Gaziantep

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:

"fertility statues," aka penis pendants

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 1^st-3^rd 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 I generally do not support lifelong virginity pledges, I am a fan of immortal love and did audibly “aww” while I was listening to the guide.  

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:

one of the many mezes (appetizers)

kasarli pide (cheesy bread)

various kebaps

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. 

I had to get two so they wouldn't be lonely.

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 1^st century A.D. and rebuilt/repaired in the 3^rd century, but that’s all I know.  There was no information at the site, since these types of ruins are so ubiquitous here!