Anatolian Trip Notes #3- Mardin

We flew to Mardin from Ankara. 

Cultural diversity is what strikes you in Mardin where Turks, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrian Christians live together.

I watched this video in tears when I was in Mardin. “Sounds of Mardin” features three traditional folk songs of Mardin vocalized  by 48 local artists in Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish, Syriac and Armenian languages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qxsPpOMyWk&ab_channel=MardinM%C3%BCzeM%C3%BCd%C3%BCrl%C3%BC%C4%9F%C3%BC

Mardin Museum is a must see, showing thousands of years of cultural heritage and diversity. Some other highlights include: Sakip Sabancı Kent Museum, Kirklar Kilissesi/Church, Revakli Carsi, Zinciriye Medresesi and Ulu Cami. Other than that, just get lost in the narrow streets of Mardin, visit Orthodox churches, mosques, indulge in food and shopping.

It’s best either to rent a car or get a tour in Mardin to see the vicinity. We had a transfer service to drive us around and it worked perfectly. I’d recommend Seker Rent-a Car. Gokhan and Volkan brothers are punctual , careful and safe. 

The old city can be covered in one full day by feet and you need at least another day or two to see the surrounding  areas. Once you are in Mardin, you must see Midyat, Nusaybin and Dara. There are resident guides in the monasteries, so you don’t need to hire a guide, but I do regret that I did not have a guide in Dara.

Roman Emperor Anastasius had built the eastern frontier city of Dara in 591 AD in honor of their people who were killed by the Sassanids after the invasion of 577. The site is a large burial ground carved into the bedrock.

Deyrul Zafaran Monastery, a 30 minute drive from Mardin, is the most famous monastery and a must see. We see many examples of sacred sites built on top of each other in human history, Deyrul Zafaran monastery is one of them. Deyr means monastery and Zafaran is saffron and it's built on top of a Sun temple (Shams/ Shamash) which existed since 2000 BC.

Ancient people were more tuned to natural energies and could feel the sacred earth energies. They have built temples where they felt earth energies the most. Some says they built on top of an older structure to eradicate the old view and establish a new. You decide!

According to the legend, the saffron plant was used in the mortar of the Deyrul Zafaran Monastery and the structure took its yellow color from this plant. In 451, the Syrian Orthodox Church (Jacobites) split from the Byzantine Church after a debate about the true nature of Christ. The church still uses Aramaic, Jesus’ language, as its liturgical tongue. Services are held daily.. The church houses a 300-year-old Bible, a 1000-year-old baptismal font, and a 1600-year-old mosaic floor.

What impressed me the most is the original pagan sun temple where the monastery is built upon, where sunrises fills the room from the Eastern window while the niche on the southern wall holds an altar.

Beyaz Su is the popular picnic area by the river, and is best to take lunch break.

The same Rent-a car company (Seker) drove us from Mardin to Diyarbakir.  which is only 1.5 hours drive. On the way, we were blessed to be able to stop by Zerzevan castle (a second time for me and first time for my son). Zerzevan castle was the half way point, only 45 minutes away from Mardin.

Zerzevan Castle is one of the best-preserved Roman military settlements in the world. So what? There are many castles around the world. Well, this castle also hosts a Mithras temple, a temple used by the Mithraic cult which is the religion of Roman Empire prior to Christianity. For that reason, the castle gives clues not only about the life in the ancient world but also give hints about history of faith and religion and how beliefs are transformed over centuries. Plus, there are lots of mysteries about this place.

 If you're interested to hear more about it, you can watch one of my previous zoom talks:

https://drive.google.com/.../1ptKAod9_EHT-Gpe_EnL.../view...

Next: Diyarbakir

Anatolian Trip Notes #2- Hattusa: The Capital of Hitite Empire

If there is one place I was totally stunned in this trip, it’s Hattusa, the Capital of Hittite Empire (1650 BC -1200 BC). Hittites ruled Asia Minor and Middle East for 450 years.  It’s simply breathtaking. The vastness of the Empire lands and the undulating fields and rolling hills at a distance is impressive. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to get to Hattusa, it’s 2,5 hours east of Ankara. However, again, it’s totally worth it.

It seems like there are daily tours from Ankara but honestly they didn’t seem too reliable and we decided to do a private tour. Unless you’re a history geek, I’d strongly recommend to get a tour guide for this area. We had the best!

