Southeastern Anatolia Region

城市概覽

Culturally, linguistically, and geographically, Southeastern Anatolia has a lot in common with its southern neighbours, namely Syria and Iraq, and is the most Middle Eastern part of Turkey. The southern half of the region is fairly shadeless plains (in part sprawling uniformly flat into the distance); this area is dominated by steppes that are bright yellow in summer. The northern half is relatively rugged, but is nevertheless mostly barren. The two major rivers of the Middle East, the Euphrates (Turkish: Fırat) and the Tigris (Turkish: Dicle), begin from the snowy mountains of Eastern Anatolia, and flow through the region before crossing Turkey's southern border into Syria and Iraq. Many Southeastern Anatolian cities and sites are on or near the banks of either. While you may occasionally come across a tout in relatively touristy parts (e.g., Urfa) or kids asking for money — which seems to be pretty much the full extent of their English vocabulary, apart from the ubiquitous hello — the local people are extremely hospitable and friendly (often to a fault) and are willing to help you in any way they can. They are just proud that, after so many years of armed conflict and political instability, travellers from faraway places are now making the effort to see their hometowns.

People Outsiders often assume Southeastern Anatolia is inhabited by the Kurds entirely, but on a closer look, you will find a diverse array of religions and ethnicities in the region, although not up to the levels once found during the Ottoman period. The western quarter of the region, more precisely west of the Euphrates River, is mostly populated by the Turks, with villages populated by the Kurds scattered around. On the other hand, the majority of the population east of the Euphrates is Kurdish. The southernmost parts of the region along the Syrian border, as well as a strip in the northeast ranging from Hasankeyf to Siirt are among the main centres of the local Arab population in Turkey.

如何抵達

While not on the same level as the buses in western Anatolia, the bus service into and throughout Southeastern Anatolia is decent enough. You'll find buses running from and between most major destinations daily (oftentimes more than once daily). In the very deep southeast around Şırnak, Beytüşşebap and Hakkari, dolmuş (shared van-taxis) and minibuses are far more common but do not run as frequently or on as tight a schedule. Major regional airports with domestic connections are in Gaziantep, Urfa, and Diyarbakır. Diyarbakır and Batman have three times weekly train services (Güney Express) from Ankara, the national capital, with a number of stops in Central Anatolia. Gaziantep is connected to the west by a motorway. There are also other major, but occasionally pot-holed, highways from the north, south, and southeast into the region.

當地交通

Bus and minibus service is generally robust, although schedules are not closely adhered to and you may find yourself waiting an extra hour or two for that minibus that everyone has been promising will arrive soon. Private vehicles often serve as taxis but for fees that are higher than one would expect. Be ready to haggle. Hitchhiking is far easier than anywhere else in Turkey, with lift offers generally coming from the first vehicle passing by. It's pretty much safe, too, as long as you stick on the main roads at least. In the past, however, it's known that PKK have raided private traffic on roads in deeper southeastern Anatolia. Many roads in the region are full of potholes and locals drive somewhat recklessly, even more so than the rest of the country, so be extra careful if you are the one who is driving actually.

必看景點

Historic attractions

The most likely entrance into the region, Gaziantep, for the most part a modern and large city, is home to a castle, a couple of Armenian churches, which were converted into mosques after the 1915 genocide, and perhaps most importantly, the extensive collection of the Mosaic Museum, which hosts stunning mosaics excavated at the nearby site of Zeugma (we will get to that). In the remote countryside near the Syrian border southwest of Gaziantep is the Yesemek sculpture workshop, an evocative hillside full of half-finished sculptures dating back to the Hittites, who formed the earliest kingdom in Anatolia in the Bronze Age. This was where many of the sculptures embellishing their kingdom, which once extended from almost the Black Sea coast to well into Syria, came from; with the collapse of the kingdom, the quarry was abandoned as were the sculptures, before they got a chance to be completed and moved to their final locations. Roughly half-way between Gaziantep and Urfa and slightly off the modern highway is Zeugma, which was known for its pontoon bridge crossing the Silk Road over the Euphrates in the Roman era. While much of the site has been drowned under the waters of the Birecik Dam, and most of the heritage removed to the Mosaic Museum of Gaziantep, the excavations are still going on, and it may be worthwhile to check out the site itself. On the opposite rim of the dam lake lies the pretty old town of Halfeti, which is half submerged like its western neighbour, Zeugma — the lonely minaret rising from the water, with the adjoining mosque inundated, can be considered an icon of the common ill fortune of many sites in the region, dominated by two major rivers. The picturesque town is notable for its historic buildings made of yellow stones common in the region, and boat tours to an outlying hilltop fortress over the dam lake are available. East from there, Urfa is associated with Abrahamic myths, and its fully preserved old town has plenty o

美食

The region, Gaziantep in particular, is nationally renowned for its culinary offerings. Many of the restaurants elsewhere in the country are established and run by people from the area, supplying versions of the local meals, often retrofitted and tamed to the taste of non-locals. Drawing on the Middle Eastern to a great extent, the local cuisine is heavily dependent on meaty fare; Gaziantep and Urfa particularly are famous for their local varieties of kebabs and lahmacuns. Çiğ köfte is another local specialty that can nowadays be found at joints nationwide. Despite the name ("raw meatball"), the modern recipe no longer includes meat (uncooked, originally) to avoid raised eyebrows from the health authorities, and is mostly a mushy mixture of bulgur wheat, and a series of fresh vegetables and spices. Speaking of which, the locals love to use many different spices on their meal, you've been warned. Vegetarians will have a tough time in the region and should prepare themselves for spending a lot of time between supermarket shelves looking for canned food and eating lots of boring pastry. A major agricultural product is pistachio, grown in the countryside surrounding Gaziantep and Siirt, in the southwest and northeast of the region respectively. While its standard Turkish name is Antep fıstığı ("the nut of Gaz