The Gravediggers of the Republic by Mohamed Sifaoui

The Gravediggers of the Republic (islamo-leftism: the unpublished survey) is a rich and knowledgeable book. It offers a dive into history, explains theories and practice and gives sharp observations of the changing secular society: France in the first place but applicable to many countries. Sifaoui considers islamo-leftism as a threat to free societies. Step by step he accompanies the reader through the arguments why.

In the introduction, Sifaoui writes that he was educated and formed with the values of the left. Those values are the reason why he resists political islam because of its totalitarian character. Therefor he is shocked to see the liaison of the left with political islam:
‘(...) ceux qui sont suppose être de mon camp idéologique, de ma famille politique, les défenseurs réputés de l’humanisme, de l’antiracisme universaliste, des grandes valeurs, en somme de la Déclaration des droits de l’homme et enfin de la laïcité, deviennent les meilleurs alliés des islamistes. Une anomalie que je ne finis pas d’explorer.’ p. 24

The Gravediggers of the Republic has 3 chapters: the genesis of islamo-gauchisme, its foundations and its activists. Overall it is very interesting what Sifaoui has to tell but not always easy. Sifaoui uses very long sentences, so at the end of them you often have to go back to the beginning for interpretation. Cutting sentences in half would largely contribute to good readability. It is also a very French book. Context and most players are French. Often I thought, who is that then? Or I missed assumed knowledge about situations described. But I had to keep on reading as the book is so interesting.

Islam versus political islam
Sifaoui differentiates islam from political islam.
‘Je dis bien l’islam politique et non pas l’islam – ni les musulmans – puisqu’une religion réduite à sa stricte vocation, confinée dans la sphère privé, respectueuse des lois et des règles communes ne peut représenter un problème.’ p. 276
See also this video-fragment. Sifaoui states that the left is only interested in political, extreme islam, not in islam. For example the left supports less muslim women who do not wear veils than muslim women fighting to wear the veil in education and public offices.
‘Les << défenseurs des musulmans >> ou les << défenseurs des Maghrébins >> ne les défendent pas lorsqu’ils sont policiers, journalistes, chômeurs, ingénieurs, femmes émancipées, laïques, mais principalement quand ils sont islamistes. (...) Parfois ils se transformant même en menaces à leurs yeux’. p.364

the gravediggers of the republic

Historical perspective
The Gravediggers of the Republic shows how intellectual discussions about islam were well possible in the 19th century when great Arab thinkers contributed to debates. Then Wahhabism (origins in Saudi-Arabia) introduced intolerance and dictatorship of political islam. Sifaoui describes the historical process als it evolved in the Arab world: reforms in the 19th century, opening up to modernism, then overruled by nationalism since 1920 until the ‘70’s, when political islam starts to grow. I ascertain this was similar in the Turkish world: the 19th century reform movement Tanzimat, the nationalist period that started with Atatürk from 1920, and upcoming political islam after the 3rd Military Coup in 1980.

Conquering the main discourse
Sifaoui sees how political islam infiltrates democratic countries. Education is a very important sector for them because islamism is a long-term project and education an effective weapon. Also organisations fighting racism and other social or political associations are seen and used as partners.
Three steps are central in the islamic-leftist discours: first victimisation of muslims, then diabolisation of France and the values of the secular French Republic, finally reversal of the values. Thus many terror attacks have been justified already by islamo-leftists. The left abandons its traditionally essential principles. such as secularism and the fight against anti-semitism and even considers them as bad now. So the left approaches the political islamist discours, but the reverse movement (islamists defending leftist themes like feminism) does not exist.
Sifaoui explains the connection of the left with political islam from the fight against capitalism. For the left, a man who works hard to give a good life to his family, who enjoys liberties like emancipation that capitalism brings, who is no longer forced to go to church, synagogue or mosque, that free man is serving the wrong system. He is an individualist and an ally of capitalism, thus an enemy.

How resilient are France and the West?
The Gravediggers of the Republic gives many examples for its assertions. The fight to have women wear a veil and antisemitism are main themes for political islam. The left joins the political islam here. They plead for the veil as a woman’s right. They turn the wish for liberation of the Palestinian People into a fight against Israel that also brings antisemitism. That is not new or recent. In France in 1982 the newspaper Libération published openly a readers’ letter appealing to ‘Arab brothers’ to make sure ‘no Jew would feel safe’.
Also in Libération, the French socialist politician Jospin does not condemn terrorism in Algeria as he thinks the government has to be more democratic. Jospin indicates he cannot choose sides, a stand that shocks Sifaoui. Born and raised in Algeria, Sifaoui grew up with the extremist terror of GIA (see also this blog). He thinks the West and certainly the left is underestimating the power, deepness and violence of political islam. The West is not really equipped to fight it, but France is doing better than most countries on the institutional level. Is it really? I’m not convinced yet. I’d love to read a book from Sifaoui’s hand that is not merely focussing on France but studying different Western-European countries.

(Assumed) imperialism and colonialism as drivers
As the left sees Arab countries through the glasses of imperialism, they refer actual developments like political islam to colonial history. They could not be more mistaken, Sifaoui says. Political islam goes back ages and is not an actual development. Its inspiration does not come from the outside (by imperialism and the like) but from the inside of muslim-majority societies. Sifaoui sees two streams of political islam: one is ideological (Muslim Brotherhood) and one is revolutionary and violent (Wahhabism/Salafism). Both have strong connections to the left. The left finds excuses for acts that they would not accept from other citizens. But they see muslims as victims of society, not as free humans who choose to kill the staff of Charlie and visitors in the Bataclan or decapitate Paty. So in the name of (left) egalitarism, unequal treatment is allowed and even a must.

Read it!
There are so many historical facts in this book that it is difficult to summarize and present them here. With over 400 pages of knowledge and insights, the book is rich. Particularly original is chapter 16 about the ‘islamic left’(‘la gauche islamique’). Sifaoui has a fabulous knowledge of the Arab and islamic world, apart from his French insights. I recommend you read The Gravediggers of the Republic if you’re interested in islamo-leftism.

