How I loved this city, particularly Balikli Göl, the Pool of Abraham. History sits everywhere in town like dust in the air and on the streets. The buildings, the music, the sounds, the aromas, I felt like I had stepped into my childhood copy of One Thousand and One Nights
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The Grand Bazaar (Büyük Çarşı or Kapalıçarşı in Turkish) in Istanbul is full of life and sound and wonderful aromas. The sense of history weighs on you everywhere, and more recently it's been the location for a number of fun films, like James Bond Skyfall. The guides from Come See Turkey took us up onto the roof in a few places for some spectacular views of the city...
At the northern edge of Turkish Mesopotamia sits the ancient hilltop trading town of Mardin. (In the valley below you can find the modern city.) Something about Mardin speaks to you; it was very hard to leave its beautiful twisting streets, its hardworking vendors, its serene views. I only spent a night there, but I would go back in a heartbeat...
Outside of Batman, Turkey, we stayed at Bato Termal Otel. Everyone was exhausted from our previous day's adventures (in places like the Ishak Pasha Palace), but I woke up early before everyone else and wandered the area outside the hotel alone. The air smelled of sulfur (from the natural hot springs), the hills and trees were a lush green...
One of my favorite stops during my Come See Turkey adventures was Hasankeyf. History hangs in the air (the town is about 12,000 years old), and everywhere you turn you find gorgeous ruins. The town sits beside a breathtaking cliff formation along the Tigris River, topped by a Roman watchtower. The Roman name for the town, by the way, was Cephe, meaning stone...
