Şanlıurfa
Urfa

As a result of the great religious importance of the area, there are many mosques clustered together around the Balıklı Göl (carp pool) and the rose garden. Right beside the cave where İbrahim is believed to have been born stands the enormous Mevlid-i Halil (Dergah) Cami, bustling at all times with the faithful. Although it stands on the site of a synagogue and early Christian church there has been a mosque here since 1523 when it was commissioned by Muhammed Salih Paşa, It was restored in the 1950s and again a few years ago.

In front of the Mevlid-i Halil Cami is the attractive Hasan Paşa Cami, originally built in the 15th century for the Akkoyunlu leader, Uzun Hasan (Tall Hasan). It was rebuilt in 1574 and has been restored many times since. Its single detached minaret stands right beside one of the entrances to the bazaar and a pretty stream runs through the mosque courtyard.

A number of mosques come together around the Baliklı Göl itself. Probably the most interesting is the 13^th-century Halilür Rahman (Döşeme) Cami built over the spot where İbrahim was thought to have landed. It stands on the site of a 6th-century church of St Mary which was converted into a mosque during the reign of the Abbasid caliph, Me’mun (813-33). The minaret started life as the belltower of this church. The mosque itself was rebuilt in the mid-16th century. Halilür Rahman Cami

Just past this mosque at the far end of the carp pool is the semi-circular Halilür Rahman Medresesi, built in 1775 and repaired in 1871. More familiar is the 18^th-century Rızvaniye Vakfı Camii whose graceful arcaded wall looks so good in photographs. Commissioned in 1736 by Rıdvan Ahmed Paşa, it has two splendid stripy entrances as well as beautifully carved wooden doors. The courtyard still acts as a medrese and, peeping into the hücres  (cells), I came as close as I ever have done to imagining what life in a medieval theological school would have been like.

The whole Gölbaşı area has been pleasingly developed with low-rise shops alongside the Hotel Manici. Surrounding the fishpond there’s also a very pleasant park whose tea gardens and small restaurants make great places to rest before embarking on a shopping spree in Urfa’s wonderfully atmospheric bazaar.

Urfa’s state of the art museum (closed Mondays) showcases the mosaics discovered in the Haleplibahçe area of the city, right in the town centre. The mosaics are displayed in a building that resembles a flying saucer; the amazing artefacts from Göbeliktepe and from the main settlements lost to the Atatürk Dam are shown in a glittering building that owes aspects of its design, surely, to Frank Gehry.

The rest of the town

Behind a façade of modernity, the Urfa back streets are full of fine old mansions designed to house the traditionally huge extended families of eastern Turkey. Externally very little tends to be apparent since the strict rules governing female modesty meant that high walls kept the interiors completely concealed. The streets are also so narrow that it’s hard to admire the cumbas (bay windows) cantilevered out over them on sturdy stone corbels.

Luckily the erstwhile family home of Hacı Hafızlar, near the post office, is now an art gallery which means that you are free to investigate the huge courtyards and delicate stone verandahs; the local museum also shows off a few fine old doors and windows rescued from some of the derelict houses.

The local authorities are enthusiastically ploughing money into the restoration of the back streets which means that they are becoming ever more interesting to explore.

A particularly interesting area to look out for is around 58 (Hoşgörü) Meydanı where the Nimetullah (Ak) Cami, built originally on the site of an old church, then rebuilt most recently in the late 18th century. Facing it across the road is the elaborately carved facade of the old neighbourhood Karakol (Police Station). In the square itself you can admire the Şeyh Saffet Çeşmesi, a fountain dating back to 1891, as well as a fine late 19th-century building on the site of a lost hamam that now houses a primary school.

Also nearby but not always easy to see behind its high walls and locked gates is the Suryani church of Sts Peter and Paul, known as the Reji Kilisesi from the days after 1924 when it was used as a tobacco factory, then grape store. The current building went up in 1861 although there had been a church on the site since the 6th century. It now serves as the Vali Kemalettin Gazezoğlu Cultural Centre.

It’s also well worth heading uphill along Vali Fuat Bey Caddesi. On the right you will pass the cathedral-sized 19th-century Armenian Apostolic Church of St John the Baptist. Used for a while as a power station, it was restored to serve as the Selahaddin Eyyubi Cami in 1993.

Fırfırlı CamiThat is impressive enough but if you keep walking uphill eventually you will see on the left the newly-built Elçı Konağı. Tucked out of sight behind it is the fabulous Fırfırlı Cami (Frilly Mosque) which started life as the Church of the Twelve Apostles, possibly dating back to 1092 and converted into a mosque in 1956. Its elaborately carved facade with its wonderful ogival arches has no equal in Turkey; it’s as Gothic as it got in these parts of the world. The outside is stunning enough but inside the central dome is exquisite in its simplicity.

The strung-out and somewhat austere Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) stands in rather surprising isolation from most of these other monuments, buried down narrow alleys. I found it a wonderfully peaceful oasis from the busy streets perhaps because its courtyard garden and walled graveyard are always full of cats. The minaret started life as the belltower of a church that once stood on the site – presumably the enormous capitals and few columns dotted about the courtyard came from this building or the synagogue that preceded it.Belltower/minaret of Ulu Cami If you look closely at the walls framing the graveyard you will see arches that must also have been part of one of these older structures.

Attached to the Ulu Cami is the graceful Nakibzade Medresesi dating back to 1781 and restored in 1876. For some years it served as a primary school.

In an alley near the Ulu Cami Urfa’s Mutfak Muzesi (Culinary Museum) is housed in a stunning stone mansion, one of the finest in town and well worth a quick look even if you’re not much interested in reading about local food.

Looming over everything is Urfa Kalesi, a great vantage point from which to get your bearings. The two columns topped with Corinthian capitals are often linked to the story of King Nimrod. A stepped path up to the castle starts behind the Gölbaşı cafes.

Far less obvious until recently were the old city walls which are now being restored/rebuilt. At one time they were pierced by eight great gates and several soaring towers. The most apparent of these is the restored Mahmudoğlu Kulesi that you will probably come across while hunting out the Harran dolmuşes. Walk round the back to find the impressive Urfa Kent Müzesi (City Museum), sadly labelled only in Turkish.

The bazaar area

The bazaar dates back to the 16^th century and the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. These days you can come here to shop for mundane household goods and clothes but it’s still a great place to seek out exotic souvenirs too. Some of the nicest are the wispy black and red scarves that local women knot around their heads – although the real fashion item of choice seems to be a lilac-coloured headscarf favoured by both men and women.

The heart of the bazaar is the glorious Gümrük (Yetmiş) Hanı (Customs Inn) which wraps itself around a courtyard shaded by plane trees (I;ve heard rumours that they have been cut down…?) where hundreds of men gather every day to sip çay, chat and play backgammon. Commissioned in 1566 by the governor Beyram Paşa, this is the place to come if you want to hook up with an official or unofficial guide.

Urfa is well-known as a town of pigeon-fanciers and not far from the Gümrük Hanı there’s a street full of small shops where men drop in to size up prize birds. The owners will show you jewellery designed specifically to beautify them: little anklets of coloured beads and dangly ear-rings that wouldn’t look amiss on a woman. If you want to learn more about the birds look for the Çardaklı Kahvehane near the Dabakhane Cami or come here on a Sunday morning when the pigeon market is in full swing.

Eating & drinking

Çay drinkers are spoilt for choice in Urfa. Sitting around the pools in the rose garden is probably the best choice in the heat of high summer but for tea with a view it’s well worth walking up to the Çift Mağara (Twin Caves) cafe beside the castle. A fantastic panorama awaits you.

Sleeping