Urfa

`Urfa (also Şanlıurfa, formerly Edessa) is a city in Southeastern Anatolia, and the provincial capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The modern city of Urfa is situated about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. It has a rapidly growing population.

Urfa has many excellent old buildings and plenty of connections with the Old Testament and Islamic tradition. The general vibe is absolutely Middle Eastern, with all those traditional yellow stone, arched architecture, people of both genders in traditional Middle Eastern attire, and so on. When approaching from the west, the city certainly feels like the gates of the eastern world. People are extremely friendly, and the bazaar is great.

Understand


In 1984, Urfa was renamed Şanlıurfa (i.e. "Glorious Urfa"), due to its resistance to the invading French troops after the Ottoman Empire lost World War I. This is how it is shown on maps and highway signs. Şanlıurfa is usually abbreviated to Ş.Urfa on non-official signs, such as those on buses or restaurants. However, colloquially and locally, the city is still almost always referred to Urfa.

Climate
Like most of Southeastern Turkey, Urfa's climate is semi-arid and subcontinental; extremely hot and dry summers, cool to chilly, occasionally rainy, and sporadically snowy winters.

Summers are hot, but saying just that is definitely an understatement; the heat in Urfa is a lot more intense than the moderately hot Central Anatolia or even the hot and humid Mediterranean, and it is incomparable to the tepid warmth of Istanbul or the rest of Northern Turkey. Urfa's average summer temperatures are above 38°C (100°F). To put this further into perspective, most of Istanbul and the Black Sea coast have never, in a hundred years of records, reached this temperature, and most of Western Europe has only reached it once or twice. This means that what for most temperate climates would be a historic heatwave, is an average summer day in Urfa. Other than that, summers feature cloudless skies and very little rain, as usual with the south of Turkey.

Spring and fall are both mild to warm (except for September, which is still hot), and are the ideal times to go.

Winters are somewhat chilly, with regular frosts. Rain is occasional, but can sometimes get heavy, especially in the transition to spring. Snow sometimes falls, but temperatures quickly recover after a snowy period.

Because of its higher temperatures, the storm season (called Kırkikindi) of continental Anatolia arrives earlier in Urfa, taking place around March and April. These showers and thunderstorms can sometimes cause delays and minor damage, but any major damage or very heavy rain is rare.

By bus
Buses connect to most big and regional cities, such as Gaziantep to west and Mardin to east (both routes take around 4 hours, and cost 25 TL). Free transfers to and from the bus station provide by some accommodation choices. The bus station is outside of the city center. There is a bus running from the main bus station in the center to the otogar, which takes about 30 minutes exit the otogar and take any bus running to the left that goes to "belediye" (1TL). From here either take bus R1 (0.50 TL) to the Bazaar, or walk down Ataturk Blvd to the Bazaar. A taxi costs about 20 TL.

By plane
Multiple flights a day into and out of Sanliurfa's new airport from/to Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Reasonably priced transfers from and to the airport with the (14 TL, 2020). Some accommodation choices also provide free airport transfers since the airport is out of town. Flights available from Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines.

Get around
The city has a network of minibus lines, although all sights are located in the easily walkable compact old town.

See
Most attractions are within a small area and if you get accommodation nearby you can do everything on foot, including Göbekli Tepe. You can visit the Museum in the morning and then take the 13:45 bus 0 to Göbekli Tepe and return around 16:30. Ask in the Museum for information about where to catch the bus and possible timetable changes.

South of the Museum there are many other attractions:

The atmospheric bazaar with its hustle and bustle is quite charming, as is the old town.

Do
As it can get scorching hot during summer, or above, you'll be hard pressed to do anything during the afternoon. In the park around which the mosques are you can wait for the midday heat to subside while enjoying ice tea or other cold drinks (there are also a few bars on Sarayonu st.) before exploring the old town, the bazaar or the mosques. That's also the extent of what you can do in the evening. Sit down, have a cold non-alcoholic drink and play backgammon or just have a chat.

