At almost every stages of human history, man has looked for the assistance of magic objects, called talismans to defy evil forces.Talismans with letters, numbers or abstract signs have survived to those days. Even the modern religions with a single god have their own symbols. One of these symbols we find in almost every culture and faith for thousands of years...
Horus' Eye
It's the figure of eye, the blue eye Nazar Boncugu.
Called "Nazar Boncugu" in Turkey, the Nazar, also known as the Evil Eye Stone is a talisman meant to ward off evil and provide protection to the wearer in all aspects of their life. Why is most interesting is that it isn't a folk thing or a rare sighting to see someone wearing it, but it is a prevalent part of Turkish culture. Turkish talisman Nazar Boncugu, is an object which you believe has magic powers to protect you or bring you good luck.Turkish people believe that it absorbs bad energy coming from evil eyes.
Usualy noone leaves Turkey without purchasing a blue and white nazar boncugu (evil eye charm). You can find them everywhere in Turkey.
Legend said Nazar is something who protects you from "bad luck". Bad luck translates into evil or harm wished upon you from another. People believes that the Evil Eye is a curse, given intentionally or unintentionally by someone else.
The one who bestows the curse is said to look upon, and soon to be afflicted by a person with an evil look, and misfortune will come to those caught in the gaze. Nazar are often given as gifts to friends who have just a baby, or moved into a new house, though sometimes they are given to foreigner as protection during their stay in Turkey.
The people of Turkey are very caution about the Evil Eye, and so, sometimes, one Nazar isn't enought.
It was believed in the ancient times that Tengri Ulgen, god of the skies in Central Asia, would sit in those skies and protect the people from evil. It was for this reason that people considered the colour of the blue skies to be sacred.
When a child is born, an evil eye is pinned to the garment on his or her right back shoulder for protection from other people's evil wishes. No place of business or home is without one. They come in many styles, from simple to ornate. Usually, they are made of glass but also can be made of plastic.
Everywhere you go you will find people wearing the strange amulet; earings, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, charms in all sizes adorn people, their homes, cars and even children in order to protect them from the Evil Eye.
Nazar talismans in the Muslim world are named as "the hand of mother Fatma/Fadime" or, in certain realms of Christianity, as "the hand of Virgin Mother". These hands are nazar beads converge at one place: Egypt.
Nasreddin Hodja (Hoca) is a 13th century Turkish personage who is believed to have lived in Aksehir in south-central Turkiye. About 400 handwritten manuscripts that narrate anecdotes demonstrating his quick wit and wisdom have survived. Hodja was clearly a beloved character whose advise and opinion were solicited and respected by the town people. They also loved to test his wit by playing mischievous games on him or by asking him absurd questions. Hodja was often victim to the practical jokes of children and adults, who wanted to see how he would get himself out of trouble. But Nasreddin Hodja, to the delight of his fellow villagers, was never stumped to deliver a witty one-liner.
Nasreddin Hodja
Hodja, so-called for his wisdom (in Turkish "hoca" means both teacher and religious leader, both of whom are supposed to be knowing men), was sometimes an imam, leading prayers and other religious ceremonies, and sometimes a kadi, resolving local disputes. But he was, first and foremost, a small farmer who had a few live stock and a small land to cultivate. He is hard- working and honest, however, he is not immune to little cheatings every now and then. He is often poor. He and his family live very modestly, and from time to time they even suffer from abject poverty where there is no food or fire to keep them warm. Nasreddin Hodja is willing to do any job to support his family. Though times make him sarcastic, but he maintains his sense of humour and optimism.
General characteristics of Nasreddin Hodja’s personality
From his anecdotes and the information of the resources,it is possible to evaluate his character like this:
a)Hodja has a wise character.He is aware of all the religious and exact sciences of his time.He educates himself by taking courses from the famous wise men.
b)At the same time,he is a social man.He not only takes and gives courses in the madrasahs but also he takes place in several aspects of life and events. He continues his educating job without taking class distinctions into consideration.That’s why it’s always possible to see Hodja in mosques, in madrasahs,in cafes,with statesmen,in the fields or gardens.
c)Hodja is in an observing mood of the social structure even if he is not the hero of the events.
d)Thinking is one of his most important characteristics. He also goes on his thinking on the subjects of metaphysics such as life,death,fate etc.
e)He has a significant prestige over public and the administrators.He is so valued and respected that everybody consults him in any kind of situation. Therefore,he is in the position of either a teacher or a consultant.
e)The reason why he is so much accepted by his society and the following centuries is that he displays his wise with a smiling face,his soft speech and also his intelligence.This manner is both related with his personality and religious beliefs.
f)His most important characteristics are his waggery and ready replies.However,it is not true to see him as a funny man because in order to make one laugh,you must thin and make others think!While reading or listening to his anecdotes , our first reaction is smiling but after that, there comes a thinking time
Tales from Nasreddin Hodja
The Smell of Soup and the Sound of Money
A beggar was given a piece of bread, but nothing to put on it. Hoping to get something to go with his bread, he went to a nearby inn and asked for a handout. The innkeeper turned him away with nothing, but the beggar sneaked into the kitchen where he saw a large pot of soup cooking over the fire. He held his piece of bread over the steaming pot, hoping to thus capture a bit of flavor from the good-smelling vapor. Suddenly the innkeeper seized him by the arm and accused him of stealing soup.
"I took no soup," said the beggar. "I was only smelling the vapor."
"Then you must pay for the smell," answered the innkeeper.
The poor beggar had no money, so the angry innkeeper dragged him before the qadi. Now Nasreddin Hodja was at that time serving as qadi, and he heard the innkeeper's complaint and the beggar's explanation.
"So you demand payment for the smell of your soup?" summarized the Hodja after the hearing.
"Yes!" insisted the innkeeper.
"Then I myself will pay you," said the Hodja, "and I will pay for the smell of your soup with the sound of money."
Thus saying, the Hodja drew two coins from his pocket, rang them together loudly, put them back into his pocket, and sent the beggar and the innkeeper each on his own way.
