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Sanliurfa
Sanliurfa, known as the City of Prophets, has a very rich and far reaching
background, due to its location in the great fertile plain of upper Mesopotamia.
The archaeological and ethnographical museums exhibit finds of the Neolithic and
Chalcolithic eras from the lower Euphrates region. You will notice a cave here,
with several mosques around it here. This cave is believed to be the birthplace
of Abraham. The Meviid Halil Mosque is also of another interest. Sanliurfa was
praised as the city of the prophets Hiob, Jethro and St. George, besides
Abraham, who were said to have lived here.
It is a holy city with "Balikli Göl" at the foot of a crusader castle and
surrounded by mosques. The Halil Rahman Mosque is next to a pool which is full
of sacred carp. The story about this pool that a holy person of Islam was about
to be burned by non-believers and had stafied a big fire to burn him, but the
logs turned into carp and the fire into water, and so the "Balikli Göl" was
formed. On the other side of this pool, is the Ottoman Rizvaniye Mosque. The
Firfirli Mosque, which was once the church of the Apostles, is worth a visit. A
walk by the typical eastern bazaar and the old inns (hans), especially Gumruk
Hani and Barutcu Hani, will take you back to the days of 1001 nights. Sanli Urfa
Citadel and Ayn-i Zeliha Lake are other historical sites in the city.
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