Day 21 - Don Curry in Abraham's footsteps II

Don Curry is writing a sequel story. He has never done that before. But today's program seamlessly continues yesterday's story, at least when it comes to Abraham's story. Because after his birth, he must have moved 50 km south to Harran, as the Bible locates him there before he sets off for the land of present-day Israel. Don Curry also went to Harran today, but not immediately.

First, he went to the courtyard of his hotel, where breakfast was served. 'Do you like tea?' the young waitress asked him in very good English. Yes, Don Curry liked tea for breakfast, and that turned out to be the only decision he had to make once again. All the other components of the breakfast arrived at his table without him asking - in abundant quantities. In addition to the usual classics (tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, cheeses, jams, ..), his Turkish breakfast horizon expanded by three more elements: scrambled eggs with pepperoni, menemen (lightly curdled egg with tomatoes and peppers), and tahini and grape syrup (a mixture of sesame paste and grape syrup). Don Curry found the latter particularly delicious, the clear nuttiness of the sesame combined with a slight fruity sweetness. In between, a Turkish woman came to his table, speaking excellent German, and asked if he had any questions. Don Curry immediately wanted to know if there was a really good restaurant nearby for the evening. 'Cevahir Han' was the clear answer, and together they searched for the location of this inn on Google Maps: only 500 m away on foot.

But the evening program was still ahead, now it was time for sightseeing. Don Curry decided to be thorough and therefore catch up on the Archaeological Museum. To his surprise, his Museum Pass was still valid, although it was supposed to have expired yesterday. The museum once again fascinated Don Curry. A clear path from the Stone Age to the time of Islam was consistently maintained, with showcases of small exhibits, dioramas, and magnificent reproductions of outstanding works of art alternating pleasingly. The clear highlight for Don Curry remained a temple from Göbekli Tepe, built to scale, so that he could experience the immense height of the monoliths and their impressive decorations directly and up close. Artworks from Harran were also among the exhibits, such as a stele of the moon god Sin, who was worshipped in Harran, perhaps even in Abraham's time.

Before Harran, there was another stop: the mosque of the prophet Job - known as Eyyub in Islam - and his birth cave. Surprisingly, many more pilgrims had gathered here compared to Abraham's birth cave, populating the area. To find the cave, Don Curry only had to follow the long queue that had formed in front of its entrance. On a narrow staircase, which was the only access, a maximum of 3 people were allowed in. Only when these three returned, the next ones in line followed closely behind. There was no social distancing here. Don Curry decided not to descend, but only observed the cave from above and then devoted himself to the mosque. With an astonishing splendor, such as mosaic-decorated columns, it overshadowed the other places of worship in Sanliurfa.

Harran was soon reached, and Don Curry drove straight to the former city wall. But where should he start with the visits? He observed how cars maneuvered through an old city gate over and over again, even though it was extremely narrow. Don Curry boldly joined in and ended up at the excavation site of the mound settlement after 500 m, which, however, was fenced off over a large area. From here, he could descend to the ruins of the Great Mosque of Harran. He also caught sight of the fortress from the time of the Crusaders and numerous 'beehive houses' for which Harran is famous. Since the fortress was inaccessible, he moved on to the primitive stone houses, known as trulli in Italy, which were built wherever there was significantly more stone than wood. For the first time, Don Curry experienced existential poverty among the local people here at these houses. Numerous completely neglected children begged him until a teenager chased them away. But now this teenager appointed himself as Don Curry's guide through the trulli, even though Don Curry did not understand anything he said. This open-air museum had a very ambivalent effect on Don Curry. On the one hand, he found it exciting to learn about the way of life of the people in these peculiar dwellings, but on the other hand, the houses did indeed appear to be inhabited: in one room, an old lady was busy doing handicrafts. Were Don Curry and many other tourists just trampling through her living room? When Don Curry left the 'museum' grounds, numerous children immediately ran after his car. Another teenager on a motorcycle asked Don Curry to roll down the side window. In good English, he offered to be Don Curry's guide through Harran, showing him the fortress, the mosque, Abraham's house, the well of Jacob... Don Curry politely declined. He had already seen much, and he considered the existence of Abraham's house to be absolutely unrealistic; it was not mentioned in any travel guide. In contrast to the well of Jacob, which Don Curry found very easily thanks to his navigation system, and from which many people were drawing water.

Actually, Don Curry still wanted to visit two destinations in the nearby Tektek National Park, but the access road was completely closed just after Harran. No detour was indicated. At first, Don Curry followed other vehicles that were looking for a way to the east, but as the roads became steadily worse, he simply returned to Sanliurfa, sat on the rooftop terrace of his hotel, and finished writing reports. An attentive hotel staff member apparently spotted him from below, climbed up the many steps, and asked if Don Curry would like something to drink? 'Cay' - Don Curry's answer. Tea is always a good idea...

In the evening, Don Curry followed the tip of the nice Turkish woman from breakfast: he went to Cevahir Han, a historic restaurant from the Ottoman era. In a huge room, all the tables were already set and almost all of them had reservation signs. Don Curry found a small table without a reservation at the very edge and sat down. Waiters kept coming to his table to ask something. But as soon as Don Curry asked 'Do you speak English?', they abruptly disappeared and did not return. While Don Curry was still waiting for the menu, more and more appetizers were placed on his table. Finally, a very brave waiter asked 'Restaurant?' Don Curry confirmed, and the waiter showed him a room behind the huge hall. Now Don Curry understood: there was a Konak Evi going on in the hall: a live music concert with a fixed culinary menu. But since the door to the hall was mostly open, Don Curry got to enjoy the concert with a menu of his choice. Since he had skipped lunch again that day, he ordered two appetizers: meatballs in bulgur coating and a small tart with very flavorful minced lamb. The restaurant also served some lentil balls in an elongated shape (Mercimek Köfte) in addition. For the main course, he chose lamb stir-fry with mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers under a potato straw cover. Since there was still some room left in his stomach, he ordered a dessert that Sanliurfa is famous for and that was also on the menu. The waiter hesitated and disappeared uncertainly. Some time later, a distinguished gentleman approached Don Curry's table and introduced himself as the manager of Cevahir Han. He apologized that the traditional dessert Don Curry had requested was not available today, but his chefs were preparing a modern form of dessert; would Don Curry like to see it? That sounded so exciting that Don Curry gladly followed the manager into the open kitchen at the edge of the hall. Two desserts were being prepared here: a croissant-like pastry made of yufka dough filled with pistachio and vanilla cream, and, secondly, a dessert in the shape of a bratwurst snail, also filled with both creams alternately. The manager asked which dessert Don Curry preferred - his Solomon-esque answer: 'A small piece of both.' 'I will have it sent to your table,' promised the manager. Don Curry returned, relieved to have escaped the overly loud music from the hall for a while, ordered tea, and waited. After 10 minutes, two plates arrived at his table: two full portions of both desserts - at the expense of the restaurant. In the end, Don Curry paid €13 for a multi-course menu of fine cuisine.

Back in his hotel, he pondered whether Abraham would have set out for the Promised Land back then if such desserts had already existed at his time...