Arte Hotel Sanliurfa

... found a place to stay we had at least 15 conversations with strangers in the street and got invited for tea 3 times. <br><br>Sanliurfa is a very relaxing place, no hassle, easy people (most of them Kurds), good food and much cheaper than the West of Turkey. It even has a hospital where Manuel got his 3rd rabies vaccination.... in the emergency room, next to 3 heavily bleeding people... what an adventure! And the best is still to ...

... capitalism has raised values and prices, in front of most homes is an old trap, with rubber-bound, steel-rimmed wheels. <br><br>Donkeys and horses pull them around town, weather-beaten farmers navigating them through a phalanx of scooters, mopeds and desperately out-of-place quad bikes, so beloved of the Turkish tourists who flood in on weekends.<br><br>The carts are loaded with pumpkins, watermelons, deliciously juicy apples, mountains of grapes, heading to market or ...

... I couldnt believe this was happenning again, however this time I actually got off the bus! I called the steward over, showed him my bloody ticket (which I had already showed him earlier when I asked him on where the bus was going to stop), and basically gestured to him that I missed my stop. There was another steward who seemed to ask me why I didnt get down, I angrily gestured that I did. I kind of half expected them to at least turn around for me as we were not far off ...

Today is another exciting and action packed day full of sights, smells, tastes and really chatting with locals. Sabahattin knows so many people there are lots of opportunities to take tea with them, look at their shop, animals, houses, if you wish - really there has been no pressure to buy or see anything on this trip. Importantly Sabahattin has been very flexible regarding our requests for added extras and ...

... my fýrst day and in the evening there was some sort of parade with thousands of kids running through the streets and then live musýc and fýreworks at dusk... not a bad way to start thýngs off! I woke up early the next day to take an hour-long dolmus to Harran, rýght against the Syrian border. Met another Korean, Hong, who just arrýved ýn Turkey from Syria and gave me some tips for the next leg of my trýp. Harran is one of the oldest continuously ýnhabýted v ...

... for 15 YTL. The rooms are ultra simple but cleanish. The minarettes of most of the mosques that I have seen here don't look like anything I have seen before. They are rectangular with greek columns and without a balcony. As I learned from my local tour guide Mikail, these peculiar mosques were all converted from churches. Urfa has no active church left. Prophets Job and Abraham have lived in Urfa. The Urfa castle ...

... t to be. We arrived in Urfa just after lunchtime and well done to our bus driver Mehmet who just squeezed the bus into the narrow street that our hotel is on. Lunch was nice, I had a doner sandwhich which is kebap meat in a roll and then Ilhan showed us around, sorry he showed Stuart, Hawke and Keira around and the rest of us tried to keep up and not get hassled. The bus driver again was outstanding by looking after the rest of us and making sure we were ok. Am ...

... were being guided by 2 guys who were steering them towards the souq. There was no doubt in my mind that the heads and intestines of each of those sheep would be hanging from some window by the end of the day. I then spent most of the day walking through the buzzing bazaar and the crowded Golbasi Park. I couldn't believe the amount of people I saw but then again it was Friday and no one worked. I did find out later that today was a very holy day. People were celebrating the ...

... company and they quoted me the same price. I bought a ticket and waited for the bus to arrive to take me to Urfa. While waiting, I saw another bus along the road. I went over and asked the driver if I could pay him to take me to Urfa and he said yes. I knew I would save money this way. Drivers sometimes pick people up for a small price and drive them to a city if they are headed in that direction. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get my money back for the ticket that I bought earlier ...

... Murat and Has&#305;r &#305;n Izm&#305;r; Selam&#305; and fr&#305;ends &#305;n Selçuk; Vulcan on the road to Antalya; Al&#305; &#305;n Konya; Um&#305;t and Membap &#305;n Goreme; Valent&#305;na and Clara - our Ital&#305;an gu&#305;des to Kapadokya - and now Fat&#305;h. Hosp&#305;tal&#305;ty followed by hosp&#305;tal&#305;ty; and we know &#305;t &#305;s just go&#305;ng to &#305;ncrease as we head &#305;nto the so-called dangerous countr&#305;es of Iran and Pak&#305;stan.