minute walk to the top of the mountain at the most ungodly hour. Half asleep and completely short of breath at 2,150 m above sea level, amidst what seemed like gale force winds, I was not in the best of moods . Withing minutes my anger and desperation dissapeared The sun was about to rise.

There I was sitting on Mt. Nemrut sipping on a beer( apparently its a done thing), amidst ruins of the Kommagene Empire watching one of the most spectacular views of the sunrise on this planet. "In a cult inscription, King Antiochos declares that he had the site built for the ages and generations that were to follow him "as a debt of thanks to the gods and to his deified ancestors for their manifest assistance".

After a typical Turkish breakfast that consisted of cheese, bread, olives, tomatoes, butter, honey, ham and lots of tea, we hit the road again. This time to Sanliurfa, on the "great plain of High Mesopotamia.". This city proudly exhibits the legacy of all civilizations that have prospered in this region. We visited the cave where Abraham was born, a site flocked to by pilgrims from all over.

I picked up a poşu on the streetside, the traditional head garb worn by Arabs and Muslims alike. Everytime I introduce myself to people here, the first reaction this elicits is one of confusion and intrigue. In Turkish the country Syria is spelt Suriye and pronounced that way too. So people here ımmediately assume I am from Syria. Thus, most responses I get when I introduce myself are "ah where from?"or " are you from Damascus?". I need to find an alias because this ritual of explaining my name and country of origin in detail each time someone shakes my hand, or says hello (which is always) is most frustrating.

From Urfa, we made our way to Harran to check out the beehieve houses and the first Islamic University ever built. The former are these cute looking, conical shaped houses built during the assyrian-babylonian period in 2000B.C. The science behind it is pretty simple I am told yet highly effective in keeping the scorching heat in the middle of the desert from coming in. At this point we were but a few miles away from the Syrian border. If the threat of visa problems didn't exist I am confident we could have made it across. Pity we couldn't, for otherwise I would have had another "illegal border crossing" under my belt. That night we were treated to an authentic Turkish traditional meal. We sat on the floor, were serenaded by a live band and got to do a lot of dancing.

Sunday came about and we made it to Mardin, a city located on the hills of the Mesopotamian plains and one that connects Turkey to both Syria and Iraq. Standing on top of the Dayrulzefaran monastery, I could see the desert plains that connected these three countries. The region, as per hearsay, dates back to the flood we were told. Most of the above towns are very traditional and orthodox. Many municipalities forbid the sale of any alcohol and women are always covered and clad in Burkhas, not something you see in most other cities in Turkey. After Mardin, it was a long bus ride (7 hours) back to Adana via Gaziantep.

My experience this past weekend shattered a lot of misconceptions I had about Turkish people, Islamic culture and also the roots of both Islam and Christanity. I am sleep deprived, fatigued but yet on a natural high and in a blissfull state of mind. At this stage in my life, I couln't ask for much more. Selam!