The Older Wife
Nasreddin Hodja’s wife was gettin older and uglier, so he decided to get married again and have a second wife. He married a young and beautiful lady. Of course the ladies were so jealous of each other that they fought very often. One day they decided to find out which one Hodja loved the best and asked him
"Which of us do you love the most?" asked the older wife one day.
"I love you both the same," answered Nasreddin, wisely.
Not satisfied with this answer, the older wife continued:
"If the two of us fell out of a boat, which one of us would you rescue first?"
"Well," replied Nasreddin, "you can swim a little, can't you?"
The Robe
One night the neighbours heard a frightful noise from the Hodja's house. They asked in the morning:
"What was that noise?"
The Hodja answered:
"Last night my wife grew angry and kicked my robe down the stairs."
"But Hodja, can a robe make such a noise?" continued the neighbors.
"As chance would have it I was wearing the robe when she kicked it down the stairs," explained the Hodja.
The Cauldron That Died
Nasreddin Hodja, having need for a large cooking container, borrowed his neighbor's copper cauldron, then returned it in a timely manner.
"What is this?" asked his neighbor upon examining the returned cauldron.
"There is a small pot inside my cauldron."
"Oh," responded the Hodja.
"While it was in my care your cauldron gave birth to a little one. Because you are the owner of the mother cauldron, it is only right that you should keep its baby. And in any event, it would not be right to separate the child from its mother at such a young age."
The neighbor, thinking that the Hodja had gone quite mad, did not argue. Whatever had caused the crazy man to come up with this explanation, the neighbor had a nice little pot, and it had cost him nothing.
Some time later the Hodja asked to borrow the cauldron again.
"Why not?" thought the neighbor to himself. "Perhaps there will be another little pot inside when he returns it."
But this time the Hodja did not return the cauldron. After many days had passed, the neighbor went to the Hodja and asked for the return of the borrowed cauldron.
"My dear friend," replied the Hodja. "I have bad news. Your cauldron has died, and is now in her grave."
"What are you saying?" shouted the neighbor. A cauldron does not live, and it cannot die. Return it to me at once!"
"One moment!" answered the Hodja. "This is the same cauldron that but a short time ago gave birth to a child, a child that is still in your possession. If a cauldron can give birth to a child, then it also can die."
And the neighbor never again saw his cauldron.
A forty year old wine
One day, a neighbor said to the Hodja:
– Have you some wine that is forty years old?
- Yes I have”, replied the Hodja.
- Can you give me a little?
- If I gave a little to everybody asking for it, it would not be forty years old!
Cat and the liver
After the Hodja got the recipe for liver from his friend, he bought again some liver and because he liked it very much, he wanted to eat it often. But everytime when he brought livers he couldn't eat it, because his wife said that the cat took the liver and fled away. One day the Hodja became angry and said:
“Woman, I brought liver! Where is it?”
“Oh”, said his wife.
“The silly cat took it and fled away.”
At the same time the cat was in the room. The Hodja caught it, brought a steelyard and weighted the cat. Then he said:
“That is exactly two kilos. And the liver which I brought was also two kilos. Now tell me: If that is the liver where is my cat, if that is the cat, then I want my liver.”
According to the legend Ferhat was a famous craftsman who lived during the Persian time in Amasya. One day he was called to a small palace built for Sirin, Queen Mehmene Banu’s sister, to show his art on its doors and walls.
But something unpredictable happened when Ferhat and Sirin saw each other. They fell in love. Ferhat went to Queen Mehmene Banu and told her that he wanted so marry Sirin. The Queen didn’t want this marriage and told Ferhat,
"If you want to marry my sister Sirin, you must dig a huge channel right in the middle of the Elma (Apple) mountains of the city. Then, you must make the water come through this channel to the city. If you succeed, you may marry my sister. If you fail, forget her."
It was a 'mission impossible'. With the power of love, Ferhat started to dig the mountain. But when he was just about to finish the channel, he received a message from Mehmene Banu: Sirin is dead. With great anger Ferhat threw his hammer in the air but the hammer fell on his head and he died on the mountain he was digging. However, the message was a lie and after having heard about it Sirin went to the mountain and there she saw Ferhat’s dead body.
She jumped from the rocks of the mountain and killed herself. Ferhat and Sirin couldn’t be together while they were alive but now their graves are next to each other. People believe that every spring there are two roses growing from each grave and while the roses are about to touch each other, a black bush appears in the middle of them and doesn’t allow the roses to kiss each other.
The current design of the Turkish flag is directly derived from the late Ottoman flag, which had acquired its final form in 1844. It is known that the Ottomans used red flags of triangular shape at least since 1383, which came to be rectangular over the course of history. Ottomans used several different designs, most of them featuring one or more crescents, for different purposes, such as the flag with green background signifying the caliphate. During the late imperial period, the distinctive use of the color red for secular and green for religious institutions became an established practice.
In 1844, the eight-pointed star was replaced with a five-pointed star and the flag reached the form of the present Turkish flag; Red was the colour of Umar I, the Caliph who ruled from AD 634 to 644 and was known as a great consolidator of the Islamic Empire. In the 14th century red became the colour of the Ottoman Empire. The crescent and star is the symbol of Turks.
A legend says that in 1071, after the Battle of Manzikert and the defeat of the Byzantine army, the Seljuk Khan, Alp Arslan was roaming the battlefield where he saw the reflection of the crescent moon and the star on a pool of blood of Turkish warriors. After he saw this image, he decided that this would be the flag representing the Turks.
It has been determined that the history of Urfa dates back to the Paleolithic Ages between the dates of 500 and 8000 BC. Valuable historical objects have also been found in excavations from the Neolithic Ages between the dates of 7250 and 5500 BC, the Copper Age between the dates of 5500 and 3200 BC and the Early Bronze Age between the dates of 3200 and 1800 BC. It is also thought that the city was established by Prophet Idris (Enoch in Bible) and the Prophet Noah after the flood.
The city of Şanlıurfa and its surrounding region has gone through many dominations including; Sumer, Akkadian, Hittites, Babylonia, Chaldea, Hurrians, Mitanni, Aram, Assyria, Medians and the Persian Empires. Urfa was referred to as Ursu in Hittites' documents in 2000 BC and as Ru'ua in Assyrian documents. Former names of the city before Şanlıurfa include; Ur, Ur of Kalde, Ur of Harran, Orhei, Orhay, Vurhai, Edessa, Diyar-ı Mudar, Ruha, Reha and Urfa.
