Good times in dreamland, Göreme. Plans in flux :) first tales from Kars to Kayseri and onto Cappadocia

One last night in Kars and a last meal had to be enjoyed at one of the many amazing restaurants. It is worth going there Just for the food! the best restaurant is okcabasi and serves up a menu which you will not get bored of. Due to the incredible cold, especially when the sun has disappeared behind the surrounding mountains, the lentil or chicken soup is a must for starter, served up with a huge plate of bread and a tomato based dip, which I can beat describe as having the consistency of a salsa dip, but brimming with the flavours of eastern Turkey.  The restaurant has a cave like design for the interior, the chefs are cooking all manner of main courses over the huge open fire to the right a welcome sight when coming in hungry from the cold!

After I found myself in the Baris bar cafe, nestled in the old part of Kars, a colourfully converted Building built during the Russian occupation. The building itself harks back to the design of St Petersburg. As I walked through the door the sound of a vibrant live Turkish band filled the air, the lead singer and guitarist skilfully played the baglma as the tuneful vocals of himself and the female backing singer added to the sounds of the drummer an classical guitar player, all coming together to create a perfect last evening in Kars. The cafe itself had the obligatory no smoking sign hanging high on the wall, as I entered the room was thick with shisha and cigarette smoke, if you spend more than a few days in Turkey you soon realise the non smoking ban indoors is more a guideline than an actual rule :)

After enjoying a last quiet drink in cafe Baris, which sits next to the river under the watchful eye of The imposing Kars castle up on the rocky hill, I left around midnight and took one last snap of the castle lit up in the crisp winter night sky by the spotlights dotted around its walls. 

As I walked through the empty morning streets of Kars I left with happy memories and a slight sadness to be leaving the east behind, but excitement and desire to explore a unique place in Turkey, Cappadocia! 

The station in Kars lies just outside the city and the snow lay all around as the morning sun shone down the empty streets giving a much needed bit of warmth as a navigated my way over the icy streets, trying to keep my balance with my backpack and rucksack strapped to my front and back. 

One thing the Turkish know what to do is keep themselves warm inside and as I stepped on the waiting train I was thankful for the warm blast of air that hit me as I embarked and found my seat. I suddenly realised I had left my Turkish honey and distinctive Kars cheese back in the fridge at the hotel :o 

Kars cheese is sold all around the town, shops displayed huge wheels of said delights and honey pots line the windows and after explaining to the shop owner (who spoke great German but sadly no English) using sign language I wanted just a smallish slither, he produced a huge knife and skilfully acquiesced to my request. And I left the shop laden with cheese, honey and bread for my impending long haul journey the next day. 

As you can imagine I didn t want to leave it behind, I had arrived at the station early  so with half an hour to spare I decided to leave my bags on the train and run back in the cold but sunny morning air and retrieve my purchases. The pavements being covered in ice I had to run down the road.  Outdoor exercise in winter does not seem to be all the rage in Turkey, so the sight of me running at full pelt to and from the hotel produced some strange looks from the few people out on the streets. I made it back to the train with five minutes to spare and sat down in a empty carriage food in tow. 

The journey to Kayseri is ok the Dogu expresi train which runs daily to Ankara. Don t be fooled by the name, express it is not! It's chugs along at a painfully slow pace a steam train would be ashamed of, it does however give tourists like myself time to take in the ever present stunning winter mountain views along the way. The weather was perfect and we meandered through mountain ranges at times hugging the same route as the road but more often following the main river tht runs across Turkey. The river half frozen, huge blocks of ice unable to stop the strong torrent of water from flowing as it cut its way through Anatolia. Everywhere you looked snow covered mountains towered up from the train occasionally breaking to reveal spectacular valleys and steppes, it's a ride worth taking just for the view. 

