Ancient site· Harran, Şanlıurfa
Harran
Harran is a ancient site in Harran, Şanlıurfa; Continuously inhabited since 2000 BC — the conical mudbrick beehive houses are the only ones in Anatolia.
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Practical info
- Location
- 36.8629°N · 39.0299°E
Continuously inhabited since 2000 BC — the conical mudbrick beehive houses are the only ones in Anatolia.
Editor's Note
Harran is a district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey, lying near the Syrian border about 40 km southeast of Urfa and some 20 km from the border crossing at Akçakale.
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Harran has been inhabited continuously since around 2000 BC. Abraham, the Akkadians, the Assyrians, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Ottomans — all left a layer here. The conical mudbrick beehive houses outside the old city are unique in Anatolia: 30-40 cones tied together with arched passages, perfectly insulated against the Şanlıurfa summer.
Did you know
- Harran is mentioned in Genesis as the place where Abraham's family settled before continuing to Canaan.
- The world's first known Islamic university, founded in the 8th century, taught here for 400 years.
- Each beehive house is built with up to 4,000 mudbricks, dried in the sun and stacked without mortar.
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