Alexander the Great invaded Urfa on his Persian Conquest in 332 BC. This invasion was later overturned by Osroene (Edessa) Kingdom in 132 BC. The Osroene Kingdom period, which lasted until 250 AD, played a significant role in Christianity. It is also known that Abgar V. of Edessa (Black Abgar) accepted Christianity as an official religion for his kingdom (one of the first kingdoms which did so), and then further corresponded with Jesus Christ for inviting and spreading the religion to the region. In return Jesus Christ sent a letter to Abgar Ukomo and also a towel expressing his blessing for the city. After wiping his face with the towel (The Medallion), a portrait of his face miraculously appeared on the towel. This phenomenon helped make Urfa a present day holy land for Christians. It's believed that the holy towel has been protecting city for years. In 944 AD, eastern commander of the Byzantine Empire John Kourkouas invaded Urfa, obtained the towel and brought it back to Istanbul with a glorious ceremony.
After the acceptance of Christianity in its early years, Urfa accepted Islam in 639 AD. Until the encirclement of Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan in 1077, when the land became an independent crusader state or the country of Edessa (1098-1144), Urfa has been a stage for many religious and political acts, Urfa was ruled by Zengi in 1444 and by Saladin in 1182. After the two Mongol Invasions in 1240 and 1250, Urfa was ruined by Hulagu Khan.
Urfa was ruled by Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans in 1404, Safavids in 1514 and at last by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The British army invaded the city on March 24, 1919 and the French invaded on October 30, 1919. After a strong defense by the citizens of Urfa, the French armies succeed on April 11, 1920.
Why is Şanlıurfa named the City of Prophets?
Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim)
Nemrut is a ruler who spreads terror and fear all around. One night he asks for an interpretation of his dream. King Nemrut had a dream, in which he loses his kingdom,
“This year a child will be born and he will destroy your heathen religion and kingdom...”
Upon this dream King Nemrut decided to kill every child born within that year. Sara, pregnant to Prophet Abraham, hid her pregnancy and gave birth to Abraham in a cave secretly. The cave where Prophet Abraham was born is inside the Mevlid-i Halil Mosque. So, Sara, mother of the Prophet Abraham, gives birth to her child in a cave, leaves him there and goes home. A gazelle nurses the baby. After awhile, soldiers find Abraham in the cave. Prophet Abraham lived in that cave for 7 years furtively. Nemrut, who never had a child, decides to take care of Abraham.
After the age of 7, he was brought back to his father’s house and after growing up he had struggled against the heathen people. He expressed his beliefs that their belief in the different gods was not correct; he repeatedly expressed there is only Allah who created the universe.
Witnessing the horror of Nemrut forcing his people to worship statues, when everyone leaves for a ceremony, Abraham enters the area of statues in the palace and breaks all the statues with an axe, finally leaving the axe in the hands of the largest statue. During his trial, Abraham protests his innocence, saying ?You see the axe is in the hands of the big statue; probably he is the one who did it.? Furious, Nemrut shouts, ?How can a piece of stone take an axe and do this?? Abraham replies: If he is a real God, why can?t he do it?? Infuriated, Nemrut commands Abraham to be thrown into the fire. Although Zeliha, daughter of Nemrut, begs for mercy, she can't convince her dad.
Wood is piled up in the area of Halil-ul Rahman Lake and the fire is set. Nemrut soon after captured the prophet and threw him into the flames over the Castle of Urfa. At that moment, Allah ordered that “All the flames! Be cool and safe for Abraham.” The place where the Prophet Abraham fell into the fire becomes a lake and a rose garden and the woods become fishes. Since that day the area in Urfa called Balıklı (Fishy) Lake is considered to be holy ground.
This large rectangular pool is known as Abadur Rahman Havuzu, and contains hundreds of 'sacred' carp. Legend has it that anyone who eats the fish will go blind. This has resulted in an over population of the fish , which are now believed to be cannibalistic.
The small lake located next to Balıklı Lake is called “Ayn-Zeliha”, or Zeliha's Eye, referring to Nemrut's daughter Zeliha, who cried for Abraham and whose tears then turned into a lake.
The Halil-ür Rahman Mosque, built by Salahaddin Eyyubi's nephew Melik Eşref in the year 1211 and located right next to Balıklı Lake, serves as an architecturally and aesthetically pleasing companion to the natural beauty of the lake.
Islamic legend tells a similar story, but with the added twist, that the sadistic Nemrut catapults Abraham from a giant sling shot situated high on the citadel, into the burning fire. The sling is represented by the 2 corinthian columns at the entrance to the kale.
When King Antioch decided to build a giant cemetery-monument complex surrounded by three tall statues during his reign 2000 years ago, the 30-degree weather conditions and limited construction time did not stand in the way of his ambitions. Antioch's architects and workers constructed and chiseled giant stone chunks into three large atriums or terraces facing east and west. Huge statues, reaching seven to eight meters high, were then built on these terraces. Antioch also commissioned a “Pantheon,” or a gallery for the gods, for himself and his close ones. He aimed to immortalize his kingdom as a nation of the gods on Nemrut's hill in the name of the god Zeus. It will come as no big surprise that over the centuries the statues crumbled, some disappeared outright, while others were damaged to such an extent as to be unrecognizable. The statues of the gods' heads are still there. For 2000 years they have been watching the meadows of Anatolia from the peaks of Nemrut Mountain.
Prophet Job (Eyyub)
As the story goes, Allah had taken all of the children and goods of Prophet Job and then gave him an illness to make prove his loyalty. Worms covered his entire body, as he laid a cave; during this Prophet Job never rebelled against Allah. He continued his devotion; waited patiently and thanked god. Because of his patience Allah then gave him his goods and health back. The cave in which the prophet suffered his illness and the well where he washed himself with the blessed water is currently open to visitors in the Eyyub Peygamber district in Urfa. Prophet Job's tomb is also located in Eyyub Nebi Village about 20 kilometers outside Urfa. Also on the skirts of the Viranşehir district is mausoleum of Prophet Job, his wife Rahme's tomb and the location where Prophet Eliseus died.
