Dogubayazit., Van, Mardin

Wednesday 22nd September

Well, today, the same as yesterday, there were hardly any women around in Dogubayazit. There are plenty of men sitting around chatting in the main street, but only one or two women. This is obviously a cultural thing.

We got on the 8am bus to Van. We soon came upon Lake Van (3750-sq-km). The water looked good enough to swim in. We arrived in Van and found a pretty good hotel room, en suite, though the flush doesn't work, but throwing buckets of water down does.

Our plan was to walk 4kms to Van Castle but it started to get lost. A waiter hanging outside a restaurant indicated to wait 5 minutes for a bus and soon enough there it was and we were on our way. They dropped us near the castle which is on top of a rock but it still took ages to find the entrance; at one point we had walked up the rock but couldnt scale the wall! When we did eventually pay and go in and up, it wasnt much of a castle anyway, but the views of Lake Van and the town of Van made it wortwhile. Met a cool Californian chick. We then worked out how we could have got in without paying and went back out that way.

Mid-afternoon we got kebabs again and then had a big session on the internet. Cancelled my Uzbekistan flights; visas are too much trouble. Not much of a refund so have lost quite alot of cash, but relieved also. Will make the cash back in other ways.

Well, i had a kebab again for dinner. They are so much cheaper than proper dishes and fill you up. Bit over them, though.

We bought our tickets for Mardin for tomorrow. As with the other locals we have interacted with, the guys selling the bus tickets were really helpful given that they don't speak English and we have been useless at remembering any Turkish. They even used google translator to make sure we understood the bus times etc. The people here have been great.

So we have stopped in three towns this week and enjoyed each of them. We have been to three of the 'must-see' landmarks, and while they have been fairly impressive it didnt take long to look around each one which was kind of disappointing. But we have certainly seen the countryside and tasted some of the life of Eastern Turkey. 

Young Turkish men, especially on the Eastern Side, greet and say goodbye to eachother by brushing each temple against the other's temple. And at times seem more tactile with eachother than at home.

Thursday 23rd September

Got on the minibus at 730am and it took us across town and sat there for at least half an hour, but thats ok. They gave me a cup of black Turkish tea, its ok with 3 sugar lumps. The guys were keen to see if i liked it so i drank it quickly and burned my tongue, but it was good. They taught us some Kurdish words and stressed that they are all Kurdish, not Turkish. South Eastern Anatolia (the Asian side of Turkey) is mostly Kurdish and they would like to be a seperate country or at least have more autonomy.

The minibus did stop fairly often, but we only passed through Batman, maybe it has a reputation for Robin'. By now the minibus was packed with well-dressed locals in Hilfiger jeans and smart shirts. The scenery was great, especially the gorge and Hasankeyf where there are remnants of a fallen bridge and settlement along the river. Shame we didnt stop, especially as it is probably soon gonna be flooded for a dam.

At Midyat the driver unloaded us and made sure we got onto a bus the rest of the way to Mardin, which was what we had paid for. At Mardin, after walking up a steep hill for at least a km, it took ages to find somewhere to stay. The hotels are posh and expensive but thanks to the internet and Lonely Planet forum we found about out Hotel Bashak and eventually found it. A bit of a dive but cheapest in town, though still more expensive than Istanbul.

We still didnt see many women, well apart from old ladies, until we approached Mardin. Then a lovely couple of girls got on the bus. They were quite westernised. And we managed to get kofte stew (and Turkish bread) for dinner.

Friday 24th September

Long sleep in, because we could. Posh hotel across the road let us use their wi-fi in their garden cafe. Checked bus time for tomorrow. Long wander around Mardin, through the bazaar, a few mosques and a cool medresesi (Islamic school) which doesn't seem to be used anymore. There is a castle on the hill but we were told that we can't get up there. I think they were saying that the army is stationed up there. There has been an army presence in this area and in the town, presumably because of the ongoing Turkish/Kurdish issue, but there is no tension, its a lovely town. We had a delicious over-priced freshly-squeezed orange juice and an even more over-priced but even more delicious baklava (turkish sweet pastry). This was my first baklava, but not my last. We should also have had green tea by now but haven't got round to it. In the internet cafe last night they brought round Turkish tea, which was very civilised. In what other countries would that happen?