Sanilurfa –Gaziantep Tuesday, 4 October 2011

Weather:  sunny

Temperature:  high twenties.

We set off at 8.30 am to visit Eski Halfeti the new town above the Birecik Dam,  one of four dams (including Ataturk) on the Euphrates.  The dam has given a new lease of life to the valley and we passed many kilometres of pistachio trees so it is little wonder that Gaziantep is known as the pistachio capital of Turkey.

Photo:  On the way down to catch our boat to cruise on the Euphrates.

The view down to the little village showed the wide expanse of water created from the dam as well as the picture perfect conditions….the mountains reflected beautifully in the water.  Amusingly, we were serenaded by a violinist as we moved towards the boat playing ‘Love Story’….Where do I begin…?  We were then all aboard a boat with a viewing platform to take us up the Euphrates to see the remains of an old Roman castle, Hittite stone caves and the remnants of a submerged village.

Photo:  The huge gap carved out of the mountain to prevent access to the old Roman castle.

Photo:  The minaret which survived the flooding.

We could not have wished for a more perfect day as we had a cloudless cerulean blue sky above us and deep teal green water below us that was as smooth as glass providing brilliant reflections.  We all went snap happy!  A lonely minaret stood above the water line with just a hint of a roof indicating the site of the village which was submerged in the dam project.

Photo:  Heading back to the pavilion where we enjoyed lunch.

After an hour we were back at the lunch pavilion where a long table had been set and we enjoyed the local char-grilled trout from the Euphrates with an interesting salad of tomato, parsley and mint.  Accompanying this were thinly sliced onions with a spice sprinkled over it.

We drove into Gaziantep which has a population of one and a half million.  Our first stop was the Zeugma Mozayk Muzesi – the Zeugma Mosiac Museum - which was officially opened only two weeks ago.  This museum has been built as a direct result of old Zeugma (2^nd and 3^rd century AD), a Roman town of 20 thousand acres which was to be submerged by the Birecik Dam.   The town was rediscovered in 1974 and revealed finely detailed mosaics.  Thirty percent remains under the dam however the museum has displayed the surviving panels in a beautiful manner with subtle lighting and meaningful supportive documentation.

Photo:  Demonstrating the fineness of detail in these beautiful mosaics.

Of particular interest is the exquisite mosaic of The Gypsy Girl which is housed in a separate darkened black marble room complete with a body guard.  It really does rival the Mona Lisa for beauty and I wondered how come none of us had ever heard of this beautiful work.  The museum also houses a very unusual bronze statue of Mars who is depicted with a very angry face.  His eyes have gold inlaid eyes and he is displayed atop a tall column.

Photo:  The Gypsy Girl.

We have seen a lot of mosaics on our trip but the works today were the best we have seen.  The details could be attributed to the smallness of the tiles as contours and muscle tone were evident in the people.

Another very interesting and novel attraction just inside the entrance captures a lot of attention.  In Roman times mosaics were used at the bottom of pools in a central courtyard.  At the museum a projection of pool mosiacs are projected onto the museum floor and fish are shown swimming among leaves.....a mini movie picture on the floor!  It is a very colourful and unusual  display.

Photos: The projections on the museum floor....you can see the squares of the real tiles underneath.

Later in the afternoon our guide led us to the metalworkers to show us how they make their wares as well as assist us in our purchases.   The street housed many metalwork shops and the banging on the metalwork could sometimes be deafening.

We then wandered up further to a leather shoe shop and most of us succumbed to a pair of comfortable shoes for the princely sum of fifty-five lira.  The bazaar was only a little further on and we wandered around there for a time before we all met up and made our way back to our hotel.

Ergun, our guide had promised a great dinner (again!) and once again we weren’t disappointed.  I tried Ali Nizak which is a rich meat dish covered with yoghurt.  To follow we all tried two different pieces of baklava as Gaziantep is also well known as the best producer in Turkey….even Ergun’s boss rang through today to put an order in to be delivered to him personally tomorrow!  The baklavas were subtle and not too sweet.  One was distinctly buttery and the other had very fine phyllo pastry.

Tomorrow we are heading to Cappadocia where our guide comes from.  This will be an interesting experience as he thinks his hometown is the best…..his favourite expression is: ‘you will love it!’ 

And so more adventures are yet to come…………….