HARRAN
Located 44 km / 27 miles south of Urfa near the Syrian border in the middle of an arid plain, the village of Harran is one of the oldest (5,000 years old) Mesopotamian settlements where Abraham is believed to have spent several years of his life. The name of Harran, which is mentioned in the Old Testament, was first encountered on cuneiform tablets from the early 2nd millenium BC. According to Ibn Jübeyr, a traveler who visited the region in 1184, the plain had been well watered and irrigated by rivers and canals, and Harran was a rich city full of trees and shady, but a long period of drought had laid it waste.

Harran in the 12th Century - Painting by Mehmet Inci

The particularity of Harran resides in its old brick and pisé houses called beehive-houses because of their most surprising cone-shaped roofs (kovan evler in Turkish). These houses, built approximately in the early nineteenth century on the Harran ruins, are still inhabited.

In the vicinity of the village lay the ruins of the ancient city with the remains of a fortified wall and seven gates. It was built on the site of a very old pagan temple dedicated to the Moon God Sin, given that Harran was a center of Mesopotamian idolatry during centuries. The whorship of the moon, sun and planets (see Sumatar below) continued until the 9th century AD, a long time after the Omeyyad Caliph Merwan II made Harran its capital and the Grand Mosque was built (744-750). For this reason, the science of astronomy was quite advanced here and under the rule of the Abbassids, Harran became famous for its Islamic university, founded by Harun Rashid, where many theologians, scholars and scientists studied. The Mongols destroyed the city and university in 1270 and Harran never regained its past splendour.

The great Sin Temple was most probably located under the Grand Mosque because stelas erected by neobabylonian King Nabonid's order in the 6C BC and symbolyzing Moon God and Sun God, were found here. According to another source the temple might have been locted under the 22 m / 72 ft high Tumulus in the middle of the city.
The foundations of numerous vestiges from different period can be seen within the city walls. The most important remains are:
The Fortified Castle was probably built in the preislamic period was restored a couple of times.
The monumental Grand Mosque, first built in the 8th century with its 33 m / 108 ft high square minaret made of stone and brick, was restored and enlarged in the 12th century and bears both Omeyyad and Seljuk style ornements.
A small mosque near Raqqa Gate.
A church located north-east of the Grand Mosque.
Findings from Harran excavations are displaid in Urfa Museum.

Other places of interest in the surroundings of Harran:

The Mosque of Imam Bakir, the grandson of Fatima (Prophet Mohammed's daughter) who was believed to have had his fingers cut off in this spot while he was making war to conquer Harran, is located 3 km / 1.9 miles away.

The Mosque and Tomb of Cabir El Ensar, who was Prophet Mohammed's companion, are located 20 km / 12.5 miles north of Harran.

Han El Ba'rur is an early 12th century Seljuk Caravanserai located 20 km / 12.5 east of Harran in the village of Göktaş.

The city of Şuayb (Jethro) is located 45 km / 28 miles east of Harran. A cave dwelling located among the extensive ruins is believed to be the place were the Prophet Jethro lived.

 




SUMATAR

Sumatar, located 60 km / 37 miles north-east of Harran, is a 2C AD pagan sanctuary consacrated by the Sabians whose strange religion was a mixture of Babylonian astrology and neo-Platonic philosophy. The Sabians worshipped the supreme divinity which was the Moon God Sin, whose main temple was located in Harran, and Marilaha who ruled the universe through the intermediary of the planetary divinities.
The most important remain in Sumatar is Moon God Sin Temple which has writings on its walls and reliefs of human figures representing the planets. Similar writings and reliefs representing the gods can be seen on the rocks of the hill to the west of the castle.
In Sumatar, there are numerous rock tombs from the Roman period and three monumental tombs atop the holy hill north-west of the village.
Remains of cylindrical temples (Temples of Saturn, Jupiter, Venus...) and cubic temples (Temples of Sun, Mercury...), a tumulus surmounted by the walls and watchtowers of a 2nd century castle, as well as a double cave with reliefs of real size human figures and inscriptions in Syriac language, can be found on the archaeological site.
 




HALFETİ

Halfeti is located 30 kms/ 19 miles north of Birecik, on the left bank of the Euphrates river at the bottom of a picturesque canyon. The rise of the water of the Birecik dam submerged the whole valley where once gardens lay.
From Halfeti, a nice boat ride which approximately lasts 1 ½ hours, is a good opportunity to see the canyon and the Rumkale fortress whose ruins reveal different periods of settlements as the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Romans and the Arabs succeeded one another in the region. On the opposite bank, there are remains of cave-dwellings. The Apostle John is believed to have founded a Christian center in Rumkale for the evangelization of the region of Gaziantep.
Halfeti
Rumkale
 




BİRECİK

Birecik is a small town rising in tiers on hillside on the left bank of the Euphrates. The ancient city of Birtha controlled the compulsery crossing on the river. During the Crusades, Birecik maintained vital communications between the principality of Antioch and the County of Edesse. The remains of the medieval fortress overlook the town and the river. A beautiful migratory bird called "kelaynak" (Ibis) comes to reproduce in the region. However the species being endangered, the birds are kept in a farm to facilitate their breeding and they are set free again. They can be seen at the "Kelaynak Üretim Çiftliği" located on the bank of the river. Kelaynak birds are the symbol of Birecik and they give rise to a festival every year.

 




BELKIS - ZEUGMA

Located a few kilometres in the north of Nizip, the ancient city of Zeugma was identified at the beginning of the 20th century by F. Cumont. However the first excavations only took place from 1987 onward, and in 1992 the discovery of a Roman villa brought to light marvels such as mosaics, frescoes, sculptures... which are exhibited in Gaziantep Archaeoligical Museum.

