A Trip To Year Zero
- Maximilian Sam
- Feb 11
- 14 min read
Short trips and experiencing history and new places are important to all of us. To celebrate new year, myself and fellow author, Jay Jean Jackson (www.jayjeanjackson.com), planned a trip to the east of Turkey, close enough to the Syrian border. We’d be visiting Sanliurfa and the plethora of archaeological sites in the surrounding area. We’d then fly to Istanbul on New Year’s Eve taking a cruise along the Bosphorus before watching the fireworks. We’d be back home on New Year’s Day.
The plan was excellent. Well, nearly. Like all grand plans, it failed in almost every respect through events beyond our control. Thankfully, we made the most of every hurdle and had an amazing trip.
I should have suspected things wouldn’t go to plan before we’d even left. We were meeting the transfer bus in the early hours of the morning. It’s fortunate I called Jay just after midnight to wake her up. She’d set the alarm for midday instead of midnight. A mistake we’ve all made. It became a rush, but we both made it on time. Our journey had started.
All was going well as we came in to land at Sanliurfa. I thought the cloud was very low. I was wrong. There were several feet of snow on the ground. In my defence, I hadn’t seen snow for over 10 years. By the end of the trip, I’d be sick of the sight of the stuff. We were caught out as our weather app said there would be a dusting of snow. It didn’t say it would be a layer so thick it’s normally only found in a teenager’s bedroom.
Our plan to hire a car was over before it began. There was no way I would drive on unfamiliar roads in the heaviest snowfall the area had seen either ever, in the last 10 years, or since the previous year, depending on who you asked.
Instead, we jumped onto the Havas coach to take us into the city itself. My view of not hiring a car proved more correct with each passing mile. Trying to follow directions in these conditions would have been too much of a risk. Let the Havas driver take the strain, especially as it only cost us £3 each. Sometimes it’s best to take the path of least resistance.
We arrived at the bus terminal and, using a well-known app, decided we’d walk to our hotel through the snow that, at least for a few minutes, held enchantment. We could even stop at the Sanliurfa museum on the way. It wasn’t easy walking through the snow. We were slipping and sliding everywhere. We stopped to sit on a bench. Why Jay chose that particular bench, we will never know. I glanced behind us and saw some carvings in a garden. I pointed them out. Why were they there? A few yards down the road, the answer became clear. We had stumbled upon the Sanliurfa Tourist Office (https://sanliurfa.ktb.gov.tr).
We walked in and were received like royalty. Never has a free cup of coffee tasted so good. We left with instructions on which bus to take to the museum and plenty of guidebooks and other goodies. It was the perfect welcome to a city where everyone was friendly and eager to help. I already have and always will have huge affection for those in the tourism office. The very best of the very best. Thank you, from both of us.
We jumped on the bus and were soon at the museum. We wandered through what I can only presume is normally a car park, but was today a snowy play area for children and adults alike. Everywhere you looked, people were having snowball fights and building snowmen. The sense of fun was contagious.
We found the entrance to the museum and used our Muzekarts to enter for free. We’d already saved £20 on the day. To call it one of the best museums I’ve ever seen wouldn’t be an understatement. It’s magnificent and brilliantly laid out, taking you on a walk through the ages, including Urfa Man, a statue discovered in the city and a replica of the one place we were both desperate to see. The dawn of civilisation itself. Gobeklitepe.
We then walked through the ages. Iron Age, Bronze Age, right through to the Romans. It really is magnificent. Even if you pay full price, it’s worth every penny. I saw and learned so much. I feel it was a huge benefit to see the reconstruction of Gobeklitepe before visiting the real thing. It gave an understanding of what we would encounter and created an aura I can’t describe.
Our early start meant we had lost track of time and were tired. We decided to find our hotel. But wait. The bus to Göbeklitepe left from outside the museum. Why not jump straight in and visit the real thing? We sat at the bus stop, and sat, and sat. People were helpful in saying it was the right stop and each giving different times for its departure. We even bumped into a Dutch couple looking to take on the same adventure. After 90 minutes, we were cold and tired. The hotel felt like a good plan. The bus had apparently not been running because of the snow.
