I just had a fantastic weekend.
Lauren, Evan, and I made a semi-impromptu trip to Gaziantep
on Friday afternoon. Evan manned the
wheel, Lauren was the navigator, and I just graced the car with my presence; if
I had driven or directed, things would have ended badly for everyone involved.
Gaziantep is closer to the Syrian border than I’ve ever
been. U.S. government workers and
military personnel need permission to visit, but the average tourist can go
without a problem. I never felt unsafe,
and the people were as friendly as always.
Gaziantep—or “Antep,” as the cool kids like to call it—has
been continuously inhabited as a city since around 3650 BC. That’s pretty old, older than Varanasi by a
couple thousand years. I think if
Gaziantep were a person, it would be one of these women.
We went to two museums on Saturday. The first was the quaint Medusa Glass Museum,
which displayed miscellaneous jewelry, toys, weapons, and general glassy
items. Some of the stuff was so old yet so intact that it was almost hard to believe. There were a lot of beautiful items, but here
are my favorite oddballs:
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| "fertility statues," aka penis pendants |
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| I don't think an animal this cute and confused actually exists. |
The second stop was the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which just recently
opened in 2011. This was the coolest
museum I’ve ever visited, probably because I taught mythology for the past two
years and so was familiar with many of the stories depicted in the
mosaics. The mosaics all date from the 1st-3rd
century A.D. and were recovered from the ancient city of Zeugma (near
present-day Gaziantep), which is now partially submerged because of the
building of a new dam.
The “Gypsy Girl” is the museum’s main draw, and she even gets
her own special, dark room within the building:
I like her because no one knows exactly who she is supposed
to be. The greater mosaic that she was a
part of is largely unrecovered. And she might even be a he—Alexander the Great, specifically. The audio tour compared her head/eye angles
to the Mona Lisa. Gigi has eyebrows,
though. I call her Gigi.
This is my other favorite mosaic:
Metiochus and Parthenope fell in love… she was sworn to
virginity… then went into a self-imposed exile?
But their love never died? I don’t
really know. I took a photo of the
plaque so I could remember the story, but the message was significantly mangled
in translation. I remember that large segments of the piece were thought be lost to looters, but they ended up being found at a museum in Houston and the lovers were literally able to be reunited again. Such symbolism.
While Gaziantep has lots of museums—there are 12, so we have
to come back later—it’s even more famous for its FOOD. The city isn’t exactly the most
vegetarian-friendly place, but everything
there tastes better. Photos won’t do the
food justice, though they’ll be more adequate than words:
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| one of the many mezes (appetizers) |
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| kasarli pide (cheesy bread) |
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| various kebaps |
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| BAKLAVA!!! |
Between museum-going and gorging, we did manage to carve out
some time for shopping at the bazaar. The
city is known for its copperwork, so there were a lot of tea sets and
kitchen supplies for sale. Lauren and
Evan bought many gifts for friends and family, but since my parents are
coming to visit in ONE MONTH (!), I just perused and listened in on the
bargaining process. I did grab these swans at the end because I kept seeing them—and liking them—all day. I think I am developing an affinity for birds.
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| I had to get two so they wouldn't be lonely. |
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| Bazaar. |
On the way back home, we made a
mini-detour to see the Ancient Roman road on the outskirts of Tarsus. Wikipedia tells me that it was constructed in
the 1st century A.D. and rebuilt/repaired in the 3rd
century, but that’s all I know. There
was no information at the site, since these types of ruins are so ubiquitous
here!
