Before returning home from the Livestock Market, Mehmet took us high into the K mountains in search of a Nomad Family, this was not a pre-arranged thing and we stood the chance of not seeing a family at all. The Nomad's live for 7 to 8 months of the year in the high country, grazing their animals in mountain pastures and moving on frequently as the food for the animals runs out. They always camp near water and live in various tents of all shapes and sizes. We were lucky as after about an hours drive we could see a camp in a flat area it seemed to consist of about 5 tents so probably would be a family. As we got out of the car Mehmet spotted a turtle on the road, bear in mind ... read more

The village of Yuvacali has about 800 residents, unfortunately there is very little employment apart from agricultural work so many of the men spend 6 months or more away on the Mediterranean Coast working at various tourist locations in the entertainment and hospitality trades. The Nomad Tours project has given employment to several families and income for the village. There is a high infant mortality and birth defect rate amongst the families and in fact there is only 3 seperate surnames in the whole of the village. I was told that there is a lot of cousin inter marriages. As a result of the project there is now a full time funded teacher for the village school, water to all homes since 2008 and a sewerage systen has recently been put through. Gifts are encouraged and ... read more

In Van we stayed at the Azure Hotel, it was more expensive that what we had paid so far at 140 Lira (about NZ $98) and was over our budget, but it was hard turning away as there was a lift to our 5th story room (first lift so far) and the location was right in the middle of the city. Feyzi the manager spotted us as tourists the moment we stepped inside and offered his services as a guide the following day if we were interested. Sharing the cost with the Beate and Steffi meant it was a very reasonable full day escorted tour in his own vehicle. We originally had intended only to stay in Van for one night but decided to make it two days so as to go on the tour and ... read more

The main reason we visited Kars is because it is the best starting off point to visit Ani, the ruined city on the border with Armenia. Ani, is a windswept grassy site that contains a lot of Armenian architecture. The train trip from Erzurum to Kars was pleasant enough, we decided to order something from the restaurant car, I thought I had ordered a pasta dish each, but that got lost somewhere in translation and we ended up with one plate of french fries and a coffee, oh well it filled a hole and we were off to sleep soon. The guard came through and gave us a pillow and blanket and we rattled our way towards Kars for the next 5 hours. Celil a local taxi driver come tour operator was there to meet us ... read more

Istanbul is divided by several seas, today we crossed the Galata Bridge by tram to visit Kabatas, Taxim Square and the Galata Tower. From the end of the tram line at Kabatas we caught the Funicular tram uphill to Taksim Square, this is an up market shopping area, Istiklal Caddesi is a long boulevard, no traffic except an old tram that trundles up and down the middle. We intended to catch the tram but couldn't find where to purchase the prepaid ticket. The Cadessi is line with up market stores many of the brands also known in New Zealand. It was a long hike, but worth it as we arrived at the Galata Tower about 2 hours later. The tower is 60 metres high and was used as a monitor for shipping but later turned into ... read more