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Abraham fountain with sacred carp

Originally uploaded by Errol_B
In the town of Abraham, I listen to call to prayer. Urfa feels like the place where religion was born. I suppose Urfa houses the birthplace of western and (some eastern religions), this place is strange, sometimes savage, mostly beautiful land that is being dragged through time further and further away from its illustrious past.

What is it about call to prayer as it rings out across the city from mosque to mosque? The melody can give me goose bumps, it stops my mind. Focuses it. It moves me away from the encroaching future and stops me from contemplating the past.

The call, is a cry of *now* A call to be thankful for what you have. A chance to praise Yahweh / God / Allah for allowing me to venture to the cradle of civilization to experience the present and thank the world for the past which has provided us with so much good.

So, here I am sipping Turkish tea, listening to the call and the water coming from a fountain and as it cascades into a lake that exists as a result of god created, and men preserved (read man-made) when King Nimrod (check spelling) tried to set him ablaze.
(yeah there was a miracle, god turned the logs to carp, and the flames to water (or something)).

Children giggle, adults discuss, and still the call and the fountain dominate my hearing. Beautiful. I wonder if there people know how lucky they are. Probably not as I did not apprecıate what I have at home  till I left it.

Religion is woven into this place. If I was to find god, I would start to look for him / her / it here. I’ll be careful not to turn over too many rocks - becoming a prophet would really ruin all my fun.

Missed Blogs
- The Spectacular ruins of Harran
- Cappadonia
- Troglodytes (proof that fear motivates)
- Turkish wine (damn good)
- the terrible nightlife of Ufra