These, we are told, were originally designed with their familiar conical stone roofs because of the shortage of wood with which to make more conventional flat versions. Given that there was plenty of stone nearby, the solution was obvious, and the beehive house design is thought to have been in existence since as long ago as 300 B.C. The versions you'll see dotted about town today though are mostly no more than 200 years old, and perhaps the majority now stable animals or are used as storerooms by owners who prefer to live in modern concrete houses like everybody else.From the publicity, you might think that the beehive houses were all that Harran had to offer. In reality, however, this was a rare town whose existence can be recognized from references in the Book of Genesis in the Bible; the Prophet İbrahim (Abraham), who is believed to have been born in Urfa, is thought to have stayed here while traveling between Ur (modern-day Iraq) and Palestine. Not surprisingly, then, there are traces here of buildings that long pre-date the beehive houses, and there is believed to have been an important Assyrian settlement here with, at its heart, a temple to the moon god Sin that probably dated back to before 2000 B.C. There are no obvious remains of the temple which probably stood where the castle is now and was destroyed on the orders of Emperor Theodosius in 382, but if you travel on from Harran to Soğmater you will see clear evidence of the moon cult in and around the modern village there. The cult proved surprisingly tenacious, continuing, it is thought, until 1081 when it was suppressed by Yahya b. El-Şatr, the governor of Harran.
Given the proximity of what was Edessa and is now Urfa, it is not perhaps surprising to discover that the Romans had their day in the sun here, too, with a colorful story relating how, in 53 B.C., a Roman general called Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of the wealthiest men ever to have lived, was stopped in his tracks by Parthian warriors who crucified him and poured molten gold into his mouth to show their contempt for his cash. Regardless, the Romans kept on coming and established Harran as a center of learning, a role it held onto into the Byzantine period and that became even more important after the Arabs seized the town and established the first-ever Islamic university here. The remains of the university lie a little apart from the main settlement near what was probably the site of the original village; look for the square minaret of the Ulu Cami established by Marwan II, an Arab caliph of the eighth century, and they're right beside it.
The main settlement itself is ringed by crumbling stone walls which once boasted an almost unbelievable 187 towers and four gates. Its most conspicuous feature is a honey-colored castle whose walls are adorned with carvings including a fine one of a lion marking the eponymous Aslan Kapısı (Lion Gate). There may have been some sort of fortification here since Hittite times but the current castle appears to be a mainly Fatimid construction of 1059 intended to ward off the Crusaders, who later managed to seize it for themselves.
Unfortunately, peaceful enjoyment of the castle tends to be difficult because of the children who crowd around as soon as a foreigner appears, demanding sweets and pens, and insisting that you employ their services as “guides” whether you want to or not. The best way to escape their attentions is to duck into the Harran Kültür Evi, a pleasant walled courtyard backed with a line of beehive structures, some of them decked out with the sort of furnishings typical of local houses, others selling souvenirs, including wall hangings made out of dried chickpeas which are said to be good for warding off the evil eye. Although Harran does have one conventional hotel in the modern settlement of Altınbaşak on the outskirts, it's more fun to put up at the Kültür Evi where you can sleep on mattresses on the floor, or out in the courtyard under the stars where there are two raised wooden “tahts” (thrones), their beautifully carved balustrades a poignant reminder of what used to be before most locals abandoned wood in favor of blue-painted metal thrones.
Harran lies in a part of the country whose economy has been transformed by the possibility of cultivating cotton brought about by the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). Depending on the time of year, you may see locals harvesting lentils or cotton in the surrounding fields, such labor putting paid to erstwhile grinding poverty. Not surprisingly, while local houses may look simple from the outside, on the inside they often contain just as many consumer durables as homes in Urfa itself.
Harran's beehive houses are the only such structures still standing in Turkey, even though other nearby villages probably once featured them as well. If you cross over the border to Syria, however, there are many villages around Aleppo (Halep) that are similarly endowed, proof, as ever, that culture recognizes no political boundaries.
Where, you might wonder, did all the stones to build Harran come from? For most travelers this is the end of the line before turning tail and heading back to Urfa. With your own transport, however, you might like to continue east towards Soğmater following a road that has only been asphalted in the last few years but now has clear brown tourist-attraction signs to guide you. If you do this, your first stop along the way would be at what is signed as the Bazda Mağarası (Bazda Caves) but is actually a vast ancient quarry in an abandoned village.
Bazda has a biblical quality to it. Great overhanging rock faces have lines chiseled across them where the stone was sliced away not just to create Harran, but also for Urfa and for the nearby Han-el Ba'rür caravanserai and Şuayb Şehri. This is an extraordinarily peaceful and evocative place where sparrowhawks nest on the ledges, blue rollers flash sapphire across the sandy backdrop, and panting, weary sheep take refuge from the blazing heat in vast manmade caverns. Bring good shoes if you want to explore them in any depth.
Twenty-five kilometers east of Harran you come to the remains of the Han-el Ba'rür caravanserai built in 1128 to accommodate passing traders and their animals. Although its entrance has been rather pointlessly rebuilt, the erstwhile “hotel” rooms surrounding the central courtyard have been left in ruins. Unlike the great Selçuk caravanserais of Central Anatolia, this particular model is conspicuous mainly for its austerity, although the pointed arches of the collapsed porticoes look pleasingly Gothic. Across the road are slight remains of further structures including a well and cistern. You'll probably find locals, including older women with heavily tattooed hands and faces, sheltering in the doorway and happy to share a glass of tea with you.
Next week: The road to Soğmater and Göbeklitepe
WHERE TO STAY
Bazda Motel. Tel: 0414-441 3590
Harran Kültür Evi. Tel: 0414-441 2477
HOW TO GET THERE
There are a few direct dolmuşes to Harran from Urfa, or you can hop on one to Akçakale on the main road south, get out at the junction and wait in hope of a lift into town. Local tour companies compete to offer trips to Harran; a few also offer onward excursions to Soğmater and the other desert attractions.
