Turkish Mosaic circuit. Day 5 (550 kilometre distance covered)

8th October 2010

Adiyaman - Kahramanmaras - Kayseri - Cappadocia

We left Adiyaman towards Kahramanmaras fairly early this morning, in order to get there before lunch time to visit a market,  well known for selling all sorts of handicraft products.

What I believe most of us were looking forward to, turned out to be just an average Bazar type of market, whose supposedly handicrafted artifacts were very hard to find, aggravated by the fact that it was pouring down with rain, for which some of us (I included) were not prepared for ... and there's no worst nuisance than  wanting to stop at some of the hundred open market stalls, feeling wet from head to toe ...

Our guide was actually one of the restaurant  male servants (we haven't  yet seen any female serving at the tables, nor within our visible range), who patienttly guided us along the alleys of the  closed and open air  market.

Having nothing else but sandals to wear, I felt compelled to buy some shoes, having been told that in the past this region was known for making some of the best leather hand made shoes to be found  in the whole of Turkey... and to my satisfaction I bought a pair of beautifully  hand made green leather turkish shoes, that I didn't even try to "negotiate" (as the guides suggest), for they were already too cheap for the work involved.

  

Two views of the market, where city dwellers are seen wearing typical clothes (the old man on the left in turkish trousers and fez hat and the lady on the right with a long raincoat and a scarf around the head).


At lunch time we were introduced to one of the region's s typical (and particularly special) desserts - an ice-cream, called Maras Dondurast,  which according to two different versions is either made of goat milk or arabic glue (being sold in slices in the region market) ... either way, it was maybe the best ice-cream I have ever had (... irrespective of being a bit sticky ...) ...  and its flavour "lingered on" in my mouth most of the afternoon.

We then headed towards Kayseri, which we only reached by the end of the day. It was already beginning to get dark when we visited the Döner Kümbert (a conical roofed tomb erected in the XII century for a Seljuk princess, Sah Cihan Hatun), which pertains to the Hunat Hatun mosque complex.

 

Döner Kümbert Turbe (Left). Detail of one of the Döner Kümbert outside walls (Right).

The Hunat Hatun mosque (1228-1237), whose construction was ordered by the wife of the great Seljuk Turkish Sultan Alaettin Keykubat, the empress Mapheri Hunat Hatun, impacted me  ... maybe because of being lit up on the outside, constrasting with the dim light of its interior (just illuminated by a chandelier), where the prayers were being carried out, by the time we managed to get an authorization to visit it.

Outside the Hunat Hatun mosque

Inside the Hunat Hatun mosque

Men kneeling down in front of  several columns (so that no one might interfere with their connection with Allah by walking in front of them) were praying in a fairly audible way ...whilst  three of them standing up were singing ...

We walked on tiptoes not to disturb them ... and their worshiping prayers, which we have gradually been getting used to, as the sound of the muezins's calls echoe over and over again ... in our minds ... Most of us have been waking up around 5 or 5:30 (depending on the region)  to their call for the first morning prayer of the day.

Outside the Mosque, the lit up citadel of Kayseri created a strong impression on most of us. It is no wonder ...  as this city has gone through three golden-age periods, the first one dating back to 2000 BC, when the city was a trade post between the Assyrians and the Hittites, the second one during the Roman rule (200-300 AD) and the third one having been during the reign of the Seljuks (1178-1243).

Night view of the Kayseri Citadel





It is a pity we can't further culturally "explore" this city ... we are on our way to Cappadocia ...

Although I have never been too impressed with 4 star hotels as opposed to any other 2 or 3 star ones, when physically exhausted, I must confess that after such a long journey, the sight of this Hotel room as I walked into its chamber ... really caught my attention, as if I could already picture myself slumbering away like a "princess", who has just been away from home for too long ...

Hotel bedroom (Left). Hotel bedroom chamber (Right).

Turkish Mosaic Circuit. Day 4 (350 Kilometre distance covered)

7th of October 2010
Antakya - Nemrut Dag - Adiyaman

We left Antakya by 7:00 A.M to endure a very long and tiring day, sat  on the bus for what looked like  a never ending distance, which was to take us to the UNESCO site of Nemrut Dag, with just a stop at Adiyaman, for lunch, though the whole tiredness proved to be paid off at the end of the day when we finally reached Mount Nemrut  (2,150 m) and the last resting place built by Antiochos I (69-31 BC) of Commagene on its top.

On the way up (Left) and down (Right) Mount Nemrut.

The East terrace (Left).The West terrace (Right).

West Terrace. Antiochos I (Left). West Terrace. Commagene (Right)

 East Terrace. Head of guardian eagle and lion (Left). On the way down (Right).

