Seat of Our Pants

When planning our trip to Turkey we knew just a few things about the country. One: we wanted to go. Two: it’s the seat of civilization (translation: people have been here a long, long time). Because we are the type of travelers we are, seeing just Istanbul and the Aegean Coast wasn’t going to do it for us. There’s history in Turkey, much of it in places that have been closed for tourism until recently. What’s that you say? Far off places that have recently become accessible? Sign us up.

Debating men in Diyarbakir

The first stop in our quest for the ancient is Diyarbakir in southeastern Anatolia. The city is suspected of being at least 3,300 years old. That’s, oh, about 3,100 years older than my country (insert blush here). With that much history under its belt Diyarbakir is a great jumping off point for our time in Turkey.

Diyarbakir is a walled city, a testament to it’s long history of strife. Today’s 1.5 million residents have spilled outside the original wall, since that was built sometime around 500 AD. A walk along it (yes, you can walk on top of the wall) and a little imagination make for a great game of What Must it Have Been Like? Christ wasn’t even an inkling of an idea when people settled here. Think about it! This place is mind-blowingly old.

We took a walk around the city today, led by a very nice local man. My first impression is of the city’s duality. It is both rugged and clean at the same time. It’s predominantly Muslim, yet storefront windows display mico-bikinis. We’ve been warmly welcomed, though have been told that avoiding certain areas would be in our best interest. It all adds up to make for an exciting entry point to this part of the world.

Oh, and we’ll also most likely be buying another carpet here. Darn you, smarmy rug dealers. You’re too good! But more on that later…

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.