Finally, 2 fragments that were new and insightful to me:

1. Fragment explaining that political islam is less about faith or theology and more about fighting the system:
‘Pour comprendre l’adhésion d’un certain nombre de musulmans à l’islamisme, il faut garder présent à l’esprit un fait important (...). Ce ne sont ni la piété des prêcheurs islamistes, ni leurs envolées théologico-lyriques qui séduisent les musulmans, mais plutôt l‘expression de la contestaton après l’échec des expériences réformistes et nationalistes. En d’autres termes, l‘islamisme, et peut-être a fortiori depuis la mort du communisme, apparaît comme une alternative idéologique de remise en question de regimes autoritaires. En Occident, il y a une autre raison, car la repartition des richesses est plus équitable et les droits mieux garantis: on va vers l’islam politique car il offre une identité, il propose une aventure héroissante si le candidat entre dans des logiques djihadistes, et permet, ou donne, l’impression, de recouvrer une dignité, d’appartenir à un groupe qui – à tout le moins en apparence, c’est souvent une posture – ne fait pas du consumérisme et du matérialisme ses seules préoccupations.’ p. 202-203

2, About the difference of secularism (‘laïcité) in the US and France:
‘C’est méconnaître que la << separation >> outre-Atlantique visait, dès le départ, à protéger les Églises de l’emprise de l’État. En France, c’est l’inverse. En verité, deux modèles de laïcité s’opposent: une première laïcité, celle des Américains, considère, en effet, qu’elle protège les croyances contre l’État, la seconde, la << laïcité à la francaise >>, comme on l’appelle, empêche les religions d’interférer dans le fonctionnement de l’État.’ p. 326-327

You may also like these French-Algerian authors:
Yasmina Khadra: wonderful Algerian author
Hôtel Saint George: I understood…

Yasmina Khadra – wonderful Algerian author

Yasmina Khadra is the most famous Algerian author. He has a long list of books translated in 22 languages. In a very rich French language, he offers to his readers original insights about love, life, identity, colonialism, terrorism and fate. In my blog here, I present 2 books; especially Khalil was a book I could not lay down until finished. All the themes Yasmina Khadra offers are actual in the Netherlands as well as in Algeria and France. But the Netherlands have no authors who could or dared to touch these matters with the depth of experience and empathy of Yasmina Khadra. I highly recommend this author!

Note that the name Yasmina Khadra is the pseudonym of Mohammed Moulessehoul, who worked in the Algerian army for 36 years. The pseudonym served him to avoid military censorship. Nevertheless he can talk about terrorism and colonialism as an expert who lived there where it happened. That makes his books so much more interesting than average.

Khalil (2018)

Khalil is an intriguing, exciting and oppressive book about a terrorist of Paris 2015. The book starts immediately in the action, with Belgian-Moroccan Khalil on his way to a suicide mission to blow himself up in a full metro close to Stade de France. The book is written in ‘I’ so that the reader feels an immediate connection with Khalil’s ideas and feelings. His mission in the Paris 2015 terrorist attacks is unsuccessful as his bomb belt does not explode. From there starts a crazy journey, out of Paris, out of France where everything is on the alert, back to Belgium and finally Molenbeek where Khalil lives.

In Molenbeek, all security forces are active at the highest level too. Khalil first has to survive, then finally connects again with his terrorist group to plan new attacks. Meanwhile his family and his best friend are step by step finding out that he got involved in terrorist activities. Apart from Khalil’s central story, many social issues pass in review, like the terrible treatment of Khalil’s sister in Morocco by a marabout and then an imam when her mother thinks someone gave the bad eye to her daughter.

There’s also a lot to enjoy for language lovers, like these sentences:

  • Son souffle résonnait contre mes tempes comme le chuintement d’une canalisation fissurée. (His breath echoed against my temples like the hiss of a cracked pipe. p. 73)
  • Je connaissais suffisamment Driss pour l’enterrer sans sépulture. (I knew Driss well enough to bury him unburied. p. 90)
  • Aucune étoile dans le ciel n’égalait le sourire de Zahra. Lorsqu’elle étirait les lèvres sur les côtés, des fossettes ornaient les pétales qui lui tenaient lieu de joues, et elle devenait tout un jardin à elle seule. (No star in the sky matched Zahra’s smile. When she stretched her lips to the sides, dimples adorned the petals that served as her cheeks, and sje became a garden unto herself. p.96)

Khalil was translated in English, not in Dutch. I did not tell the whole exciting story here, for the suspense to stay when you start reading this book yourself. Here Yasmina Khadra in a video about this book.

Ce que le jour doit à la nuit (What the day owes the night 2008)

One of the best books about life in colonial, contested colonial and post-colonial times. Younes, presented as the I-person, comes from a very poor rural background. His parents lived misery in a region where violence, hardness and oppression formed the norm. Eventually Younes is educated by his uncle, a pharmacist in a city who gives him a very good and also medical education. His uncle’s wife is French and calls him Jonas. The contacts with his family that keeps living in poor and miserable conditions, are difficult, even painful.

In colonial Algerian cities, different groups coexist: French, Arabs, Jews. At school though, the ‘enfants étranges’ (foreign children) can form blocs that exclude Younes and other ‘Arabs’. But Younes ends up having different friends who all fall in love with the same woman, Emilie and it brings many complicated stories. While they live their daily life and problems, the colonial war starts to break out. As a pharmacist, Younes is forced to help the terrorists (or freedom fighters). During all of the book it stays unclear on what side Younes sees himself – he does not really choose or adhere to a side, it seems. He is just surviving in changing and confusing times where others put him in a group:
> Tu es des nôtres mais tu mènes leur vie (you are ours but you live their life p.200)

I like to round off this blog with a valuable advice from the book! Often Younes is unhappy. He once heard a story of a mad man in the street, telling: ‘Le malheur est un cul-de-sac.Il mène droite dans le mur. Si tu veux t’en sortir, rebrousse chemin à reculons. De cette facon, tu croiras que c’est lui qui s’éloigne pendant que tu lui fais face.'(Misfortune is a dead end. He leads straight into the wall. If you want to get out of it, turn back backwards. That way, you’ll believe it’s him walking away while you are facing him’ p. 300-301).

Ce que le jour doit à la nuit was translated in English and Dutch (What the day owes the night / Wat de dag verschuldigd is aan de nacht). Here Yasmina Khadra in a video about this book

More French-Arab authors? You may also like Boualem Sansal, 3 of his books in my blog Why are people like this?

