Explore Black Sea Region of Turkey

On the route of the historical and exotic Silk Road, Trabzon is one of the pearls of the Black Sea region of Turkey. Situated on the Northeast coast, this large city has been home to numerous civilizations throughout history.

Woman in Traditional Black Sea Clothing in Tea Farm

Many Turks have nicknamed it the city of sultans, mainly because the notable sultan Suleiman the magnificent was born there. Without a doubt, the main attraction is the historical Sumela Monastery clinging to the side of a cliff face.

Sumela Monastery 

It is said the reason for its location was a statue of the black Madonna was found in a cave by two priests and they assumed it was a sign from the angels.

Although it is no longer in use, the frescoes adorning the ceiling are marvellously well preserved. The monastery can be reached within a half hour drive from Trabzon city centre.

What to see in Trabzon?

Gulbahar (mother of Yavuz, the Ottoman sultan) Mosque is a monumental landmark for the city. Built in 1510, it displays innovative Ottoman architecture from that time.

The Hagia Sophia is not as large as its counterpart in Istanbul but this ancient church / mosque has wonderful frescoes depicting scenes from the bible.

The House of Ataturk is a musuem with many artefacts from the 1920s. It was given to the founder of Turkey as a present by the citizens of Trabzon. It has a marvelous view over the coastline. 

Beehive Houses of Harran

On our second day in Sanliurfa, we travel to the outskirts of Urfa to see the beehive houses of Harran. 

Harran Houses

After an hour drive by car we reached to Harran village and met by our local guide Ahmet who helped us to visit first settlement of the village. 

Ruins of Harran University

First inhabitants of Harran worshiped to the sun and planets. Thus it became the center of astronomy and they found the world famous university which dates back to antiquity. A number of luminaries including Sabit Bin Kurra, Battani, Cabir bin Hayyam and Ibn-i Teymiyye had educated in this university. 

Resim yazısı ekle

Not surprised to see camels in the village as Harran more influenced by Arabic and Kurdish culture. Most of the people speak Arabic or Kurdish in their houses rather than Turkish.

The cheapest material to built the houses is mud and people live in these beehive houses during winter and summer. The temperature inside the houses are around 18 C summer and winter thus they do not need air-co.

Harran Family

Syrian war negatively effected their life as their main incomes are tourism and farming. Ahmet says the number of tourist decreased slightly after the war started. Although we were also worried by the war, we wouldn't remember it till we have seen the boards of refugee camps.

Some pictures ..

 

 

Visiting Gobeklitepe

Our main purpose to travel Urfa was visiting the oldest settlement of Gobeklitepe which is a pre-historic site, built, roughly twelve thousand years ago, circa 10,000 BC. 

Mysterious Stones of Gobeklitepe

With no settlement or society to speak of, with farming still a far cry away, in a world of only roaming hunter-gatherers, the complexity and developed blueprints of these temples represented another enigma for archaeologists. 

The site had been used for agriculture before the archaeological work started. Only numerous flint artefacts had been visible at the surface, but no architectural structures. All the monumental buildings, visible mainly in the excavation area at the southern slope, had been unveiled during the excavations.

The main features are the T-shaped megalithic pillars. Sometimes arms and hands are depicted on the pillars, which can be recognized as stylized anthropomorphic beings. There are always two in the centre of an enclosure. Important are the reliefs of the two central pillars depicting a net made of snakes above a ram and a vertical row of a bull,a fox and crane.

Archaeological and geophysical surveying could prove that the complete mound consists of similar stone age buildings, dating to 10th and 9th millennium BC.

Absolutely an amazing place which forces your imagination and destroys historical knowledge as you can not figure out how people done these structures thousands years before and what was the reason?

There are daily tours from Istanbul to visit Gobeklitepe , if you would like to see that amazing place you can check out www.turkeytourspecialist.com 

Visit to Sanliurfa " The Land of Prophets"

Although the negative effect of Syrian war, Southeastern Turkey is still charming for explorers. With recently discovered Gobeklitepe and its history Sanliurfa is an amazing place needs to be visited once in life time.

Sacred Pool and Halil'ul Rahman Mosque

We took 1,5 hour flight from Istanbul. Pegasus and Turkish Airlines have daily flights to Sanliurfa (GAP Airport). Upon arrival, we met by our local host. It was my second visit to Sanliurfa after 10 years. I could see changed a lot but still preserves its authenticity. Many new hotels including a Garden Inn by Hilton as well as authentic boutique hotel such as Manici Hotel. We preferred to stay in Hilton due to my epicurean travel partner. The prices are amazing comparing the hotels in big cities.

Spice Market in Urfa the best spices and herbs ever

People, places, food and bazaars...Everything is genuine, natural and friendly. So cheap comparing to other touristic places. Try traditional Urfa cuisine mostly meat and kebabs.Upps really spicy...

Local Kebap Shop

Sanliurfa has strong connections to Abraham who features in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.Take a walk around Balikli Gol, the place where Nimrod is suspected to have thrown Abraham into the fire, is the main reason to visit but there is also the castle to see.

Feeding Fishes in Sacred Pool