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Şanliurfa, Turkey
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Under the shadow of a centuries-old fort in Şanlıurfa, in southeastern Turkey, black-spotted golden carp swim in turquoise swimming pools. Tradition holds they had been created after Mesopotamian king Nemrut bin Kenan threw the Prophet Ibrahim into a fireplace burning on the plain under, someday within the third millennium BCE.
Preaching towards idolatry and declaring there was just one god, Ibrahim (or Abraham, as he’s recognized by Jews and Christians) was a thorn in Nemrut’s facet. As Nemrut believed himself a god, Ibrahim needed to go. Two Roman columns, seen above the plain, mark the spot.
Şanlıurfa, 40 miles north of the Syrian border, was as soon as half of higher Mesopotamia and residential to dozens of civilizations — every leaving its mark.
The Aramaean confederacy of tribes known as it Urhai, whereas the Seleucid Dynasty (whereas dominated from 312 to 64 BCE) used the title Edessa. After the Arabic conquest within the seventh century CE, it turned Roha. The Ottomans, who conquered the town within the sixteenth century, renamed it Urfa in 1607.
In 1984, Şanlı, or “glorious” in Turkish, was added — “in recognition of the city’s resistance during the Turkish War of Independence,” says tour information Murat Tanrıtanır. Locals had fought towards British and French troops who occupied the town after the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in World War I.
Urfa is named the City of Prophets. Revered in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it’s related to figures together with Ibrahim, Job, Jethro and Noah.
Muslim pilgrims head to the Dergah Mosque Complex within the outdated city, shaded by mature timber amongst velvety carpets of grass dotted with rose bushes.
At its coronary heart is the Balıklıgöl — “Fish Lake,” really two swimming pools teeming with lots of of black-spotted carp. The bigger, Halil ür-Rahman, marks the spot where Nemrut, or Nimrod, is claimed to have tried to kill Ibrahim. God intervened, the story goes, turning flames into water and logs into fish. The black spots on the scales are stated to be ash from the fireplace. The smaller pool, Aynzeliha, is called for Nemrut’s daughter Zeliha, a follower of Ibrahim, who died after throwing herself into the fireplace.
“Visiting Balıklıgöl is always emotional,” says Mehmet Kaya, a neighborhood farmer whose household has lived in Şanlıurfa for generations. “It’s not just a tourist spot — it’s a sacred place tied to the story of the Prophet Ibrahim. People come to pray, feed the holy fish, and feel the peaceful air. It reminds us of our deep spiritual roots and the stories we’ve grown up hearing.”
Ibrahim is claimed to have landed unhurt at Balıklıgöl, however this was not his first shut name with Nemrut. While nonetheless in his mom’s womb, Ibrahim’s life was threatened after Nemrut dreamed he would lose his kingdom. Priests foretold {that a} little one born that 12 months would carry an finish to idolatry, prompting Nemrut to order the deaths of all newborns and youngsters in utero. Ibrahim survived and was born in a cave, where he lived till he was seven.
Today, dozens of hopeful petitioners collect on the entrance to Mevlid-i Halil Mağarası, recognized in English as Ibrahim’s Cave, throughout the Dergah Mosque Complex. Mevlid-i Halil interprets because the Birth of Halil, Halil which means “friend of God.” Men and ladies enter by way of separate doorways.
Women, particularly, are drawn right here by hopes of conceiving a toddler or gathering water from a holy spring believed to have healing powers. The air is balmy and barely damp; tender prayers fill the cave as girls recite passages from the Koran and finger fear beads, whereas kids are quietly shushed.
Outside, households pose for selfies or gown in colourful conventional Şanlıurfa clothes on the Halil ür-Rahman pool, lined with elegant stone arches.
Şanlıurfa’s historical past predates sacred texts. Göbeklitepe, 14 miles northeast of the outdated city, is a Neolithic website from the Pre-Pottery interval of round 9,600 to eight,200 BCE. Now an energetic archaeological dig, it’s thought to have been used for funerary rites.
“What makes it even more astonishing is that it was built by prehistoric people who hadn’t even developed pottery or agriculture yet,” says Tanrıtanır. “This challenges everything we thought we knew about the development of civilization. It suggests religion or ritual might have come before the domestication of plants and animals, not after.”
Excavations from 1996 to 2014 revealed its significance. Stonehenge, whose stone circle dates to 2,500 BCE, appears positively fashionable compared.
Visitors can stroll alongside picket pathways above a portion of the dig, viewing monolithic T-shaped pillars carved with animals. Information panels clarify the format and historical past, whereas the customer heart offers deeper context.