As the train continued the heating which was overly efficient had began to make me regret wearing my layers of clothing and long johns! I removed my trusty Icelandic lopa peysa and went to the toilets to remove my long johns. The toilet was a basic affair with not so clean squat hole in the ground and dirty water covering the floor.  I decided against using it as a impromptu changing room and made my way back to my seat. With the heating causing my body temperature to rise to uncomfortable levels, it called for drastic action! With a near empty carriage I made a snap decision to change in my seat :) with my warm winter coat wrapped around my legs I skilfully managed to remove my trousers and long johns and change back into trousers with no one catching me out.  Success! I could sit back enjoy the rest of the journey! 

As the train pulls near to Erzurum the its suddenly appears to the right in the snow covered steppe, the the train line hugs the mountain side.  The mountains on the other side of the city rise up to the blue sky creating an image akin to that of the one from stop Kars castle mount. 

Erzurum is one of the more conservative Turkish town and men and women boarded the train adorned in traditional Muslim dress, the women in all manner of colourful headscarfs. As the journey continued it was not uncommon to see Turkish men finding a empty double seat 

Facing east and going about their daily prayers as the more liberal Turks continued on with their loud conversation and chatter. After Erzurum the train lasses through many tunnels and slowly descends and picks up speed as it defends from the mountains passing through a huge plateaux, undulating hills all around and the standard snow capped rugged mountain off in the distance. As I watched the sun set we passed huge flocks of sheep crazing on the frozen muddy plains being herded by shepherds looking like they could do with some of the heat we were being subjected to on the train!  The darkness soon came and I sat back to endure the last 8 or so hours before Kayseri. 

Disaster struck as my iPhone battery went. With no phone I had no alarm clock and Kayseri was not the last stop, I had no desire to find myself walking up in Ankara! so I asked the young chap sat next to me for the time. He spoke Turkish but looked unlike any other Turk I had seen before, he asked me in hating English where I was from, and when I returned the question he replied;

"Afghanistan!" 

It's not everyday you sit next to someone from there and for the next few minutes I was happy to have a basic conversation 

 About what I was doing in turkey. Sadly he disembarked at Sivas an for the next few hours until 1:30am I had to struggle to keep myself awake so I didn t miss my stop. I friendly Turkish gent struck up a conversation with me as I waited for the toilet, he was of course smoking by the train door under a sign clearing explaining such a pastime was now banned :) he spoke good English and I enquired what he did. He replied he worked for DSI which from my travels in te kackars I knew was the company who were responsible for the huge dam holding projects and the impending flooding of many towns and villages! When I mentioned this he chuckled held up his arms and said;

"That's right, you can blame me, what can I say!" 

I somehow stayed awake and we pulled into Kayseri at 2am. I thought better of staying the night there, Kayseri is a boom town in turkey, full of smart new buildkng and business parks, but with little to see for traveller I made my way straight to the bus station willing to sleep the night there and wait for the morning hour long busto goreme   and cappadocia. On arrival I found out there was a bus at 3:30am so only had one hour to wait! Note to self never trust the lonely planet travel guides, they are always wrong! 

I jumped on the bus to Goreme and found myself fighting a losing battle not to fall asleep :( after being awake since 6am the previous morning. I miraculously awoke as the bus pulled into a dark bus top, looked outside and saw a sign saying 'Goreme'! I quickly got off and after a friendly taxi driver told me it wasn t worth me taking a taxi as the hostel was only 400m away I stumbled into shoestring cave hostel at 5am. Goreme is a town at the heart of the scenic sights if Cappadocia so English is widely spoken. On explaining my epic journey the night watchman ushered me to my dorm room and told me to get some sleep and sort everything out when I woke. The hostel is built into the amazing rock formations with cave like interiors, a welcoming sight.

I awoke at 10am and not wanting to miss out of the sights I made my way to the roof top area, the view was breathtaking, the hustle sits on a hill over looking the town, rose valley in the distance. Everywhere you look dreamlike landscapes enthral as you try to take in the uniqueness of the place. 

