Report from Urfa and the situation at the Syrian border

I'm sitting at Aslan Guesthouse in Urfa,Turkey, reading some recently published articles about the situation in Kobane. Kobane, which is currently under attack by ISIS, is about 60km or a 1.5 hour drive away from Urfa. However, there are still tourists in the city, and it's safe to visit. Tour groups going to Mt. Nemrut, Gobekli Tepe, and even Harran are still booked. I'm not going to say that there's zero risk here, because obviously my security is not guaranteed just because nothing has happened to me, but life is going on in this city and ones nearby.

Things are quiet aside from Eid/Bayram holiday festivities, and the main sign of the conflict is the influx of Syrian refugees. I've noticed this through the presence of Syrian restaurants (aka terrific falafel - go support them and enjoy!) and the many refugees working in them and in other businesses, and by some amazing people I've met - Couchsurfers, NGO workers, translators, and the batch of freelance journalists and photographers that the guesthouse is full of. Every day the journalists/photographers get up early and go to the border via Suruc, which is relatively okay, but that no one would recommend visiting due to the high influx of refugees and closer proximity to the border. On that note, apparently a large portion of refugees have apparently gone to stay with any family they have in Turkey, meaning that the refugee camps aren't full, and Urfa itself is not overrun with refugees. The journalists come back late with stories about what it's like to actually see ISIS and hear the shelling. It's quiet surreal to hear them casually talk about it. Turkish military is increasing its presence at the border, although they have not crossed in to defend Kobane.

It is my honest belief that Urfa is safe enough to visit, and I'm glad that I came. I mainly came for the mix of cultures and the proximity to some amazing sites, but it's given me a lot of respect for the Kurdish people fighting ISIS, for the strength of the refugees who have come over and are trying to make it here until they can go home, and for the NGO workers who are trying to make a difference here. It's also been a humbling reminder of how privileged I am to be a traveler who can leave when I choose to.

Anyway, I'll be here a few more days and will update if I have anything else to contribute. I'm planning on doing Nemrut tomorrow, and Harran + Gobekli Tepe the day after, then probably going to Diyarbakir before going back to the west.

Happy holidays (Eid/Bayram, Yom Kippur, etc) and let this conflict end soon, Insha'Allah.

Thank you very, very much for this'live'update from Urfa.I feel quite sure many will read this with some sense of relief and reassurance.We have had a few posts about this situation and I have had a few PM's too,even about visiting other area's of Turkey too.
It is unpredictable and fluid,changing from day to day but when life is still going going on normally day to day then it is reasonable to assume the situation is not going to change within only hours.
Do please add updates to this thread over the coming days,that would be a great kindness for people heading out that way any time now.
Enjoy a lovely Bayram with lot's of delicious kavurma,pilav and piles of baklava!

Ah yes...you could also do a small favour for a forum member too whilst there in Urfa :)
Hasi1or2 has asked on another thread about the new mosaic museum opening there,Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum,could you possibly ask around -maybe at the main museum-and see if anyone can give you a date for it finally opening?It is due to open very soon ,but perhaps you can get a scoop on us all and find out a date!

Thanks for the thanks, and yes I'm quite happy to devour tons of baklava. I did read that other post and was going to ask our guide about it tomorrow. Will update of course. If it's really open I'd love to check it out!

Thanks for asking about the mosaics museum down Urfa way. Would be great to see them. I think there is an artifact from Gobekli Tepe there too, Muteki. Check it out! Did you go to Hatay by any chance? Wondering how safe it is there!

Update: Urfa is still safe, but Suruc is most definitely a no-go. I didn't get to Hatay, and am not sure if I will go or not.

Yesterday we did Mt. Nemrut. It was nice during the day, and there weren't a ton of tourists there either! We were on a 4-person tour from Aslan Guesthouse, but there wasn't really much guiding aside from driving around. We had a driver who worked for the guesthouse. I think other operators might have more to offer for around the same price as I wasn't particularly impressed with the guy's lack of guiding. 125TL per person if 4 people, doesn't include 11TL park fee, or lunch.

Today we went to Gobekli Tepe and Harran, both were absolutely fine and still there are tourists around. You can see the Syrian border from Harran. We went again with Aslan Guesthouse, but this time with the owner himself. He was a great guide and I could definitely recommend him for that particular excursion. It was 75TL per person, with 4 people. Total is 300 split between however many people there are, maximum 4. It's a 5-6 hour day, maximum. Gobekli Tepe is definitely worth seeing. The taxi to only Gobekli Tepe would have been pretty expensive, so the price was reasonable considering the driving, both sites, and great information about the site.

The Mosaic Museum in Urfa will be open "soon" according to the hotel owner, but they don't have an official date. Apparently, "soon" means within a few weeks, but no one really knows.

Excellent information Muteki, hopefully, I'll be landing in Urfa in about two weeks. Hope things are still peacefully then!

Thanks for the update. I will be landing in Istanbul in a little more than a week, only going so far east as Goreme. But it's nice to hear from someone in the country if for no other reason than it gives me information to relay to nervous family members.