No description can equal the emotions felt as we watched the sunset from the West terrace. I can't but feel an intense admiration for the man, who  in describing the reasons for having had this sacred resting place built up, stated 

" ... I justify my intention in erecting, close to the celestial thrones and on foundations inaccessible to the ravages of time, this hierothesion where my body after having aged in the midst of blessings, will sleep in eternal rest separated from the pious soul flying off towards the celestial regions of Zeus-Oromasdes ..."

The peaceful surrounding ... the radiant light ... the closeness to the sky ... the cool breath of air ... and the serenity of the moment,  allied to the inner silence, made it all look so unreal and undescribable, that anyone in search of a refuge, (whether in this or any other "life") might be tempted to sellect such a place ...

As we alked down, to once again get onto a bus (this time some hired smaller buses to carry us from and back to the hotel in three groups), I felt the long journey had been worth it ...

We were in Eastern Anatolia ... and I was beginning to like it. On our way to Adiyaman, Christian an I had already commented on the change of landscape ... the blue coastline had given way to long stretches of cotton wool plantations ... interspersed by  honey coloured mud like  fields with specks of green ... with people working on them or selling their products on the side roads, beside the hundreds of gravestones spread along the slopes of the small hills behind them.

Multiple views along the way

Adiyaman has been the only place (so far), in which I came across quite a few women dressed in black with their veils covering their faces completely ... I believe this aspect  has in a way "densified" the mystery, which has been on my mind, since my childhood in regards to the far Easter European countries ... and which does not necessarily correspond to what these countries are like nowadays, Atatürk  having played a major role  in what Turkey is today (... but I'll talk about him further ahead ...).

We have got a long way ahead of us tomorrow ... and though I feel slightly tired I am once more looking forward to what tomorrow might "unveil".

   

Turkish Mosaic circuit. Day 3 (260 kilometre distance covered)

6th October 2010
Mersin - Tarsus - Antioch

We have had no time to visit Mersin, as we left fairly early to Tarsus, known as the birthplace of Saint Paul, so as to  witness the only remains which testify his presence, a covered well, Christian worshippers still  come to on pilgrimage, as well as the Roman bridge of Justinian.

Saint Paul's covered well (Left).

The Roman bridge of Justinian (Right).

We have today tasted the real Turkish cuisine at the restaurant of the hotel we shall be staying at for the night. Too good to be described ... from the bread to the sauces, some of which were fairly spicy and therefore led to an initial "negative" reaction, which was soon to be changed, once they were mixed with a sort of yogurt like pasty sauce that accompanied all of the plates. The dessert was amazingly delicious ...  a wallnut stufed  type of moisty cookie dipped in honey (called kadayif) ... whose flavour was to "accompany" me all afternoon, as I would soon find out.

Soon after lunch we proceeded to Antakya, founded by the Seljucids in 300 B.C. After World War I it pertained to the French Syria territories until 1939, for which reason it still is considered as having a "French" touch of class.

View from Saint Peter's churchyard.

We then visited  the rock carved  church of Saint Peter. Though not very impressive with a depth of just 13 metres, width of 9.5 and height of 7 metres respectively, it has played a significant role regarding Christianity and is one of its  oldest churches, whose founding can be traced to the the Bible's Acts of the Apostles. 

Saint Peter's Church 13th century Gothic façade (Left). Saint Peter's church altar (Right).










The next stop was Antakya's Archeological Museum, which has the second largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world. Because of having visited Bardo Museum in Tunes, holding the highest collection I can't say I was too impressed, though I must consider that some of  the  Roman mosaic  bold themes did surprise me.

Some of the Roman mosaics dating from the 1st to 5th centuries AD in exhibition at the Antakya's Museum


The Archeological Museum was not just about Roman mosaics though, once several halls were dedicated to other aspects of Roman and Byzantine culture. Amongst some of those were Roman marble sarcophagi and  decorated columns, worth being seen.

8th Century BC Twin Lions on a column pediment (Left). Detail on one of the Roman marble sarcophagi (Right).




Prior to another fabulous Turkish cuisine dinner we walked to the left of our hotel in search of some waterfalls our guide had suggested we visit, which were not exactly what we had been expecting, but this walk allowed me to appreciate woolen embroidered  woven wall carpets produced by Syrian craftsmen. The naive style caught my attention and I ended up buying one of these square wall carpets.

I have a feeling the trip has just begun ... and I am looking forward to tomorrow's part of the circuit. Could it be that the food has further helped us to imerge into the Turkish culture ... or could it be because we approaching the Eastern Anatolia region? I don't know ... I just particularly liked today's trip.

Turkish Mosaic circuit. Day 2 (300 kilometre distance covered).