For the first time since Istanbul the first backpackers were sighted and I soon struck up a conversation with a friendly Aussie called Charlie and a Italian couple Simon and Martina. They had arrived the previous day and were still keen to explore the area so I soon found I had some company for the next day or two. Enjoying my own company is not something I have found that hard, but when you come across random travellers with similar laid back plans its good to have company for a day or two! The Aussie guy Charlie and I had no problem exchanging traveling tales, laughing and reminiscing on good times had in turkey so far.  We soon found ourselves setting out on foot to explore the area. 

A visit to Goreme open air museum is a must! Ignoring the crowds you get a real sense of the history in the maze of houses, churches and buildings hewn into the incredible scenery. Villages built into the Columns and undulating wavy rocky hillsides! The intact frescos inside the churches are quite something. After an hour in the museum we wanted to get out into the untouched countryside and walked up to the top of the hill above the museum and turned off into rose valley. So called due to the striking colour of the columns and rock formations around.  The pathway plunged down into the valley through improbably small gorges one had to scramble down and squeeze through gaps using the makeshift ladders and relying on blind faith your feet would not slip down the smooth steep rock, all the way through the valley, Byzantine dwellings remain cut out high up in the cone shaped formations that adorn the area. On our way we came across a low Korean tourist who struck up a conversation and tagged along. On asking his name (which I forget) he told us, but then exclaimed;

"Just call me Hugh"! :D 

Wanting to get a view of the whole valley Charlie (whilst being a great laugh has that hilarious habit of when talking english to turkish people has the habit of speaking broken english in a weird fake turkish accent! :D ) decided we should scramble up what looked like a sheer smooth face of with a few footholds and scrub to hold onto. We scrambled up and scaled the basalt column, and boy was it worth it, over the other side as far as the eye could see the valley spread out, cone shaped rock formations laying far below like a huge bed of soundproofing foam.

 All kinds of colours made more extreme by the setting sun. we took the opportunity to sit, drink in the view and eat our lunch of Turkish bread and cheese. the sun set and we made our way back to the hostel. 

The evening was spent chatting with our fellow Italian backpackers, a friendly pair, speaking remarkable English for Italians ;) the evening, drinking and travel tales continued and finished as Simon treated all in the hostel to a impromptu acoustic concert, playing well known reggae song after another, the Turkish residents looking on with approval, recording his every song on their smartphones and clapping saying, "yes yes, instagram!" With a resounding rendition of "jammin" by Bon Marley round the outside fire which had the whole hostel joining in the first night in Goreme drew to a close and the Italian couple made their way onto Nemrut. 

We awoke early today on New Year's Eve a amazing breakfast in the roof top garden was enjoyed as we looked out over the valley below, the hot air balloons dotting the skyline creating an idyllic scene. After filling ourselves on the free breakfast and downing a cup of tea/cay, we set off on a 10km walk through two valleys. 

We started off down pigeon valley, the pathway snakes through the bottom with huge smooth white and various shades of cream coloured cliffs rising up, formations that continued to amaze. As if designed by some modern artist. The pathway occasionally going through tunnels naturally carved through the rock. The pathway cuts off to the right after a km or so and you climb steeply up, looking back to have a postcard view of pigeon valley below and rose valley in the background. The weather  was perfect with the blue sky created a perfect backdrop for pictures. A stray dog, not rabid, cheeky Anatolian dog of some description would then accompany us vainly in the search of food for the next 3-4km, he became quite the rambling companion. 

The top of the climb you arrive at uchisar, a town looking like something akin to that like the town of Rohan in lord of the rings. Rising up fortress like on a rocky outcrop, the highest point in the surrounding area. The highlight of Uchisar  is the byzantine castle which sits at the highest point, surveying the area below. The gruelling climb up in the hot midday sun is 100% worth it and you are greeted with 360 degree views of the whole area below. We took the time to drink in the view enjoying a cup of tea from the friendly small kiosk owner tucked away in a small snug of rock at the summit.

