The Catamaran Adventures of Noel and Ceu

A trip to Abraham’s roots

Current Location: Mount Nemrut, Turkey
Current Position: 37 51.73 N 038 35.1 E Click to view map.

Bellow are the photos of the city of Antalya we visited for a day before getting on the night bus to Cappadocia DSCN6170-640 DSCN6193-640 DSCN6185-640All the gulets here had a pirate theme to them, with many of them having larger-than-life models of pirates to greet you as you come aboard. They also had fake square-rigged sails. DSCN6230-640 DSCN6239-640 DSCN6234-640The beautiful harbour of Antalya with some impressive waterfalls DSCN6249-640 We enjoyed a beautiful walk along the sea wall, backed by a really nice park and restaurants. DSCN6222-640 DSCN6265-640 Look how neatly piled these spices are! DSCN6221-640 DSCN6245-640Enjoyed some fresh squeezed juice from this nicely decorated bar, one would think they celebrate Halloween around here! DSCN6241-640At sunset we started looking for a place to eat and enjoy the views of the harbour and have a rest. One of the many pirate ships is on its way in. DSCN6242-640We had a really nice meal here, with some amazing views. We had fun watching the fancy pirate theme gullets going in and out of the harbour for their sunset cruises. We did have the waiter take a photo of us here at the dinner table. He actually took 2, and again they were terrible photos. DSCN6277-640 DSCN6285-640After dinner we left to the bus station for the night trip. The bus station was huge. It was like being in a small airport. Inside there were not only snacks available, but a few cafes serving pizza, muffins and all kinds of baked goodies. The place was very clean with cleaners making sure of it, and emptying garbage cans often. Buses were very organized. Off we went to Cappadocia.

Mount Nemrut

Below are the photos from our trip down to Sanliurfa, East of Turkey from Goreme, Cappadocia. We left Goreme on a small bus with a group of 10 people and our tour guide. The scenery changed very often from plains to hills, mountains, rivers, lakes and gorges. Fruit trees, potatoes and lots of other vegetables and many cotton fields. Cotton was being picked and transported by trucks into big warehouses at the sight of the first clouds in the sky. There I think it was the first time we actually felt we were in a foreigner country. It is not touristic place, no English speaking and the people are very religious and modestly dressed. Compare to most places where only a small percentage of women wear a scarf, here was totally different. They all go about their own lives, no one harasses you into their stalls that all look the same to buy all this touristic stuff. None of that here. shop brideShopping. A totally different experience! shop1 3am wake up call: DSCN6898-640We spent out first night in Adyaman, the popular place for visiting the next morning. Yes, our wake up call was at 3:00 am. It was a 1 hour drive to the base of the mountain. There, we stopped at a coffee/souvenir shop coffee or tea, souvenirs…etc. Afterwards we walked up the hill, with newly built steps to the summit and watch for the sun rising over the statues. Wow! DSCN6980-640 Mount Nemrut is situated in Southeastern Turkey. DSCN6910-640 Large statues and heads of Kings and Gods statues are erected around a royal tomb from the 1st century BC. At some stage the heads were removed from the bodies above and are scattered around the Tumulus. DSCN6927-640These are photos of the East side Terrace. Early cold morning, but lots of fun and sure worth it! Incredible! DSCN6913-640The sun was a bit late showing up, we had a few clouds that morning, but what an experience. I will share this, but for the history on it just google Mount Nemrut, it’s fascinating. DSCN6921-640 DSCN6922-640 The photos bellow are from the West side terrace DSCN6956-640 DSCN6957-640 DSCN6971-640 DSCN6973-640The Taurus mountain behind. The sun finally showing up!! DSCN6996-640 DSCN7013-640 DSCN7032-640arsemeia DSCN7041-640Ceu communing with Hercules and King Antiochus DSCN7017-640 Beautiful scenery DSCN7007-640 DSCN7002-640 DSCN7058-640 Ancient Roman bridge DSCN7069-640 DSCN7065-640 DSCN7080-640 DSCN7104-640Cotton fields DSCN7083-640Above photo: what looked like greenhouses to me, were in fact refuge camps form Syria. We saw 2 guys being dropped off on the side of the road with their duffle bag and walking towards camp. We were only 15km from the border. DSCN7095-640 Antaturk Dam. The biggest dam in the Middle East. DSCN7090-640 Our guide told us if we had time he would show us something that was not mentioned in our itinerary. He surprised us with a visit to the oldest Temple in the world, Gobekli, just being excavated. It is older yet than the Sanctuary in Malta we visited before (and was advertized as the Oldest in the world) DSCN7106-640 DSCN7114-640 stone stone1 DSCN7133-640 Welcome to Abraham ‘s Cave, where he was supposed to have been born: DSCN7167-640Please google for information on the sites if you like. DSCN7166-640Entrance to Abraham’s cave. DSCN7161-640 DSCN7164-640Inside people pray… DSCN7181-640 DSCN7174-640Beautiful mosque and courtyard next to the cave DSCN7203-640Outside…the famous pool with the holy carp DSCN7201-640Its a beautiful sight DSCN7192-640They sell you little bowls of food to feed the fish. Wow, they go crazy! DSCN7188-640Its a beautiful sight indeed. Surrounded by a big park nicely landscaped, fountains restaurants and cafes. It is always open and free to everyone DSCN7185-640We enjoyed our tour very much, the scenery, the history, all the legends that go with it, Fascinating! We moved on to our last stop of the day, Harran. This is where Abraham lived for a while. The village of mud- brick beehive houses. DSCN7273-640 DSCN7276-640 DSCN7258-640According to the book of Genesis, Abraham spent the last years of his life here. DSCN7228-640The dressing room. Our guide had fun dressing us up, Noel and I. DSCN7243-640We took a tour through the house and all the rooms. They were so cute. This is an old yogurt mixer. We are in the kitchen us DSCN7266-640 DSCN7269-640 DSCN7271-640A view of more mud-brick houses in the village of Harran. As you can see is about to get dark and we re just about ready to leave our cute village. What a full day! So many places, so much history. So wonderful And this is my last blog of the season!!!!! Soon we are going home

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