We set off. We walked to the other side of the museum in the direction a certain app told us to go. Thankfully, it wasn’t on concrete when Jay had the only fall of our trip. With a backpack on, she landed like an upside-down turtle. I nearly joined her as I tried to lift her up whilst stifling laughter. I know we looked funny as a group watching us couldn’t stop laughing. The video has probably gone viral. Thankfully, Jay wasn’t hurt, but was soaking wet and cold. Soaking and cold would be the theme of the trip.
The only fall on our trip had a very happy ending. We looked up and saw Caves across the road. What had Jay brilliantly stumbled upon?
We hadn’t seen anything anywhere about the necropolis. Five hectares and, currently, 103 tombs have been uncovered. It’s huge. We’d found something very special that was free to enter. Obviously, the snow meant we couldn’t explore too much, but we could enter one tomb which was mind-blowing with ornate carvings and so much more. We have to go back in better weather to explore.
We walked away in awe of what we had seen. How much still lay undiscovered? What I knew about history was changing before my eyes.
We took a slight detour to see a place I was desperate to see. Balikligol. The Pool of Abraham, known in Jewish and Islamic legend as the place where Nimrod threw Abraham into a fire. In daylight it matched my dreams. What came later exceeded them beyond belief.
We found our small, budget hotel. It was a little confusing as it appeared locked and deserted. I rang the bell and hoped. Not having somewhere to stay would have been a failure of a plan that went a stretch too far. As it happened, all the hotels are like this with big metal doors. You just have to hope someone answers it before you lose the will to live. In this case, they did.
It was pleasant enough with stone walls and the usual amenities. Nothing overly special, but enough to make me feel as though we’d found something above the ordinary. We also hadn’t paid much. It was incredibly cold. We didn’t turn the heater off for our entire stay. It was friendly. It was clean, except for a rather large family of ants in the bathroom. The owner was a lovely young man who wanted to help us. However, I was in Turkey. I should have known not everything was what it seemed, but more on that later.
We needed food. We were off out and about, ill-equipped for the snow we hadn’t expected. It took us a while, and we were at our wits’ end trying to find somewhere to eat when we found a place. Our timing was perfect. 15 minutes later and there was a queue at the door. The table next to ours was filled with the motorcycle police. We’d found a proper Turkish haven for our dinner. A kebab and a pide later, and we were sated.
The walk back to the hotel was a lot faster as we’d previously walked in a big circle. It’s no wonder we averaged well over 10 miles walking per day on our trip.
We woke the next morning to our free Turkish breakfast. Small dishes of everything from olives to honey and the ever-present hard-boiled eggs covered the table. The downside was that we were sitting on the outdoor terrace surrounded by snow. It was the coldest breakfast I’ve ever had.
We enquired about the bus to Göbeklitepe. Apparently, it wasn’t running because of the snow. The young owner of the hotel arranged for a driver to take us instead. £60 seemed a small price to pay to fulfil our dream. That was until we stopped at traffic lights and saw the bus we could have taken in front of us. A twang of annoyance kicked in. The driver must have spotted it as he suddenly offered to take us to several other places on top of our agreed trip.
We arrived at Gobeklitepe to see mountains covered by snow all around. Our Muzekart once again saved us money. £40 this time. We walked through the visitor centre, watching videos that truly got the heart pumping.
Gobeklitepe is the oldest archaeological site in the world. It calls itself Year Zero. Even the bus is number zero. It has changed our view of civilisation and our ancestors. Almost everything we thought we knew has been blown away. This was a very sophisticated society 11,500 years ago. Excavation continues even now. What is found will change what we thought we knew permanently. It’s well worth doing an internet search to see what I’m talking about.
We walked to the shuttle bus area. The buses were being moved around the car park in a way I can only compare to me trying to ice skate. A sign said it was 700m to the site. Walking seemed safer, even through the snow.
We hadn’t considered it was uphill, but we were about to fulfil a dream.
I will never forget the look on Jay’s face when she saw the excavation for the first time. A look of wonder and excitement. It was the highlight of my trip.
