My first trip to Sanliurfa

All began because of the TB website here ;-)
I got into contact with Fatih... first to help him improving his German, but step by step we became friends, talking more
and more and also I was really fascinated by his Sanliurfa photos - I wanted to see Balikligöl and all these wonderfull
places with my own eyes.

View from the plane shortly before landing in Urfa

Sanliurfa - some facts:
Şanlıurfa is a very old city and its history dates as far back as 8000 BC.

Şanlıurfa (glorious Urfa) is a city of pilgrimage, sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews as the birthplace of Abraham. 
According to Iegends, Abraham fervantly believed in a single god. King Nemrut (Nimrod) launched Abraham from a catapult from the city's castle to fall into a pile of burning wood. Happily, God intervened and turned the fire into water and the faggots to fish, which make up water and fish in the so called baliklegöl (fishlake). Nimrod's daughter, Zeliha, was infatuated with Abraham and pleaded with her father not to sent him into the flames. When she saw Abraham jump into the blaze, she plunged in after him.

Where she fell turned into the Ayn-i Zeliha Pond. The cruel ruler's giant slingshot is represented by two Corinthian columns still standing atop the castle.

Being sooo excited - the 1st day in Urfa ;-))
Finally I was sitting in the plane from Frankfurt (Germany) via Istanbul to Sanliurfa - and I was soooo excited! Meeting Fatih the first time and all the new things I would see... ;-))
The start of my week in Urfa wasn't so luckily cause my baggage didn't arrive. (I got it 2 days later - that meant shopping
at the first evening for toothbrush and so on *lol*).
Anyway, I met Fatih and his friend Deniz in the city center of Urfa and I was really so excited to meet them! ;-)

First they brought me to our hotel - Yildiz Seray - what was really a nice choose by Fatih :-)

Right in the first evening we went to many great places like Balikligöl, the castle and so on....my feet were burning cause my
walking shoes were in the baggage that didn't arrive - haha.

We (I was coming to Urfa with my Mum) were staying for almost 1 week and during that week we were travelling to several
places near Urfa.

The week passed by too fast
During that week I found two really good friends...
Fatih, who is like my brother and - (our slogan): we will be forever and ever friends!!!!
and Deniz - who became a very important person during that week for me.

Fatih has already written a very good Blog about Sanliurfa... so if you are interested see here:
http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/20791/The-city-of-Prophets-Sanliurfa-1

Below you can see some pictures from my (first) week in Urfa....
It definitely won't be my last one - cause as a myth is being told everyone who has climbed Urfas castle will come
back to this city one day - and I was on the top of the castle ;-))
But also I am missing my friends too much!

So --> I will be back asap !!!  ;-)