Royal Tombs like Homer’s Iliad

royal tombs

Royal Tombs dating from the 8th and 7th century BC can be found in Northern Cyprus. The burial practices offer a good insight into ancient rituals just like Homer described them in the Iliad. However, it is more the knowledge about the Royal Tombs than the visit to the tombs themselves that is interesting.

royal tombs
royal tombs

Homer describes in the Iliad how kings and other noble personages were buried. His words are confirmed by the discoveries at the Royal Tombs in Northern Cyprus, although there are also archaeological theories about Homer being first to tell and invent and then the rituals on Cyprus following his epic narrative.

It is easy to find the Royal Tombs. If you go to the grave or the monastery of Saint Barnabas, north of Gazimagusa / Famagusta, you will see them along the road in the fields. Most objects found are in the Cyprus Museum in the South of the Island; I have not been there yet but it seems interesting as findings include chariots, a throne, incense burners, ivory objects, bronze horse bits and decorated breast plates, pottery and amphorae that contained oil and wine. Kings were buried with lots of grave goods.

royal tombs horse skeleton

On the location of the Royal Tombs however, only the stone buildings of the graves remain as well as the skeletons of horses: try to see one behind the glass on the picture (left). I am not sure if the glass ‘protection’ is helpful; most of them were so humid on the inside that it was impossible to see anything or take pictures. How can a humid glass house be protective for such old remains? My visit was December 2018; maybe it is dryer and more clear in summertime.

Burial in the era of the 8th and 7th century BC did not just come with the above mentioned grave goods but also with sacrifice of horses, donkeys and even humans. Archaeological research only started in the ’60ies here and gave a wealth of information. Whoever thought that Homer just made up his stories in the Iliad, found out that his description of burial practices was very accurate (unless you support the theory that the rituals were only shaped under the influence of Homer’s stories).

royal tombs
royal tombs
royal tombs 50

Most probably (part of) the Royal Tombs were used during many ages. Saint Catherine’s Tomb, number 50, for example, had a chapel on top that dated from the 4rd century BC. Archaeological research in the ’60ies revealed that the chapel was built on a tomb dating from a thousand years earlier than the 4th century chapel. By the way, the chapel was used for Saint Catherine’s veneration even in 1950 BC! So this location was special to many people during at least 2600 years…

cellarga graves
cellarga mezarlik

Not everybody could afford a Royal Tomb. Next to the Royal Tombs lies a necropolis of hundreds, or even thousands of graves. Just like the nearby ancient city of Salamis and the nearby Bronze Age city of Enkomi, only a minor part of the fields have been unearthed. What has been excavated, shows us tombs people could go to by steps downstairs that were cut in the rocks. Large stones sealed the entrances of the burial chambers that were used almost continuously from 700 BC until 400 AD.

Cellarka necropolis
necropolis of cellarga

The picture on the right shows the immense fields with so much left to excavate. Further on you can see the grave and monastery of Saint Barnabas between the trees. Next to the chapel of Saint Barnabas’ grave there are also findings of burial chambers. Maybe that is just ‘the other end’ of the same necropolis….

cellarga necropolis

Like the Royal Tombs, there is not so much ‘to be seen’ here. Nevertheless in the same time it is an exciting experience to stand there and oversee the place and consider that all you see might have been part of an immense necropolis, used during more than 10 centuries by hundreds of thousands of people. Neither in the nearby cities of Salamis or Enkomi nor at the Royal Tombs or Cellarga necropolis any excavation took place since 1974: the year that Cyprus was split in a Turkish and a Greek side. But nothing stops you from visiting the sites already now: you can feel the vibe of Homer’s Iliad here quite clearly!

Saint Barnabas’ grave

Saint Barnabas' grave

Saint Barnabas’ grave lies on the northern (Turkish) side of Cyprus, in the cellar under a small chapel. Although this saint’s grave is a major ‘asset’ for the status of the Cypriot-Orthodox church, no signs of love or care can be found.

small Greek-Cypriot chapel
Saint Barnabas' grave

I expected to find a place with worship and deep veneration but the grave of Saint Barnabas bears hardly any signs of that. To my surprise, street dogs were walking in and out of the chapel. The grave cellar contains just a few cheep pictures and a candle here and there. Whoever saw the decorations and worshipping around the graves of for example Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint John can not believe his eyes in seeing the treatment of Saint Barnabas’ grave.

Saint Barnabas' grave
Saint Barnabas' grave

Saint Barnabas was an apostle who worked a lot with Saint Paul. He was the one who introduced Saint Paul who was converted only after having persecuted the Christians, to the apostles who still feared that man. Barnabas convinced them that Saint Paul’s conversion was truthful. Saint Paul and Barnabas traveled together from Antioch to Tarsus to Jerusalem, from Cyprus to Pamphilia. The couple spread early christianity every where, until they fell out and split. After that both went their own way.

In 46 AD Saint Barnabas returned to the city of Salamis in Cyprus, the Island where he was born. The Bible does not mention what happened to him after that but Christian tradition dating from the 3rd century already has it that he died as a martyr there in Salamis (c. 75 AD). His remains are buried in a small grave cellar under a chapel not far from that ancient city on the northern side of Cyprus. As said the chapel is open for everybody, even dogs. The interior contains nothing special. Just take the stairs to go down and see the coffin in the cellar.

simple church interior
stairs in the chapel to go down to the grave cellar

The fact that Cyprus ‘has’ Saint Barnabas is the main reason that the Cypriot-Orthodox church is an ‘independent’ church. Unlike what many people think, they do not belong to the Greek-Orthodox or similar orthodox churches. Of course they do have strong ties but the Cypriot-Orthodox church makes it’s own policies, can go it’s own way. This was particularly clear in the ’60s and ’70s when archbishop Makarios was president of Cyprus. Religion and politics intertwined and there was no way to stop Makarios in his policies to let Cyprus become one with Greece (‘enosis‘) and oppress the Turkish-Cypriot community.

cellar with coffin of Saint Barnabas

During 30 years it was not possible for Greek Cypriots to go to the North and for Turkish Cypriots to go to the South but there is again free access already since 2003. You’d expect an investment by Greek Cypriots to make Saint Barnabas’ grave a respectable place of veneration. Or have they gone beyond the point where that matters – how proud are the Greek Cypriots of a church that is still a major factor in blocking peace processes in north-south negotiations?

road to the chapel of Saint Barnabas
road to Saint Barnabas’ chapel

Anyway, I found it painful to see the status of Saint Barnabas’ grave. Whatever today’s politics are like, he lived in a different turbulent period and did his upmost to create something new and good he believed in. He suffered for that and deserves a better memorial.