Prophet Eliseus ( Elyasa )
Prophet Eliseus sought to visit Prophet Job however he believed that he was far from Prophet Job was. One day as he set out to take the journey to reach Prophet Job, the devil (Şeytan) appeared in front of him, lied to him about the distance and told him that he still had a long journey to reach Prophet Job. Eliseus was very old at that time and prayed to Allah to take his life away and so he did. Today his tomb is located in Eyyubi Nebi village located in Şanlıurfa, it is just 1 kilometer from the tomb of Prophet Job.
Prophet Shoaib ( Şuayb )
It is believed in that Prophet Shoaib was living in ancient city of Şuayb, located 85 km from eastern Urfa. A cave-house in the ruins of this ancient city is open for visitors as his house.
Prophet Noad ( Nuh )
After the flood, its believed that Noah's Ark landed in Mount Cudi, located between Urfa and Ceylanpınar. ( Re'sulayn ) This mountain has a strange surface; which looks just like the waves of a sea. The mountain is located in the same place as the ancient cities Soğmatar and Şuayb.
Prophet Moses (Musa)
Prophet Moses' well and a sign of his staff is located in the ancient city of Soğmatar, currently the area of Soğmatar is known as Yağmurlu Village.
Prophet Lot (Lut)
Prophet Lot, the son of Harran, brother of Prophet Abraham, immigrated with his uncle Abraham to the Sodom, where he was assigned as a prophet. He was born in Urfa and spent his childhood with Prophet Abraham. Prophet Lot lived with Prophet Abraham in the Harran region.
Prophet Jacob (Yakup)
It is thought that he lived in a building called Deyr Yakup (The Throne of Nemrud) in the eastern of Urfa, about 10 kilometers outside the city.
Turkey’s southeast province of Gaziantep was until recently best known for its highly developed industrial areas, pistachio nuts and baklava.Forty-five kilometers away from Gaziantep close to the town of Nizip on the Euphrates is the tiny village of Belkis, whose inhabitants carefully tender their groves of pistachio trees. The nuts are their sole source of income. Yet not all wealth can be measured in currency, and the villager real asset is the magnificent ruins of the ancient city of Zeugma, which has stayed buried beneath the pistachio groves for nearly two thousand years. Belkis/Zeugma is considered among the four most important settlement areas under the reign of the Kingdom of Commanage.
In the Hellenistic Era the city was called “Seleukeia of Euphrates”. The ancient city of Zeugma, originally, was founded by Selevkos Nikador, one of the generals of the Alexander the Great, in 300 B.C. At that time the city was named after the general and called “ Selevkaya Euphrates.” And the population in the city was approximately 80 000. In 64 B.C. Zeugma was conquered and ruled by Roman Empire and with this shift the name of the city was changed into Zeugma to mean “bridge-passage.”
During the roman rule, the city became one of the attractions in the region, due to its commercial potential originating from geostrategic location. Because, the Zeugma city was on the silkroad connecting Antiach to China with a quay on the river Euphrates. In 256 A.D.Zeugma city experienced an invasion and it was fully destroyed by the Sassanian King, Sapur I. The invasion was so dramatic that Zeugma city was not able to recover and thrive for a long time. To make the situation even worse, a violent earthquake hit the city and buried it beneath rubble. Indeed, the city never gained the prosperity once achieved during the Roman rule. In 4th Century A.D. Zeugma settlement became a Late Roman territory. During the 5th and 6th Centuries the city was ruled over by the Early Byzantine domination. As a result of the ongoing Arab raids the city was abandoned ance again. Later on, in the 10th and 12th centuries a small Abbassid residence settled in Zeugma. Finally a village called “Belkis” was founded in the 17th century. Later on Belkis/Zeugma became one of the four major attractions of the Kingdom of Commanage. During the Roman Era, troops called “Schythian Legion” consisting of Anatolian soldiers was positioned around Zeugma. For about two centuries the city was home to high ranking officials and officers of the Roman Empire, who transferred their cultural understanding and sophisticated life style into the region.
Thus the military formation acquired a Roman character and gave rise to an artistic trend of necropolis sculpture. In this respect, samples of beautiful art appeared in the form of steles, rock relieves, statues and altars. This unique trend in sculpture and art made the newly emerging Zeugma art well recognized in whole region. Zeugma became considerably rich, owing to the liveliness created by Legion formation. At that time, there was a wooden bridge connecting Zeugma to the city of Apemia on the other side of Euphrates, and current excavations revealed that there was a big customs and a considerable amount of border trade in the city.
The proof for this assumption came from the findings in the excavations carried out in “Iskele üstü.” In this site 65 000 seal imprints (in clay) called “Bulla”, were found in a place which is believed to serve as the archives for the customs of ancient Zeugma. The seal imprints used in sealing papyrus, parchment, moneybags and customs bales are good indication of volume of the trade and the density of transportation and communication network once established in the region.
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Until 2005 most people viewed Gaziantep as a mere transit point en route to supposedly more interesting places in Southeastern Turkey -- such as the colossal statues atop Mt. Nemrut or Urfa’s pools of Abraham.
All that changed with the completion and opening in June of that year of the massive new wing of the city’s archaeological museum. Built to house the magnificent finds from the nearby Hellenistic/ Roman city of Zeugma, Gaziantep and its museum now boast one of the premier collections of Roman mosaics anywhere in the world.
Not only is the quality of workmanship of the mosaics superb, so is the way in which they are exhibited. Central to the museum is a partial recreation, using original materials, of a room from a Roman villa at Zeugma. The intricate mosaic floor is surrounded by its original colonnade, and sections of amazingly well-preserved fresco complete the scene. In total there are over 800 square meters of mosaic on display at the museum, all imaginatively lit and well explained with information boards in Turkish and English.
What makes the museum even more remarkable is the fact that everything you see could so easily have been lost forever. In 1995 two French archaeologists had been given a six-week permit to dig the site of Zeugma, some 20 kilometers east of Gaziantep, on the west bank of the mighty Euphrates. With only five days remaining and little to show for their efforts, they uncovered a mosaic floor. Permission was granted to extend the excavations, and a race against the clock began to salvage as much of possible of what was clearly a major archaeological site before it was submerged under the waters of the Birecik dam. A frenzied effort by a massive international team in 2000 ensured that many of the mosaics were, indeed, rescued.
