Urfa, the soul of the old city

Hey, folks!

It's been a while :) Today I brought you a portion of shots from my most recent travel in September 2021. It was southeastern Turkey.

Sanliurfa

Urfa is an informal short name of the city. The best way to get to know the city is to walk around it. Walk without expectations, ignoring advices from the guidebook.

Take a walk, wide open your eyes and heart to new impressions. Be all eyes and ears, and let yourself be guided by these narrow alleys and noisy streets. Maybe get lost.

You can see a lot more if do it slowly. And I always find it difficult to balance between "catch sight of the most interesting things" and "stop, watch and listen".

Young gentlemen selling fresh sesame bagels. It's called simit, did you know?

A silence and peace in the courtyard of a Mosque.

Let's go through the arch and dive into one of the narrow alleys.

Turks are very fond of peppers. I was going to add "hot", but then I thought it would sound strange. All the pepper is hot here, always, LOL.

Unvarnished life.

The population of Sanliurfa is over 2 million people. But you can often see how garbage is thrown into the street, or water is throwed out the door. Or met a hen or a turkey in the downtown.

Once, when I was returning to the hotel, a cart with a horse raced by. You may not believe it, actually I was stunned too.

Now it's time to have a seat somewhere. Bazaar (market) is about to close. Some shopes are closed already. But I see the one with ice cream is open.

Looks like someone loves ice cream too.

Many craftsmen, so as not to waste time when there are no customers, go about their business right in the shop. It's so interesting and so sweet.

It's getting late, but these pistachio merchants on one of the main streets work till the late night.

Men talk over a cigarette and a cup of strong Turkish tea. They sit on small folding wooden stools, sometimes around a small table, sometimes in a row along the street. While their spouses do the domestic chores and child raising.

A day in the life of an ancient city somewhere out in Mesopotamia...

Thank you so much for your precious time and support!

Cheers,
@zirochka