You may also like these blogs:
Saint Barnabas Icon and Archaeological Museum: the former Saint Barnabas Monastery where the last monks left in 1977.
Royal Tombs like Homer’s Iliad: not just the Royals Tombs but also the Cellarga necropolis lies here. Some graves excavated next to Saint Barnabas’ chapel seem to be part of that necropolis.

Panagia Tochniou Monastery – Northern Cyprus Heritage (23)

panagia toxniou

Panagia Tochniou Monastery or in Turkish, the Bulușa Manastırı lies in a beautiful spot of the Kyrenia mountains in Northern Cyprus. A high Cypress Tree that is 500 years old serves as a wishing tree. The place is deserted and peaceful when I arrive there.

panagia toxniou

Panagia Tochniou Monastery is in a better state than I expected when the locals of the village Agıllar (in Greek: Mandres) showed me the way, complaining that heritage is left abandoned and that nobody takes care of it. Panagia Tochniou Monastery lies at only 3 kilometers distance of Agıllar; follow the tarmac, you do not need to go over unpaved roads even if your map tells you so. The first 2,5 kilometers you think you will end up in the middle of nowhere with nothing to see.

panagia toxniou

Then suddenly a great view opens in front of you: tree, monastery, fields and the Troodos mountains far away. The Cypress Tree is said to be 500 years old and 15 or 18 meters high. It was bigger once upon a time but it was struck by lightning and is now hanging over like the tower of Pisa.
The tree is full of little papers and cloths symbolizing visitor’s wishes: may they all become true!
Large iron rods protect the tree from falling: a merciful act accomplished by English inhabitants, a local in Agıllar told me.

panagia toxniou
panagia toxniou

The church of the
Panagia Tochniou Monastery is not in a too bad shape. I have seen a lot worse in Northern Cyprus (for example Antiphonitis, Sourp Magar, Agios Pandeleimon).
Panagia Tochniou dates from the 12th or 13th century: Find more details about that and a recent restauration here.

panagia toxniou

Inside, some traces of frescoes can be found in the dome and in arches. The tomb in the north wall seems to be the founder’s tomb.

panagia toxniou

In front of the church is a courtyard with buildings around it. On one side they are intact. You can enter the rooms that are empty. The view from the windows is spectacular. How on earth did they find this kind of spots in the middle ages to build their monasteries? Well done, for sure!

panagia toxniou

There is not a lot left from the other buildings around the courtyard of Panagia Tochniou but a look around is interesting. I saw several different marble pillars that are certainly not medieval. Most probably they took them from the ruins of nearby Salamis, an ancient city that thrived for over 1200 years until it was destroyed by the Arabs in the 7th century.

panagia toxniou

On a visit in 2012, a reporter from the local newspaper described the place as a total mess (you can read it here in Turkish, quite funny) where nobody ever picks up the garbage, but when I visited Panagia Tochniou Monastery (December 2018) it was clean. And peaceful, most of all. A beautiful place.

Find the Panagia Tochniou Monastery on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sinir-Üstü-Buluşa-Manastırı/312056435663223

Agios Mamas Agıllar – Northern Cyprus Heritage (22)

Agios Mamas Agıllar

Agios Mamas Agıllar lies in a small village of just a few hundred inhabitants, called Agıllar in Turkish and in Greek: Mandres. Nobody looks after the church. In the village, there are tensions between Turkish Cypriots and Turcs. My visit was more interesting for the meeting with the locals than for the church Agios Mamas Agıllar.

agios mamas church

Agios Mamas Agıllar is an abandoned church taken over by the pigeons after being used as a mosque for many years. It took me quite some time to find the name of this church and now that I have the name, I still haven’t got a clue how old it is. Feel free to comment below if you have information about this church, that would be interesting.

agios mamas Agıllar

I met a local who felt uneasy about the state of the church: ‘our municipality should care more but they do nothing’. I wondered, is it not the Greek-Cypriot religious authority that is responsible here? But he was sure, ‘no, for general maintenance the municipality is responsible’. Well, in that case they surely lack in task execution…

Agıos Mamas Agıllar

The only thing about the church that struck me was the fact that it still has a clock. Usually clocks are removed as soon as churches are turned into mosques. Maybe they did remove the Agios Mamas clock but kept it in a safe place and put it back when they did no longer use Agios Mamas Agıllar as a mosque.

agios mamas Agıllar

Agios Mamas Agıllar was maybe not that interesting for a simple tourist like me but the meeting with the locals was. A conversation that started in the streets of Agıllar soon ended in the local cafe La Marina, a century old house that had the traditional shape many houses had before they were broken down by the Turcs who came to live here. Indeed it is a beautiful place with nice arches and a wooden roof. Tea and cakes were offered by the Turkish-Cypriot inhabitants.

Agıllar

They told about the existing tensions between themselves as Cypriots and the mainland Turcs who had come to live in Agıllar and now form the majority. One of the Turkish Cypriots worked in the Greek South where he tried to learn Greek and his colleagues Turkish because they have a deep Cypriot desire to understand each other and share a common culture again.

Agıllar local cafe

Almost by accident I find out that there must be an old monastery nearby, nowadays called the Bulușa Manastırı, the Bulușa monastery. Again it took some time to find the real name that appeared to be the Panagia Tochniou Monastery. A local explains that it is abandoned just like the church. That makes him angry. Next to the monastery stands an old and precious tree that might be falling down. Who takes care of the tree? Not the Turkish Cypriots, nor the Greek Cypriots. They are worthless and do nothing for preservation. It is the English who safeguard the tree. Isn’t that a shame?! I do not know how to answer to this tirade of a Turkish Cypriot and nod silently. Whether I talk with Greek or with Turkish Cypriots: it always seems to be someone else’s responsability…
I must see this monastery for myself, that is clear. The goodbye is with warm greetings and an invitation to come again. Plus indications for the road to the monastery that is a few kilometers off the road.

Agıllar, just a few hundred inhabitants with a Turkish Cypriot minority compared to Turkish mainlanders. Warm hearted and visionary in different aspects of the word: worth your visit, especially if you speak enough Turkish to exchange ideas on a profound level with the locals.

