To the East and Back Again

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I could give a blow by blow account of where I've been and what I've done but, apart from being a huge undertaking, I think I would probably bore you to tears and give myself a case of RSI (as well as being subjected to hours of passive smoking in these internet cafes where, although the sign says "no smoking", incessant chain smoking is the norm).

But, this is what the intinerary reads as:

Goreme > Malatya > Nemrut Dagi > Sianurfa (Urfa) > Harran > Mardin > Diyarbakir > Hasankeyf > Tatvan > Ahlat > Goreme

Phew! No wonder I'm tired! Firstly, bus travel is harder than it looks and I think that's why I tend to opt for my bicycle. Taking the bus means that you are at the mercy of the touts that hang around at the stations, their bus timetables, their expenses and their rip-offs. But it was a great experience!

It's been stifling hot here in Turkey and even the locals say it's hotter than it's been in the past and they seem almost pleased to annouce, when asked what the temperature is, that it's say 46C, maybe higher. Needless to say, whenever Sandie and I were looking for accommodation, the air conditioning question would be up there as one of the first to be answered (hopefully with a "yes").

I had never travelled by dolmus or mini-buses previously and this certainly was an experience. Being squished into a van, which initially seems quite roomy when you're the first people in it, but reality quickly setting in when the air gets quite hot and bodies are packed so tightly together that it seems if one person got out you would all (involuntarily) topple out too. And, I'm not too sure where they get this idea of keeping the windows jammed shut so it is like a little hammam (the sauna part) in the dolmus. The worst experience was the 6 hour bus ride from Hasankeyf to Tatvan. We were initially plonked down in the front of the bus between the driver and the money collector but soon found out that this was right above the engine - so hot it felt like it would burn a whole in your bottom, really. A seat was found for Sandie but they wanted me to remain at the front. No way! Thankfully (for me) a kindly young man offered his seat upon seeing my song and dance which shut me up and gave my butt a bit of a reprieve. I did feel sorry for him when they got him extra cushions... See, it wasn't just me!

The east and south of Turkey were fantastic and for me, Urfa, down by the Syrian border, was a real highlight. It had a wonderful feel with population mix of Turks, Arabs and Kurds and the architecture in the old town was sublime - full of little lanes, built closely together in an effort to to provide shade and alleviate the heat of the day, with wonderful overhanging balconies and great doorways that led into courtyards.

Nemrut Dagi was a little bit of a disappointment. Only so much as the actual statues were smaller than I thought they would be although the actual location of them was nothing short of spectacular. We counted no less than ten mountain ranges going off into distant blue haze. It was rather a long way to go to see a sunset and sunrise though.

Hasankeyf was a pleasant surprise. We had the good fortune of arriving on the eve of a concert in aid of drawing attention to the imminent damming of this ancient village which is situated by the Tigris River. So, having spent all afternoon trying to conserve energy from the stifling heat which made site seeing impossible, we made our way to the castle for sunset. It was beautiful and really did bring home that a place like this should be preserved for future generations. Sadly, I think Hasankeyf's fate is already sealed. German, Swiss and Austrian companies have already provided the money and, as everyone knows, money talks...

On a brighter note, the concert was really good. They played a mix of English and Kurdish music. There was dancing, many children running around and ofcourse there was pently of tea drinking. The following morning we had the misfortune in attempting to go north (ill-fated minibus journey as outlined above) when a very large convoy of dolmuses from all around were coming south in demonstration at Hasankey's future (the president of Turkey was attending the dam site that day). We must have counted in excess of 200+ dolmuses go past. Too bad if you wanted to get somewhere (else other than Hasankeyf) by dolmus...

I could continue about how friendly the people were, how everyone wanted to help, how there were children everywhere, how fantastic the sites were but I won't. I will say however that I am very fortunate in having met Sandie and getting to travel to this part of Turkey. I would not have done it on my own although, now having been there it is not scary and, OK we did have a couple of passport checks as we were in PKK territory, but on the whole it was as safe, if not safer than the rest of Turkey.

Now however, I am in another country and it is time for me to update you on that.

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