Saskatchewan Snowbirds in Egypt: Southeastern Turkey

Our guide for this next part of our trip is Kurdish, but he lives in Goreme in the Cappadocia area. Our next journey took us to Adiyaman in southeastern Turkey. Sometimes, we were driving in the snow, and sometimes in the rain. There is a fair amount of snow in the higher elevations. The main reason for going to southeastern Turkey is to go to Mount Nemrut to see the colossal statues built by a king at the top of the mountain. We may not see the statues situated upon Mount Nemrut as we have been told several times that the peak is buried under 4 meters of snow.

We awoke to cloud and a soft drizzle. Our driver drove us as close to Mount Nemrut as he could. We would have to walk 12 km more before we would get to the peak. We decided to get a bit of a workout and go for a short hike up. We were to meet up with our driver in 1 ½ hours. We walked up for about 5 km and turned around. The weather was warm, and the snow was slushy. David thought that some old tracks belonged to a tracked vehicle.

This is what we have come to see upon Mount Nemrut, but a museum replication is as much as we will get to see

Out for a walk

Mud brick houses leak in the rainy season and are covered in tarps

They had to make there way to the river for water

Rebuilt Roman bridge

Huge even for today

The only original parts are the railings

Can you spot Karen

Burial mound

Crocus

We are close to the Syrian border during our visit to this part of Turkey. Our driver drove past a Syrian refugee camp. It was about 110 km from the border. It seemed well set up and orderly. Apparently, the Syrians drive across the border through some of the outlying border towns that have no border patrol, make their way to a police station, and ask for refugee status. They are then taken to whatever camp has room for them.

Euphrates River

The largest dam in Turkey on the Euphrates river, Ataturk Dam.

Memorial to the people who died building it.

Our driver took us to an archaeological dig which dated back to 12,000 BC—built even before Stone Henge, England

A regular stop for diesel introduced us to a man with two thumbs on one hand

Pistachio trees--a big crop in Turkey

Highway between Iran and Iraq which runs through Turkey

We stayed in Sanliurfa—this is the location of the cave where Abraham of the Bible was born and raised for the first seven years of his life. We went for a walk in a beautiful park that contains pools with carp. These pools were the ones that kept Abraham from burning when King Nemrut condemned Abraham to death by fire for desecrating King Nemrut’s gods. There were thousands of starlings settling in the trees for the night. They looked like leaves on the trees.

Abraham was born in a cave inside the walls of this Mosque

These pillars are over 17 meters high.

Hotel lobby (I liked the color scheme)

Abraham's birth cave and where he spent the first years of his life

Everyone helps set up for the day

Copper pots still being made by hand.

The local crew moving boxes into storage.

Hans (market place)

Spice market

Motorbike traffic in the Market.

The bald ibis is an endangered bird in Turkey. They can only be found in a bird sanctuary near Biricik.

Tractor covers made by his wife??

One of the best displays of mosaics is in Turkey is found in Gaziantepe. The eyes on Gypsy Rose look like they are watching you as you move across the room. They were revealed when the dam construction washed away the earth cover they were hidden under.