TURKEY 2019 PART 2

GOBEKLITEPE.  It is located in the Fertile Crescent - also referred to as the Cradle of Civilization. Such a place aroused my curiosity and regret not to have visited earlier; the word Gobekli means “Potbelly Hill.” Now  it is covered under a giant umbrella and you are not able to walk and touch the ancient monuments; now this is common among most ancient archeological sites.  I remember back in the 1970’s, before global tourism increased, walking among the ruins in Mesoamerica such as Tikal, Palenque, Machu Picchu and others without restraints and the absence of guards.  The good old days.

Not much of the site has been excavated but what is peculiar about this Neolithic site is that identifies the beginning of agriculture (where wheat was first cultivated) and animal domestication dated to about 10,000 BCE. The site has been labeled as a Stone Age religious pilgrimage site where people congregated in celebration. It is considered as the “World’s First Temple” and to the most imaginative dreamers, the place of exile for Adam and Eve after been expelled from the Garden of Eve

The site follows a geometric pattern due to the similarities between the various enclosures. Eventually the site was abandoned and the enclosures buried with animal and human bones allowing for the identifications of what constituted the main sources of food such as wild grains and fauna such as pigs, deer and various species of birds.

Peculiar about the site are the T-shaped pillars weighting 40-60 tons carved with images of spiders, frogs, scorpions, pigs, vultures and others left to the interpretation of the observers.  The second image below in black and white and to the right, better illustrates what some have identified as a lion and a pig. Most of the figures depicted are male and were sculptured with flint stones. It is said that the pillars represent shamans.  

ESKI HALFETI.  Below is a view of the Euphrates River where tour boats take visitors to the sunken village of Eski Savasan, which appears to be a popular destination from the numbers of tourists eagerly waiting to go.  It is a fishing village of Roman origins from where the tours depart (to the left of the image below) and known as the home of the famous black roses.  These are actually dark red roses but turn black as summer arrives. The lake seen was created when the Euphrates was dammed at Birecik in the 1990’s resulting in the submergence of various villages.  Halfeti was partially submerged and villagers were resettled to a new town about 15 miles away.

The legendary King’s Daughter’s Cave but not known what the name is a 3 floors structure with 5 different caves and the one of the biggest carved into the limestone walls in the area.

Rumkale means Roman Castle and is located on a peninsula formed in the River. It said that Apostle Saint John lived here during Roman times and reproduced copies of the Bible; this Apostle really moved around. During its long history it was occupied by the Byzantines, Armenians and Mamluks. It was also the site of the Barsavma Monastery built in the 13th century. The castle is massive as seen from the two images below and the window structures seen appear to be of most recent construction.

The town of Eski Savasan is one of the destinations of the boat tour and all that is left of the mosque is the partially submerged minaret; it is a ghost town.  

Across the small bay from the ghost town there is a restaurant and an area to explore while my bodyguards enjoy a morning tea with local figs and cookies.  I wondered around and found a partially inhabited cave house carved from the limestone.  This type of housing is widespread along the shores of the Euphrates in the area and similar ones can be found north of Granada in Spain. In addition several underground churches are found in the area.

HARRAN. Or Hellenopolis in Greek times when it fell to Alexander the Great goes farther back in history from 3000-2000 BCE to early Bronze Age and Assyrian times. It is mentioned in the Book of Genesis.  The battle of Carrahe in 53 BCE took place here known as Harran then, where one of the Rome’s greatest defeats took place by the Persians.  Emperor Caracalla mentioned in the previous blog was murdered here in 217 AD. Another great battle was fought nearby in 1104 during the crusades.  Located along the road from Damascus to Nineveh (once the capital of the Assyrian empire) it was a strategic location, not a good thing. Now it is known for its beehive adobe houses that remain unchanged for more than 3000 years due to the ventilation hole in the roof allowing hot air to escape while fresh air enters at the base thru windows and doors. Now a historical site it invaded by hordes of tourists searching for souvenirs and an opportunity to peek inside the structures…no bees but plenty of flies. 

Below are inside views where one can see that most of the cones are interconnected and also a view of the beehive structure built with adobe bricks

HATTUSA. Former capital of the Hittite Kingdom a major power along with the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians during the late Bronze Age.  The origin of the Hittites is not known but was a group of Indo-Europeans that migrated into the Anatolia around 2000 BCE coming from the land of Hatti. At its peak the kingdom extended from Mediterranean to the Euphrates.  They developed the fastest chariots and were making iron tools that may have given them a strategic advantage during the battle of Kadesh where they almost captured the Pharaoh Ramses who was forced to abandon the battle.  Hattusa disappeared along with the Hittite Kingdom in XII century BC. Below is a photo of a portion of the citadel that covered almost a square mile surrounded by walls about 4 miles long and it estimated that at its peak about 50,000 people resided there. Below is the Great Temple.

