Mardin

Trip Start May 24, 2008
1
15
28
Trip End Jul 26, 2008


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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Mardin was a great place to spend a few days.  It has a relatively small population and was noticeably more liberal than Sanliurfa.  The old part of the city climbs steadily up a hillside offering fabulous views of the Mesopotamian plain as it heads south to Syria.  Interestingly enough there is also a small Christian population that is still settled in the area which serves to mix things up a bit.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but the Euro 2008 football (soccer) tournament has been going on and Turkey made it as far as the final 4 teams.  The fever around the national team is infectious and it has been fun to experience all the energy that puts something like our Super Bowl to shame.  The roar of the city, yes the ENTIRE city when Turkey scores a goal is amazing.  Sadly, Germany put an end to Turkey's hopes of getting into the final game while we were in Mardin.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Other than that, there's not too much to say other than the location was simply a great place to let the air of a bigger city blow off.  The people here were very friendly, the skies were blue, and well, we really had no where else to be.

Enjoy!

Jon and Liz
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