Skip to main content

Urfa – Gölbaşı Gardens

Poem
| Ed Stevenson | Issue 153 (May - Jun 2023)

This article has been viewed 19470 times

Urfa – Gölbaşı Gardens

In This Article

  • Urfa, one of the ancient cities in Turkey, was heavily damaged by an unprecedented flood in March 2023. The Pool of Abraham (Balıklı Göl) and Gölbaşı gardens are believed to be the spot Prophet Abraham was thrown into fire but was saved when the fire was commanded to be “cool and peaceful” for him (Qur’an 21:69).

Friday afternoon, children squeal, play,
families stroll, sit at small tables
under sycamore trees, vendors beckon,
old men sit in shaded classrooms
of the old madrassah, sipping tea,
talking of the book or politics or business
or the things of which old men speak.
The sun warms the stones, minarets, mosque,
walkways, cliff-side, the fortress above.
Glistening green and gold, the storied fish,
(Nimrod's flames) roll slowly up, surface
to the food the children have thrown, ripple,
then curve back again into the darker green
of the pool's still waters –
a holiday, a holy day, a day of wholeness.

Urfa, one of the ancient cities in Turkey, was heavily damaged by an unprecedented flood in March 2023. The Pool of Abraham (Balıklı Göl) and Gölbaşı gardens are believed to be the spot Prophet Abraham was thrown into fire but was saved when the fire was commanded to be “cool and peaceful” for him (Qur’an 21:69).


More Coverage

FLASH radiotherapy is a brand-new model of radiation therapy that may be administered to a cancer patient in as little as a single, complete treatment. The therapy lasts much less than one second and has a duration of up to six weeks. Comparatively…
Absorption can never mean the unity of being—the unity (union) of God and the universe or God’s being identical with the universe—in the sense that pantheists claim, nor is distinguishing totally its opposite. The One Who is the Eternal (beyond all…
Gülen as Spiritual Master In recent years, much has been written about the thought of Fethullah Gülen and the activities of the “Gülen community” [1] from diverse perspectives. Some have focused on his pedagogical principles and methods in an effor…
Stop giving up, or else you cannot reach the end. You cannot harvest the fruit, unless you firmly stand. Those who reached their purpose, made it thanks to their being steadfast. Steadfast you should be; or else, you cannot behold the Friend’s coun…