ŞANLIURFA

While my father was talking on the phone, my mother filled the tea in glasses. She squeezed orange juice for peace and for me. I also placed the forks and napkins on the table.

I hope no, I hope there is nothing bad.

-No, don’t worry. The woman called to ask for sake. My father was looking at us:

-You remember your uncle, children? They came here  two years ago

Barış and me:

– Oh yes, dad, we remember! Aunt Fatma came with İbrahim and Elif. We became friends with Elif and İbrahim. They brought us pistachio  from Şanlıurfa.

-Well done guys! You remember it very well. They insist to come to Şanlıurfa every time they call.

My mother also said:

-Fatma asks when you come here whenever he calls me.

My father:

-I hope we will go  at a suitable time. I am also very curious there.

Peace in an excited tone:

-Uncle Baba Kadir was your friend from the university, right?

-Yes, my son.We have stayed in the same house for 2 years.

Barış continued his words:

-We also loved them. If we could go to Şanlıurfa, we could see them and Göbeklitepe, which we were very curious about.

I suddenly came up with a very nice idea:

-Dad, if we go on this summer break!

-Do not be my daughter, the summers are very hot in Şanlıurfa. The temperature can even reach over 40 degrees. Your uncle  always says’ To come here , choose spring.’

My mother is excited:

-What are we waiting for? Then it’s a good time. What do you think?

My father, in a statement confirming my mother’s words:

-You are right, we have no other plans this semester break.

Barış  and I, holding our hands up, shouting enthusiastically:

-Long live then we go to Urfa!

My father calls Uncle Kadir a few hours later and says that it is a very convenient time for them. They are very happy. They said they were waiting impatiently.

My father said, “We’ll hit the road on Monday, then.”

Can you imagine  Barış? Two days later, we will be able to see where we watched the movie last night. How beautiful is it?

– Yes, brother. I can’t believe it, too. It will be a great trip.

As usual, Barış reached out to his bed in his room and took his tablet and started to search Şanlıurfa.

-Look at those places to those dishes! We will see places we have never seen, we will taste the dishes we have never tasted.

-Yes my brother. New places are waiting for us.If your research is over, let us do our EBA  homework sent by our teacher from the tablet.

-Ok, brother.

After doing some of our homework, we go to the living room. They are listening the news. A newscaster was talking about a virus.

– A very serious virus spread from China to other countries. I hope it is not seen in our country.

I ask curiously:

What kind of virus daddy?

A virus called ‘coronovirus’ that can be transmitted from person to person. ıt  causes death in large numbers. I hope it can be destroyed before seen in Turkey .

– I hope ,dad

Sunday pass with the preparations for the trip. We have  a bath, we prepare the clothes we will take. We buy gifts for Ibrahim and Elif. We sleep early in the morning because my mother say  that we will get up very early in the morning. Our road is long. My father:

If we set out at 6 in the morning, we will be there in the afternoon, like 4 in the afternoon. The distance between Giresun Şanlıurfa is 796 kilometers.

We wake up early in the morning.We place our luggage in the trunk of the car. We are able to find their homes easily. All of them stand  at their door, waiting for us.

We immediately knew İbrahim and Elif.

We all go in. There are other guests in the hall. Uncle Kadir and his mother Fatma Aunt’s mother, father and brother is also very friendly people. They welcome us very well. They chat.

My mother :

-Do you want to give the gifts you get for İbrahim and Elif?

-Yeah mom, we’ve forgotten.

We go inside and peacefully opened our suitcases. We take out the gifts and hand them to Ibrahim and Elif. They like it very much. They thank us.
My mother:

-We have chosen your gift with love. I hope you like it.

-Thank you very much, my auntie, I love it. My favorite colors are pink and purple. It is a great bag.

After giving our gifts, we go  to the table. How many kinds are there. They look very yummy. Only the lahmacun wis familiar from the meals I see at the table.

– Borani, icli kofte, lebeni, lahmacun, tepsi kebab. All of these are the dishes of this region.

My mother:

-Borani has been so delicious.

-Nohut, lamb meat, chard stalk and bulgur nest are made of it.

I ask curiously:

-How is icli kofte  made, Aunt Fatma? I like it the most.

-In icli kofte , thin boiled and pounded wheat, semolina, salt, flour and eggs are kneaded. Roasted minced meat fills onions and spices. Then it is covered and shaped, and then either fried or boiled.

After eating our meals, we chat. our beds  are prepared after  a little more conversation.

When we wake  up the next morning, breakfast is already prepared. We have  our breakfast and go out immediately. Because there are  many places to visit. Uncle Kadir takes us there first because we always talk about Göbeklitepe. I still can’t believe how big stones are. These stones are exactly 12000 years old. It is hard to believe but they are true.

Aunt Fatma says in a calm tone:

-Unesco has taken this place to the world heritage list. These are very well protected.

After touring Göbeklitepe in all its glory and listening to the information told by the guide, we set off again to continue our trip. After Göbeklitepe, we go to Harran. Harran is very close to the border.

– The importance of this is also great children. The first university of the world was built here.

Uncle Kadir nods:

-There are great scholars and scientists here in time.

After a twenty-five-minute journey, we reach Harran. Firstly, houses built adjacent to a funnel attract my attention.

An uncle who lives there says that we can not find these houses elsewhere from here.

Elif and İbrahim come to where we are:

-sevgi and barış! Shall we take pictures in front of these houses?

-Great!

My mother takes photos of us in front of Harran houses, and I take  photos of my mother, father, Uncle Kadir and Aunt Fatma.We leave here after visiting the first university ruins, caves and mosques.

Uncle Kadir says, “Guess where we are going now?”

-Balıklıgöllllll!

Unlike Balıklıgöl, Harran and Göbeklitepe, it is in the city center.

There are mansions, mosques, tea gardens and caves around him.

– What a beautiful place it is. There are countless fish in the lake.

“What fish are these fish, dad?”  Barış asks.

– Carp Fish Barış. According to the narration, while Hz.  Abraham will be thrown into the fire by Nemrut, the ruler of that time, God says water to the fire and fish into the wood.

We all listen  to this story with astonishment. After feeding the fish, we wander around the lake. After we buy  souvenirs, we leave  here. At the exit of the lake, there are restaurants that serve  liver of lamb as well. we enter  the Customs House just a few steps away, which was a historical place.

Uncle Kadir looking at us all:

Do we drink menengiç coffee?

We accept it because we never have it before. Aunt Fatma says  that menengiç coffee is a milk and light coffee and that we can also drink it.Menengiç is made from pistachio tree. By turning to:

– Is  your name  coming from the Prophet Abraham,ibrahim ?

As if  uncle want to satisfy me:

-you are very correct, my grandfather thought his name as ibrahim because of his Prophet Abraham. This name is very common in this city.

The next day, we attend the sıra gecesi, we ate the cigkofe with local music. We eat  the “şıllık ” dessert, which wis filled with walnuts and poured sherbet into the pancake dough. It is an unforgettable night.

The other day, we go to the district Halfeti, which was  flooded eighty percent with the construction of the Atatürk Dam years ago. This place was also called ‘Saklıkent’ or ‘Kayıpşehir’.

And it is time to break up. We never want to leave this beautiful city and beautiful people. It is not enough for us for a few days. What nice people got to know, we travel, have fun.

We reached Giresun at the end of our long journey. We take out our belongings from the car.

-Do not go in,sevgi !Wait!

He comes to me with the trees given by our teacher.

-Let’s keep our promise to your teacher.

We plant our trees in our garden and give  them water.