You may also like these blogs about abandoned churches in Northern Cyprus:
https://grethevangeffen.nl/2018/01/16/agios-nikolaos-limnia/
https://grethevangeffen.nl/2015/12/25/agios-mamas-church/ > church with the same name as this blog but in Bahceli
https://grethevangeffen.nl/2011/07/29/gaidhouras/

Traveling in Şanlıurfa

Traveling in Şanlıurfa

Traveling in Şanlıurfa is a great idea but not easy. Here I give you some tips. Do not worry about food or pickpockets. Buses and taxis make your transport easy if you do not want to walk. Your problems are different in this conservative area and mainly concern ‘the rules’ and personal safety.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa

Conservatism and safety
Traveling in Şanlıurfa is traveling in a conservative place. The general norm here is orthodox Islam and it is known that radical elements are also here. Be aware that the center of the ISIS-calliphate was next to the province of Şanlıurfa (so-called capital Raqqa only 70 kilometers away). A friend of mine who visited 2 months before me noticed quite some Dutch license plates on cars (‘Syrië-gangers’), radicals who had fought in Syria and passed the border to be more safe in Turkey as they were loosing the fight in Syria. I myself didn’t see them by the way. However, conservatism can be felt in many aspects.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa

I got loads of questions as a woman traveling alone. Locals can get quite irritated because they feel you cross the line – you break the rules just by doing so. On the other hand, comments can be tackled with friendliness and compliments; locals are sensitive to that. Be aware that you can not change the world. Do not go into discussions you can’t win and that might bring you into safety problems. Confirm what is OK in the culture to support your safety.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa

For example I was in a dolmuș-bus and after the other passengers had left, the driver started to criticize me for traveling alone as a woman, and how that problem should be solved now. I responded that there was no problem because Turkish hospitality is unbelievably wonderful and that everybody is willing to help me as a guest. He immediately confirmed my view, yes, Turkish hospitality was beyond what any country had to offer (Turkish nationalism is always strong 😊). Then he frowned, I think he understood that after his praise of Turkish hospitality, he couldn’t go back to the subject of me-alone being a problem.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa
No bikes at all in Şanlıurfa. However notice this bike-storage stuff: there must be plans for bikes, somehow, some day.

Conservatism means people want to play by the rules, and they do not think about the meaning of rules. They can not discuss them. For example at Göbeklitepe I first went up the hill with my ticket to see the temples but I came down because the weather was very bad. I entered the building downstairs for a coffee and audiovisual show. After an hour, I decided to try again and they wanted me to buy another ticket because I went up already. Note that all were shivering, and they knew I did not go on the temple hill itself. The keyword here is patience. Arguing doesn’t work because the basis of the rules is not argumental for them. Just stand there, telling that you already bought a ticket and wait. They started to discuss among themselves about my problem and it ended so that one guy came out, waved to me and let me go to the road up the hill again. Some others watched, maybe unhappily because the rules were broken but without further resistence. You will find yourself in situations like that. Keep smiling (not too much because you are a woman in a men’s land), wait and let others solve the problem. A key problem in islamic conservatism is the lack of critical reflexion. Do not think that a simple visitor can change that. Just find a way to travel with it when traveling in Şanlıurfa.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa
Most cars in Şanlıurfa are white!

It is unusual for women to be on the street after sunset, unless accompanied by men. For safety in general: if you are not used to travel in risky, unsafe areas, do not go to Şanlıurfa on your own. There are group journeys, although not many because companies can not always deal with the risks of this region either. Be vigilant: personal safety is your main concern here, 24/7. Certainly do not go to places outside Şanlıurfa city or Göbeklitepe site without anybody knowing that you go there and without knowing who is your protection on the spot when problems occur. Generally speaking in places like Harran and Sogmatar you are unprotected unless you organize it and speak the language (Turkish or Arab).

Traveling in Şanlıurfa
Traveling in Şanlıurfa

Concerning robberies and the like, you are very safe traveling in Şanlıurfa. Look at the jewellers: they all have their door widely opened to the public, during day time and even after sunset. ‘We all know each other here’, a local told me. Anyway stealing is considered as a very bad thing. If you have to pay something, you could give your wallet to the person you have to pay to – and it will be dealt with correctly. Nobody grabs your bag in the street. As a woman, I was maybe judged a lot but I was not at all harassed, not one single time. Anybody you ask help from, will help you. First of all Turcs love to help someone out, second they have a culture where everybody is used to ask little services, third you are a guest and hospitality is key, also in Şanlıurfa.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa
shopping center decorated for holiday season

Questions
Question number one they ask you is: do you have children? This question will come to you at least ten times a day, from the hotel reception to the bakery, from the cashier at the restaurant to the woman that helps you find your way in a mosque. Not having children here means your life was useless (and that maybe you are useless, too). Either talk about your children, real or phantasy, or give ‘kismet’ = ‘fate, destiny’ as a reason for not having them, they will stop asking. Unless you like long and uneasy discussions, of course.

Traveling in Şanlıurfa
excellent skating rink but no skaters in Şanlıurfa shopping center. however, the food court was full…

Question number two they ask you is: are you married? Not being married also means missing out the meaning of life. This is one of the regions in Turkey where girls are married at the age of 14 or where a position as second wife is accepted, rather than risking a life as an unmarried person. Question number three is: what is your name? Three identical questions asked all the time and in that order. The good news is: you can be prepared 🙂

Traveling in Şanlıurfa

Food and drinks
Food and drinks are excellent. Go to the local restaurants and eat a great meal for just a few euros. Men have their own room, usually downstairs. Some restaurants have a place upstairs for mixed groups or women and children. It took me days to find a women-friendly restaurant – in western terms. Finally, unexpectedly, in the banking district I found an open restaurant where women walked in as much as men, some of them veiled, others unveiled. It didn’t matter there and that is rare to find in Şanlıurfa. But it exists!

Traveling in Şanlıurfa
Air is not always clean. Some say, because many locals use wood to warm the house.

Alcool and drugs
There is no alcool in average public places in Şanlıurfa for religious reasons. Don’t be the troublesome tourist to push for it. This is not about your safety but your waiter´s and it’s serious. Strange enough there are drugs in Şanlıurfa, at least soft drugs and maybe more, and availability might not be difficult. One local showed me a photograph of himself in front of what I’d call a cannabis tree (!) in his own garden. Also, after sunset in darker places, there is some illegal activity. Not recommended and be careful – there is no forgiveness for foreigners.

