Lake Van
Monday 22nd September 2014
Not for the first time Charly & K-H snore away as I get on with the serious business of getting this blog together.
It's quiet in the heart of the city this morning, though as usual I am awakened by the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer.
Breakfast is the normal Turkish, lots of variety, and good bread today, not the flat bread that is more and more common this far east.
We leave Elâzığ at 09:30 and head back onto the D300 east, through Bingol and Mus to the shores of Lake Van. Much of the road is new and fast, 4 lanes with just a strip of tarmac separating, no barrier.
Frequently we must slow or stop because a shepherd is guiding his flock across the busy road. It's a dangerous manoeuvre but the truck drivers seem to respect the holdup and wait patiently while the flock gets across to pastures new.
We stop for fuel and of course a glass of cay. Here deep into Anatolia everyone we meet is determined to make sure we know we are in Kurdistan. They are very, very proud to be Kurds. When we use the Turkish word for thank you, tessukur, we are gently told that the correct Kurdish word is spass (sp?).
At this stop
the attendant points to the ridge of dark mountains across the plain. If
I understand him correctly these hills came from Allah, or maybe Allah
lives there or he created them. Anyway there is a strong link between
these hills and Allah.
We sweep through the mountains up to 2000 metres. The landscape here is vast. Then at last we get our first view of Lake Van shimmering in the midday sun. This is an enormous body of water, three times bigger than Bodensee (Lake Constance) on the Swiss-German border.
We arrive at the small town of Adilcevaz at 5pm and head for the post office. Charly and K-H have been naughty boys, caught speeding on the way from Kusadasi the other day, and must pay a fine. They don't do on-the-spot fines here but give you a complicated form which must be presented at a Post office or bank within a week or so. Like at home the fine increases if not paid promptly.
I hang about outside and within minutes I am surrounded
by a swarm of local kids. They are very curious about me and the bikes
but not really a problem. Nice kids.
I ask ask them who can speak English and the most forward of them becomes the spokesman. They all have at least a smattering of English, probably taught in the schools here.
The Cevizlibag Otel is another gem from the Loney Planet Guide. Our room for three, including breakfast, is 140TL in total, about £40. The rooftop dining room is a marvel in pink. We enjoy an evening meal of soup, salad and kebab feeling like we are at a wedding reception.
And so to bed. Tomorrow the Iranian border and The tour climax, Mount Ararat.
 |
| Sleepy heads |
It's quiet in the heart of the city this morning, though as usual I am awakened by the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer.
Breakfast is the normal Turkish, lots of variety, and good bread today, not the flat bread that is more and more common this far east.
 |
| Good Turkish breakfast at the Hotel Mahd |
We leave Elâzığ at 09:30 and head back onto the D300 east, through Bingol and Mus to the shores of Lake Van. Much of the road is new and fast, 4 lanes with just a strip of tarmac separating, no barrier.
 |
| Near Bingol |
 |
| Vast Anatolian plains - watch out for flocks of sheep |
Frequently we must slow or stop because a shepherd is guiding his flock across the busy road. It's a dangerous manoeuvre but the truck drivers seem to respect the holdup and wait patiently while the flock gets across to pastures new.
We stop for fuel and of course a glass of cay. Here deep into Anatolia everyone we meet is determined to make sure we know we are in Kurdistan. They are very, very proud to be Kurds. When we use the Turkish word for thank you, tessukur, we are gently told that the correct Kurdish word is spass (sp?).
 |
| The hills of Allah |
 |
| On the shore of Lake Van |
We sweep through the mountains up to 2000 metres. The landscape here is vast. Then at last we get our first view of Lake Van shimmering in the midday sun. This is an enormous body of water, three times bigger than Bodensee (Lake Constance) on the Swiss-German border.
We arrive at the small town of Adilcevaz at 5pm and head for the post office. Charly and K-H have been naughty boys, caught speeding on the way from Kusadasi the other day, and must pay a fine. They don't do on-the-spot fines here but give you a complicated form which must be presented at a Post office or bank within a week or so. Like at home the fine increases if not paid promptly.
 |
| On the north shore of Lake Van |
 |
| We are a big attraction for the local kids |
I ask ask them who can speak English and the most forward of them becomes the spokesman. They all have at least a smattering of English, probably taught in the schools here.
The Cevizlibag Otel is another gem from the Loney Planet Guide. Our room for three, including breakfast, is 140TL in total, about £40. The rooftop dining room is a marvel in pink. We enjoy an evening meal of soup, salad and kebab feeling like we are at a wedding reception.
 |
| In the pink dining room |
And so to bed. Tomorrow the Iranian border and The tour climax, Mount Ararat.
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