Zeugma (“bridge” or “link” in Greek) was founded in 300 B.C. by a successor of Alexander the Great, Seleucus Nicator. A principle crossing point of the Euphrates, it lay on a major trade route between India and the Mediterranean. In the Roman era it became a frontier town -- both a barrier and a conduit between the Roman Empire and Parthian Persia. Zeugma was, naturally enough given its frontline position; a garrison town. However it also developed as a major trading center, bringing it immense wealth.
For the prosperous merchants of the first and second century A.D. in Zeugma, what better way to spend their money than on their homes? Just like their counterparts today, Zeugma’s rich showed off their wealth by having big, showy houses built in the best parts of town (in Zeugma the most expensive plots were those closest to the river on its west bank). These wealthy patrons got together with their architect to come up with a design to their taste -- and when it came to the interior an integral part of most rooms was a mosaic floor.
Euphrat River
It is these mosaic floor panels that you can see exhibited so wonderfully in the museum today. Choosing a mosaic floor was a little like choosing a carpet today -- you made your decision based on style and price. Master craftsmen, complete with their pattern books, were attracted from Antioch (modern Antakya) which had a famous mosaic “school.” Once patron, architect and mosaic master had agreed on the design, the craftsmen could get to work.
The first stage was to lay the floor. This comprised of four layers -- large crushed boulders at the base, then a bed of finer boulders topped with a layer of cement. Next came a lime mortar screed, which could be kept damp and “workable” for four days. The top and final layer was made up, of course, of the tiny pieces of stone known as tessarae, which formed the mosaic itself. Fourteen different types of local stone were used in the mosaics at Zeugma, supplemented by terracotta fired at varying temperatures to give different tones. Different colored glass tessarae were occasionally employed for different effects.
When you look at some of the scenes depicted in the mosaics at the museum, it is hard to believe that they are made up of tiny stone tablets, so fine is the workmanship. Many different craftsmen worked on the large mosaic floors at Zeugma. The least skilled and inexperienced were given the job of doing the plain borders and geometric work. Better craftsmen worked on plant and animal scenes. Next up the skill ladder were architectural scenes. Human figures were the preserve of the most skilled and experienced, but even here the work was ranked by degree of difficulty. The less talented worked on hands and arms, leaving the master craftsmen to do the faces. Just take a look at the fragment of mosaic which has rapidly become the symbol, not only of the museum, but of Gaziantep itself -- the so-called “gypsy girl.” Her eyes are expressiveness incarnate and appear to follow you as you walk across the room in front of her.
Most of the mosaics feature beautifully wrought scenes from Greek mythology and legend. Ariadne (the beautiful daughter of King Minos of Crete, treacherously dumped on the island of Naxos by the arrogant Theseus, whom she had helped kill the man-eating Minotaur) is depicted at her wedding with her savior -- Dionysus, god of wine. Achilles, dressed as a woman by his protective mother, Thetis, to prevent him being sent to fight at Troy, is found out when he can’t resist reaching out for weapons proffered to him by the wily Odysseus. Given Zeugma’s riverside location, its wealthy inhabitants were particularly fond of scenes depicting water deities. Most impressive of these is a panel showing Poseidon, second only to Zeus in the Greek pantheon of gods, emerging from the water above Oceanus and Tethys, who were believed to have had 3,000 daughters and 3,000 sons.
There is a wealth of other interesting exhibits in the museum. Perhaps the most spectacular is the large and incredibly well-preserved bronze statue of the Roman god of war, Mars - also from Zeugma. The audio-visual display, which gives an entertaining 15-minute account of the history, rediscovery and rescue excavations at Zeugma, makes an ideal way to start your tour of this wonderful museum.
Excavation
It is possible to visit the site of Zeugma (or at least the upper part, as the rest is underwater) but there is little of interest unless you are an expert. This may well change, as excavations continue and there are even plans to turn the site into an archaeological park. In the meantime, however, it’s a pleasant spot --with the waters of the dam lapping at your feet and birds singing in the olive trees. With the memories of the wonderful collection of mosaics from Zeugma you have just seen in Gaziantep archaeological museum, it’s easy enough to conjure up the ghosts of this once rich and powerful city on the Euphrates frontier.
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GALATEIA
Etymologically there are two characters who are associated with milk white color. First one is one of Zeus’s daughters and a mermaid goddess who takes part in some of the Sicilian legends. The Sicilian Kyklops Polyphemos who head an appearance of a beast was madly in love with Galateia the milk skinned beauty who lived in still seas. But the girl never returned his feelings she was in love with Akis who was the son of a Nympha and God Pan. One day when Galateia was resting on her lovers chest Polyphemos saw them. Although Akis tried to run to escape but Kyklopos threw a big store which hit and killed him. Galateia gave Akis his mothers identity and turned him in to a river with clear water. Some tales say that three heroes were born of Galateia and Polyphemos’s love Galas, Keltos and Illyrius who later gave names to Galats, Kelts and Illyrians. In this case they both must have loved each other but no evidence of such a case has reached us to confirm additional information.
The other Galateia is from Crete and is the daughter of a person called Eurytios. This Galateia, although she lived in Phaistos city and came from a good family was married to a poor Lampros. When Lamproslearned that Galateia was pregnnnant, told her that he only wanted a son and if she had a daughter she was to disown the baby. When Lampos was up in the mountains herding sheep, Galateia had a baby girl. She could not leave the baby and with oracles advice she dressed the babay as a boy, and named him Lukippos and kept all this secret from Lampos. Bus as time went bye Leukippos grew to be very beatiful and it became very hard to keep this secret Galateia fell in to a fear and went to Leto’s tample to ask the Goddess to change her daughter’s sex. Leto could not resisting Galateia’s beggings accepted her wish and turned her daughter in to a young man.