After the construction of the Birecik Dam, which is the GAP's last construction on the Euphrates river, the Turco-French Zeugma Mission was created in 1995 to urgently explore two major ancient cities, Seleucia-Zeugma and Apameia, located on the opposite bank of the Euphrates, and doomed to be submerged. Unfortunately Apameia has been completely submerged. As soon as the water accumulating process in the dam is completed, 1/5 of the archaeoligical site of Zeugma will remain under water.

Founded around 300 BC by Seleucos I Nicator who was one of the generals of Alexander the Great, Seleucia was located on the "southern silk road" which linked the Mediterranean to India and Chinia. The city was included in the Roman Empire in 64 BC. During this period this place, with Apameia which is located on the opposite bank of the river, became the most famous crossing spot on the Euphrates, because a floating bridge constructed here allowed almost permanently the caravans and the military convoys to cross the river on their way to or from Mesopotamia. The name of Seleucia was then amended as Zeugma, meaning "the bridge". The city was considerably rich because there was an important customs where border trade developed, and also because it became the center of the 4th Roman Legion. Zeugma was also famous for its sanctuary dedicated to Tyche. In 256 AD Seleucia was destroyed by the Sassanid Persians. In the 4th century, it was ruled over by late Roman domination and after by the Byzantines. As a result of the Arab raids, Zeugma was abandoned in the 7th century. In the 10th and in the 12th century, there was a small Abassid settlement, and finally a village called Belkıs was founded here in the 17th century.


This part of Zeugma is now under water

The site after the rise of the water

Non-submersible area
 




KARKAMIŞ (KARKEMISH)

The archaeoligical site of Karkemish is located at Barak on the Syrian border in a military zone. From this ancient city's brillant past almost nothing has survived, and an authorization for the visit has to be delivered by military authorities.
However one should not miss the numerous reliefs found in Karkemish which are displaid in Ankara Anatolian Civilization Museum.

From 1800 till 1200 BC, the major preoccupation of the sovereigns of Hattuşa was to possess the two key-cities of their empire, Aleppo and Karkemish, that controlled the access routes to the Fertile Crescent. Around 1200, after the Hittite Empire collapsed, like a few other south-eastern Hittite cities, Karkemish survived as an independant state for about 500 years. This period is called Neo-Hittite. It was devastated many times by the Assyrians whose aim was to progress towards the Valley of the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. Around 717 BC, Karkemish was finally united to Assyria by Sargon II.

The ancient city was protected by outer walls (today located on the Syrian side) and inner walls (today located on the Turkish side), and the citadel was built 40m/ 132 ft above the level of the Euphrates River.


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GAZIANTEP


The city has very old origins but essentially developed during the Hittite and Assyrian periods. In turn, it came under the domination of the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Abbassids, the Seljuks and the Crusaders. Gaziantep finally became Ottoman in the 16th century. The city, known under the Arabic name Aintab, took the Turkish name Antep. As it was occupied by the British in 1919 and by the French until 1921, the city became a center of nationalist resistance. The Turkish Grand Assembly granted Antep the title of "Gazi" for having victoriously fought during the War of Independence, and since then the city has been called Gaziantep.

Gaziantep is Turkey's sixth largest city. It is linked by daily flights to Istanbul and Ankara.
The three specialities of Gaziantep are the "baklava"(a flaky pastry stuffed with pistachio nut), the "lahmacun" (a kind of very thin pizza) and copper -ware products.

Places of interest:

The Fortress
, of very old origins, was rebuilt by the Byzantines in the 6th century, and later renovated by the Seljuks. It played an important role during the War of Independence.

The old quarters, the mosques and the bazaars.

The Ethnographical Museum
is housed in the renovated late 19th century Suzer House.

The Archaeological Museum<
: here are exhibited artifacts from different periods found in the region. Are also exhibited the exceptional findings excavated on the site of Zeugma (Belkıs), a Roman city which is beeing submerged little by little by the waters of the Birecik Dam on the Euphrates River. Beautiful Roman mosaics, frescoes, sculptures are on display( and all what will be saved in time by the archaeologists) in the museum.

Eros and Psyche

Achilles in Skyros Island
2C-3C AD mosaics, discovered in the "House of Poseidon" - Zeugma


The region of Gaziantep is the center of pistachio nut cultivation (it is the first producer in Turkey). It is also reputed for the red pepper, vine, olive, cultivation and cotton mills.


Pistachio gathering

Cotton field

Red pepper gathering

Red pepper drying

Spice shop
 




YESEMEK

Yesemek, which is an open-air museum, is located 23 kms/ 14 miles to İslahiye in the province of Gaziantep. This site is the largest known ancient open-air sculpture workshop in the Near-East. It lies on the slope of the village of the same name, below a basalt stone quarry. The workshop was active between the 14C and 12C BC, at the time of the Hittite Empire which brutally came to an end as a result of the "Sea Peoples" invasion. Late,r Yesemek belonged to Sam'al (Zincirlik), which was one of the independent Neo-Hittite states that formed in south-eastern Anatolia. The workshops reopened and remained active until the place was abandoned, following Assyrian invasions around 700 BC. The site has been discovered in 1890, and the excavations led between 1958 and 1961 brought to light some 300 sculpted blocks of basalt with various rough-outs of motifs, with for example the "bear man", sphinxes, lions, gods, a battle chariot.....