Join the locals and make a wish while feeding the holy fishes at the pond. According to the local belief, if you happen to feed one of the obviously rare white fishes, your wish will come true in a short time. Feeds, which are available from numerous vendors around the pond, are regulated by the local environmental association—it's highly discouraged to use anything other than the designated feed—and the standard fare of a small box of feed is 1 TL—don't pay anything more if the vendor tries to rip you off.

Have a Narghile (hookah) at the lake in the park near the mosques.

Buy
As Urfa is both a conservative and hot place, headscarves are popular with both the city's men and women. Particular to Urfa, is a shade of lavender with white embroidered or sequined patterns. The story goes that the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1993-1996 wore a scarf in that style when she visited Urfa, and now all the women wear them. They are worn by both men and women. They can be found in the bazaar. Pay no more than 10TL per scarf.

Likewise, the patterned Pos(h)i scarves are both popular and politically-charged purchases. They come in all manner of meaningless colours, however the Kurdish men wear those of black and white check, and the Arab men the red and white ones.



Eat
Be careful with food hygiene as very many people suffer stomach trouble in Urfa. Suspects include the water, the ice cream and the kebabs. This only refers to summer visits.

Famous are the çiğ köfte or raw kebabs. In Winter they are made with raw mince meat; in Summer they are made with fried egg. Definitely one of the most delicious dishes of the area.

Have a breakfast at the wonderful Zahter Kahvalti in Köprübasi Caddesi opposite the entrance of "Hotel Ipek Palace".

Urfa is famous for local pistachio desserts. You can find different versions in every bakery in the city center.

Drink
As Urfa is a city of pilgrimage, beer or any other alcoholic beverage is near impossible to get. Apart from that you're able to find any of the soft-drink brands sold in the rest of Turkey or stick to Turkish or Arabian tea (which is sweeter or minted).

The section of Urfa just over the Karakoyun River houses a few small, simple bars and the local Turkish beer Efes can be purchased to take away from a very few small shops in that area. The few small bars are humble affairs, frequented by men and playing local Kurdish and Turkish music.

Drink "murra" in the Gümrük Han - this is a very strong 1/2 teaspoon-sized cup of coffee. It is not overly pleasant, but it is a local experience.

More welcoming to the palate is Menengiç (menen-gich) coffee - this is made from a paste of coffee and menengiç (wild pistachio) beans, and gives the cup a sweet, nutty flavour.

Stay safe
Urfa seems to be a very safe city. There is a police sentry box in the Balıklıgöl/Pond area where you can report any problems.

However, according to the local youngsters, there is a possibly dangerous substance abuse going on around the gate of the citadel on the hill after night falls, so better avoid hanging around the stairs leading there at night.

Go next

 * Go to Harran (about 45 km south; a dolmuş from otogar costs 15 TL. You can also find a dolmuş to Harran near the Havas bus stop, opposite of Nevali hotel; on Google Maps you can see the small road named 124. Sk.), and see some reconstructed beehive huts, the remains of the oldest university, and the remains of the trading "fortress" around which they're situated. Interestingly the inhabitants have mostly Iraqi descendants and identify themselves as Arabs.
 * Mardin, about 200 km to the east, with its stonework architecture and Syriac Orthodox churches is also another interesting place to visit in the region.
 * The Atatürk Dam to the north of the city is a huge engineering project harnessing the waters of the Euphrates and irrigating former semi-desert lands around Urfa.
 * Visit villages in the region and see rural life seemingly almost unchanged since ancient times. Go to Karacadağ where it is still possible to see nomads in their yurts, and from where wheat first originated about 8800 BCE.
 * Take an excursion to Nemrut, the mountain of gods, or Diyarbakır, the largest city of the region also full of history. Both are within a day's reach of Urfa.
 * Halfeti is a riverside old town in the west, partially swallowed by a dam lake.