I felt a sense of awe. That’s the point. That first sight will always be deeply personal. It’s also incredibly special. 11,500 years of history have that effect. Not knowing how people lived or what this place truly was just makes it even more special.
I can’t describe what was in front of me. All I can suggest is that you visit yourself and make sure you look around. We don’t know for sure if this was a temple, a gathering place, or a palace. Maybe further excavations will give us clues. Maybe they will leave us with more questions than answers. Theorising is part of the fun.
We spent longer at Gobeklitepe than we realised. It’s when the driver came good and was worth every penny we’d given him. He dropped us at the bus stop to take us to Haran. I’d given him all our cash and there wasn’t an ATM in sight. He gave me back some cash and told me to leave its replacement at the hotel. We wouldn’t have got to Haran without him.
A dolmus isn’t a proper bus. It’s a minibus which charges far less than public transport. It stops in random places on request and is full of characters. We, unsurprisingly, were the only foreigners on board. People were desperate to talk to us and seemed proud that we were on the dolmus with them. £2.50 for a 45-minute ride was a bargain, even if I stood all the way.
There was a potential problem. Only one dolmus would take us home. If we missed it, we’d be stranded. The clock was ticking.
We walked through the ancient city gate and over a large hill. We saw the ruins of the largest university in the world. Finally, we came to the conical houses we wanted to see.
They are a piece of architectural genius. Only the photographs can tell the story. We walked up to some to investigate. I was approached by a man who said there was a charge to enter. Here we go again! I was wrong. 50p each. We looked around at how huge these structures were internally. It was a massive surprise. These weren’t the ones we’d seen online. We went hunting further. The second site was guarded by two of my favourite animals (after the stray dogs and cats). I love camels. We were escorted around the second site by a supposed young man. The banter was hilarious. He claimed his grandfather had built this very house, and he still lived in it. It would have made his grandfather 1,000 years old and him a ridiculous age. It wasn’t just the camel’s poo I could smell!
He gave us one interesting piece of information. Way back when, if you didn’t pay your taxes, the authorities would remove three bricks from the conical chimney, preventing it working and so letting in cold or heat depending on the season. It’s an idea that might work for tax collectors to this day.
We made it back to the dolmus in time. I even got a seat this time but was amused to see someone get on with their own chair to sit on. A great idea. You live and learn.
The driver had been unbelievably helpful. We’d explained where we wanted to go, so he told us where to get off and which way to walk when we got close to our destination. I’m glad he did, as he dropped us at a major junction surrounded by traffic lights. Crossing the road in the snow with traffic all around was an experience.
Our bad luck had turned into good luck once again. It meant we’d experienced something truly special, both on the dolmus and by touring another piece of history.
We had visited Balikgol in daylight. To see a mosque surrounded by water fed by natural springs was incredible. To realise it was where Urfa Man was discovered added a rich vein of history.
At night, with the lights on, it was spectacular. It’s called Fish Lake for a reason. There were a huge number of black fish swimming around. Bending down to look at them created a unique experience. There was steam rising from the water. There was something mesmeric about it. I now know the true meaning of ethereal. We’d seen something very few ever do to end our day.
A night drying out and keeping warm with snacks seemed like a good idea. It was until a SMS message changed our plans again. Our flight to Istanbul had been cancelled for “operational reasons”. Had they said “because of the snow”, we wouldn’t have spent the next few hours trying to book an alternative flight. One airline even took my money but didn’t issue tickets for a flight it knew it had cancelled.
Istanbul wasn’t going to happen, and we were stranded. Panic came close to taking over, as did some choice words to the customer help desk of the airline that stole my money. I have been compensated (inadequately), but I’m still unhappy with them. Apparently there’s no word for sorry in their dictionary.
We decided to sleep on it. Not that either of us slept. The next morning we looked for flights home. I was mortified as I knew how much Jay had put into organising the trip and throwing in some treats for me. The hardest part of it all was seeing her as upset and disappointed as I felt. She deserved much better.