5th October 2010
Anamur - Kizkalesi - Mersin

We headed eastwards on our way to  Anamur to visit Mamure, an old crusade castle, considered as one of the nicest  in Asia Minor, having been built by the Romans in the third or fourth Century AD and later enlarged by the Bizantine Empire and the Crusaders.

In one of its three courtyards there is an ancient Mosque with a Minaret built in 1300-1308, which is apparently still being used.

Mamure castle walls (Left).  The ancient Mosque within the Mamure castle walls (Right).

What impressed me most apart from its well preserved state of conservation, was the amazingly beautiful view one could have from its walls onto the sea.

Anamur is Turkey's southernmost point and part of its coast is said to have been given by Mark Anthony to Cleopatra as a wedding present. The fact that some of the characters whose life stories fueled  our imagination as young adolescents are connected to this, has added a touch of "graciousness" to what the eyes can see.

View from the Mamure castle walls.

Our guide Ramazan, a former school teacher of French, has had us repeat some words in Turkish after him over these last two days,  in a rather old style  oriented methodology, which  somehow seems to be having some sort of beneficial effect, as by now we can already say good morning, good afternoon, thank you, very much and count up to five  ... but what's more impressive is that we can do it simultaneously in a choir like unisonous voice, as if we were 5 year old children attending primary school for the first time ... we all want to impress ...

We have also visited Kizkalesi, a crusader castle floating 150 metres ashore, which we reached by having taken a small boat. According to the legend, it was built by a King, who had been told his daughter would die from a snake bite.

In a drastic attempt to twist his child's fate, he had this "Maiden's castle" constructed, but she ended up being bitten by a snake, which slithered its way into a basket of grapes that happened to have been sent to the island ...  and died.

Kizkalesi  (Right). Korykos castle remains (Left).

The Byzantine built Korykos Castle remains could be seen on the left of the small boats anchorage point, but we still had a long way to Mersin, where we would be staying over night, therefore its visit was not included in today's programme.

Let's see what tomorrow's programme holds for us ...



Turkish Mosaic circuit. Day 1 (200 kilometre distance covered).

4th of October 2010

Turkey 
Antalya - Perge - Aspendos - Alanya

We have flown in from Lyon last night (or rather early morning today) to gather with a group of 33 other travellers flying in from Paris, Nantes and Lyon and we are expected to "cross" the country in 14 consecutive days on this Nouvelles Frontières adventure circuit.

We have today visited Perge by the Aksu river and its magnificient Roman city remains.  Having been a particularly rich city, decayed during the Bizantine period, it is said to have been ultimately abandoned during the VII century. The huge stadium caught my attention and so did the Helenic columns, which set the entrance to the city.

Perge stadium remains (Left). Agora column detail (Right).

We then proceeded eastward onto Aspendos, ancient city in Pamphylia, Asia Minor, which was founded around 1.000 B.C., having surrendered to the Romans in190 B.C.

It has the best preserved Theatre of antiquity, built in 155 by a Greek architect, during the rule of Marcus Aurelius, with a diametre of 96 metres providing around 7.000 seats.

It is really impressive because of its grandiosity, but it is only when one walks up and sees it down in full perspective, that one realises how majestic it is. I have seen quite a few Roman Theatres within European territory, but I must admit this is the one which has impressed me the most.

Aspendos Theatre (Left). Detail of one of the Teatre stage  walls (Right).

We had lunch at a local restaurant by a river, whose view stimulated one's appetite instantaneously, though the choice was not very appealling (roasted chicken, grilled trout or fried meat balls) ... a choice we would be confronted with on and on along the circuit.

Restaurant on the way to Alanya

We then continued towards Alanya, an ancient stronghold for many Mediterranean-based Empires, amongst which were the Seleunic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman, for reasons of natural strategic position, once it is located on a small peninsula into the Mediterranean sea.

We visited Alanya castle, a Seljuk era citadel dating from 1226 and within it a Byzantine era church. The current castle was built over existing fortifications and served the double purpose of having been a palace and a defensive structure, in case of attack.

Alanya citadel walls (Left). VI century Bizantine church remains within the walls (Right)

The manificient view one has from these citadel walls is breathtaking ... to one side the harbour city centre and to the other kilometres of beaches.

Views from the  Alanya Citadel walls

As I was walking down from the citadel walls, I came across an old embroideress, whose magical hands  must have made one the most beautiful  silk embroidered square table cloths I have ever seen, ... so I didn't hesitate ... nor even a second and soon found myself proudly walking  towards the harbour area with my first handicrafted "piece of Art".

We have a buffet dinner waiting for us at the Hotel and tomorrow we are expected to leave at 07:00 ..., but I am already looking forward to it.