Day 1 Ends @ the Newton Hotel, Şanlıurfa

The downside of lunch was the pace. We took over an hour when half that time would have been better as it played havoc with our schedule. Add to that the detour to the bald ibis center. Well, it just meant that we arrived on the outskirts of Şanlıurfa Merkez (City Center) near sunset.

Normally, that would not have been a problem. But today, it meant that we had to skip Harran, which was home to ancient civilizations that settled in the fertile valleys of Upper Mesopotamia, and where records indicate that the first Islamic university was founded. All that, combined with the traditional mud brick houses with conic roofs, make Harran a unique place and worthy of a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Alas, there was no way we were going to make it there before the sun set and the archeological site plunged into darkness. I guess we’ll just have to come back another year.

Thus we arrived at our hotel — the Newton. And what a fiasco it turned out to be. I’m still not sure why we didn’t just turn tail and go to another hotel. My guess? We were just too tired and once we confirmed that the bedding and the en suite facilities were pristine, we decided to make do for one night. The tour company will be hearing about our dissatisfaction tomorrow.

Still full from our late lunch, we decided to skip dinner. Need to rest anyway. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day filled with all kinds of exciting stops.Read more