DYONISOS, BAKKA AND NIKE (GOD OF VICTORY)
In this mosaic, Dionysos and nature god of Anatolian origin and Nike god of victory are pictured together. Dionysos can be seen in a cart pulled by two panthers controlled by Nike. A Bakkha can be seen dancing and leading in front of the cart. Dionysos is also the name of a religion. Those who belonged to this faith would launch a mysterious journey by drinking wine. Those who participated in these ceremonies were named Saritus (men) and Bakkha (women).
PARTHENOPE OF PHRYGIA
It is one of the Sirens. Her grave was said to be in Napoli. She jumped into the sea and she swam with her sisters; the waves threw her corpse to the shore and a monument was built on Napoli 's shore in her name. In another version of the myth Parthenope was a young girl originally from Phrygia she fell in love with Metiokhos but she just couldn’t bring herself to take an action against her oath Parthenope punished herself and cut her hair and voluntarily went to compania as an exile.She there devoted herself to Dyonysos and Aphrodita who got very angry with her turned Parthenope in to a demon called Siren with a birds body and woman’s head.
TRITON
After Posedion and Amphitit’s magnificent wedding under the sea,they had a child.this child looked both from waist down where he was covered see weed laid like a fish .This child,named Triton,started serving his mother ( Amphitrite) an his father ( Posedion) and passed on their message by the sea shell. His strong blow would make sounds of huge waves of the angry seas. Before long Posedion and Amphitites precious son Triton had many babies from many mermaids. All babies had a human beings facial features but looked like a fish from waist below. Posedion who is the god of all rivers and seas would come out of his magnificent palace in the depths of the seas.When he did that all tritons would beat their drams and blow their horns and calm down the anger of the waves and would swim along the cart of their god.
AKHILLEUS (TROJAN WAR)
AKHILLEUS’s going to WAR OF TROY Akhilleus’s parents who doesn’t want him to join the war of Troy send him to King Lykomedes’s palace on Skyros island. There Akhilleus joins the daughter of Lykomedes in women’s clothes.But when the predictions spread around that Troy could never be concurred unless Akhilleus joined the war, Odysseus starts looking for Akhilleus. Odysseus knowing his warrior personality goes to king Lykomedess place with a wise plan. He goes in to place with colorful fabrics, jewelery and a few pieces of weapons. Where all the other girls tend to the fabrics and jewelery Akhilleus can not resist it and takes the sword and the shield and start playing with them. Odysseus’s plan has worked and Akhilleus’s real identity was revealed this mosaics pictures that moment.
ACHELOOS MOSAIC
The abundance of Euphrates has been used in another composition in Zeugma mosaic. Acheloos the king of Euphrates is shown with the horn of abundance on his head seattering around fruit and nuts. Acheloos has a mustache in the shape of wings. He has flowers in his hair and has two horns of abundance on the upper part of his forehead. Fruits and plums and seeds of sun flowers are shown in this mosaic all surrounded by branches and the horn of abundance. Acheloos was the oldest of 3 thousand sons of Okeanos and Tethys who are considered the oldest couple in Helen Teogony. There are different myths about Acheloos. According to one of these myths Akheloos, who is the neighbour of the King Oineus in Kalydon Aitolia ask the Kings daughter Deineria to merry him. Acheloos had the ability for metamorphosis as the king of river and could turn into different things. He could sometimes be a bull, sometimes a dragon. This talent scared Deineria. When Herakles came to Oineus’s palace and made a proposal for marriage for his daughter, Deineria accepted it at once. But Herakles had a very hard time taking away his bride because of Acheloos who could a big fight tool place between the two rivals. Acheloos used all his talents and Herakles used all his power. During the fight Acheloos turned into a bull. But Herakles broke one of his horns. Then Acheloos considered himself defeated and he surrendered. He left the right of marriage with Deineria to Herakles but asked for his broken horn to be returned to him. Herakles in return presented him with, one of flower and fruit making horns of goat Amaltheia the wet nurse of Zeus. Some authors claim that this wonderful horn actually belonged to Acheloos himself. Today the Acheloos river is called Astropotama and flows into the Greek sea at Patlas Bay.
PERSEUS SAVES ANDROMEDE
And so Perseus sought out Medusa's lair, surrounded as it was by the petrified remains of previous visitors, and he found the Gorgon sleeping; Yes, even though he had the good old magic arsenal, Perseus was not so foolhardy as to wake Medusa. And even though her gaze could hardly be expected to turn anyone to stone while her eyes were closed, he used the device provided by Athena to avoid looking at Medusa directly. (This suggests that you could be turned to stone just by gazing at Medusa, though most versions of the myth have it that it was the power of her gaze that counted .
GYPSY GIRL GAIA (GODDESS OF EARTH)
This mosaic which was found during the zeugma excavations in 1992, long before Zeugma became a current issue, became the symbol of Zeugma because of the mysterious look she had in her eyes. When it could not be identified it got named “Gypsy” because of the women’s resemblance with gypsies. But some sources draw attention to the wide in the mosaic and claim that it is GAIA the Goddess of the Earth.
In Mythology it is considered that GAIA is the first element all god’s ancestors have derived from. Although GAIA has a major role in Hesiodos’s Theogonia,it is never seen in Homeros’s poems. According to Heiodos GAIA without a male element gave birth to the sky (Ouranos) and the mountains and also Pantos the personalized element of the sea. After the birth of the sky GAIA coupled with him and therefore all her children became real Gods and were not just simple elements of power first six titans Okeanos, Koios Krios. Hyperion, Iapetus and Kronos and six titans: Theia, Reia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoibe, Tehys were born. All of these are feminine Godlike creatures. The youngest one of this generation is Kronos. It was followed by Kyklops. These were godlike creatures that ruled the thunder, lightning, thunderbolt. Their names were: Arges, Steropes and Brontes. And at last from Ouranos’s loves gigantic Hekatogkheirs were born. They were much for violence and had hundred arms.
ANTIOPE AND SATYROS
Antiope is a very beautiful woman Zeus the God of Gods fell in love with Antrope after seeing her beauty. And Approaches Antiope in shape of a Satyros (men participating in a Diyonisos ceremony by drinking wire) Zeus who steals Antiope’s heart has two children from her. But when Zeus leaves her she finds herself with noon to depend on Antiopes who was very much afraid of her father leaves home and marries Siklon the king of Epopeus.
