Time flies...[Gaziantep & Hatay]

Please do not hold me to my word when I say I will blog in a timely fashion! Time disappears quickly! 

A fast recap:

Oct 14-17 [Gaziantep, Hatay/Antakya]

The minaret...

The CIEE group flew to Gaziantep. We went to Halfeti, a city that is now in two parts. Originally, Halfeti was an ancient town along the Euphrates river. In 1998 a dam was built and thousands of people were forced to relocate to Yeni [new] Halfeti because the city was submerged under the river. Although the inhabitants were 'compensated' for their loss of homes, they left durable, stone structures and moved to new, poorly built apartment complexes. Only a small area of the original Eski [old] Halfeti remains. We took a ferry down the Euphrates, saw the roof of the bus station, buildings half-way submerged by the water, and even a minaret emerging from the water, as the rest of the mosque is beneath the surface. It was crazy to see!

Me & the Euphrates...

We also went to Rumkale- Castle. The fortress was a massive structure which we climbed around. We could see ancient cave houses in the surrounding mountain side. It was amazing to view such structures, seeing how they can survive the test of time! [Unfortunately, it was really hard to capture on camera..there is a facebook album from this trip and you might take a look if you have time!]

 

After we boated down the Euphrates and back, we went back into Gaziantep and went to the Archeological Museum and saw the mosaics rescued and excavated from the city we just boated over! It was amazing. Mosaic art has never really interested me...as I think it is repetitive and usually boring. However, these mosaics were fantastic and so intricately designed. The entire city was basically covered with mosaics and perhaps only one-third was saved. So much more art and history lies beneath the surface. The sliver of history I got to experience was well worth it.

Other things we did: 

-Coppersmith Bazaar

-Sokullu Mehmet Pasa Caravanserai [part of the Silk Road]

-Climbed another castle

-Roman water Tunnel & a Besikli Cave

-Delicious food [Gaziantep is famous for their lamb kebab and Baklava!]

-Harbiye Waterfall (The place where Daphne turned into a Laurel tree? I'm not good with mythology)

-Another Mosaic Museum

-10 minutes of a Greek Orthodox Church Service

-Kunefe [a dessert that is cheese and syrup but oh so gooooood]
-Saint Peter's Cave-Church [Where the concept of the word 'Christianity' originated?]