Hasankeyf

Last weekend was the 4 ½ - day Bayram weekend. Most of my classmates took off for Istanbul or cities in the western part of the country. I felt the need for a some peace and quiet and decided to spend the weekend at home. In the end I did get tempted into taking a two-day (Sunday-Monday) trip to Mardin and environs. A colleague and I had checked into going to Mardin via public transportation but the bus schedule made a weekend trip difficult. This seemed like a good opportunity to see that area.

View dropping down from the Tuer Abdin into the Tigris basin.

Actually, Mardin is located high on the slopes of a mountain, looking across into Syrian and what was anciently known as Mesopotamia, the Tigris-Euprates basin. Today that area is found in parts of Syrian and Iraq and even Iran and southeastern Turkey. The trade routes between Mesopotamia and Anatolia (roughly modern Turkey) ran through Mardin, across the Tuer Abdin (the e stands for an umlaut over the u), over the Tigris and up to Diyarbakir.

Looking downstream at the ruins of an ancient bridge in Hasankeyf.

We traveled first to Hasankeyf on the Tigris so now I’ve been to both of the “cradle of civilization” rivers. In fact, I actually stepped into the Tigris. That wasn’t possible where we stopped on the Euphrates, but I’ll get it done before I get home. Hasenkeyf is known for its medieval ruins of Selcuk, Kurdish and Arabic origins. The town was originally founded by the Romans and passed through the hands of many ruling groups until the Ottomans finally took it over in the early 1400s.

Couldn't resist this shot from the trail up the gorge, looking across to the town and some now abandoned cliff dwellings. Click on the photo and you'll see an almost full moon in the center right.

Behind the village that lies on the Tigris rises some impressive cliffs, cut in at least one place by a canyon or gorge. Trails lead up the canyon walls to the top of the cliff where there are ruins of a palace built by the Artuid kings (12th century). All sorts of dwellings have been carved into the cliff all along the pathway. In fact, part of the cliff looks a bit like a honeycomb. The local guidebook says that it’s not know when people began inhabiting these particular cave but it is believed that people were living nearly 4,000 years prior to the birth of Christ. People from neighboring societies called these people “kefenen” or “people of the caves.”

Eating fish on the banks of the Tigris.

Before attempting the climb up the gorge, we at lunch at one of the little fish restaurants built on stilts along the banks of the Tigris. We didn’t actually start our walk until about 3 PM. It’s pitch dark by 4:30 PM so we didn’t make it to the top. Too bad. The place was also overrun by tourists – all Turkish as far as I could tell – and the attendant peddlers selling everything from scarves, woolen rugs, and local crafts to clothing imported from India. They had set up booths along the main street and the road into the gorge but also all along the path to the top. Many of the caves not house little shops – even places to buy tea. Sometimes it seemed like a bit much, but how else are those people supposed to make a living. When our bus pulled in we were stopped by police armed with machine guns. On the sidewalk next to them were barriers that could be used to set up a roadblock. I assume that even though the government has made peace with Kurdish insurgents, the area is still considered a bit risky. I supposed it’s just like Northern Ireland. There are still people on both sides who just won’t give up the fight.

Looking upstream in the late afternoon. The sun is shining on one side of the mausoleum.

Before leaving we crossed the river to get a good look at the Zeynel Bey tomb. It was build as a mausoleum by Zeynel for his father the Akkoyun ruler Hasan. Akkoyn or Ak-Qouyn means “White Sheep Turkmen.” They were rulers of the small Turkish principality where Hasankeyf is located. (For me it’s almost impossible to untangle the history of Turkey from the time that the Turkish tribes appeared on the scene until the Ottoman Empire finally solidified.) The monument is important as the most Timurid-influenced monument in Turkey – think Tamurlane and Samarkand, where he had his capital. Actually, Tamarlane and his hordes did actually invade Mardin and surround areas. He was an equal-opportunity killer, slaughtering Christians and Muslims alike.

Close-up of the mausolelum

When we got off the bus at the monument, children seemed to appear from nowhere. They tried out their few words of English and tried to teach us to count in Kurdish. Little did they know they were approaching English teachers! Soon after two well dressed men appeared. I thought they were other tourists, but as our bus pulled away they were standing with a group of children that had grown to about 15. At first I thought they were just other tourists visiting the monument or at the end, perhaps teachers of the children. But we were later told they were security personnel.