The east of Türkiye just gets better and better.

10.9.21

We left the Mardin scrapyard just after 9 am, we slept well, vaguely heard the cockerel and John muttering something about chicken pie.

Our first stop was 3km away to Deyrulzafaran Monastery. It’s the busiest place we’ve visited so far and they were only letting a few people in at a time, which was great. It was just 15tl to go in, Museum card not accepted.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mor_Hananyo_Monastery

A 10km detour from the main road took us to the ancient city of Dara.

Wow!!

http://mezopotamya.travel/index.php/en/sayfa/dara-antik-kenti

Yesterday we went along a very bumpy road and the inside temperature display and air con stopped working. We’ve been hoping another few bumps might make it come back on. We saw an auto electrics place in the middle of nowhere and explained the issue, and told them we’ve had overheating issues and a new pipe. They looked at pipes and warned us that another one needs changing but they don’t have the part. The boss man rang someone and said he would be here in 15 to 20 minutes. I wish I’d timed it but suffice to sat they had our life stories and we had 3 glasses of cay.

Boss man put the computer on the system and reset some things, not sure what they were. Unfortunately we’ve not learnt any engine part names in any of our Turkish lessons.

It was nice to chat and on the whole it went well. I got very confused about writing on my forehead, but then sussed out that he was saying none of us know what is ahead for us. That’s too true.

There were umpteen boys there too of varying sizes. They were friendly enough but I did get bored of the marriage questions and feeling like I was being undressed. I’m sure none of them have seen legs before.

Eventually the Usta, expert, arrived. They were all fascinated by the dogs and some even braved giving them biscuits. Usta even got inside and had photos taken stroking the dogs.

In between photo shoots Usta checked all the fuses put his meter on and put some wire from the battery to the back of the switch and hey presto we have air con again.

The inevitable question.. How much? 300tl.. It seemed a lot but in terms of how many hours we were there, how much tea was consumed, how many questions were asked, photos, oh and the expert being called in, it was ok, and the dogs have stopped panting..

Aware of the breeze, the stares and getting in and out of the back of the van and sitting with the dogs I was careful not to do any ‘all in the best possible taste’ movements.

As we said goodbye, I climbed into the cab while being careful not to lose my kneecap on the cup holder and exposed my bottom. The younger kids giggled uncontrollably telling the others they’d seen my popo. Colloquial for bum…thank god not anything more elaborate.

Oh the shame, but also oh the innocence of watching intently for hours in case of a flash of my Bridgets!!

The other scenery was much greener, fields of corn and cotton.

We even saw a signpost for Aleppo, (Halep) Syria.

As we came into Şanlıurfa it was manically busy but also so beautiful. One of those places you instantly love.

We headed for the Balıklı Göl recommended on so many sites.

Legend has it that if you take one of the carp you’ll have bad luck, if you see a white one you’ll have good luck.

The grounds are gorgeous, surrounded by overpriced restaurants, obviously a cooperative as all had the same menu and prices.

It’s got everything you’d ever want in one small area. A castle, city walls, a stunning mosque complex, a carp lake, bridges, more water and beautiful landscaping. It was really busy and we were lucky to find a parking space.

It took us quite a while to get anywhere as people were fascinated by the dogs and wanted to stroke them.

We eventually made it to a restaurant with great views and asked if it was possible to have breakfast even though it was 5.30pm, no problem. It was really very good. We’d been so busy we hadn’t had time to eat beforehand.

We wandered along to the bazaar area, then into the covered bazaar. It had a great atmosphere and lovely colours.

When we got back to Naz there were a lot of Polis nearby as a concert or something was taking place by the rock caves.

Naz wouldn’t start. So embarrassing.

John checked under the bonnet and the garage guys hadn’t tightened up the battery terminals. 🙄🙄 A few turns of the spanners and off we went.

I’m going to leave our overnight parking story for tomorrow’s blog….

Bye bye Şanlıurfa, we loved our time there.