My welcome to Urfa was abrupt. An aggressive taxi driver grabbed me straight off the bus. Feeling too overwhelmed to tell him to back off and let me get my bearings, to even wonder if I should try getting to the city center cheaply by bus instead, I allowed myself to be propelled to his taxi. Later he charged a whopping 7YTL for the brief ride, when I thought I'd agreed to 3YTL.

I felt off from the minute I arrived in Urfa. As people pointed and stared at me and glared in response to my hesitant smiles, I wondered why I had been so all-fired insistent to try a part of Turkey untouched my tourism. (Untouched is a relative term of course, but during the two days I was there I met just one other tourist). Clearly, it seemed to me, the residents preferred that tourists stay away. I had also told myself it was best for me to be somewhere non-English-speaking for a while. As I stumbled around the city in a helpless daze, I again asked myself: why?

I always felt I was being yelled at. Maybe it's just because I don't speak the language, but to me Turkish sounds extremely harsh. I started imagining myself as Lisa in the Simpsons episode where she rides the city bus alone and ends up in Little Russia. There, everyone screamed at her, but if she'd understood Russian she would have known they were screaming "HAVE A NICE DAY!" Everyone treated me like some crazy alien being, but maybe I just didn't get Urfa-style friendliness.

Once I got used to the kids following me and yelling Japanese words, it was actually a pretty enjoyable place to be. The attention was harmless, and just another factor of travel to deal with. There were plenty of affable people in the restaurants, and the owner of Harran and Nemrut Tours was wonderful. A guy running an internet café allowed me to check my e-mail for free. There were winding small side streets to explore. The food was fantastic. And there was the shopping.

I didn't attempt shopping until I met Urfa's other foreign tourist, Natalie from Venezuela. Natalie had been in Urfa one day longer than I had, so she was the expert. And while she was actually living in Ankara teaching Spanish, she had been to Istanbul enough times to assure me the merchandise in Urfa was high quality at bargain prices.

In the souk—covered and dense, very Arab-style—we saw beautiful silk scarves and pillowcases, and plenty of rugs. The sellers were not aggressive at all, and in fact often stopped us to chat and share cay. Luckily Natalie had picked up a decent amount of Turkish.

Jewelry was my main goal in Turkey; I love chunky rings and pendants, and since my favorite jewelry store in New York is Turkish-owned, I had high hopes. I was nervous about buying in Urfa rather than waiting for Istanbul, but Natalie assured me the pieces I picked were unique. At 60YTL for both ($45) they were pricier than I expected, but when two less-cool pieces cost me $10 more in Istanbul, I realized I'd done well. The jewelry stores are not in the covered souk but in the modern strip-mall area, window after window filled with silver jewelry.

Urfa is a religious city, and walking down toward the castle (kale) we passed no fewer than 5 mosques. There are others off on side streets. The beautiful complex of mosques on the inviting lake is dedicated to Abraham. Legend tells that Abraham was to be burned at the stake by King Nemrut, but God intervened, turning the flames to water and the firewood to carp.

The lake overflows with fat carp today. The scary thing is the carp literally climb over each other to get at the food thrown by visitors, and many have rubbed off their own skin from this exertion. The carp are deemed "sacred," but it's hard to tell from the blank stares people direct at the fish whether they are pondering their sacred-ness or simply hypnotized by the motion.

The lakeside park area is a lovely place to pass an evening. The café prices are raised a bit because of the location, but it's not too bad. Natalie and I spent the evening reading our respective books. It was also entertaining to watch the locals, as it was clearly a popular gathering spot. Families met for dinner, children took rowboat rides and couples smoked waterpipes along the water's edge.

After the initial discomfort of my first day in Urfa, I found myself wishing I had time to explore its sights by day. Urfa had an unusual feel and after visiting more popular locales in Turkey I had gained new perspective and an appreciation for its character.

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