 He spoke amazing English and on chatting to him I found out he used to live only a few streets away from me in London, holloway! And when asking where I was from he exclaimed;

"No way my cousin has just opened a new kebab shop in Warwick called castle kebab" 

"I know it well!" I exclaimed, I had just enjoying a tasty take away from there before coming to turkey! It's a small world! 

After refreshing ourselves we set off down the steep hill out of town and into love valley! Happy to report no romance occurred between myself and the laid back Charlie :D the rock formations and pathways continued much as described before, each valley however, with a new unique artistically designed smooth basalt undulating landscape, at times jagged as the cone like peaks sear into the sky. 

At one point we entered a natural tunnel, just off the main pathway, it became narrower and narrower as we could not see the end in sight! We ended up on our stomachs crawling through a tunnel which had been reduced to a mere 50cm or so high pushing our backpacks and hoping for a exit, we spied light ahead and made it out crawling to the sunshine again, this truly is a amazing area. 3/4 of the way the valley opens up to a huge expanse, and this is here you see why it retains the name "love valley" :D how better can I descibes it than, penises penises penises!! 

A huge expanse of huge phallic like rock formations shooting up into the sky, you can try to describe them another way, but you would be avoiding the obvious. Nature truly has a eye for a accurate design :D the view is nonetheless spectacular and as the sun set in New Year's Eve we enjoyed our lunch looking out over the valley of rudeness as the hit air balloons expertly descended a mere 10m above the ground in the valley and shit out the other side rising high into the sky creating a perfect panaromic picture for those such as ourselves on the ground below.

We made the walk back into town, tired but reminiscing on the feast of scenic delights along the way. We tried vainly to hitch a ride the 2km back to town, but with the sun setting over rise valley to the right, the reds and honey colours from the rocks made the walk quite something. 

We rolled into the hostel ready to enjoy the last few hours of 2013. Bottle of raki and a roof top view of the surrounding valley below to start the celebrations! 

So with that I sign off till next time. Plans have changed drastically, and tomorrow we are bound for Mount Nemrut, and a tour of the south town close to the Syrian border, Mardin, Urfa and Gaziantep!!

 

Escape to Erzurum, take two. Out of the Kackars and into

After a memorable few days spent in the wild north east of Turkey it is sadly time to say goodbye.  I have the pleasure of one last evening in Kars, then it's off central Anatolia and Cappadocia on a mammoth 20hr train journey tomorrow morning, but first, I shall regale more tales from my journey since Yusafeli. 

The morning of Boxing Day I awoke early and made my way down to the river one last time, the morning frost as savage and beautiful as the day before. Although I had been here only 24hrs previously, the view was no less impressive and with the morning sun rising behind me, the pictures back down the valley were perfect. I walked back into town taking one last look at the impressive kackar mountains and hopped on the morning bus out of town.  

The bus out of Yusafeli was the same route I had taken on christmas so for the first hour I took the opportunity of getting another hours sleep in and awoke as we pulled into the petrol station where I made my u-turn the previous day. 

And so comes another anecdote of something lost, but thankfully found :) I was especially anxious to get there as I had, not so surprisingly left my hat there the day before :D I had been too busy trying to explain I wanted to go back that my hat of sentimental value was left on the bench. (it was given to me by my brother on my birthday about 10yrs ago) using my best sign language I tried to explain to the bemused lady in the shop if she had seen my hat anywhere. Initially she thought I wanted to buy one off the shelf. 

Somehow I got my message across and she ran outside.  I followed her out and she reached deep into the rubbish bin and pulled out what was by now a slightly dirty, but most definitely my hat. :) thanking her I smiled and thought You just never know what you ll find in the rubbish bins in Turkey! 