Feel free to approach me if you will be traveling in Şanlıurfa! I enjoyed it and wish you an equally good or even better trip.

Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa

Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa, in Turkish ‘Kurtuluș Müzesi’, was closed when I got there but a most friendly guard let me in anyway. There are few visitors for the Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa and certainly not tourists from outside Turkey. Apart from the museum I also had a look at the Müslüm Gürses Museum, the museum for a very successful musician from Şanlıurfa – and at the joyful museum cat Keto…

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa

Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa houses in an old complex (1903) consisting of several traditional and beautiful Urfa houses around a court. One house is the Freedom Museum. The room of the museum is very beautiful, look at the glass works on the picture above. There is also the Folk Art or Folk Music Museum (didn’t see it) and the Müslüm Gürses Museum. As it had been raining a lot in the period before my arrival, there had been serious leakages at the Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa. All guns and rifles were removed from the showcases and the museum was closed. A very friendly Turkish-speaking guard took his key and let me in anyway.

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa

In one corner, the Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa shows a circle of men deliberating about the coming war of freedom. ‘Only men?’, I asked the guard in Turkish and I explained him that the War Museum Gaziantep also showed the role of women and children. The guard laughed, ‘no not here’, he said, ‘there is no role for women and children here, only men’. Nothing was politically correct in his words and that was refreshing.

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa

Like Gaziantep (‘Antep’), Şanlıurfa (‘Urfa’) played a major role in the freedom war 1919-1923 after Turkey had been defeated in the 1st World War. After this war, western powers divided Turkey. Turkey’s South with cities like Antep and Urfa were supposed to be under French rule. But they resisted, under the guidance of Atatürk who later founded the ‘new’ Turkish state. The Christians were fighting on the side of the French and they were hated for that. Why did the Christians do that? During the 1st World War, Antep and Urfa were a direct witness and probably also an actor to the terrible fate of the Armenians and other Christians: 1,5 Millions lost their life. Complete neighbourhoods lost their inhabitants. Like in Gaziantep, there is not a single reference to this part of history. It all starts with the war of freedom 1919-1923.

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa

Atatürk reportedly asked the leaders of Şanlıurfa to wait for a certain moment to be indicated by him to join the fight against the French. But in the scene depicted in the Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa, the leaders decided to start fighting anyway. They did not wait for Atatürk’s orders and joined the fight. Their contribution was so heroic that Atatürk granted the title ‘Şanlı’ = ‘glorious’ to Urfa. From then on, Urfa’s name became Şanlıurfa.

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa

There are some photographs in the Freedom Museum Şanlıurfa. The guard showed me his great-great-great-grandfather’s picture, here on the left. Historically, the museum offers little information and the few infos given are in Turkish only. Maybe it’s more interesting when the objects removed from the showcases are there again. What I liked about this museum is the impression of the ‘couleur locale’ it gave. The guard stressed that I would have a look in the Müslüm Gürses Müzesi, now that I was there anyway – so I did. A happy and jumpy young cat, Keto, followed us.

Kurtuluș Müzesi Şanlıurfa
May I introduce myself? KETO
müslüm gürses müzesi
müslüm gürses müzesi
müslüm gürses müzesi

While I watched clothes, LP’s, tapes, books and instruments that had belonged to Müslüm Gürses who died a few years ago, museum cat Keto hid behind one of the closets and the guard was busy to get him out. The guard was unsuccessful and decided to close the door of the museum anyway when I left. However clever Keto took an enormous jump and came out just in time, to run past us into the courtyard. The guard laughed and so did I. Cat lovers always find common ground, world wide.

The guard offered me a cup of tea. He did not want any money for his efforts as he was paid by the government already – very much like the guard of the kastel I visited in Gaziantep. He told me the government is a good and reliable boss; much better than the private sector in Şanlıurfa where workers regularly have to wait for their wages to be paid. Well the government certainly does something good when it creates honest and friendly employees that show Urfa’s best face to visitors. Thanks!

Read here about the opening of the Müslüm Gürses Museum in 2013

Churches in Şanlıurfa

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Churches in Şanlıurfa are remainders of a different past when Christians and Muslims lived together in this region. All three churches that I visited are mosques now but it is still possible to see that they were churches before. Few locals speak English. If you speak Turkish (or Arab), locals explain you without any problem what they know about the history of the buildings.

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Fırfırlı Church

Where are the Jews and the Christians, I asked in Gaziantep one year before my visit to Şanlıurfa. Locals felt embarrassed to answer and in the end of the day I found out that a painful history of the ‘80ies made them careful to speak out. Şanlıurfa has its own history. If you mention the word ‘Jew’ here, faces go blank. Jews is rather something from the time of Sogmatar, long gone, far away, non-existent. ‘Jew’ is not a word that I could hear anyone pronounce in Şanlıurfa. 

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former St Stephen Church

As for Christians, locals do remember them but I could not find anyone to go into detail about why they are not here any more. Like Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa played a major role in the freedom war 1919-1923 after Turkey had been defeated and divided in the 1st World War. In 1924 the Christians of Urfa migrated to Aleppo. The neighbourhoods they left are still recognizable in style. It is also where the former churches are found. For the history of the churches in Şanlıurfa I visited, the responses are unanimous: already in the ‘50ies, the churches in Şanlıurfa were long deserted and in an neglected state. I met no one who spoke about a period earlier than the ‘50ies.

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Fırfırlı Church
Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Fırfırlı Church

My first visit was to Fırfırlı Cami, the former Armenian-Protestant Fırfırlı Church dating from the 11th century. Fırfırlı is a nickname, used because of the sound of the whispering wind here. The original name was Church of the 12 Apostles. It must have been a big complex and still has a nice court. Many details both inside and outside were added in the 1956 restauration to turn the church into a mosque. Local opinions differed about the question which details were or were not original when I asked so you have to guess a bit yourself.

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Fırfırlı Church, now guesthouse
Churches in Şanlıurfa
Traces of mosaics
Churches in Şanlıurfa
Entrance underground tunnel

Part of the complex is now a guesthouse. Upon request, they will show you around for a few minutes. There are traces of the mosaic floor that lay here originally. Interesting is also the entrance of a tunnel that goes all the way to the Kale, the castle, as an escape road for people living in the castle when they were under siege.

