Travelling to Harran, Turkey: Cults, myths, beehive houses and ruins

A small flock of woolly sheep is bleating nearby. I see them grazing on the handfuls of grass that grace the edge of the plateau. Seeing me, the flock scurries back but before the shy shepherdess could leave, I fire a quick question in English to her. I am unsure if a local of Harran in Turkey would understand English, but she replies me back with a smile, “My name is Hatije, yes I live here.”

The plains of Harran in upper Mesopotamia is a cradle of civilization. Continuously inhabited since the last 8000 years, it is around here that humans first settled and started cultivating crops. Harran is extremely close to ground zero of the famous battle of Carrhae, where the Parthians not just defeated Roman General Crassus, the richest man in Rome, but humiliated and killed him by pouring molten gold down his mouth.

Harran features in a legend as well, according to which Adam and Eve arrived in the  Harran plains directly from heaven, where they used oxen to plough the land for the first time and planted a wheat kernel (brought from heaven) in the ground. Harran is also identified as the place Haran in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, a place where Prophet Abraham had lived for a while. Made home by the Eblans, Assyrians, Hittite, Neo-Babylonians, Persians, Seleucids, Romans, Christians and finally Muslims, modern Harran, a part of Sanliurfa province, is just 15 kilometres away from the Turkey-Syria border.

An ancient Moon Cult in Harran that could be 3500 years old

To my left is Harran mound. Enclosed by barbed wire, it is an active excavation site. The oldest traces of ruins, dating back to 7000 BCE, were found in this mound along with Assyrian seals from 1950 BCE. Samples of cuneiform scripts found here talk about a Sin (Moon) Temple.

Modern Turkey’s Harran, being a very old outpost of civilization, saw several faiths develop and dwindle in the last 8000 years. The polytheists preceded the monotheists of today. A Moon cult ruled the Plains of Harran for several centuries. In fact, the crescent moon that is now the icon of Islam is said to have its roots from the cult of Moon in Anatolia.

From the cuneiform script of the Assyrian documents, we know the name of the temple was E.HUL.HUL. The Moon temple was a centre of prophecy. In 14^th century BCE, the Hittite king Suppililuma and Mitanni king, Mattivaza, signed a peace treaty in the presence of both the Moon(Sin) and Sun(Samas) Gods. The temple was restored in 9^th century BCE by Assyrian king Salmanassar III. The mother of Nabonidus, Babylon’s last king, was a nun in this temple. It is even said that Caracalla, a Roman Emperor, was killed on his way to this temple.

Under the Abbasid Caliphate, the moon worshippers of Harran were forced to identify themselves as a People of the Book (Quran). They identified as Sabians— a celestial worshipping non-monotheist sect mentioned three times in the Quran. This is how even under the nose of Christianity and Islam, the cult of Moon was present in the social fabric of Harran well into the 11^th century AD before being completely destroyed.

The location of this Moon temple is controversial. The accounts retrieved from the ruins mention the temple was present “in the middle of the city”, so it can be the Harran Mounds. But it could have also been at the location of the three storied Harran Castle, the foundation of which has been laid upon a Sabian Temple.

The remains of a mosque

A few metres ahead, an arched doorway, whose walls have crumbled, stands on an open field. The bricks of the arch are naked without plaster or paint. Beyond it, a tower-like structure, around 33 metres in height, stands tall. Its destroyed crest reminds me of its age. A few people are having lunch around a makeshift tent. A truck is parked in its premises. This is the first time I see an active excavation site.

The tower used to be a minaret of the Harran Great Mosque (Ulu Camii), the oldest mosque in Turkey built in Islamic style. According to a document, inside the minaret, 105 wooden stairs takes one to the top. Excavations in the site by Professor Mehmet Onal, the head of Archeology in Harran University has revealed exciting remnants of history— a central road, a Turkish hamam, cisterns, fountains, markets and a courtyard! Harran is also host to the World’s first Islamic University.

Life in Harran, Turkey

Far away, in the east, I see grazing camels. In the open fields of the north, two women are watering the ground. They are also picking ishkun, a local herb. In the Harran plains, cotton, corn and wheat are the most common crops. GAP (Southeastern Anatolian Project), one of the world’s biggest dam projects that submerged several ancient sites like Halfeti and Zeugma, also guaranteed irrigation of the fertile plains of Mesopotamia. Nowadays, several water channels feed the dry plains of Harran in Turkey, but water is to be used wisely, too much watering turns the soil saltier here.

The current Harranians are of Arabic lineage. They speak the language and follow the cultural norms of the Arabian Peninsula. There is no camel farm here and the animal is not a native of Harran. My guide Sehzat states that the camels were brought there solely for touristic joys. Many years ago, Harran used to be an international tourist hotspot, but all that changed with the civil war in Syria. Being just 15 kilometres away from the Turkey-Syria border, where shells and mortar often came flying down, made Harran infamous with both domestic and international tourists.

The beehive-houses: Harran Culture House

Still standing beside Ulu Camii mosque, I notice, beyond the camels, rows of ochre tinted conical huts lining the horizon. A few moments later, I arrive in front of one set of such houses— Harran Culture House—the current icon of Harran.

The cobblestone courtyard is scattered with low-height circular stone tables. Surrounding them are tiny wooden chairs. Boulders border the utility areas. Stone pots with metal ladles are perched on some of the boulders. One edge of the courtyard is hemmed by seven conical-domed huts. Their outer walls are adorned with many circular stone slabs stacked on top of each other, earthen vases, metal utensils and potter’s wheels painted blue.

The enthusiastic family escorts me inside. Though the presence of so many people makes the inside of the hut a bit humid, the vernacular architecture was originally built to counter the weather of the region. Each cone has a perforation at its apex allowing in natural light. These holes are meant to breathe out the hot air trapped inside the hut in summer and the smoke of the fires lit in the winter. Thus, they were kept cool in summer and warm in winter. Arches connect the conical huts with each other.

These set of huts have been modified to a museum. Wooden furniture grace the living rooms and bedrooms. The shelves are packed with metal utensils. From the mud brick walls, hang colourful clothing of the region and sometimes sheepskins! The family encourages me for a photo in their local outfit and I give in! They initially say it costs 5 Lira, but later they decline to take the payment, though finally they accepted the payment when I insist.

Many years ago, the locals gathered the bricks from the Harran ruins to build these houses. Compared to the ancient past of Harran, the beehive houses are rather new. They have been around from the last 300 years but they require maintenance every 2-3 years. Due to this reason, almost all original beehive house dwellers have vacated their houses near the mound and shifted to modern houses in the Harran city. The ones that remain cater to the curiosity of tourists.

Out of the six (some claim its seven) doors of Harran, only the Aleppo door—the west one remains—but I miss seeing this. Harran is a perfect place for a history lover. If you can’t find joy in ruins and the educational stories behind them, then Harran is probably not for you. Throughout my visit in Harran, I do not notice any presence of army or signs of hostilities. I hope stability comes back to the region and Harran finds its age-old glory.

To watch my Sanliurfa video on Youtube, please click here.

Have you been to Harran? Do the histories of Anatolia and Mesopotamia interest you? Comment below and let the conversation begin!

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Disclaimer: Tania was hosted by Turkey Tourism Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are of her own.

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