Urfa

Beyond Cilicia - Urfa - 29 July 2022

    Urfa is one of the best cities I have visited in my life. The place is as if taken out of the tales of One Thousand and One Nights: exotic, mysterious, intriguing. If I saw flying carpets instead of taxis I wouldn't be surprised at all. 

    The city of Edessa was founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, a former general of Alexander the Great. As usually in these kinds of cases, the metropolis was built on the ashes left behind by previous inhabitants.  Until it became Ottoman Urfa in the 16th century the place was in the hands of Arameans, Romans, Arabs, Byzantines, Armenians and Crusaders. Each culture added to the unique and unforgettable atmosphere of the city. 

Family trip *

Urfa Castle overlooks city *

'Balıklı Göl' - pool with sacred fish *

Sacred fish are carps *

Arcades surrounding pool are part of Islamic
complex *

Walking around *

Just beautiful *

Everyone enjoys :) *

Arabic night *

Approaching mosque *

Halil Ur-Rahman Mosque was built
 in 9th c. in place of Church of Virgin Mary *

Historical canal *

Nicely located restaurant *

Two Roman columns within Urfa Castle *

    We traveled to Urfa by car. We set off from Adana early in the morning and reached the destination after more than 5 hours. Our main goal was to visit Göbekli Tepe as it is a special place in mankind history. After visiting the impressive Göbekli Tepe we just wanted to have a tea/coffee in the Old Town of Urfa. We knew there was a pool with a legend attached as well as a mosque, but we didn't realize how picturesque the place and its surrounding were. I can honestly say that the evening overshadowed everything we had experienced until that moment. It was simply amazing!