Haran, Turkey

So at this point in the game we were three separate traveling groups; Wai & I, Josh & Rajay, and Yosuke. We each planned our own rough itinerary but we decided to just continue traveling together. It’s hard to leave new found friends. We convinced each other that we’d do a long tour of the Harran ruins in Eastern Turkey. Again, it was just the handful of us which was perfect.

Writing this blog I almost forget how painfully hot it was, it was demoralizing but we trekked on. The first place was the remains of a grand mosque called Ulu Camii. Next door to this were some locals that lived in beehive type housings made of mud and sticks. The kids would ask to wear my sunglasses and then immediately say “gift?” with a huge smile, sadly I wasn’t that kind. We also strolled through the Harran Castle (Harran Ic Kalesi) which looked like it was about to crumble underneath my feat. There were plenty of other places we visited but I’ll just talk about three more locations.

Standing inside the Bazda Caves

So that was the short tour and I’m glad we continued for the long one because I just couldn’t enjoy those ruins and sites compared to the rest. The tour guide brought us out to the middle of this desert no-man’s-land. We walked into this caved that was used for excavating large stones for building structures, the Pyramids? It escapes my mind. The cave was enormous, we saw people drive their cars and bikes in there to take naps because it was nice and cool.

Talking to the local kids.

We stopped at this place called Han-el Ba’rur Caravanserai where these kids ran up to meet us. These kids were as cheerful and bright as their clothes. The guide would sing children songs with them as we just sat across from them in the walk way. Most kids, besides these ones, would always pester you saying “money money” holding out their hand and wouldn’t leave you alone. You feel a little bad, but there are just so many kids begging.

Catching the light.

This picture of Wai was taken in this small underground room at the bottom of a mound in Suayb. There are numerous mounds filled with small rooms and tiny dark passage ways. I had to pull out my cell phone just to illuminate my path. Half the time, you’re hunched over in a dark room trying to listen for someone’s voice and somewhat wander over there. It reminded me of a dungeon from one of these fantasy video games i used to play.