We did a day trip and our guide and the driver picked us up from the hotel. It was  a very long day but a comfortable drive as you watch Anatolian terrain unfold.

Hattusa, the Capital of Hittite Empire (1650-1200 BC). had 40.,000-50,000 people at its peak and had temples, administrative buildings, various gates like the Lion Gate and Royal Gate, and even a pyramid.

Hittite language is an Indo-European language. Assyrian merchants who travelled through Anatolia documented and recorded their activities and brought writing to Anatolia around 1900 BC. Hittites used both cuneiform writing and hieroglyphs. They used Luwian hieroglyphs which is an indigenous language to central Anatolia consisting of some 500 signs (sometimes called Anatolian hieroglyphs). They adapted Akkadian cuneiform and  kept detailed records of treaties, decrees, prayers, myths, and rituals. 

Before going to Hattusas, we stopped at Alacahoyuk, another Hittite city. There were four layers of cultures existed in Alacahöyük, which was inhabited continuously since the Chalcolithic (Copper) Age.

The Chalcolithic Age: 4000-3000 B.C., layers 15-9

Old Bronze Age: 3000-2000, layers 8-5

Hittite Age: 1800-1200, layers 4-2

Phrygian Age: Since 750 B.C. in the first layer

No easy way to write my name

Hittites have many significance, as being the first Empire in Anatolia, but I want to mention Peace and Woman rights. 

Hittites have signed the first known peace treaty in the history of the world in 1258 BC, Kadesh Peace Treaty. The original is in Istanbul Archeology Museum but you can see a replica in front of the United Nations in NYC. Signed by Hittite King Hattusili and Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses, the treaty pledges of brotherhood, mutual guarantees for peace and promotes alliance.

Hittite Queen Puduhepa was a pioneer by having the same equal duties and authorizations as the King. She was very active in state affairs, political, religious matters performing her duties independently and on an equal footing with her husband. Her stamp is in the Kadesh peace treaty.

Hittites kept a well written record of pretty much everything, including their recipes. In a nearby village, they celebrate Hittite cuisine with a food festival where they have revived a 4000 yrs old recipe. Here are some highlights from the Hittite menu: Apricot butter, Beruwa with cucumber (beruwa is the name given for mashed food. There are many kinds), Beruwa with chickpea, Happena (a casserole of meat, olive oil and honey), Kariya (grilled lamb liver and heart), Cold meat, Sandwiches (according to Hittite tablets, sandwiches were made with cooked meat and onion. Breads: Ninda.imza (without flavor), Mulati (made from barley), Ninda.gurra (with cheese and fig), Ninda purpura (small bread), Ninda.ku (sweet bread).

Yazilikaya was one of the highlights for me in our Anatolian trip, Sometimes surprises are good but not for Yazilikaya, I'm glad we studied our lessons read about it, watched videos and prepared ahead for what we were going to see. Yazilikaya  is an open air, rock shrine where the figures of Hittite deities are carved on the rock. There are two processions, one of male and one of female deities, advancing on either side towards the rear wall, where the principal god and goddess, emphasized both by their positions and by their greater size, meet one another at the focal point of the chamber. 

I'd suggest to watch this short video just to get a feel for it how astronomy and astrology was part of Bronze age religion and how advanced Hittites were in their astronomical alignments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FqEW_y6I3U...

Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, is a city you want to visit and leave as quick as possible. Sorry… However there are few very important places that one must see and therefore worth a visit: Anatolian Civilization Museum is a masterpiece and it alone justifies the trip, as well as the resting place of Ataturk and the museum, Anitkabir. It’s incredibly emotional to see hundreds of people flocking every single day, young and old, from different corners of Turkey. Did I say, every single day? 

Haci Bayram Veli mosque and Temple of Augustus, standing next to each other, side by side, showing the tolerance and  humility. The lovely old city and the famous Ankara houses are not to miss.

 Anitkabir

Next: Mardin

Anatolian Trip Notes Part #1- Konya & Catalhoyuk

My son and I embarked on a journey across Anatolia in May of 2022  and this is my attempt to capture the essence of the trip to help others who wish to plan similar trips.There are so many travel guides and my purpose is not to describe touristic highlights. Yet, I want to share what impressed us the most as well as share our resources. In a nutshell we visited 7 cities, across 2000 miles, with 12,000 years of history.