We found the most affordable and realistic flight would leave us stuck in Sanliurfa for an extra two days. It was time to find a hotel on New Year’s Eve. We would have stayed put, but the hotel we were in wanted double the rate listed on a well-known hotel booking website.
We did finally find one. It was a bizarre room, as the toilet was in a glass shower enclosure in the corner. We would have to be accommodating to spare each other’s blushes. We gained a little revenge as drying shoes with a hair dryer blew the main fuse box for the entire building. Ooops.
It was New Year’s Eve, with any restaurants open fully booked. A trip to the supermarket led to a picnic on our hotel bed. Just before midnight, the owner of the hotel invited us across the road to a party. It was a nightclub with a live band to help bring in the new year. We’d landed on our feet again. Laughter, dancing, and some great music welcomed in the new year.
We woke the next day and hatched a plan to visit the mosaic museum. Now, mosaics aren’t my thing, but this was truly spectacular. It had been unearthed in situ when a new drainage system was being installed. Instead of trying to move it, they built a huge dome over the top to protect it. Inside the walls of the Roman building were still in place, giving context to the mosaics. We could also use our Muzekarts to save the entry fee yet again.
The museum is inspiring. It offers far more than I could ever have expected. Walkways have been planned to ensure we could see everything without damaging the mosaics themselves. Once again Sanliurfa had amazed me with how well it treated its history.
We left in a state or shock and awe. Something we weren’t worried if we didn’t see had proven incredible. We were exhausted and soaked from the snow. An afternoon asleep beckoned. It’s exactly what we did.
We woke needing sustenance. We hadn’t realised everywhere would be closed on New Year’s Day. We traipsed around almost giving up. The memory of stopping for a coffee that turned out to be made from ground pistachios rather than coffee beans earlier in the day was haunting us.
We walked past a hotel and I decided to ask them where somewhere was open for food.
“Please come through, sir. Our restaurant is open.”
We struck gold again. The complimentary salad would have kept us fed for a week, but the main courses were exquisite. A kebab and a whole sea bass later and we were done. The hummus starter is something else I won’t forget in a hurry.
We woke to a day where we hoped we’d finally get home. It had, at least, stopped snowing. I’m not sure my bank balance would have taken another delay. I’m an author, after all, so money has never been something that grows on trees.
We checked out of the hotel and walked to visit Abraham’s Cave. Apparently, it’s where his mother hid and left him when he was born to protect him from those who were concerned a new prophet was about to be born and would kill him. It turned out to be a dirty piece of glass you could hardly see through. It is, however, a very holy place and a kind gentleman showed me how to take a cup and drink from the natural spring that is meant to bring health and luck. It made it worthwhile.
Outside we sat by Balikligol for a final time. We noticed a man hovering. All he wanted was to borrow a lighter and it took him a while to summon up the courage to ask. I hadn’t realised he wasn’t even wearing socks. The poor man was a refugee and freezing. Jay let him keep the lighter and a packet of cigarettes. His look of delight is something I will never forget. We should all be grateful for what we have. Life could be much worse and is for many others.
We decided to head for some food as the flight time would make dinner difficult. A bus to the terminus so we could catch the Havas coach to the airport was our main concern.
It did leave us time to stop at a shisha bar. It was more like an opium den where you’d find Sherlock Holmes but it ticked a box we’d both wanted to achieve. It was amusing but incredibly bizarre as the fuse box blew every five minutes.
We made it to the Havas and the airport. All we needed now was the plane to be able to take off. Thankfully, it did. We should have been home on Thursday. Instead, it was the early hours of Saturday. Exhausted, but finally dry and away from snow, we were home.
I couldn’t have wished for a better or more considerate companion for the trip. We had everything thrown at us but both came through with a smile and flying colours. Most of the sights I’ve seen in this world, I have done alone. To share Gobeklitepe and so much more with someone as excited about it as me was amazing. It will live with me forever. Thank you Jay Jean Jackson for a bonkers, yet perfect trip.
Please visit Jay's website at www.jayjeanjackson.com She's an amazing photographer, writer and author. There's much to learn and see. Added to which she's a staunch member of our Stray Army.
TTFN
Max and the Stray Army
Comments