Month: November 2015

Istanbul Coffee Festival: Recap

A couple weeks ago I shared how excited I was for the Istanbul Coffee Festival. Well, it has come and gone, and I must say, I was very impressed. As my wife and I walked up to Haydrapasa Station in Istanbul we were greeted with the sweet aroma of dozens of roasters and baristas working fervently to brew a cup that appeals to all senses.

Appealing to All Senses: There is something more to coffee than its caffeine stimulus and its action on the taste buds of the tongue and mouth. The sense of smell and the sense of sight play important roles. To get all the joy there is in a cup of coffee, it must look good and smell good, before one can pronounce its taste good. It must woo us through the nostrils with the wonderful aroma that constitutes much of the lure of coffee. – William H. Ukers (All About Coffee)

Unfortunately, I can’t share the aroma through this medium, but I can share the sights.

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Sanliurfa Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum

The Haleplibahçe mosaic exhibit opened up in Sanliurfa, Turkey in June 2015 and now stands alongside the biggest museum and is a part of the biggest museum complex in Turkey. It has impressed all who’ve had the pleasure to visit this massive complex. Today, we will feature some of the best of the mosaic exhibit.

Orpheus
Orpheus playing his harp for the wild beasts, dates from about 194 CE and is the oldest of the Edessa/Urda mosaics. The artist’s name is even engraved in the piece, “Bar Saged.”

Opening at the beginning of June, the museum development covers a 200,000 square metre area set within the path of the dried up Karakoyun river bed and includes an “Archaeology Park”, ornamental gardens with fountains and a plaza in which there are two significant buildings. The main archaeological museum building encompasses 60,000 square metres over three floors, houses archaeological finds from across the region along with interactive displays, film and lecture theatres and activity centres. The building is thoroughly modern in concept, has full wheelchair access throughout and takes the visitor through the entire history of the Sanliurfa region starting with the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods and progresses through Hittite, Babylonian, Persian, Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods.

Four apostles
In the center of this mosaic dating from CE 563 is a symbol representing the four apostles who wrote the four gospels found in the New Testament: Matthew is depicted as a lion; Mark is depicted as an ox; Luke is depicted as a man; and John is depicted as an eagle. Within the frame, a Syriac description reads, “this house was built in CE 563 during the days of Abbot Sam by Helpidus and Yuhannus.”
This African man leading a Zebra is a clear indication that Edessa (Sanliurfa) was connected to the massive trade routes that went through the middle east in the 3rd to 4th centuries CE.
This African man leading a Zebra is a clear indication that Edessa (Sanliurfa) was connected to the massive trade routes that went through the middle east in the 3rd to 4th centuries CE.
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Birds are favorite in the Haleplibahce exhibit.

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This shot is a view of a small portion of the exhibit, showing how big the exhibit really is.
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Another shot showing how massive the complex is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This mosaic shows the highlights from the life of Achilles. The images included a depiction of Achilles being held by his nanny, his mother, Thetis, holding Achilles by the heal and dipping him in the river Styx in order to make him invulnerable, Achilles saying good-bye to his mother, the training Achilles received from the wise centaur Chiron, and a depiction of Thetis mourning as Achilles departs for the Trojan War.

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There can be no mistaking that this new mosaic museum at Haleplibahçe, (along with it’s counterpart museum which features items from Göbekli Tepe, Nevali Çori, and more…post coming soon) is at the center of the history, and the future, of Sanliurfa, Turkey.