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Church of St Peter and St Paul
Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former Church of St Peter and St Paul

After the Fırfırlı Cami, I went to the Reji Kilisesi, the former Syriani Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It was made in 1861 on the ruins of a church dating from the 6th century. When Urfa’s Christians migrated to Aleppo in 1924, the Reji Kilisesi was used as a tobacco factory and grape store by the board of excise = régie in French. Documents and sepulchral monuments were moved to the Urfa Museum (not sure what museum is meant, I did not see them in the Arkeoloji Müzesi – maybe I was just obsessed by the great antiquities there). Apparently the church was restaured with European money and is therefor not allowed to change it into a mosque or put a minaret on it. It is used as a kind of community house. Have a look inside to see. Also the courtyard – photo on top of this blog – is worth your attention.

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former St Stephanos Church

The third former church I visited was the Ulu Cami. A sign at the entrance tells us that the Saint Stephen Church was built on the remains of a synagogue in the 5th century. In the 12th century it was transformed into a Mosque, first called the Red Mosque because of the red marble used. The octogonal tower originally belonged to the church and now serves as the mosque’s minaret. I asked if I could visit the mosque at the inside. Alas that was only possible through the women’s prayer room – not so much a ‘do-as-you-like’ mosque here… And that was very disappointing.

Churches in Şanlıurfa
Former St Stephanos Church

The women’s prayer room is completely separated from the general mosque. It is very ugly from the point of view architecture: how to ruin the beauty of the past…! Moreover, it felt like a second or even third class place to pray. Women here litterally pray against a gypsum wall, locked up in their own space. I did not stay long, strongly regretting religious practices that offend women to such an extent.

courtyard Ulu Cami

So far my search for churches in Şanlıurfa. A local told me that there are still some Christians in Şanlıurfa and that they live a completely hidden life. The score on Christian-friendliness of Şanlıurfa is certainly lower than in other Turkish cities: not for incidental visitors who temporarily adapt to basic rules. But for those who live here, circumstances are (very) unfavorable.

Link to detailed (technical) info on every aspect of the Ulu Cami (in Turkish)

Follow this link for more info and photographs of the Fırfırlı Church: scroll down to see a great picture of the Armenian community in the church in 1919.

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Sogmatar: echo of a lost religion

Sogmatar: white hills under an endless sky. At night, the view of the moon and the stars must be spectacular here, at Sogmatar. No doubt that the view is an important reason why humans with a religion following nature chose these hills for their temples: seven temples, each temple on a different hill. Visiting Sogmatar was an amazing experience, uncomparable to anything else.

The first sign of Sogmatar is the cave of Pognan. In the middle of nowhere, unprotected by any protection measure whatsoever, I find old carvings of humans against the walls of this cave. One assumption is that the human figures symbolize the planets, part of the religion of nature practiced here with a central place for the god Sin, the moon and the father of the gods. General knowledge so far relates Sogmatar directly to practices at Harran. Sogmatar could even have been Harran’s open-air temple.

After the cave, the road goes on to the hills. Poor houses are scattered around the place. Children approach to say hello. Do they not go to school? Yes they do, they say. They have a very old teacher and he is not giving lessons this afternoon. But there is a small building that forms the class room.

sogmatar

What should happen to these innocent children in the rather cruel environment of fundamentalists on the one side, and immense technological progress on the other? Can this half abandoned village prepare them for the world outside? I pass a goat, a dog and some garbage, to end up at the foot of a hill. On top of this hill lies the temple of the Sun or the central sacred hill (like in Harran, sources differ here so I can not give you precise information about what hill is what). The way to go up is rather easy, sport shoes would be nice but my boots with high heels do not create problems for the way up (and down).

Rock and earth, rock and earth: the higher one climbs the more impressive the view on the area becomes. Within ten minutes I arrive at the top of the hill. In front of me are new carvings made into the rocks of the hill, even better than the ones in the caves. Amazing: on top of this hill, for anyone to see and to visit, out in the open, a man and a woman are patiently looking at the new visitor. Maybe they didn’t see anybody for ages, but it could also be that I am visitor number 2 Million. However, the hills are totally deserted now, except of some villagers.

sogmatar
1 of 7 Sogmatar temple hills
sogmatar
1 of 7 Sogmatar temple hills

What I learned in my visit to Şanlıurfa – former byzantine town of Edessa – is that Syriac was a general language here. I always thought it was a religious language, used by minorities like the Syrian-Orthodox. However here it is found on mosaics, in Harran, and also here in Sogmatar where nothing indicates they ever heard about Christianity. It was in Syriac that astronomers studied their science, based on Syriac translations of old Greek texts of Aristotle and the like. It was in Syriac that they deployed their rituals towards the sun and the moon and the five planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury, each of them having their own temple on their own hill. From the hill of the temple of sun, all other hills are visible as you can see on the photographs.

sogmatar
another Sogmatar temple hill
sogmatar
another Sogmatar temple hill

Another hill that is visible on this picture (brown and green) looks like a place where excavations could be successful. I was told that some minor research was done on top of that hill and small stuff like coins were found there. One day, there will be archaeological excavations on this spot. It might be another Göbeklitepe. Let’s hope that whatever is under the surface will be safeguarded for future generations.

sogmatar

I pass the statues carved in the rock wall to go to the very top of the hill. The view is majestic. I imagine that it is night and that the sky shows all planets and stars in its full glory. There might not be a better location in Mesopotamia to watch than here. The builders of these temples either were Sabeans or were related to Sabeanism (see my other blog for uncertainties in sources about that). Holes in the top of the hill show that they had statues there, set upright by putting the smaller basis at the bottom of the statue into the hole. A man made basin indicates the spot where sacrifices were made.

sogmatar

More Syriac inscriptions are found on top of this hill. A translation: “I am Tridates, the son of Arab Governor Adona. I built this altar and pillar for Marelahe on February in 476, for the lives of my master King and his sons, for my father Adonna’s life, for my own life and for the lives of my siblings and my children”. The date of 476 written in the scripture means around 164-165 A.D. according to Seleucid calendar.

sogmatar

Technically speaking, there is ‘not so much to see’ here in Sogmatar. It is also not very old site, maybe 1800 years – not an impressive age in Mesopotamia. But for me, Sogmatar beats all other sites I visited in Şanlıurfa region for a reason I can not completely explain. I think one day I’d like to return and see what it feels like at night. Sogmatar echoes a lost religion of nature that survived much longer than generally known: most probably 800 to 1000 years after the introduction of Christianity and it had some kind of co-existence with Islam. Only the invasion of the Mongols put an end to this era.

sogmatar
sogmatar

On the way back to Şanlıurfa, I pass rock graves. Apparently, people did not just come here for religious and/or scientific practices but they also lived here. Stairs are leading into the rock graves that are empty. I look around, where did these people live? Wherever I look, the fields and hills are deserted except for the few houses close to the temples. The scenery does not reveal its secrets. It is in complete silence that I return to the city of Şanlıurfa – a very conservative-islam city where nothing echoes the lost religion of Sogmatar.