After a "Turkish" ten min break which stretched to a good 20 odd we were on our way. The views continued to excite, the scenery continuing much the same as I described on Christmas Day. The road climbed higher still as we neared Erzurum, until we were surrounded by a sea of white, snow covering the mountains and steppe all around. Erzurum is a city at roughly 2000m high. As we entered the new built otogar bus station I thought about stopping off here and spending a day flying down the Turkish ski slopes of palandoken. I reasoned, however, I could ski anywhere, I had come to see as much of turkey as I could and with that in mind I found myself an hour after arriving bus bound for Kars! 

My brief stop at the Otogar was not without incident. After buying my bus ticket to Kars, I sat down starving to enjoy some kind of cheese and what looked like pepperoni sandwich. It was the only sandwich on offer in the small kiosk. As I was in a predominantly Muslim country, I figured it must be some other kind of non descript processed sausage, due to having not eaten that day it mattered not and I started to tuck in. 

At this very moment from behind me  a male voice could be heard throughout the station. The station is quite a cavernous affair, any noise magnifies and echoes around the empty space. I turned to see a man smartly dressed in a Brown leather jacket and jeans pointing both hands up to the sky and shouting at the top of his voice. For a brief second I thought it was some kind of impromtu call to prayer, the only two words which I could pick out were "Allah Akbar!" I quickly realised this was not the case as I scanned the puzzled and bemused looks on the people around me. His speech got more and more pressured and his expression intensified as he worked himself up to some kind of crescendo in his speech to all around. 

Quickly 4 or 5 policemen surrounded him and asked him to leave the building. He stopped suddenly and although I could not understand, his expression and tone seemed to be saying;

"Alright, no worries I was going anyway, don t worry I m leaving" with whatever assurance he gave they left him alone and he exited, only to return immediately through a different door! breaking into frenzied speech again, arms raised high. The conversation with the police was repeated and he exited, only to return for a third time through another door! :D the decibel level of the rant increasing as he raised his arms and looked heavenward. I guess maybe he thought third time lucky, this however was not the case and he was bundled into a nearby police car. 

My bus was due to leave at 1pm from stand 5. By 1:10 it had not arrived and I worriedly went inside and enquired at the desk. The man in a mixture of hand signals and a little English told me to wait there, don t worry. I was, However, suspicious as I was the only one at the stand! A few minutes later a man in a brown leather jacket (I figured it was not our street preacher friend) came

Up to me and said;

"You, Kars?" 

I replied in the affirmative and with that he walked me out of the station and ushered me into the front seat of a small Peugeot already full of Turkish people and their luggage. Just for good measure another chap jumped into the boot amongst the luggage, and with that we headed off. I showed my ticket and questioned;

"Kars?" 

"Yes yes, Kars, no problem my friend!" He replied.

We pulled into a petrol station down the road and there in the parking lot was a dilapidated transit van with 'Serhat Kars' embellished down the side. 

I was ushered again out of the car and into the minibus, which had all manner of bags, boxes and sacks of vegetables dotted about wherever they could find room. I sat down, thankful to be finally on my way :) 

On looking over at the reading material of the girl next to me I noticed she was reading an English book so decided to strike up a conversation. It turned out she was reading Literature amd poetry at Erzurum university, studying for her MA. For the first time since Istanbul I was able to have a conversation, it felt good to converse again!

She chuckled at my initial question,

I asked why to which she replied;

"When you sat down, until I saw your Turkish guide book in English I thought you were Turkish!"

Her English was pretty good and we chatted whimsically about all manner of things as the bus slowly made its way down the road. It was good to have a laugh and a joke without the aid of handgestures  and misunderstandings :) Her  name was Berra, and the  main question was "why are you travelling to Kars now, it's so cold! This time of year we stay inside!" I assured her the cold would not be a problem and seeing the east in the snow, for a Brit, would be quite something. 