We started in Konya and visited Rumi's tomb. Then we explored landmarks of the old Seljuk Empire. The next day, we drove to Catalhoyuk, a 9,500 years old Neolithic city. We took the fast train from Konya to Ankara and drove to Bogazkoy next day to visit major cities of the ancient Hittite Empire, like Hattusas, Yazilikaya, and Alacahoyuk. Back in Ankara, we visited the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Anitkabir, Haci Bayram Veli and Temple of Augustus before we flew to Mardin in southeastern Turkey. Driving along the Syrian border, we went to Nusaybin and Midyat, visiting major Syrian Orthodox monasteries and the Ancient city of Dara outside of Mardin. We drove to Diyarbakir and on the way we stopped at Zerzevan Castle and the Mithras temple. From Diyarbakir, we drove to Urfa and visited the cave where it's said Abraham was born, as well as Balikli Gol. There we joined a tour to visit Urfa museum, Gobeklitepe, Karahantepe, Nemrut mountain, Sogmatar temple and Sin (Moon) temple in Harran which wrapped up our trip and we flew back to Istanbul.

First of all, there are no organized tours to cover a wide range like this, but you can organize it all yourself with a little effort. I organized pretty much all tickets, hotels and city tours, except for the last tour on the final 2 days. We couldn’t have covered all of southeastern Turkey on our own otherwise.

Konya

Our first stop was Rumi's tomb in Konya. We wanted to start our trip paying our respects to the great 13th century poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic. Rumi crosses cultural, national and religious boundaries: Love and to be of service to the whole of creation without discrimination against beliefs, races, classes and nations.  His presence is still palpable in the whole city.

Here is my  favorite Rumi poem.

“ Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there” 

Rumi

What impressed me the most in Konya was the Sufi symbolism of Universe reflected in architecture of Karatay Madrasa. Madrasa is a university or an institute for higher education, a number of legendary scholars were raised in the Karatay Madrasa in Konya. Built in 1251, but currently a museum, Karatay is also a masterpiece of Seljuk architecture with its dome . 

The dome symbolizes the sky and the universe, while the pool under the dome symbolizes the underground and the walls symbolize the earth. The dome  or universal tent extends to the four corners of the universe and are supported on the five pillars. The aim was to create a decorative illusion that corresponds to the mystical experience and became a portal for the sun gate leading to the heavens as seen by Sufi mysticism. 

Double headed eagle, also a symbol in Sumerians and Hittites as early as the late Bronze Age and later in the Byzantine Empire, is also the symbol of  Seljuk Empire. It  symbolizes looking out to and ruling both the East and the West. Mosaics and glazed tiles reflect exquisite Sufi mysticism and symbolism as well. 

The whole city is palpable with its emanating peace. It feels like the life is moving slowly here. Honestly, I could live there.

Here is a list of places of interest in Konya for our future reference. Hope we can visit this magnificent city again one day. 
Rumi's tomb and Museum/ Mevlananin mezarı ve Kultur merkezi
Sems-iTebrizi Mosque/ Sems’in mezarı & Camii
Atelier of a local Felt artist Celaleddin Berberoğlu Kece Atolyesi (Destegül)
Iplikci Mosque/Cami Sadirvani
Serafettin Mosque/Camii
Aziziye Mosque/Camii 
Alaaddin Mound and Mosque/Alaadddin tepesi
Karatay Madrasa/ Medrese
Ince Minare Mosque/ Cami,
Arkeoloji Museum/Muze
Bedesten Bazaar/Carsi
Panorama Miniature Museum/Muze

Veterans Memorial/Savas Gazileri Aniti ve Muzesi
In the vicinity, there were places we couldn’t visit, including tombs of other Sufi saints : Seyh Sadrettin Konevi Turbesi, Tavus Baba Turbesi, and Atesbaz Veli Turbesi (Meram).

There are authentic restaurants in the historic Mengüç Caddesi/Street, and Safran Restaurant is highly recommended in the city center.

Catalhoyuk

Catalhoyuk dates back to 7,500 BC and is the oldest Neolithic human settlement in Turkey, having 10,000 inhabitants in its day. It's only 45 minutes from Konya but unfortunately there is no easy way to get there. You need to take a taxi or a transfer service. We had a private tour arranged for Catalhoyuk which picked us up from our  hotel, and afterwards our guide gave us another city tour in Konya even though it was not included. He did not want to let us go without telling us every bit of information about Konya and we were so grateful!

