Harran

Harran, in Kurdish southeastern Anatolia, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited spots on earth. The hills around the town are surrounded by crumbling walls and topped with ruined buildings. It all looks so ancient that it’s not hard to believe Abraham was one of Harran’s early inhabitants.

Some residents still live in beehive-shaped mud houses and get by on a mix of farming, smuggling and the sniff of wealth as water starts to filter through from the vast Southeast Anatolia Dam. There’s a fortress on the eastern side of the town, and some good mosaics in the 8th century Ulu Cami.