Harran: Abraham and Star Wars Houses

Harran (or Haran in English) is only a 45 minute drive from the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa (read more about that here), so we knew while we were in that neck of the woods we had to make a stop. Harran was most well-known to me from the book of Genesis as a place where Abraham lived but I had also heard of their famous beehive-shaped houses, which I wanted to see for myself.

The beehive houses did not disappoint. They are some of the most interesting structures I have ever seen. It was like living in Star Wars in real life. Built from mud, adobe, and clay brick, these homes were meant to be built fast and be easily movable. In ancient times the residents of Harran were nomadic herders that moved around. These beehive-shaped houses were easily constructed and deconstructed with materials that were readily available in the area. They were also designed with a dome to help the residents survive the regions’s punishing summer heat, which hovers over 100 degrees. Hot air in the building ascends to the top of the dome and escapes through a ventilation hole on the top, keeping the rest of the building cool and comfortable.

For many centuries Harran was a major city of the region but today it is sparsely inhabited. Most of the people we interacted with were Turkish Arabs and they live in more modern buildings close to ancient Harran rather than in the really awesome beehive-shaped houses. I guess if I had to choose between Star Wars in real life and indoor plumbing I could see how the latter would be appealing.

A “culture house” is like a cultural museum and this is a must-see in Harran. This is where you can run around inside of the awesome Star Wars-beehive-shaped houses.

A lady in Harran outside of the culture museum repairing a hand-woven rug.

I was impressed with the size of the rug. And the lady was really sweet too.

This guy was outside of the cultural museum as well.

I think he liked having his picture taken.

Other notable sites in the town of Harran are Jacob’s well (Genesis 29) and the remains of the oldest Islamic university in the world. Because Harran is so close to the Syrian border the culture, notably the dress and language, as well as the food were different than other parts of Turkey I have explored.