The ancient city of Catalhoyuk is made of mud-brick houses built over centuries.  Apparently a mud-brick home survives for 80-100 year only. As one house collapsed, they built another one on top. The houses were closely packed together and clustered in a honeycomb-like maze and the entrance was from the roof. It's very touching to see the handprints on the walls from 9,500 years ago. 

James Mellart, the archaeologist who discovered Catalhoyuk in 1950's, believes that religion was central to lives of the people of Catalhoyuk. He concluded they worshiped a mother goddess, based on the large number of female figures, the most famous of which illustrates a large woman seated in between two large felines. 

Human burials were placed underneath sleeping platforms inside houses. So basically, you’re sleeping over your grandma and grandpa. You can see very creative neolithic artwork, including the artwork that depicts a nearby volcano erupting. 

A Neolithic home

One of the two mounds were closed for a restorations. Make sure you check both mounds are open for visitors before you plan a visit.
I'm very impressed with the fast train experience from Konya to Ankara. It's 250 km/hour and reaches Ankara in 1.5 hours. There is high speed internet, free sandwich and snack service and all is less than $10; plus you see the beautiful Konya plateau, and all the greenery of magnificent Anatolia. It's just that the ticket reservations are available only 2 weeks prior to the trip,

Next: Ankara and Hattusa

Mother Goddess

Gobekli Tepe and Ancestral Reverance

How many archeological excavations changes the history books and requires history to be re-written? 

Gobekli Tepe is one of them. I remember a group of us sitting at the breakfast table during a Meditation retreat and the moderators getting excited when they heard I’m from Turkey. They said they’ve read an article in National Geographic about Gobekli Tepe and they asked me about it. They were referring to the June 2011 issue of National Geographic that introduced Gobekli Tepe to the world. Honestly I didn’t know much about Gobekli Tepe at that time, other than I vaguely remember seeing a short article in a Turkish Newspaper. They said, “This is very important; this is the first evidence of humans having faith long before they invented agriculture, the wheel or pottery.” I made a mental note to check it out. 

Fast forward to January 2020, I’m standing in front of these awe inspiring majestic structures at Gobekli Tepe. So, what makes them so special? The common thought up until the discovery of Gobekli Tepe was that agriculture came first, then faith. Humans developed faith after they discovered agriculture as they became more dependent on Nature, the sun, and the rain for the harvest. However, Gobekli Tepe proves this theory wrong. Gobekli Tepe is the world's first known sanctuary and ancient cult center, 12,000 years old, predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years and the pyramids by 7,000 years. When these large megaliths (20 ft high, weigh 16 tons) were erected, humans still lived as hunter-gatherers. They may not have yet discovered the wheel, pottery or agriculture, but they had a reason to build these structures, conduct rituals, and had a story they engraved on the stones. 

When I think of Stone Age people, I used to think of hunter-gatherer savages who lived in primitive conditions. I have an image of a stone age man with rough hair in locks, body covered with hair, and clothed with animal skin. Well, Gobeklitepe proves that these ancient ancestors were more sophisticated than we ever thought and had social norms earlier than we could imagine. They were capable of organizing massive tasks, distributing work amongst themselves, had capable skilled workers, craftsmanship and an agreement process for what, where, and how to build these structures. They had knowledge of geometry, astronomy and most importantly, they had a vision, a belief and a reason to build these structures. How can we call them primitive? 

The question is: what was it that made these ancient ancestors honor, revere, do rituals, and have faith?

There are many theories about the function of Gobekli Tepe. One theory is for Gobekli Tepe being a date stamp for an earlier apocalyptic event that erased an ancient civilization with a flood. This theory claims stone #43 carvings  commemorate a meteor hit that led to Younger Dryas, a mini Ice age; which resulted with a rise in sea levels and a flood. The theory claims the carvings represent constellations visible at Gobekli Tepe at that time.

Another theory claims Gobekli tepe to mark the beginning of an ancient brotherhood that eventually led to Illimunati today. Yet another one claims that  an ancient sound technology is used to lift heavy stones.These theories are  all interesting and entertaining for sure. Some of these theories might have merits but also hard to prove scientifically, at least until we have more evidence.

So, what is one theory that most scientists agree on?

A passage to death.

I know it doesn’t sound as fun as a lost civilization but one thing scientists agree is Gobeli Tepe’s association with passages to death and the use of ancestral veneration for it.