Interesting links, two blogs about Sogmatar:
http://unchartedruins.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-hall-of-records-temple-of-seven.html
http://www.sbresearchgroup.eu/Immagini/ReportfromSogmatar.pdf

To find your way in the region, read Traveling in Şanlıurfa


Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa has several mosaic masterpieces that were found at or close to the spot where the museum is located. The mosaics are relatively recent, dating from the 5th and 6th century AD in the time that Şanlıurfa was called Edessa. I liked especially the mosaic of the Amazons, fearlessly hunting ladies.

urfa 19th century villa
19th century Urfa House
urfa roman baths
Haleplibahce Roman Baths


Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa lies next to the Arkeoloji Müzesi, the archeological museum. On the other side it lies next to an old 19th century Urfa house and beyond that excavations of Roman baths, both on pictures above. On traffic signs pointing to touristic activities this museum complex is simply referred to as ‘Urfa Müzesi’, ignoring other museums because this is thé one – certainly the largest. Tickets for the Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa also go for the Arkeoloji Müzesi.

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa is a large round building. Paths have been made over and in between mosaics. This makes your visit a pleasant walk. As you can see, I was the only visitor: lots of possibilities to watch in detail. All mosaics found are local, deriving from byzantine Edessa: villas with mosaics were excavated on this spot, called Haleplibahce by locals.

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa
Orpheus Mosaic, only/oldest one dating from 194 AD. Once smuggled out of the country and recently given back by Dallas Museum.

Like the Arkeoloji Müzesi, extra room on the floor is left for future findings that will certainly be done. In 2013, new pieces were added to the museum.There were three things I particularly liked. One is that the mosaic stones that reportedly derive from the river Euphrate, are much smaller than in mosaics elsewhere. This turns the mosaics in very fine representations. The best artists must have been at work here!

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa

Two is the mosaic of the Amazons, the warrior women from ancient myths that are depicted here while fighting with predators like the lion on the picture. This mosaic was discovered quite recently, in 2007. On the wall the museum shows the mosaic as it must have been when it was complete. A great piece!

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa

Three is the ‘zebra whisperer’: the representation of a servant with a zebra. I found that strikingly beautiful and unique in its kind.

To finish, a mosaic with syriac inscriptions, particular for this region only:

Mosaic Museum Şanlıurfa
Mosaic with Syriac inscriptions, general language in byzantine Edessa

Follow this link for more info about the mosaics of this museum (in Turkish)

Read here about Mosaic Museum Bardo in Tunis

And here about mosaics of Agias Trias Basilica in Cyprus and Villa del Casale in Sicily

Archaeological Museum Şanlıurfa

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

Archaeological Museum Şanlıurfa is unique, as it contains the artefacts found in Göbeklitepe, the oldest temple complex ever found (for example way older than the pyramids in Egypt). It is a very rich museum simply because the region is so rich in archaeological findings. All objects shown are ‘local’ and absolutely unique. Moreover, good efforts were made to make historical moments come alive for the visitor. Signs are both in Turkish and English and they offer excellent information.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

Archaeological Museum Şanlıurfa in its actual form is brand new (opened in 2015). The museum is large and its space gives a relaxed feeling to visitors. It is almost as if they left lots of space for new objects to come, which will certainly be the case. Unfortunately in this region, several dams were built covering the world’s oldest sites in water (Atatürk Dam, Birecik Dam, Kargamış Dam). There is a clear conflict of interest between conservation of archaeological areas and modern development issues – in that conflict, under actual Turkish politics modern development comes out as the winner. ‘Rescue excavations’ have been made regularly, often under supervision of the Archaeological Museum Şanlıurfa. Artefacts and other findings that could be ‘rescued’ are shown in this museum. All the rest is gone now, maybe to reappear one day from under the water, maybe lost for good.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

A ticket for the Archaeological Museum
Şanlıurfa also gives entrance to the Mosaic Museum next to it and vice versa. Anyway you won’t avoid these museums for the price (only € 2,- when I visited December 2018). I will show you some highlights here about things I liked; be aware there is a lot more to see! A visit absolutely recommended…

The oldest statue in the world, found in Urfa center. I thought I saw the oldest statue in Amman Archaeological Museum but this one is older indeed. The figure has a clear expression, maybe because of the black obsidian eyes. At the bottom, it is smaller; most probably the was put into a hole in for example the rocks (like in Sogmatar) to stand upright.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

A unique, astonishing picture of a woman giving birth, 10.000 years ago. It was found in Göbeklitepe. Other findings and the temple exposition of that site are mentioned in my blog about Göbeklitepe, a reason in itself to visit this museum.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

Statues that mix human heads and animals, found in Nevali Ҫori, one of the sites now lost in the water. I found it astonishing that 10.000 years ago, humans were able to make statues like this.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

Clay nails to form mosaic pictures. You see here the nails, and an example of how pictures were made by putting them in the wall.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

They could be painted in different colors after that, too. They are from the Uruk culture, 4th milennium BC.

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

Pottery from the Bronze Age, depicting a gate / tower. I saw this after my visit to Harran and I stood there in surprise: doesn’t this pottery resemble the Aleppo Gate I went through? I told myself the gate in Harran is more recent in age but still….

archaeological museum Şanlıurfa

Lovely Bronze Age terracotta. Nice animals, and a stamp seal.

Never saw such a stamp seal before. The museum has different types.

Statue with Syriac inscriptions, Roman age. Syriac was the common language during a long time in Şanlıurfa, called Edessa in biblical and Byzantine times. The inscription says: “This sculpture is Şamașyahb’s son Lișammaș. His brother, Barnay, made it for him. Who destroys this, will be punished by [the god] Sin”.