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Photographer’s Note

About 110 miles (180 km) west of Kiziltepe, in South Eastern Anatolian region, lies the venerably old towns of Urfa (Sanliurfa). According to both the Bible and Quran it is the birthplace of Abraham before his migration to Canaan, now Palestine. Local Muslim legend differs from that of the other great monotheistic faiths by the intervention of one vicious and cruel King Nimrod, who had launched from a catapult from the city's citadel to fall into a pile of burning wood. Happily, God intervened, and turned the fire to water and the faggots to fish, and today, the visitor to the town can visit the mosque complex surrounding Abraham's Cave and The Pool of Sacred Fish (Balikligöl) surrounding it. The cruel ruler's giant slingshot is represented by two Corinthian columns still standing atop the citadel. This is the story of it and a very common belief at that region.They never do harm those fishes there,and there are really thousands of fishes in that pool.
This is an Anatolian city which has figured in all the religions of the book. Old Testament prophets such as Jethro (Hz. Suayp), Job (Hz. Eyup), Elijah (Hz. Elyasa) and Abraham (Hz. Ibrahim) lived in this city, which in ancient times known as Edessa, and Moses (Hz. Musa) lived in the region for seven years working as a shepherd before returning to Egypt with his staff. It was in Sanliurfa that early Christians were first permitted to worship freely, and where the first churches were constructed openly. Pagan temples were converted to synagogues, synagogues to churches and churches to mosques, resulting in a uniquely eclectic architecture.
I took this shot with an exposure of six minutes and at a very late hour.Because at every hour there are full of visitors and it is not possible to make such a shot.

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Additional Photos by nejat yilmaz (ballyna) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 548 W: 46 N: 288] (1689)
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