Hotel Arte

Shoe Shine

by suvanki

In every Turkish city, town and most villages, you'll encounter at least one Shoe Shine man or boy.

I used to avoid them, until a few years ago in Istanbul, when I finally succumbed. A young boy patiently worked away on a pair of my leather sandals that had served me well over the years, and although as comfy as a pair of slippers, they were well past their sell by date, and heading for the bin at the end of my holiday.

However, this boy coaxed them back to life by painstakingly rubbing the polish in by hand, then buffing with a brush, then repeating the process twice more. I was very impressed by the effort and skill that he employed, with my sandals looking better than when I first bought them. He asked a very modest fee, and even when I gave him the same again as a tip, it was still only less than £1!

This man was quite a character, every time I passed by, he wanted to chat, or tell me the places I should be visiting. While he was polishing my shoes, he sent out for cay for me, and then wouldn't take any money!

He seemed to know everyone that was passing by!

Although his shoe cleaning kit wasn't as fancy as some (Some are very elaborate) he'd made an effort, by fixing artificial flowers and the Turkish flag to his!

So - take a seat, get Your shoes polished, have a chat, learn more about the country/ culture etc, and contribute a bit to the local economy

Entrance to Golbasi

by suvanki

This attractive gateway is the way to enter Golbasi. As you can see from the 2 pictures, the Kale is quite close, as is the new mosque in the foreground.
In front of the gateway is a busy taxi rank and theres also a bus stop nearby.
Hawkers and stall holders are usually to be found around the entrance too, but I don't remember them being too much of a hassle

the city of prophets

by traveloturc

"Sanli Urfa"

This is city is known as the city of prophets.Old Testament prophets such as Jethro (Hz. Suayp), Job (Hz. Eyup), Elijah (Hz. Elyasa) and Abraham (Hz. Ibrahim) lived in this city, the name of the city was Edessa in the history, and Moses (Hz. Musa) lived here for seven years working as a shepherd before returning to Egypt .Þanlý means “Honored” and this name was given to the city after the resistance. It was here that the first Christians were permitted to pray freely, and where the first churches were constructed officially. Pagan temples were converted to synagogues, synagogues to churches and churches to mosques, This is the melting pot of all religions .

"hot Pepper"

Urfa is known with the production of hot red pepper named "isot"
and the people of Urfa use to eat this pepper almost everyday
If you are not familiar dont try it its very risky !!!

Sanlirufa

by Ckaya1978

"Sanliurfa"

City at the South East region of Turkey closer to Syria. It is known as the birth place of Prophet Abraham. Today city is a modern destination with an urban life style. The old city is still interesting for the tourists.

SANLI URFA

by seratonin

Sanli Urfa is a friendly town in the south east of Turkey. There are many nice architectural sites like for excemple the mosque on the pic abouve.
Sanli Urfa is a good leaving point for Harran or the Nemruth dagh too.