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Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Mosque Complex, Hatay

The tremendous diversity of the eastern
and southeastern lands of Turkey
surprises travellers: the red ochre
plateau of Erzurum, the forests,
waterfalls and green pastures of Kars
and Ağrı, the permanent snow-cap on
biblical Mount Ağrı (Ararat) and the
immense Lake Van with its deep blue
waters. Dwellings and ways of life also
vary greatly in this large geography.
Some think that Abraham was born in
what is now known as Şanlıurfa,
supposed Ur of the Chaldees, and later
moved south to Harran. In Harran,
which was an important Mesopotamian
historical and cultural centre, the ruins
of one of the largest and oldest Islamic
İshakpaşa Palace, Ağrı

4 Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia