Pistachios...

We woke up at 7, and were downstairs for breakfast at 7:30. The group left at 8.

Sevim and her husband, Fuad, took us to Harran, the location of the oldest known mosque, called the Grand Mosque of Harran,  a creation dating back to the 8th century. All that remains is a large section of wall, an arch, a pool for water in the center, and a 33m tall square-shaped brick minaret. It's a beautiful sight.

We got tea at a small commercial establishment near the mosque. The building is built in the traditional style of the area; each room is small and rectangular, with little arches between them. The roofs are conical structures made of 12th or 13th century stone stolen from the excavations nearby and packed with mud. There's a cone over each room. The tops are open to allow air and smoke ventilation.

Near this we went to an old castle dating back several centuries. It was in shambles, but we climbed into it and wandered around. I found several very cool (and probably very dangerous) passageways and lookout points.

Back on the bus, we drove back to Şanlı Urfa, to a museum that houses the oldest known life-size statue of a human, from approximately 9,000BC.

I've been feeling under the weather for several days, since I arrived in Istanbul and, so I believe, started drinking the tap water. Sevim was kind enough to call her doctor and describe my symptoms. He thinks I have a parasite, and recommended some OTC meds I could get at a pharmacy.

We returned to the hotel and made a short trek to an outdoor display of mosaics from an archeological dig of a house (probably Roman) just down the street. The mosaics were incomplete, but beautiful, and almost full sized, labelled, and complete figures existed for Achilles and Odysseus, which I enjoyed immensely.

We returned to the hotel around 1, and had lunch. I wasn't hungry, as with breakfast, when I ate a couple of apricots for the meal. But when I had a bite my appetite sort of returned.

I avoided the şış we were served and opted for a simpler food, the vegetarian option, a pita/cheese item.

We took a walk through the city next. The highlight was the cave.

According to legend, in this cave in Şanlı Urfa, Abraham was born. His mother went to the cave to give birth because the idol-worshipping king was having all the sons at the time killed to avoid the prophecy that what eventually came to pass would pass.

Abraham lived in the cave for years and eventually made his way out and became acquainted with the ruler. Then he declared war on the idols, and smashed them all. He was arrested and was to be executed. From the top of the nearby castle (which we saw) there were two tall pillars (still there) from which he was slingshot into a pit of fire below. But God changed the fire to water and the wood to carp and saved Abraham.

All true.

The cave was beautiful, and had a mosque built around it. We paid our respects. 

Next we wandered the marketplace, stopping only for pistachio coffee (a deadly combination for me, given my distaste for coffee and anaphylactic allergy to pistachio). We were in a rush though, so we headed back soon and got on the bus to the next stop.

We drove for two hours to Gaziantep, the pistachio capital of the world. Really great place for me to be. Along the way we crossed the Euphrates.

In Gaziantep, we checked into Tugcan, our hotel, and had a half hour break. I'm rooming with Ben and Rhys tonight.

At 6:45 we went out to dinner. My stomach wasn't feeling so good, so I avoided the feast and stuck with Pide. It's a good thing, anyway. This city puts pistachio on everything. The name for pistachio in Turkish is Antep Fıstığı, a word derived from Gaziantep!

Back at the hotel at 8 and a bit. I went to the room to relax and sleep. I did just that. Took my parasite pills that Sevim had bought for me. 

Everyone else went out for a bit.