One thing that humans tried to understand, avoid, refrain and at least ease into, when they realize they can’t avoid it, was death. The average age in Neolithic times was 30. I can only imagine how scary it would be, being so vulnerable, so dispensable. A wild animal encounter, a simple infection, even child birth and you’re dead.  

Our ancestors knew death was not preventable so they tried to make sure, their transition to death was eased. For that reason they seeked help from ancestors who have already transitioned to the other side. Ancestor reverence is the custom of venerating deceased ancestors who are considered still a part of the family and whose spirits are believed to have the power to intervene in the affairs of the living. This includes helping with transition to the other side.

Catalhoyuk 

For our ancestors the concept of time was cyclical. Like us, they didn’t think there was a beginning (Big Bang) and that there would be an end (like the apocalypse as in most religions). They thought their ancestors lived in another realm after they died. They believed the soul is in the head and for that reason they severed the head from the body and in some cases they drilled a hole for the soul to escape. Archeologists have found 3 such sculls in Gobekli Tepe with flint carvings and one with a hole drilled. 

Skull cult is not uncommon in ancient Anatolia. We find similar images painted on the walls at Çatalhöyük, another Neolithic aged site in Konya that dates back to 7500 BC. In the drawings, headless men are portrayed while birds fly above their heads. 

There are also multiple portholes found at Gobekli Tepe, whose functions can not be verified but consistent with other portals around the world, representing a passage to the other side. 

When I was in Mumbai years ago, I noticed a tower with vultures on it. My colleague explained to me the Parsi funeral practice, the Sky burial. I saw it in a Tibetan movie before but I didn’t think it was still practiced, let alone it being practiced at the center of the city. Sky Burial is a practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop or a tower to be consumed by birds, mainly vultures. The idea behind the practice is that Earth is so sacred that it can not be polluted with a corpse. It’s still practiced in parts of China, Mongolia, Tibet and used to be an ancient practice for some American Indian tribes. Whether a sky burial site or not, scientists agree that Stone 43 depicts the soul of a departed one ascending to heaven. 

One thing is for sure, we will never know the exact purpose, practice and rituals performed at Gobekli Tepe. Passage to death is only one function of Gobekli Tepe and there could be more. We can only have glimpses of the thinking of these ancient ancestors based on more similar archeological findings and continued practices like sky burials and ancestor veneration. 

There is only one thing we can do: honor all ancestors who contributed to building Gobekli Tepe for leaving us these monumental structures that open a window into their thinking and more importantly their wisdom and capabilities. 

May they be at peace.

Here is the link to my talk on November 19,2022:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dCza-gL4NSJwi_0psTeJFTcwVYFDevL6/view?usp=share_link

 

https://www.archaeology.org/issues/281-1801/features/6165-turkey-neolithic-skull-cult

Sogmatar

 Here is a koan for you: What could a $3-discounted t-shirt possibly remind you of? 

The highlight of our South East Turkey trip for me was Sogmatar. If I could describe my experience in the Sogmatar temple in one word it would be non-duality. Let me describe what non-duality means to me. It’s when I drop all thoughts, judgements, have no expectations, feelings or emotions, and am totally immersed in the present with an open heart. It’s when boundaries disappear and there is only contentment of being (“being” written with the smallest possible letter).

If you expect to see fancy ruins, towers or temples, you’ll be highly disappointed in Sogmatar. In fact, there is almost nothing visible immediately when you get to Sogmatar. 

It is the most simple village I’ve ever seen in Turkey - I use simple for lack of a better word, almost barren, where you feel sorry for the children enthusiastically greeting you and trying to tell you stories about their antique city so they can make little money or take whatever you’re willing to give them, maybe candy or gum.

Apparently it rains a lot here in winter filling up the wells with much needed water in summer months; the name Sogmatar (or Yagmurlu) means “rainy”.

 

Soğmatar was a pagan religious center and dates back to the 2nd century. 

Close to Harran, south of Urfa, it is also known as the Town of Seven Temples, as the people of Harran worshiped the moon and planetary gods. 

I typically read about places before I visit them. I’ve read books and watched videos about the other places we visited during the past 10 days, prior to joining a tour in our last 2 days which included visiting Sogmatar. About Sogmatar, I knew nothing! Absolutely nothing! I haven’t even heard of this name before. In fact, I thought we were visiting a Moon temple in Sogmatar. But my personal experience proved otherwise. I think the experience is always more precious than the knowledge anyway.

