With thousands of years' history, the town of Sanliurfa (or Urfa in local usage) is a must-visit place for those who are interested in biblical sites, archaeology and ancient history.Located close to the Syrian border, Urfa is a Kurdish town with a predominantly pro-AKP (Justice and Development Part, the current ruling party of Turkey) populace. In spite of their ethicity, many locals openly display their disdain of PKK and their dislike of Diyarbakir (the hotbed of Kurdish independence politics).
The city is very well-planned (by Turkish standards at least), with wide boulevards and a compact but rather well-preserved old town. Most of the tourist attractions are located within the Old Town, and within walking distance to one another. Urfa's tourist attraction No. 1 is the Pool of Sacred Fish (Balikli Gol in Turkish, literally translated as 'The Fish Lake' - which is the name I prefer to call the place for simplicity's sake), where legends has it that it was the place where Prophet Abraham was thrown into fire by King Nimrod for reprimanding him of idolatry. God turned the burning fire into water, and burning red-hot coals into fish, thus saving Abraham's life. From then on, the Pool and the Holy Fishes that live in the water become a place of holy pilgrimage for Muslims. Everday devoted Mulsim pilgrims will line up and feed the holy fishes with breads. No one knows for sure how many holy fishes are resident of the Sacred Pond, but they are a numerous lot, and are very ferocious whenever somebody comes closer to feed them:
Peaceful tea garden, with fountains and the impressive Urfa Kale (Urfa Castle), Urfa's tourist attraction No.2., perched high above the rocks in the background.
The Holy Fish Lake is located in a beautiful garden intervined with narrow canals, where you can sip Turkish tea under the canopy of traditional tea gardens. These canals are full of holy fishes too: I read it somewhere that it is forbidden for Muslims to eat these fishes, but one traveller who visited Urfa in the 19th century remarked that the local Christian population had no problem eating these holy fishes and they were quite tasty too...
According to another legend, behind this gate is the cave in which Prophet Abraham was born. It is a holy site of pilgrimage for Muslims as well. (Another prophet, Job, was also a native of Urfa.)
Peaceful tea garden, with fountains and the impressive Urfa Kale (Urfa Castle), Urfa's tourist attraction No.2., perched high above the rocks in the background.
The Holy Fish Lake is located in a beautiful garden intervined with narrow canals, where you can sip Turkish tea under the canopy of traditional tea gardens. These canals are full of holy fishes too: I read it somewhere that it is forbidden for Muslims to eat these fishes, but one traveller who visited Urfa in the 19th century remarked that the local Christian population had no problem eating these holy fishes and they were quite tasty too...
According to another legend, behind this gate is the cave in which Prophet Abraham was born. It is a holy site of pilgrimage for Muslims as well. (Another prophet, Job, was also a native of Urfa.)
Right next to the holy fish lake is a mosque (also several hundred years old); to be honest the atmosphere of the place is fairly similar to the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) of Amritsar. Maybe all holy places look alike?
How to get there:
By air: Urfa has an airport outside of town. Turkish Airlines operate direct flights from Istanbul to Urfa.
By bus: Urfa is on the main Mardin - Urfa - Gaziantep - Adana route. Buses from the east will stop on the highway outside Urfa's main otogar en route to Gaziantep. Frequent blue inner-city minibuses operate a circular route (Fare: 1 TL as of October 2009): Otogar - Ataturk Caddesi - Balikligol - Otogar. Get on the bus on the road next to the otogar, the bus will stop right opposite the entrance to the Pond of the Sacred Fish.
Accommodation: there are several nice and decent hotels in Urfa's new town, near the Belediyesi (Municipal Office/Town Hall). The one I strongly recommend is Hotel Arte, a modern business/city hotel located right next to Urfa's Town Hall on Ataturk Caddesi. This centrally-located hotel offers impeccable en-suite rooms, free wireless internet, good showers and decent breakfast. Price: 40TL per night for single room with breakfast (Oct 2009). Ask to speak to Sahil, the friendly English-speaking receptionist. Other workers speak almost no English but are all very friendly and helpful.
Hotel Arte
http://www.otel-arte.com/en/index.htm
Tel: +90 414 314 7060
For those with more cash to spare, head to Otel Harran opposite Otel Arte. Be prepared to pay around 50-60TL for a single room with breakfast.
There are some cheaper places to stay near the Balikligol, but personally I would recommend female travellers to stick to proper business hotels or family hotels near the Town Hall for reasons of safety.
Places of interest near Urfa:
1. Harran: a visit to Harran can be done easily as a day-excursion. Frequent mini-buses leave for Harran from Otogar. Journey time is about 1 hour.
2. Nemrut Dagi: you can also visit Nemrut Dagi from Urfa. Frequent mini-buses leave for Adiyaman and Kahta from the main road outside Urfa's main otogar.
Copyrights 2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
1. Harran: a visit to Harran can be done easily as a day-excursion. Frequent mini-buses leave for Harran from Otogar. Journey time is about 1 hour.
2. Nemrut Dagi: you can also visit Nemrut Dagi from Urfa. Frequent mini-buses leave for Adiyaman and Kahta from the main road outside Urfa's main otogar.
Copyrights 2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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