Ishak Pasa Palace and making my way home

After catching a bus to Dogubeyazit and arriving ahead of schedule I decided to walk the 6km up to Ishak Pasa Palace. After walking past an enormous army camp that seemed bigger than the town itself the road started to climb and soon Ishak Pasa Palace came into view in the distance. A stunning location on the side of a mountain, the building itself I soon discovered easily matched its surroundings. The beautiful stone building contains a mosque, a library, a bath house, dining quarters and a haram, where the women used to live. Many of the stone carvings are simply exquisite, and the location is breathtaking. This has to be one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere on the planet. However as it was already December and at an altititude of almost 2000m it was fairly chilly. Winds whipped in through the glassless windows and my hands turned a shade of red I had not seen before. But I just couldn't put my camera away.

After an hour exploring the building it was time to get some dinner and have an early night. The following morning I caught the bus back to Van and a flight back to Istanbul. After a couple of nights in Istanbul, and days filled up with various meetings it was time to leave. I felt sad to leave this great country but really excited about the tours we will be starting to East Turkey next year. All my expectations have been exceeded. There's just so much to see, huge variety, an unbeatable history and some of the friendliest and most welcoming people anywhere. Tesekurler Turkey!

- David

Ani

After a rather dull day yesterday (the humour of the idea of a bus from Van to Kars wore off pretty quick but the journey lasted about 7 hours), today's schedule was significantly more rewarding. After breakfast my taxi driver arrived as agreed and we drove out through the surrounding flat landscape with snow-peaked mountains in the distance, including Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest mountain. After about a 40 minute drive we arrived at the historic Armenian site of Ani. This former Armenian capital that once rivalled Constaninople is hugely atmospheric and set in a stunning location with snowy peaks and green river valleys for decoration.

The site was chosen in 961 as the new capital of the Bagratid king, Ashot III. Since then it has been home to the Byzantines, the Seljuks, the kingdom of Georgia, the Persians and even the Monguls! The buildings are in various states of repair but there are some true stunners here including the 11th century Church of the redeemer, the 13th century Church of St. Gregory, a late 10th century cathedral and Menucer Camii, believed to be the first mosque built by the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia some time around 1072.

I spent about 3 hours wandering around the sight and soaking up the atmosphere and partically had the place to myself. There were only 4 other visitors the whole time I was there, difficult to imagine for such a stunning and important historical site. Tomorrow I will go to Dogubayazit to visit the fortress palace of Ishak Pasa. And from there back to Van and a flight back to Istanbul.

- David

Hosap Castle and Van Castle

I met with Remsey this morning and we drove about an hour to Hosap. There, perched on a hll is the stunning Hosap Castle. After exploring the castle built in the mid-seventeenth century and stopping for pictures at various angles we stopped in the village below for some tea. From Hosap we drove to the site of Cavustepe, an ancient site dating back to the 8th Century BC. There are no buildings here to wow you but the history of it is very important and interesting.

From Cavustepe we drove back to Van and I caught a minibus to the extensive site of Van Castle. After Hosap castle I was sure Van castle would disappoint but I was quite wrong happily. This picturesque castle sprawls over a hillside overlooking the city of Van with some stunning views. The castle itself is also very photogenic and I quickly filled up my memory card snapping away in the lovel afternoon light.

There are also various other buildings in the vacinity, in what is known as Eski Van or Old Van including a church, several mosques, stone bridges and tombs. After wandering around for a couple of hours I was getting tired and caught a bus back to town where I arranged by bus ticket to Kars. A bus from Van to Kars! A little surreal...

- David

Akdamar island and its Armenian church

The day started with one of Van's famous breakfasts on what is casually known as breakfast street. This street is full of "breakfast places" that serve up the copious breakfasts that Van is famous in Turkey for. After a long bus ride from Diyarbakir to Van and catching up that evening on a few business bits and pieces I was off to Akdamar island the following morning. After a bus ride, a short taxi and ferry ride across the lovely blue waters of Lake Van I was on Akdamar island.

This small beautiful island 3km from the shores of lake Van is famous for Akdamar Kilisesi, an Armenian church from the 10th century with stunning relief stone carvings on all the exterior walls of the church and some lovely frescoes inside though some colours have faded. The trip to the island and the wonderful church are a must for our trip I think for both the natural beauty and the church itself which is one of few Armenian remains that survives in such good condition in Turkey.

When I got back to Van I had a lovely chicken kebab in a local restaurant and then went back to my hotel and chatted with Remsey, a local guide and organiser and planned out my next few days. He will drive me to Hoshap castle tomorrow morning and in the afternoon I will check out Van castle. after that I will go to Ani, a former Armenian capital with supposedly stunning architecture, then Ishak Pasa Palace, which is a UNESCO heritage site and one of the supposed highlights of East Turkey (though there seems to be a real abundance of highlights in this region!).