The Şanliurfa Archaeology Museum shows greater than 10,000 gadgets, together with Assyrian, Babylonian, and Hittite artifacts. Urfa Man — at 11,500 years outdated, it’s the world’s oldest life-size statue — stands beside delicate collectible figurines, silver ornaments, embroidered garments, handwritten Korans and extra. A walk-through reconstruction of Göbeklitepe affords perspective on the unique website’s scale and religious affect.
In the museum’s backyard, the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum homes intensive mosaics from a Roman villa, unearthed throughout pipe-laying. Scenes from the tales of Achilles and Orpheus and of Amazon queens out searching are among the many highlights. Across the highway, tombs carved into rock between the third and fourth centuries type the Kızılkoyun Nekropolü, as soon as Edessa’s primary necropolis. Many tombs stay intact, with reliefs nonetheless seen.
Kebabs and candy tea
Şanlıurfa is not only historical past. “To truly feel Urfa you have to sit with the locals, drink tea slowly, and walk through the old streets,” says Kaya. “It’s not a place to just visit; it’s a place to feel.” The slender laneways of Kapalı Çarşı, the Covered Bazaar, are full of retailers promoting garments, homewares, dried fruit and nuts, fear beads, copper pots, scarves, carpets and saddlebags.
“There’s a blend of Arab, Kurdish, and Turkish cultures here, which creates a unique atmosphere you won’t find elsewhere,” says Tanrıtanır. Headscarf-wearing males with weathered faces and grizzled beards meet each day in Gümrük Han, a construction much like a caravanserai inbuilt 1562.“The lavender-colored or purple-checked puşu scarves are traditionally worn by men, especially among older generations and has symbolic meanings related to tribal identity, social status or even political affiliations.”
Backgammon cube clack and sunflower seeds crack. Men sip tea by way of sugar cubes held of their mouths whereas smoke from hand-rolled tobacco curls within the air. Others drink mırra kahvesi, a bitter espresso comprised of mırra leaves.
Evening fills the streets with the aroma of minced beef and lamb as kebabs sizzle on restaurant grills. The finest Urfa kebabs use meat minced with a knife, flavored with oregano, cumin and paprika. Patlıcan kebabı, or eggplant kebab, is one other regional specialty.
“But food in Şanlıurfa is more than just kebab,” says Tanrıtanır. Local specialties embody çiğ köfte, a spicy uncooked bulgur dish, and wealthy desserts like şıllık tatlısı — crepe-like layers of syrup-drenched pastry stuffed with walnuts and topped with slivers of pistachio. Personally, Kaya loves çiğ köfte: “It’s more than food, it’s a social ritual. Making it by hand, sharing it with friends and neighbors — it brings people together.”
Food and social life are intertwined in Turkey, and Kaya calls hospitality “a big part of Urfa culture.”
“We won’t let a guest leave without eating,” he says. “Our traditions are still strong and we always keep our customs alive, from music to dance to how we celebrate life events. Compared to other parts of Turkey, we’re maybe a bit more traditional and family-centered.”
Some women and men nonetheless socialize individually. The Mutfak Müzesi, the city’s Culinary Museum in a former non-public dwelling round a conventional hayat courtyard, recreates conventional household life with unusually lifelike mannequins.
Sıra gecesi — ”night time of gathering” — are evenings when the younger and outdated of Urfa come collectively to eat, recite poetry and take heed to stay music. These occasions are used to cross traditions by way of the generations, instil etiquette and strengthen group ties by celebrating joyous events like weddings and nights of communal grief when somebody dies.
They’re additionally about having enjoyable. Participants play video games, chat and get together Urfa-style, late into the night time. Traditionally they had been male-only and held in non-public houses. Now they’re open to each sexes and are sometimes held in cafes. Regardless of who attends a sıra gecesi, “It’s not a tourist show,” Tanrıtanır enthuses. “It’s a cultural heartbeat.”
Urfa’s primary mosque Ulu Camii, was constructed within the late twelfth century CE, and was modelled on the Grand Mosque within the Syrian metropolis of Aleppo. It’s frequent to see males mendacity on the carpet right here, however they’re not at all times prostrating themselves in prayer. Instead, they usually come inside to flee the warmth, nap or chat with buddies. In some ways, it symbolizes what makes Şanlıurfa distinctive.
“It’s like a living museum,” says Tanrıtanır. “You can be in a bustling bazaar one moment, and 10 minutes later you’re standing in front of a site that rewrites human history. There’s something mystical here — whether it’s the ancient stones of Göbeklitepe, the call to prayer echoing from old mosques, or the warm welcome you get from people. It’s a place where the past and present truly live side by side.”