Beyzade Konak Sanliurfa

... the local otogar (bus terminal) at 8 in the morning. Why? Well it turned out that the people here are extremely friendly, a lot of them speak German or want to practice their English or simply want to have a small chat with a foreigner (there are not many tourists coming visiting here). And Manuel`s blond hair does attract a lot of attention, even from people several hundred meters away (they come running from everywhere;) So until ...

... altitude, or gain said.<br><br>In a word, it's whacky. Out of fruitcake land.<br><br>Yet the village of around 15,000 people has maintained a rare aloofness to the invasion of rubber-necking camera junkies.<br><br>It is an old farming community, as is most of Turkey, the so-called breadbasket of Europe and one of few countries that fulfill its own food requirements, and exports.<br><br>While guest houses abound since an explosion of visitors since the 1980's, and surely 'evil ...

... as I need to get a ticket to Antakya anyway. <br><br>The bus did not move immediately though as some people had gone off to have a cigarrete or for the toilets. I got a little suspicious but I thought I rely on faith in the steward. When the bus started to go I asked the steward and pointed ahead with my hand...'otogar?' He did the same stiff nod again. Minutes later though we were back on this highway and I saw the dreaded sign of 'Sanliurfa' with the red cross over it ...

... of Judaism, Christiasm and Islam)<br><br>We coincided with the end of Ramadan which is a big festival day in Turkey called Bayram. All people are in the streets and enjoy the life.<br><br>The basar is not as full as usual, but nevertheless still bubbling and colourful as ever

... English, Yousef, told me to come sit ýn the shade a bit for conversation. He will take his exams for university at the end of the summer and has been studying 24-7 to realize his dream to study in Amerýca. I asked him where he would like to study and, no joke: CALIFORNIA! SAN FRANCISCO! Urfa ýs splendid and the religious, mystical qualiýties of the city, as well an enthusýastýc zest for lýfe, were all apparent from the beginnýng. I sorta just wandered ...

... 1986 on the Euphrates. Yes that's right, a 1650-metre long, 160-m tall dam completed in just three years. The incredibly fast schedule may have something to do with the sixteen lives lost during construction. Our easternmost, and most exotic, stop was Sanliurfa. It was a city that definitely showed us another side of Turkey. It was a bit of a whirlwind tour, but it was nice to be led around and not have to plan or think too much.

... ready to head back down. This time I was first cos I'm strange and going down the mountain is always easier for me than going up. After today I don't think many people are going to climb Mt. Sinai. We drove back to the hotel and were hoping we might get a hot breakfast but it wasn't to be - more cucumber, tomato, bread and hard boiled eggs. We then started the drive to Urfa. Hoping I would find a market in Urfa cos I have no clean clothes left but it ...

... too healthy if I drop under 170 which is a strong possibility considering I will be spending close to 2 months in India. Everyone has warned me that I will definitely lose weight there as everyone gets sick leading to a stomach ailment that will prevent me from eating too much. We will see. I do have a stomach of steel though (knock on wood). After I weighed myself, I continued walking along the busy main road. One funny sight was seeing about 100 sheep cross the busy road ...

... a good idea to save some money and try to hitchhike to Urfa. I went to the corner of the road and stuck out my thumb for 10 minutes. No one stopped. Then something occurred to me. Was I even hitchhiking in the right direction? I had no idea. I stopped a local and asked him which direction Urfa was and of course it wasn't in the direction I was hitchhiking. I am definitely an amateur when it comes to hitch hiking. I took that as a sign that I should just take the bus. I went to another ...

... 305;ends, the Kurds. The hosp&#305;tal&#305;ty that we are enjoy&#305;ng here - stay&#305;ng w&#305;th our fr&#305;end, Fat&#305;h, for two n&#305;ghts free of charge - &#305;s someth&#305;ng we have almost become accustomed to &#305;n Turk&#305;ye. It &#305;s easy to take &#305;t for granted, but we are so grateful to all the fr&#305;ends that we cont&#305;nue to make along the way. To name but a few... our deepest thanks go out to Yagmur and Onur &#305;n Bursa ...