- David

Diyarbakir

After Gulay went to work I grabbed a minibus into Diyarbakir centre. The city is known as Amed to the Kurds and the capital of a would-be Kurdistan. The population is also predominantly Kurdish. After arriving at the walls I sepnt a couple of hours walking around the walls, sometimes outside, sometimes inside, and sometimes on top. They are very impressive and stretch for about five and half kilometres around the ciy centre. I noticed that if I walked around with my camera in my bag and my sunglasses on no one noticed I was a foreigner (the beard probably helped), but with the camera out or the sunglasses off (the blue eyes stand out here) I was immediately noticed, which mostly meant offers of tea, but sometimes kids following me, which gets a bit annoying after a while, but all I had to do was pop into the nearest mosque for a minute and they would disappear.

When Gulay was finished work I met up with her and a friend of hers, Kadir and they showed me around the city. The Ulu mosque and the Armenian church were particularly impressive, and Hasan Pasa is a lovely square in the market area, perfect for a tea break. I also found a lovely 16th century Han (house) that has been converted into a hotel. the rooms were fairly functional but the hotel itself is lovely and full of charachter.

We then met up with Gulay's brother and a coupleof his school friends who were visiting for a few days and we decided to hit a bar. I had a lot of fun, and the levels of English varied quite a bit, but I managed to communicate with everyone pretty well, though some required a little translation,mostly from Gulay.

After a few beers we went back to the apartment for some food and a couple more beers. It gets a little hazy there but whenImleft in the morning everyone was gone as one of the girls was flying to Istanbul. I was sorry tomiss them but we had exchanged details the night before and I will certainly stay in touch, and hopefully some day I can repay the kindness.

- David

Hasankeyf and arrival in Diyarbakir

I left Midyat after breakfast and quickly found a bus to Hassankeyf. I arrived shortly afterwards, and after depositing my bag in a cafe it was time to explore. I didn't get far however as I was soon met by a kindly older Kurdish man who spoke German (as many older Kurds do, many having worked in Germany). He insisted on buying me tea and we chatted about Germany, the Kurdish situaion and the issues hanging over Hassankeyf. He was a true gentleman and told me if Iwanted to I could come and stay in his house, five kilometres from Hassankeyf. I had to decline and started out to discover the sights of Hassankeyf.

Sprawled over a hillside the site of Hassankeyf is still being excavated and not fully discovered. What can been seen now however comprises a very pretty set of builidings including a castle, some mosques and various domestic buildings of a honey-yellow colour. The setting is superb as well, looking down over the Tigris plain below. I met with Derick again after about an hour and we explored together before having some lunch in a restaurant recommended by some friendly locals carrying out the excavations. From there we took the bus to Diyarbakir (known as "Amed" in Kurdish parlance), where I was to stay the night and Derick was to continue on to Urfa.

We said our goodbyes and I got a taxi across town to meet with Gulay, a friend of Sehmus', who had offered to show me around and offered me a room in her appartment while I was here. After a quick shower we headed out for some dinner with a friend of hers and then found ourselves in an appartment on the other side of town, drinking beer, eating snacks and watching the Man United - Besiktas game, which they were all very pleased to see Besiktas win. A very nice evening and a really good group of people. Tomorrow I will head into Diyarbakir, famed for its walls which the 2nd biggest in the world after the Great Wall of China, and alledgedly can been seen from space but I have yet to verify this.

- David

Mor Gabriel Monastery and Midyat

Today I had only one sight on my schedule but it was a little bit out of the way. After catching a bus to the bus station, another bus to the wtown of Midyat, yet another along the highway towards Cizre I was dropped off by a turn-off on the road. From here I walked the 2.5km through sandy silent landscape nonetheless populated with many hardy tress to Morgabriel monastery. This beautiful Christian monastery is the home of the archbishop of the Mounatin of the Servants of God and is where St. Gabriel was buried. The sand near his tomb is believed to have healing properties. The monastery dates from the late 4th century and its frescoes, carvings and subtle architecture are a real treat.

Here I met the first Westerner I had seen in several days - an American, Derick, who is teaching English in Istanbul and with whom I shared a taxi back to Midyat. He brought me to a beautiful old Han (house) which now serves as a restaurant and we had some lunch and tasted some of the areas wines, reputed to be the best in Turkey. Although served cold, which may just have been the result of where they were stored, they were certainly very palatable.

Tomorrow I will check out Hassankeyf, a village not far from here that is famed for its history, its beautiful honey-coloured buldings and its setting above the Tigris river. It is due to be flooded however, (if and) when the government builds a dam that will flood a vast region and many historic sites. Hopefully an increase in visitors to this area will deter the government and the project will be pulled.

- David