Turkish hospitality reared its friendly head again, as we stopped for a toilet/food break. I paid the standard 1lira for the privilege of using the WC and hopped back on the bus. Berra then produced a bag of goodies she had just bought from the shop! I didn t have the heart to tell her I had just eaten not so long ago, I initially declined the fruit juice she offered, but she looked so crestfallen I quickly changed my mind and accepted, she then took out of the bag and placed on my lap what seemed an endless supply of cake, chocolate and cheese biscuits! Going by previous experience I accepted graciously and told her of my growing list of anecdotes regarding Turkish kindness. She explained that in Turkish culture you always share, especially when you have a guest, you have to make them feel welcome.  This I told her is not a bad custom to have at all!  Laden with all manner of snacks I was not going to go hungry the rest of the journey. 

By this time dusk had set in and due to the altitude the clouds had come over so there was not much of note to see out the window, you could tell it was getting colder as the condensation on the inside of the windows had frozen solid. Along the way the bus stopped at towns dropping off people and goods and picking up new ones, what is officially a 3 hr journey quickly turned to a 4-5 hour journey and we arrived in a cold dark Kars.

Without any hesitation Berra asked me if I knew where I was going, not really I replied, but I had a few hotels in my lonely planet. She looked at the names and said she knew one of them and with that she told me she would walk me to my hotel as it was dark and may be hard to find or me. 

She instructed the driver where to go and as we stepped out into the cold night air she exclaimed;

"Welcome to Kars!" Walked me to my hotel, wished me a happy time in her home town and with that we parted ways. With such a pleasant and friendly journey to the hotel door I sensed another good few days ahead. 

I did not have the heart to tell her I did not want to stay at this particular hotel (Temel) as it was the more expensive of the two I was looking at, as she was so happy she knew where it was and could guide me there. After waiting for her to leave I told the hotel clerk I was going to search around for hotel Mirac. Luckily it was the next street along and for 15tl cheaper I booked myself in. 

The friendly Erdin on the desk spoke a few sentences of English but his constant smile and friendly demeanour made him an instant hit after a long journey. I realised his grasp of English was not so good when to almost every question I asked him he just smiled and said "no problem my friend, no problem!" He told me to sit in the lobby and welcomed me with infinite amounts of tea/chai. Filling my cup again almost before I had finished the last. I told him I wanted to go to visit Ani, he smiled and said;

"No problem my friend,

No problem!" 

This question he did understand though and he exclaimed;

"My friend Celil, he take you, he s my good friend, no problem!" 

If this was the guide Celil as reccomended in the lonely planet, then what a stroke of luck it would turn out to be, and it was. Celil turned up 10 mins later, speaking perfect English and we organised to head to Ani the next day. He said I was the only tourist going, there hadn t been any tourists around for a few weeks now. I thought to myself it sounded quite nice, to have the whole Ancient site of Ani to myself!  He also recommended a great restaurant and that evening I had what would be the first of many amazing meals in Kars. 

I awoke the next day the sun blazing through my hotel room, Celil had instructed that we had to get there for around 11:30 as at this time of year, the best time to view the site is between midday and two o'clock as the early morning and late afternoon haze makes viewing/taking pictures difficult.  

Before I met Celil another trip to the bank was in order to receive a money transfer, due to my slight mishap in Istanbul. After my experience in the bank in Istanbul I knew it may be an eventful visit and so gave myself plenty of time incase of any hiccups.  

Miraculously I was seen within 5 minutes! But then the fun and games began. The teller not speaking English, had no option but to carry on asking me questions in Turkish, I smiled and offered my apologies in English that I didn t understand. With a western union transfer, just having the code is not sufficient. They need your date of birth, town of birth and a whole host of other security questions. You would think they would provide a form for the bank with the questions in Turkish and English so I could fill it out and they could understand, this however is not the case :) UK passport details are only in English and French so this didn t hell us out either. 

