Driving along the Silk Road

It looked like any other highway as we were leaving the city of Gaziantep, until I noticed the caravans in the median line.  The statues of loaded camels made me realize that we were actually driving along the old Silk Road.  To get the perspective shifted like this, in a blink of a moment, happens to me all the time while living in Turkey, and it feels like wandering around in the middle of a history book.  

We drove from Gazientep into the ancient Mespotamia, crossing the Euphrates river twice.

The Atatürk Dam on the Euphrates river was completed in 1990, is said to be one of the biggest dams in the world.  It was built to generate electricity and to irrigate the plains in the region.  The water flow in the Euphrates river is very irregular and used to cause big problems with drought in the summer and flooding in the winter.  

The new irrigation system has been very useful to the cotton production in this region.  Turkey is among the biggest cotton producers in the world, and according to Wikipedia, Southeastern Anatolia has because of the Atatürk Dam grown to produce almost 50% of the country's cotton. 

A gigantic mountain for a gigantic ego

King Antiochus

Nemrut Dağı (Mount Nemrut) is a very special mountain in the south-east of Turkey, and rises 2,150m (7,000ft) above sea level.  What makes it special is that the mountain has an artificial peak and some enormous statues which were put there more than 2,000 years ago.  King Antiochus 1, who ruled from 69-34 BC, built this monument to show off, mark his place along with the gods and probably to be buried at a spot where everyone forever would have to look up to him. 

We went to Nemrut Dağı to watch the sun rise, which is said to be the best time to go there.  We got picked up from the hotel at 3am, and drove for a few hours to the base of the summit.  From there we hiked for about 20min to the eastern terrace where we sat in silence watching the horizon.

The artificial peak is 50m (164ft) tall with a diameter of 150m (500ft) and has an eastern terrace/altar facing the rising sun, and a western terrace/altar facing the setting sun.  Both terraces has a row of five colossal statues flanked by a guardian lion and an eagle.  The statues are said to represent king Antiochus and his "friends" Apollo, Zeus, Heracles and Fortuna.

Due to earthquakes the heads have fallen off and when C visited here first time in 1996, they were scattered around on the lower level.  Now the heads have been placed in a row in front of the statues they belong to, and the restoration plans are to put them back on top of the statues.  The statues will then again be 8-10m tall (26-33ft) 

King Antiochus and Zeus facing east

King Antiochus and Fortuna at facing west

The shadow of the peak

If you are interested in more footage and information about Nemrut Dağı, I can recommend this short Youtube video made by UNESCO:

http://youtu.be/GZwQi7mZAdo

Traveling far south and a little east

Gaziantep

The city of Gaziantep is famous for being one of the world's oldest and continuously inhabited cities in the world.  It is located in the southeastern part of Turkey and has about 1.400.000 citizens.  We spent a day in Gaziantep and fell in love with the old markets and nearby workshops where coppersmiths and their apprentices were hammering on their beautiful, traditional pitchers and trays.

The old market

Dried peppers and eggplants

Prayer beads

Antique keys

Beautiful mirrors

Lovely old wooden buildings that seem to have
been the center for craftsmanship and trading for generations

One among us bought bigger trays than others, and had to suffer the stares of locals
and the verbal abuse of his fellow travelers...

...we suggested a coffee pot to go with the tray...

...and if you have a big coffee pot, you need a lot of cups!

Generations of craftsmanship

Like father, like son

Precision, patience...

...and steady hammering

The results are stunning

Fresh vegetables for sale on this street

I forgot to ask what this was, it just looked facinating

Eggplants by the bushel

The barber (check my reflection in the mirror)

A mobile sales cart full of everything you might need

A real tinker shop where you can get anything from a portable grill to a watering can

Recycled vegetable oil cans

The Tin Man himself and his apprentice
He is fixing a portable teakettle, that salesmen carry around when selling tea on the street

Fascinating scaffolding all over the city, made out of thin wooden poles

Looks like the house is covered with toothpicks

The scariest was to watch this worker disassembling the platform he was standing on, several stories up in the air!

Lots of beautiful minarets in Gaziantep

Fascinating windows on the wall of a pastry shop (baklava, of course)

The hotel and neighboring streets

Google map told us to drive all the way up to our hotel, but we found it a little difficult to fit our mini van through these streets.  Luckily we had an excellent driver, with good help from his co-pilot and some curious neighbors, we managed to make a left turn and wiggle our way back to the main streets.

The courtyard at the hotel


Local speciality coffee made out of dried pistachio nuts.  Yummm...

Lunch at a fantastic kebab house

No menu, no choice, and they bring you several types of kebab along with the freshest of bread and salad.
You find a seat wherever you can and strangers share tables with one another.  The clothing may have changed, but this place has been run the same way for generations.