Before I moved on from Şanlıurfa, I did one day trip. I hired a car and driver in order to go to Göbeklitepe and Harran. These are two places that are very old, but worth checking out.
Göbeklitepe is a Neolithic archaeological site. It reminds me of the Maltese megalithic temples, though the educated archaeologist would probably disagree.
As much as it was mostly just a structure full of large rocks, Göbeklitepe was a very interesting site. I made good use of the audio guide, which was a very comprehensive explanation regarding what the ancient site was about. The site was actually quite popular with visitors, as there were plenty of groups who were checking out the archaeological digs. There were a good balance of foreign and domestic visitors, all very interested in what the significance of this site was to ancient history.
After spending a little bit more than an hour in Göbeklitepe, we continued further to Harran. Harran is close to the Syrian border, and is actually one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth. Heck, the Bible even mentions it: Abraham was supposed to be from here, if I remember correctly. We checked out the old city's ruins, composed of a crumbling castle.
There's also a collection of beehive houses, peculiar to the area. In a hot climate, these structures keep the interior rather cool, and so it modulates the temperature for the inhabitants inside.
And finally, I checked out the ruins of the university. This madrasa was an institution of learning back in the Medieval Period, during the Islamic Golden Age. Now it's in ruins.
After checking these places out, it was time to head back to Şanlıurfa. So we drove back, and the next day, I took a bus to continue my trip. I still have one city in southeastern Anatolia I wanted to visit, and that was my next stop. Stay tuned.