There were several gates to the city and below 3 images of the Sphinx Gate with winged horse and a human head; the other column appears to be a woman. Next is the carving (reproduction; the real one is at the Museum in Ankara) at the King’s Gate followed by the Lions’ Gate.  It is obvious that I like the Sphinx best by the number of photos.

Yerkapi Tunnel  “The Gate to the Ground”  in Turkish was part of the fortification in Hattusa and is 70 meters long, 12 other such tunnels have been discovered but this is the best preserved and completed in the XIV century BCE. Below is the entrance to the tunnel and next notice that it is triangular in shape. Hittites did not know how to build arches and the tunnel is still standing after 3000 years…it is inclined downhill from the city and I walked it both ways and noticed no carvings in the stones.

YAZILIKAYA. Is a sanctuary at Hattusa about one mile away from the city consisting of two chambers with covered with stone carvings. Below is the entrance to the sanctuary and next are the 12 Hittite deities of the underworld procession.

Next is a carving of King Tudhaliya IV (1237-1209 BCE) holding the god of the mountains Shamurra in his right hand who is represented as a pair of walking legs.  The king’s sister was Maathorneferure wife of Rameses II; all in the name of political connections to keep the peace; nothing changes. Regardless, the battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC took place between Ramesses II and the Hittites in Syria ending in a peace treaty 13 years later with King Hattusili III (1367-1237 BC) father of  Tudhaliya IV. It is said that the battle was finished when the world’s oldest peace treaty was signed.

Next a procession of the Hittite gods where Shamurra (third from the right) follows his mother (both standing in top of panthers) facing King Tudhaliya IV. The Hittites had about 77 deities; some were adopted from other cultures that they were in contact such Istar a Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, justice and sexuality.

HERACLEA. At the mall fishing village dominated by a large restaurant, festivities were been prepared for a prospective wedding .

Appears like there has been a last minute difference of opinion as the prospective groom walks away from the flowerer Audi where the maid sat immutable and the photographed wondered if he was going to get paid. A tourist watched the altercation from the far right; no doubt an American from the outfit he was wearing…but is carrying a purse…definitely European.

Meanwhile I moved away not wanting to be busted for taking photos and went to the front of the restaurant where an altar was been set up…and then…a phone call to the attendant--no wedding unless you make a miracle.

I got late to Heraclea so did not get to see the main ruins but after weeks of trampling around the rocks of past glories not much was missed. A view of some of the wall towers below.

KARAKUS TUMULUS.  It is a man-made mound about 100 feet high on top of a hill and the name means black bird for the bird (really an eagle) standing in top of a Doric column about 30 feet. 

Walking around the tumulus next there 2 columns, one with a decapitated animal sculpture. Here Greek stone writing mentioning that in the tumulus the short-lived most beautiful woman Antiochis was buried. This monument was most probably built during the Kingdom of Commagene by King Mithridates II (38-20 BCE) who we previously met in Arsemia. In the inscription, the Greek word heirothension that means sacred site or royal mausoleums. This burial site was constructed for the royal women.

The head below resembles a lion and it was probably in top of the empty column seen above since it is nearby. There are only 9 columns left of the original of many others that were stolen to build the Cenderi Bridge discussed in Part I of this blog.

Next is a column topped by a relief of King Mithridates II holding his sister’s hand; Laodice, who was a Queen in the Parthian Empire, and buried here. An underground chamber was discovered during archeological diggings by Germans during the 1950-70s’. Nothing was found and is speculated that it was vandalized at the time when the columns were recycled to build Cenderi Bridge.  It is curious that this column remained untoppled for more than two millennia.

MILETOS.  Not many tourists visit this site but it was one of the most important cities in its time. It is originally Greek, who arrived in the X century; it was later expanded by the Romans. A contemporary of Ephesus but not as extensive when referring as to what have survived structurally except for the the Grand Theater that was able to accommodate about 15,000.  Probably the most important structure now resides in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin—the Market Gate.  It was built by Emperor Hadrian in 2^nd century AD. 

Miletos was the home to various notables such as Tales, a philosopher and mathematician. His theorems were able to determine the height of the pyramids, besides he said to have become rich by predicting the weather.  Others were Hecataeus a historian and Hippodamus considered the originator of the grid layout of cities.  And probably we all know of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul; it was designed by Isidore of Miletus, physician, mathematician and architect,

The city at the time it was completed surrounded by water and next to the Meander river.  For those who know geology a meandering river is one that changes courses thru time; such name was derived from this river.  It is not longer closer to the sea due to the sediments carried by the Meander River; a similar case in Ephesus but caused by a different river. At one time the theater stood facing the waterfront.

 This is the second section of the Turkish adventure…it took about a month to visit the various sites and a year later, I finally got to almost finish writing the blog...as promised Part 3 will be finished by the end September.