Turkey Complete (East Summary)

Hey Folks!

So after a two month stint in Turkey im finished! Lets take a look at what I did.

From Syria I headed back through an obscure border crossing that isnt in any guidebooks. Hitchhiking from a small town 10 kms from the border I came to the crossing. As I was walking to the border I noticed something really crazy, a massive mine field!

Being the only person at the crossing I could take my time and enjoy the view. When I walked through the Syrian section I was stopped by about 4 guards that checked over my passport to see if I had ever entered Israel. Finally passing through the Syrian side I had a 20 min walk to the Turkish border. Imagine the sun is setting and your walking on a gravel road through a mine field towards a massive Turkish flag. It was really special. A nice welcoming back to Turkey.

From the Turkish border I hitchhiked to the next town of Mardin. Mardin was my first introduction to Kurdish culture. The town is mainly Kurdish and has an entirely different feel to Western Turkey. The woman have some pretty distinct tattoos on their faces along with the traditional garb. The town itself is pretty nice.Mosques, souqs and old buildings line the streets giving you a middle-eastern feel. Mardin is also famous for its soap. You can buy all sorts of 'flavours', including pistacio, almond, and olive. Check out the photos here:
http://danaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2007/04/mardin-turkey.html

From Mardin I headed to a small farm-side town of Hasankef, Turkey. The town hugs around the ancient Byzantine castle. Most of the relics from the photos are 14th century.

From Hasnkef I headed into Van via the small oil city of Batman! I should have stopped to take a picture of a sign but I was too tired. Van is centered on the massive Lake Van. The main reason to stop in Van is for Akdamar Island which holds the 10th century Armenian Church.

From Van, Greg and I hitched all over Turkey, covering some 2743kms. Here are some fun stats of the vehicles we took:

Bus x4
Van x2
Car x13
Dolmuş x 2
Pickup x2
Semi x 6

Do the math and that is 29 vehicles Greg and I hitchhiked in. Crazy! We probably saved a couple hundred dollars and added dozens of hours to our trip. The excitement factor is great as well. You never know what can happen!

So what have I learned about Eastern Turkey?

Culture: Wow so different from the West. The country really is divided and holds such different ideas. Greg and I talked many times about how there are no women in Eastern Turkey. You simply do not see them. Walking around at night in these small towns and cities, we had a hard time even finding things to do. There is more to Turkey than Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. You find that the Eastern Cities have little in common to the rest of Turkey. Women still cover themselves up and have large families. The female suicide rate here is still large. Women have a hard time griping with what they see on tv and what they are allowed to do. Some areas still have 'honour' killings for women who step out of line. It may be that Turks are less European than we would like to believe. Lets hope that in order to join the EU they wont have to through out there culture, along with the various human rights abuses.

Tourism: What is a tourist? Sitting here in this internet cafe full of young men, I have yet to see a tourist. April 17th was the last time I saw a traveller from outside of Turkey. There are no tourist information offices, nobody speaks english, what bliss! Tonight I fly out to Istanbul and am dreading to see buses full of Auzzies, Kiwis, and Europeans. Ugh!

Religion: Yeah....Im really tired of Islam. The East follows what Mohammed taught. I wont go into detail but its oppresive, thin, and emotional. Very few Muslims are liberal in the East. Ok I will make a comment. After being injected with Islam for the last few months I have started to see trends. When you look at the demographic of people entering mosques you see the same thing over and over, old men. It seems that only the old generation is taking things seriously when it comes to what Islam teaches. Thankfully the young generation is being educated and having there eyes opened to how the world really works. Women are allowed to walk free in the west. They can feel the rain on there faces, swim in the ocean, and go to school. I could write a novel with my thoughts but I think its been said before.

Food: Amazing. Same as the West.

Weather: The grey cloud has followed me everywhere in Turkey. I really wish I could have taken some good photos of Ararat.

So what can I say. Eastern Turkey is really amazing. Hitchhiking through gorgeous mountains, sipping Chai with Kurdish shepards, and cruising over Lake Van really hit the spot. I will be as bold as to say that Eastern Turkey takes the cake over the West. Although it was more difficult, the rewards out-weigh the strain. Maybe it had to do with my company. Greg and I share a passion for photography and I am slowly learning the curve. I am excited to learn about how to take my average photos and edit them into something really special. Turkey has given me such an amazing palette of colours, tastes, smells, and ideas. Bravo!

Talk soon,

D.