What then Resulted was a three way conversation as the teller next to mine called her friend who spoke English passes the phone to me, she then asked me the questions then translated my answers back over the phone in Turkish! Although she could understand me, spelling my birth town of Royal Leamington Spa for example, across the phone in Turkish was not the easiest for her.  It resulted in her asking me questions, me telling her to tell them I was pointing at the right answer in my passport! All the while we were laughing amongst ourselves at the ridiculousness of it all :) 

My situation had created quite the interest amongst the other workers and I found myself surrounded by the security guard and two other workers, all intrigued as to what I was doing in Kars. One could speak a little English and he wanted to know if I was married, I said no I m still Studying, this he and the security guard thought was very good especially when they found out I was 31! I found out he got married at 18 and the security guard at 20. In all this friendly banter and three way phone translating the manager came up to me and offered me, you be guessed it, some chai. I couldn t say no and found myself sipping tea with what was now a 4-5 strong party of interested employees! eventually I got my money and with a few warm handshakes and "enjoy your stay in Kars" I was off to Ani with Celil.

As we were leaving he recieved a call, he exclaimed another tourist was in town and wanted to come! The chances! we Drove to the hotel and picked up Yun. A young Korean student who spoke a little English and said he had been travelling turkey for a few weeks now. The random trio that we were headed off for Ani. 

The road to Ani is amazing in the winter.  Kars sits at 2000m above sea level on a broad steppe, the road from town cuts through the plateux, a lone black line tearing through the otherwise pristine white landscape. In the distance to your left you can see the Caucasus mountains that reach all the way to Georgia and Azerbaijan, to the right the distance the towering Mt Ararat is just visible, rising come shaped out of the white desert. 

We arrived in Ani and paid our 5tl entry, Celil sat himself down in the guard office and told us to follow the pathway around the site, we would need he said about 2-3 hours and with that me and Yun set off through the main gate into the ancient city. 

The setting is magical and quite spectacular, ruins scattered over an area of a few kilometres, the brown tumbledown walls sticking out in stark contrast to the sea of white around.  Straddling the Turkish Armenian border the city stands on the edge of the steppe with plunging cliff faces stretching down the east, west and south sides of the city to spectacular gorges, ravines and the river which separates Armenia from turkey on the south side. across the river and up the other side of the gorge you can see the Russian military watch towers dotted every 5km along the border.  (Since the 90s Russian military has kept a watchful eye over Armenia). As we wandered through the ruins, the silence was incredible, so peaceful, An easy place to get lost in ones thoughts. Only the sound of the crunching snow beneath our feet puncturing the silence. 

The endless blanket of snow made the sense of being in the middle of nowhere all the more vivid.  The ruins themselves whilst fascinating, come in second place to the views you get when you walk around the perimeter of the city. You start walking in a clockwise circuit of the site, you come to the ruined churches and mosques on the south side, all of a sudden the view opens up and the flat landscape falls away steeply down to the river below. It is quite something. You could sit there drinking in the view for hours if you had time. Ruins teetering improbably on the edge of cliff tops looking out over spectacular vistas.  It's hard to describe, But feel free to choose from the list of whichever superlatives you care too and you have an idea of the scene that lay before us. 

In the silence you get the chance to think of the history of the place too. A place which has been at the centre of historical events, changing hands between the Amenians, Georgians, Seljuk Persians, Mongols, Russians and Ottomans. Not forgetting also, the hand that nature has played in creating the erie ruins before you with the damage caused by the odd earthquake or two. As you circle the edge of the site your almost glued to the view to your left, the mountain landscape coupled with the impressive gorge cut out by the river below is one to savour. 

As you stand at the farthest point to the south the river gorge and valleys cut down the south east and south west sides and the river snakes off directly south zig zagging through the mountains, it's almost as if a giant three spoke wheel has dropped it self around the city,

Plunging into the earth to create the stunning scenery before you. 