BIRTH OF APHRODITE
The goddess of love and the one identified with the Roman love Goddess Venus. There are two different takes about her birth. Sometimes, she is considered the daughter of Zeus and Dione and sometimes she is said to be the daughter of Ouranos. According to this tale, Ouranos sex organs which was cut separate from his body had fallen in to the sea and Ouranus had a daughter from the seas and she was called the woman born from the waves or woman born from the seeds of the gods.
THE GOD OF EUPRATHES(GOD OF FIRAT RIVER)
The god of Euphrates was found pictured on an octagonal pool floor in this mosaic Euphrates can be seen half laying on a couch. River Euphrates pictured flowing out of a jug under his elbow and the land that has met with the water is covered with green plants. Euphrates holds a branch from a tree. It is torso is naked, and there is a tree at his foot. This mosaic was found during the Belkis/Zeugma Necropol digs in 2000 in a Roman villa pool hallway with the Euphrates River Gods. There are two shellow polls in this hallway.According to the Myth Euphrates who the river is named after, had a son called Aksurtas. One day this young man was sleeping alongside his mother and Euphrates who thought that it was a stranger killed his own son. Euphrates later realizes his big mistake and jumps in to River Medos and suicides. After that day the river Medos was called Euphrates.
YOUNG RIVER GOD OF EUPRATHES
The young river God, his torso naked is half leaning on a platform on grass. On the upper left corner there is a building Lorth a triangle front and two courtyard walls. This must be representing a creek (Merzimen) providing water for the Euphrates. This mosaic is on the pool hallway floor.
ACRATOS
It was found during the excavations carried out by the Museum of Gaziantep at Zeugma/Belkýs Kelekagzi region. Acratos and Euphrosyne ares shown seated at kline on Acratos is filling Euphrosyne’s cup out of a liquor jug shaped like a deer’s head. On the left the large liqour container crater takes place. Euphrosyne means joy and good spirits, she is one of the beauties called brightness sparkle and beauty and symbolises anything that is nice for sight. She is the daughter of Zeus and Eurynome. Acratos is a God that symbolises men who are weak against women .
POSEIDON, OKEANOS AND TETHYS
This mosaic which is estimated to be floor of a pool or a dining room.The most important gods of the sea are pictured.At the top Possedion can be seen riding a creature called Hippocam which has the head and front legs of a horse and is a fish at the back. Possedion holds a pitchfork. In the lower part of the mosaic another sea god Oceanos and Tethys which symbolizes Femaleness in the seas are pictured.The rest of the mosaic is decorated by various sea animals .
WATER FAIRY OF EUPRATHES
It is pictured in a rectangle frame to the left of Euphrates to the right of Euphrates a water fairy is pictured laying on grass leaning on her elbow. There is a spring flowing from under her elbow. This represent the springs providing water to for the creeks that flow in to Euphrates
OCEANOS AND TETHYS
Oceanos, the archaic era (except for Mediterranean) Lives with Tethys who symbolizes the feminine component in the sea.It is believed that all rivers and stream came into existence from Oceanos and Tethys.In this mosaic that was found in excavations in Zeugma which is estimated to be the floor of a pool pictures Oceanos and Tethys surrounded by sea creatures.Also Eros figures riding dolphins can be seen in the mosaic.
METIOKHOS
A young man Originally from Phrygia. Metiokhos was in love with a girl called Parthenope who had vowed to remain a virgin. She was in love with him too but she is also wanted to keep her vow. She cut her hair and became an exile. She went to Campania and devoted herself to the God of wine Dyonysos. Napoli in Italy is named Parthenope in Greek because of this myth. But those who refused physical love was never forgiven by Aphrodite. For this reason she turned her in to the demon Siren with a woman’s head and a birds body .
METIOKHOS AND PARTONEPHE
The two figures of the mosaic which were smuggled out of Turkey 36 years ago from Zeugma by Euphrates part which will be buried under the Birecik Dam waters, is brought back to Gaziantep from the U.S.A. The two figures brought back from the USA on June 19 was assembled to the main port of the mosaic. The main port was found in Zeugma in 1993 and was brought to the Museum of Gaziantep. The missing port of the mosaic was indicated by a big question mark ( ? ) . It is now ready to be exhibited.
The mosaic which was smuggled out of country was received in Houston by Esra Akça, one of Archeologists working for the Turkish Ministry Of Culture Museums and Monument Division and brought to Turkey on June 19. The mosaics were brought to Turkey in two wooden boxes and reunited with the main part. The two characters of this love story Parthenope and Metiokhos finally came back home after so many years.
SILENOS
Silenos is the General name given to old Satyroses (the nature daemons that never leave Dionysos’s side) . It is also know that the legendary hero who raised Dionysos was also called Silenos. There is many different information on Silenos’s family tree. Silenos is sometimes considered Pan’s or Hermes’s son born from a Nympha, sometimes he is said to be born from the drops of blood Hermes had shed when his sex organ was cut from his body by Ouranus Kronos. This Silenos was a very wise man but he only showed his wisdom under pressure.
For example once King Midas had him brought to his place and Silenos had told him wise things. Vergilios imagines shepherds forcing Silenos to sing songs. It was claimed that Silenos was the father of Ken taunos Pholos and had him from an ash tree Nympha.Some other legends see him as the father of Apollo Nomius (Apollon of Arkhadia) Silenos was a very ugly man. He had the flat nose thick lips and had the look of a bull. He had a huge belly. He was usually pictured store drunk and can barely keep his balance on a donkey.
EROS AND PHYSKE (LOVE AND SPIRIT)
Eros brings joy and beauty to world just like his mother Aphrodithe, fills people’s heart with the passion and prepares them either for happines or for death. He had pair ofwings on his back. He would travel the world flying with those wings and spread beauty audors of flowers where he passed over. Hel always had arrows in his hand. He would shoot people at heart by his arrow and make them fall in love with another .
