Bilem Hotel Mardin

... 5. sajandil, 8. sajandist oli kristlik klooster, mida esmalt pärslased ja siis Timur lammutamas käisid.<br>Kui kümmekond aastat tagasi oli siin veel paar munka, siis nüüd on tegemist küll ainult muuseumiga. Restaureeritud on, tõsi küll, ilusti. Aga aura puudub täiega.<br><br>Tagasiteel teen peatuse Mardinis, mida kohalike hulgas hoolega reklaamitakse ja mis püüab saada nii UNESCO kultuuripärandi nimekirja kui ka ...

... works and m&#305;l&#305;tary checks &#305;t w&#305;ll be longer'. At that po&#305;nt I thought 'If you know why you ask fool...'. Anyway he was on h&#305;s way to Batman (yes thats r&#305;ght, theres a place called Batman here) and he was on the same bus w&#305;th me. He spoke good Turk&#305;sh although th&#305;s &#305;s h&#305;s f&#305;rst t&#305;me &#305;n Turkey wh&#305;ch I gotta adm&#305;t &#305;s &#305;mpress&#305;ve. I d&#305;dnt bother ask&#305;ng h&#305;s name and ...

... spying devices there to observe what &#305;s going on in Syria (just 14 km away)<br><br>We continued down to the plains and vis&#305;ted Dara which &#305;is an old Greek / Roman settlement w&#305;th their houses carved our from the limestone. The old Greek part - Nekropolis and the "new" Roman part - Anastasiopolis are qu&#305;te interesting. We have had a 15 year old gu&#305;de who did his best with the few English words he knew. But ...

... which is still the main form of transportation in its narrow winding alleys, and a few nice historic buildings, including the world's most elegant post office, housed in a 17th century caravanserai (hotel for camel convoys), and the most beautiful minaret that I have ever seen. <br><br>We walked the streets in the late afternoon to avoid the ...

... very tasty and colourful food. Oh and of course Turkish sweet tea - YUM! Lost count already of the different types of bread - all delicious but my waist is expanding, can't resist it.<br><br>Lunch in Sanliurfa ,ate Ezme which is grated tomatoes, finely chopped onions, crushed red pepper, parsley, lemon juice and kebabs. Visited a mosque and soaked up the local delights.

... on Fridays; he is an Arab. Samuel: mid 30s; the Syrian Christian at the Forty Martyrs Church; he says that they are happy living within a predominantloy muslim society; there are approximately 500 Syrian Christians living in Mardin and they speak Arabic among each other; however, they learn Assyrian as they grow up; foreigners are allowed to attend the Sunday service, but this Sunday the service ...

... enough, I hadn't told my hotel manager how long I would be staying. So I missed the check out deadline and they ripped me off by making me pay for an extra night. I got mad both at them and at myself. I arrived in Mardin with the Yeni Midyat bus company, in 3 hours. It cost 20 YTL. The bus dropped me off at a Ford Auto-gallery owned my a family friend. When I entered the owner's office he was conversing with his Syrian ...

... could tell it isn't the tourist season anymore. When I was in Turkey in August, the buses were always full or close to full. I was concerned when we stopped at a military checkpoint shortly into our trip. Was this going to be another day stopping at endless checkpoints. Thankfully we didn't have hundreds of boxes ofcandy on the bus like the last time so we went through the checkpoint pretty quickly. The military guys did take my passport away so they ...

... best we could figure through rough translation from Turkish to English is that Liz is going to get an important call from the government (we hope it is for a teaching job and not an audit), I have three friends, but one has it out for me (I'll be watching), and I'm going to get an important call and it will lead to a lot of money (someone please check my messages!) Enjoy! Jon and Liz

... accommodation in Urfa I chose from the Lonely Planet Turkey guide what is now known as Lizbon Konuk Evi (Guest House). [Further, it has since--2009--seemed to have gone out of business]. It is rather like a homestay in that there is a courtyard which is ringed by the hosts' living quarters, the kitchen, three guest rooms, a WC and a shower. The hosts are Aziz and Feride Torunlar.<br><br>I have nice pictures of the two of them, especially ...