Sıra Nights

Sıra gecesi means turn night, and the original form is a private institution: a circle of men, usually of similar age, who meet in rotation at each other's houses through the winter, so each hosts in turn. The evening runs on a fixed shape - the host provides food, çiğ köfte is kneaded and passed, mırra is served, and there is music, with the local repertoire of long-form vocal pieces and instruments including the bağlama, kanun and darbuka, sung by whoever can. Mırra is the ceremony inside the ceremony: a very strong, bitter, unsweetened coffee boiled repeatedly, poured into a small handleless cup and drunk in one, with etiquette about how the cup is passed and returned. Restored courtyard houses in the old town now run public versions with dinner, which are enjoyable and are a performance of the thing rather than the thing itself. Genuine sıra evenings are private, male, and reached only through invitation.

What to look for

• The courtyard circle - the gathering round a stone courtyard.
• The çiğ köfte kneading - the dish worked by hand and passed.
• The mırra service - bitter coffee poured and returned by ritual.
• The music - the Urfa repertoire sung and played late.

When to go

October to April - it is a winter tradition. Public versions run most evenings in season at the old-town courtyard restaurants.

Before you go

The public version is a staged dinner-and-music evening, not a private sıra. Traditional gatherings are male and by invitation. Mırra is extremely bitter and taking a second cup has meanings - watch what others do.

Nearby

Balıklıgöl and the old bazaar are in the same quarter; the Şanlıurfa Museum is a short walk.