One day he himself fall in love with a beauty. Physke was one of the three daughters of a King. She was so beautiful that people wre sometimes confused her with Aphrodithe and worshipped her. Aphrodithe was very much disturbed by being confused with a mortal. For this reason she called her son Eros and told him make Physke fall in love with the ugliest man in the world. Eros took off to carry out his mother’s orders. When he found Physke Eros , was ready to make this arrogant girl, who brogged of not fall in a love with anyone, fall madly in love with the worstman in the world, but just when he pointed his arrow to shoot at her heart Physke’s beauty devastated him. He fall in love with Physke instead of making her fall in love with someone else.
Physke’s only wish was to see the face of this young man who has madly in love with her. But Eros never accepted this. He always met her after dark and left before dawn, he had prohibited any light in the palace no candles no fire. It was no use for Physke to bag he never gave in an an Physke loved Eros without seeing him or knowing whole was. One day Physke’s sisters told her that the men she loved wab the ugliest looking beast world. She could not resist her curiosity and hid a lamp under a vase and waited for Eros’s arrival that night. Eros with no suspicion came to the palace and spent the night with Physke.
When he fell a sleep Pyske got up quietly and took the lamp from under the vase and when she appmached the bed she was as tonished at what she saw. When she expected to see an ugly face she met with the most handsome young man onu could imagine. When she saw this handsome face beyond description she fell even more in love with him. When she learned forward to kiss him on the forehead one drop of hot oil from the lamp fell on to his bare shoulder. Eros wake up in pain. As he realized that his lover did not keep his orders, he opened his.Wings and flew away. As Eros left the palace he had built by his magic vanished also.
Physke was in anguish and did not know what to do. Whit the hope to find her loved one she travelled all arround the world but alas, could not even find a trace of Eros. Finally she came to the door step of Aphrodithe’s palace all axhouseled, but Aphrodithe let alone helping her, made her work as a slave... Poor Physke took all the suffering without complain and did all that was asked of her without a word of objection, with the hope that she would one day meet her loved one. Finally Eros’s shoulder healed and he went to Olympos to change the fate of his belored. Who was devoted to him from the bottom of her hearth. He bagged Zeus to resque, Physke and give her to him as his wife. Zeus accepted all his wishes and ordered Hermes to have Physke brought to Olympos. Physke was brought to the Gods Plane and got married to the man he loved more then aynthing in the world lived happily ever after.
WEDDING OF DIONYSOS (GOD OF WINE) AND ARIADNE
The 10 figures in the mosaic from left to rigt are,A men figure standing,drinking ligour out of a cup – A menad sitting holding a mesale – A dressed woman walking twords right with her arm up in the air holding something in her hands which can not be seen due to the damage in that part of the mosaic.A woman sitting on the throne is shown with most amount of clothes loosly coverg her body around her torso –A men’s figure shown with a halo around his head and next to throne a child figure two clothed women figure walking to the left.Which on the left is demaged at the head part and the one on the right holds a boy with things inside and the lid open.On the far right there is a woman holdung the flute next to a man with beard and naked torso.His hair is Ruffiled.The couple in the center,the eros next to them,the woman with a box of presents and another woman figure with her armas up giving the impression that she is either placing a ring of bay leaves or spinning yarn to weare the net of feith makes us think that this mosaic pictures DÝONYSOS’S wedding
DEMETER - THE GODDESS OF ABUNDANCE
The mosaic which the God of earth with the horn of furtility on her left shoulder is shown in a square shallow pool crowned with flowers and ears of wheat right to the west of Gods related to Euphrates.The mosaic artist has created an Equitation of production by first having the water go through the pool where the God of Euphrates are pictured and have it reach the pool where the Goddess of furtility Demeter is,and this way he describes the abundance and furtility. Euphrates presents t o his surroundings. In addition Demeter’s bust is placed in the middle of decoration that is seen in the following order, an octagonal band an two equilateral rotated 90* and placed inside each other and the eight axe description taking place on each of eight corners at the ornamentation. This composition with the geometric decorations of number eight is surrounded by a circular band placed inside a square, decorated with plants. The number eight must have something to do with Demeter’s daughter Persephone. Because Zeus had decided that she should spend 2/3 of year (8 months) at the time of blossoming and fruit harvest time with her mother Demeter and the other 1/3 the winter period with her husband Hades. In the Myth Demeter doesn’t part with Persephone. And this mother. Daughter is called the first Goddess. For this reason in Belkýs/Zeugma mosaics they are together and Persephone is repRented by geometric decorations with the number eight.
DAEDALOS AND IKAROS
The gods of Posseidon,presents the King of Crete Minos with a bull.The kings wife Pasiphae falls in love with this bull. She order the palace sculptor to make cow ma quette. A beast with with bull head and human body was born of this coupling the beast was named Minotaur.
King Minos would have 7 women 7 men sacrificies collected from all cities under his dominion,and feed them to minotaur who lived in a labyrint.People of Athens do not want to give more sacrificies to Minotaur representing the people of Athens Warior Theseus comes to crete and kills Minotaurs.
King Minos’s daughter Ariadne falls in love with the hero Theseu They get help from the architect of the labyrinth and escape from Crete with Theseus. Whom Minos the king of Crete learns about this treachery he locks Daidolos who has helped the fugitires and his son Ikanos labyrinth. Daidalos and Ikanos who were stuck in the labyrinth for a long time attach the wings they have made to their arms by beeswax and escape from Crete by flying.White flying in the sky Ikanos does not listen to his father’s warnings and get very close to metts and his arms and he falls from the sky on the ground and die.In this magnificient mosaics Daidalos (second from right) and his son Ikarus (on the right) is pictured working on the cow maquette Pasiphae(on the left sitting on the throne)had ordered to be made.
EUROPA
Europa was the daughter of Agenor, and was beloved by Zeus. Zeus took the form of a beautiful white bull and encountered Europa at the seashore. By appearing to be very tame, he coaxed her to climb onto his back and then swam off with her across the sea to Crete. In Crete, Europa had three sons by Zeus -- Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys. Zeus also gave her three gifts: the bronze man, Talos, to act as her guardian; a dog, Laelaps, which never failed of its quarry; and a javelin which never missed its mark. Europa afterwards married Asterius, the king of Crete. Europa is also the name of a daughter of Tityus, and mother of Euphemus.
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