In the center of the cult center there is what is called a “Sacred hill”, an open-air temple, also called the temple for the Lords of the Gods, surrounded by 7 temples dedicated to the Sun, the Moon and 5 planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury. These surrounding temples are within a half mile radius, forming a half moon shape. As our guide explained, ancient pagans used to honor each of these 7 temples on a certain day of the week, that’s where Monday comes from, in fact it’s Moon day. They also wore a certain color for each temple visit and made different offerings in each temple.

.

Before we started climbing to the open air temple, we walked by the Sun god (Shamash) and the Moon god (Sin) relics. This was extra special for me as it brought up the Reiki Master symbol, Dai Ki Myo. 

Dai Ko Myo means Great Bright Light and experientially Reiki leads the practitioner through various tools and practices to experience and to eventually become the Great Bright Light which is in practice a state of non-duality.
Reiki does this gently with the practice of visual, audio and mind tools, or in other words through symbols, mantras, meditations and the practice of precepts supported with hands-on healing. 

The word “Myo” or “Bright” in the Japanese kanji of “Great Bright Light” is depicted by the sign of the Sun and Moon coming together. Their union represents and creates the ultimate brightness as they are the two light sources for our planet, in day and night. 

Maybe subconsciously, I walked into the ritual area with this in mind and as we were led into a meditation by shamanic drumming, I kept saying this experience is not just the Moon, but the ultimate brightness of the Sun and Moon together.

I think the builders of these temples used the synergies of the Shamash (Sun) and the Sin (Moon) with other planets to bring alignment and create harmony and Oneness. It’s still palpable 2000 years later.

Speaking of energy…Sogmatar is definitely a special site for energetic qualities. As I was reading and researching, I found that a group of researchers from SB Research Group (SBRG) have studied the archaeoacoustic properties of Sogmatar. The same group does similar research for archaeoacoustic properties and physical phenomena in other ancient sites and temples throughout Europe. They think these qualities might have influenced communities to consider and choose a particular site as their sacred site. 

In silence, they recorded a strong natural frequency around 14Hz which they claim, has a strong effect on brain waves, creating a relaxing effect. They detected similar frequencies present at other sacred sites in Europe. They also observed a strong spiral magnetic field on the wall located on the right of the central niche, in the Moon temple. 

Is it the chicken or the egg?… Did they build the temple here because they felt its naturally existing frequencies and they used that to enhance their sacred experiences or has the vibration of the space been raised because of how they set up the temples and because of their continued practice? Maybe both. I’ve seen an ordinary apartment building in Northside that feels like you’re in heaven because of decades long deep dedicated practice performed in it. You certainly feel the sacredness as soon as you walk in it. 

Then a month later as I was strolling in Istanbul, this t-shirt caught my eye. It's all an Illusion after all, isn't it? 

How can you talk about non-duality if you still talk about the Sun, the Moon and the planets? How can you talk about non-duality if you say “I” had this experience”, then who is this separate I? 

Maybe it’s the chicken, maybe it’s the egg. Maybe it’s the natural energy of this sacred place. Maybe it’s the planetary objects, planetary Gods. Does it matter? 
The Sun and the Moon, Shamash and the Sin, were the fingers pointing and enabling this Union, at the temple of Gods in Sogmatar. 
For me what’s important is not getting caught up in the details, to honor them, use them as stepping stones but also know that they’re all an Illusion, pointing to the truth, non-duality.

Here is the link to the Archaeoacoustic research paper on Sogmatar:

http://www.sbresearchgroup.eu/Immagini/ReportfromSogmatar.pdf

Ancient Origins coverage on Sogmatar:

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-ancient-places-asia/celestial-temple-sogmatar-sacred-site-dedicated-sin-and-planets-009352

• * Special thanks to Gokturk Ramu author and researcher, for feeding us with his extensive research, emphasizing the importance of Sogmatar and continuously leading tours to this area for years; Neslisah Cevahir at Via Maris Turizm (viamaris.com.tr)for enabling this 2-day-packed-trip  with utmost comfort and ease , our professional tour guide, historian, Halit Aygat for giving both sides of the story, the official and the unofficial and Ates Shaman Zafer Algül for leading us into insightful meditations with his shamanic drumming.

The answer to the koan is on the T-shirt.