A visit to the Bazda quarry caves near Harran, southeastern Turkey
Harran is definetly one of the must-sees if you are spending a few days in the Urfa region of southeastern Turkey. Harran has the famous traditional „beehive“ adobe houses, the ruins of the first university of the Islamic world and a settlement history spanning several thousand years. It was once called Carrhae, which might evoke memories of history lessons about the end of the Roman Republic. This was at least what we, a group of archaeologists on a day off from work at Göbekli Tepe, had in mind when we visited Harran on a hot day in July 2007. Today, Harran is a small village in a dry, harsh landscape. There‘s not too much green except during early spring and the areas affected by irrigation projects.
A little to the east of Harran along the road towards the Han-e Barür Caravanserai, well hidden in the barren desert-like landscape, is another great place many visitors miss. It’s just at a few kilometers distance, but the dirt road made it a 45 minutes slow drive with our excavation bus to reach a partly abandoned village in a hilly landscape. Without local guidance, we would likely have driven by, as the area looked rather inconspicuous.
Getting out of the car, we noticed an entry to a cave, dug into the edges of the valley Harran is situated in. A dusty sign said that we had reached the Bazda caves/Bazda Mağaraları. On entering these caves it becomes immediately clear that they are man-made. The rock has been cut away in layers, a few blocks are still lying around. The Bazda caves are the subterranean quarries for the stones with which Harran was built. There is not much research to find about this site (at least I didn’t find it). Some Arabic inscriptions show that the place was in use during the 13th century.
The lack in information is well made up for by the caves themselves. They are formed of tunnels and large galleries. At some places, the ceilings have collapsed and let rays of sunlight in. We spent an hour exploring the caves; if you do so yourself, be sure to watch your steps, as the place is (or was in 2007) not developed for tourism in large parts. I will just leave a few photos here to give you an idea about what to expect.