Still in Urfa, everything is stable here. There have been reports of protests by Kurds in various cities, but nothing here so far. It sounds like Kobane is probably going to fall in the next few days, so the situation might look a lot different then. I still wouldn't say not to come, but keep an eye on the news (with a skeptical eye of course) if you don't have local contacts. You can also use Couchsurfing to find local place pages, and post on there to ask locals about the situation, as many others have done. Personally, I'm debating going to either Diyarbakir or Mardin next, before heading back westwards.

Muteki I hope you see this before you set off from Urfa.Please stay away from Diyarbakır right now.There are serious street riots going on.
In Mardin the situation is unclear but certain districts are now under curfew;Savur,Derik,Kızıltepe,Dargeğit,Nuseybin and Mazıdağ from 17.00 this evening it is now forbidden to go out on to the street until further notice from the Provincial Governor(Vali).Mardin centre 'seems' okay but be cautious if you go and keep away from any groups of youths you see gathering.
In Van there are also riots and there in a similar curfew in place now in Erciş district.
No curfew has yet been announced for Diyarbakır but I wouldn't be surprised if one comes.For the moment this always rather volatile city in probably best avoided.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/video-one-killed-several-injured-in-isil-protests-across-turkey-as-curfew-declared-in-two-provinces.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72659&NewsCatID=341

Thanks for the report. What's going on in suruc and would it affect the bus route from Adana to sankiurfa? It looks like it'S on the way. Thks.

It shouldn't affect it at all.Suruç is well off the main highway east.Looking at bus times there don't appear to be any cancellations.This road is the main west>east route to the Iraq border and will be kept open and well protected above any other as it is always very busy with lorries and of course military traffic too.

UPDATE:

Protests in Urfa. Police sent tear gas canisters against peaceful protests more than once. It's fine at the guest house but you can hear chants and more gas canister shots going off. However, most of the protest was over in an hour. I have the feeling that when Kobane falls, it's not going to be safe to be even in Urfa.

I had sent CS requests to Mardin and heard tonight from some people there that the situation in Mardin is NOT SAFE. Same in Diyarbakir. I've decided to go back west tomorrow (Antalya maybe), and even the journalists/photojournalists that are here in Urfa are expecting things to get worse, not better, especially when Kobane falls. Anyone planning to come to the region should absolutely keep an eye on the news, and if you can, contact Couchsurfers.

Many thanks Muteki for the update.Sad news but not unexpected.Safe travels back over to the west.

What a terrible thing to hear. You don't know how much I appreciate your post. I'll be paying attention to the news, making changes to my trip if it turns out necessary.

These are online English language Turkish newspaper web sites for people to keep up to date with what's happening-
www.hurriyetdailynews.com
www.todayszaman.com
www.dailysabah.com
and also-
www.edition.cnn.com/MIDDLEAST

I'm glad I could help, and wish I had better news.

The whole situation is terrible, and I really feel for the people who have to watch what's happening to their fellow Kurds (often family members and friends) on the Syrian side. In other news, I got some contacts and am trying to get information about any NGOs or charities that can accept and properly distribute monitory donations. I'm hoping to put together a note about where to donate so that people can help support the Syrian refugees.

It briefly showed some rioting on Newsnight tonight, and I thought it looked like Urfa. Interestingly Frank Gardener suggested that Erdogan may be working himself up to send troops across the border, which would be a hell of a development.

Currently the governments position is that they will send in ground forces along with other coalitions members' troops on condition that the agenda is not just to rout out ISIS but also to remove Assad too.We are all now waiting to see what the reply will be to this request....

All's quiet in Urfa at the moment, although maybe there will be more protests tonight. Who knows. I'm headed to the bus station today to get a ticket for tomorrow morning, probably to Adana and then onwards. I've been reading different news -- lots of confusion, different biases, etc. Hard to know who's right or wrong.

As a visitor it is better to stay out of the arguement of either side(s)simply making appropriately sympathetic noises depending on what the person you're talking to says....and leave it at that.You're right;it is a very confusing situation right now and when even locals can't agree on any one point a visitor doesn't stand a chance of doing so.
If yo're heading to Adana you could then go on to Mersin,Silifke and Anamur for a bit of interesting non touristy coast,perhaps stopping off at Tarsus on the way.

Yes, here I've been only listening to what different locals say, not trying to spark debate. There's a time and a place for that, and it's most definitely not here and now!

Police will stop all buses and check all passengers id, but apart from that, it won't affect you much at all. I'd advise staying away from large crowds in city centres especially Diyarbakir and Van. Or stay in your hotel until it passes. My hotel ordered in meals from outside in Van city during the July riot

I'm actually still in Urfa at the moment, though I could have left if I'd wanted to. I have a potential plan with another girl to catch an overnight bus to Antalya. The daytime yesterday was fine here, though there were more protesters at night. We were out in a bar and could smell some tear gas for 20 minutes or so, but other than that we were fine since we didn't go to the protest itself. Walking back you could still hear people, but they were a ways away.

So, I'm still in Urfa. I never got that bus ticket, though I'm planning to leave tomorrow. Instead I've had a few days of reading/watching news, meeting people, and talking, talking, talking. Talking to journalists and photographers, refugees, NGO workers, etc.

Today a few people from the hotel brought bags of stuff to donate down to a town with refugee camps outside of Urfa. I'm not going to say that we did a completely safe day trip, but we talked to a lot of people and decided to do it anyway. Normally I don't believe in visiting places like refugee camps or orphanages as a tourist (see: voluntourism, poverty tourism, scams, etc). Instead of just showing up and handing stuff out randomly, I made some local contacts and found out where the distribution centre itself was. Though we had to make some effort to find it (and at one point had a trail of children behind us), we eventually got there and met an English-speaking Turkish volunteer who gladly accepted the stuff we'd brought -- mostly toiletries and soap, some of our unneeded clothes and shoes, stuff for kids, etc -- and then showed us around. She explained how the items are received, sorted, and distributed, and we talked about the refugees, the war, the cooperation of the Turks and Kurds in the aid effort, and the various NGOs that have come in. It was powerful and sad to see the refugee camps, and made for a very stressful day, but in the end it was an incredibly rewarding experience.

I don't recommend that anyone come to this area, even as I'm typing this from here. The situation is changing very quickly and things are too unpredictable. I'm quite ready to put some distance between myself and the Syrian border. I'm going to try to set up a fundraising campaign to help get some money directly to the distribution centre, so when I figure out how to accomplish that I'd like to post it here.

Thanks for keeping us informed and kudos to you for helping the refugees. I know from the Van riots in July that word of mouth was a more effective way of finding out what was really happening on the ground. Few Turk newspapers will touch a story criticizing the Turkish Government. Spent an hour looking on internet and almost nothing, only the local Van newspaper ran a short story. Please be careful. I thought I was going to get shot in the back by police. I was trying to get to my hotel and a policeman in riot gear yelled at me to turn around and head away from my hotel. I spent an hour in a strange hotel I spotted in a side street to escape the tear gas. Streets were blocked off on 3 sides by police and protesters leaving me no choice.

Thanks Muteki for the insight info on the situation in Urfa, which I just read with great interest. I was planning to go to Hasankeyf in two weeks, but sadly had to decide not to. Hard to say what things will be like by then, let's hope for the best... Have a safe journey.

I'm writing now from Fethiye - major change of scenery. I'm doing research on ideas for the fundraising campaign, and will post when I have it set up. I hope to visit SE Turkey again when things (hopefully) calm down.

Muteki,
I really appreciate your reports from urfa. I'Ve decided to postpone my visit there to some other time - but can report that I was in Antakya (Hatay) Oct 7 and things were fine there then - economy a little down due to the war but fine for a visitor. Good luck with your campaign for the refugees.

Tully22

Tully22 it would be great if you could find the time to post up a trip review for your visit to Hatay.It is not an area for which we have a TR up to now on the sticky and in view of what is happening in that area right now I think many people would find it very useful.
Yes!.....payback time for any help you've been given from the forum :))

The museum in Urfa is now due to open January 15th, a delay of 6 or 7 months from the previously announce date.

The situation in Urfa city centre, especially during daylight hours, is the same as ever. It is calm, and there are no signs of trouble. The same goes for Antakya and Antep. I will update re Mardin and Diyarbakir as I get reliable feedback.

However, all of this can change at any minute (as it can in Istanbul and other large cities, too), so it pays to be a very savvy traveller, and keep abreast of updates.

Sarikanara, yes, will do! Later, when I can. Internet is very flakey where I am.

Hello,

I'm leaving Urfa at this moment, having spent two wonderful days in the city. The city is very calme, no incidents of any kind. Yesterday some kids got troublesome with the police after the Galatasaray soccer match, but it wasn't a big deal.

I went to Suruç today at noon, was able to reach the hill overlooking Kobane. The fight is almost over, some small explosion from time to time. Suruç is too far away to feel affected, Urfa is completely oblivious about the whole thing.

I stayed in the Aslan Guesthouse, he's a little grumpy because there were too many last minutes cancellations due the Kobane battle.

I'm glad I didn't cancel my trip to Urfa, it's a wonderful city, I wish I had an extra day to spare to stay longer.

Glad to hear you enjoyed lovely Urfa!This is another good report for others unsure whether to go or not.
Trouble after a big football derby is nothing new,it happens all the time.The ones who were upset were most likely Fenerbahçe fans...we lost last night and consequently I had enough troubles of my own at home with a VERY grumpy husband :))
Enjoy the rest of your time here in Turkey!

I am writing now from Urfa after visiting both Diyarbakir and Mardin, can confirm that the situation here is absolutely quiet now. In Diyarbakir one can spot the riot police vehicles parked throughout the old city but otherwise no signs of the recent turbulence, Mardin and Urfa are even more relaxed. It is also safe to travel around with the rented car - we've been stopped only when entering Mardin, no sign of checkpoints or other similar military activity at the route Diyarbakir - Mardin and Mardin - Sanliurfa