I was delighted to have my new found acquaintance for the day, Yun with me. We were the only two at the site and we gladly obliged each other in taking the onligatory "look at me in this tres cool place" photos as we went around! He cracked me up, the whole way round he was muttering  and mumbling to himself in Korean, what he was whispering to himself I don t know, but it created a bizarre and amusing soundtrack to my visit. At one point he wanted a picture of himself faux climbing up a steep incline on the south side with the river below and only wearing some worn bike running shoes handed me his camera and scrambled down the almost sheer loose rock. Evidently it was looser scree than he thought and he ended up sliding a good way down before some dead plants ands there rocks stopped his fall. As he slid down the hillside his Korean mutterings became louder,  for a moment I looked on in shock as I thought, "damn he s not stopping!" I had to scramble down a little to offer a helping hand in dragging him back up, but he got the picture he wanted, maybe a little More real than he envisaged.  He got back to the top and after much laughter at the near miss we carried on our way and Yun went back to his soft conversation with himself as he walked behind me. 

On our return to Kars Celil instructed Yun to make space in the back and in jumped a cigarette smoking policeman, who evidently didn t fancy the walk home and junked out again about a mile down the road. He did have time to ask Celil where we were from and seemed amused when I said I was Engliah.  Celil wanting to know more asked where my parents were from and for the journey back we had a light hearted chat about family and nationality. Celil it turns out thinks big families are a good thing, Scandinavian women are beautiful but in his words "not marriage material" as He spent 3 years with a Danish woman "they re lovely, but they like their freedom!" He exclaimed! America and The Uk has alot to answer for as regards the problems in the region, this was when the conversation moved onto regional politics as he gave me a impromptu political history of the region. His knowledge extended to a potted geological history of the area.  He told a good story and his sense of humour meant that the truth of the information and whether or not I agreed with his views, were secondary, it passed the journey back to town nicely! He wished me well with my studies and we parted ways when he dropped me back at the hotel. 

With one more day left in Kars I awoke today to another cold, crisp and sunny morning. I ventured out at 11am and embarked on a walking tour of the town. I headed straight for the old town and towards the castle. Where Russian building from the 1879-1920 occupation dot the streets, like they ve been ripped out of at Petersburg and dumped into eastern Anatolia. A wealth of ottoman and earlier remains of mosques and churches sit nearby the river.  The half frozen river runs by them creating another idyllic setting. As I crossed the tas kopru bridge, rebuilt by the ottomans, two ottoman bath houses sit on the river side under the imposing Kars castle that sits atop a rocky hill overlooking the city. The ottoman bathhouses have been partially restored with their dome shaped roofs, I wandered in, the echo of the empty space amplified my steps, it was clear they had mow been taken over by the local drunks and homeless. Empty beer cans, bottles of raki and plastic bags scattered within the ancient walls.  not wanting to disturb any sleeping drunk who may still be braving the winter cold I exited and made my way over the bridge towards the castle. 

On the spur of the moment I decided to go off piste and started clambering up the rocks and through the snow toward the castle walls, mainly because half way up the hill were two ruins off the main pathway which seemed worth investigating.  it turned out to be a riskier than thought venture as most of  hill

Is littered with rocks and bricks from the ruins, which, When covered in snow your never quite sure if your stepping on solid ground or if you ll See your leg disappear down a gap in the rocks below twisting and braking on the way down! With my trusty hiking boots I soldiered upwards and made it to the ruined church,  halfway up the hill, again littered with the remains of some locals evening get together.  A stray dog, which looked decidedly rabid, saliva hanging around his mouth, had decided to follow me at this point barking and fixing me with a not too friendly stare. He was right in my chosen pathway, as he got closer I decided I didn t want to risk getting bitten so ended up scrambling down the snowy hillside the dog hot on my heels barking his way along behind me. Better judgement prevailed and I found the official pathway and made my way up to Kars Castle.

If you ever find yourself in Kars make sure you make the all up. The views were just spectacular. The town lay below covered in a blanket of snow, the mountains risethrough  the haze way off in the distance beyond the steppe, to create a picture perfect view, well worth the trek. Evidently this is also the place where all the young couples of kars come for a romantic afternoon walk finding their own little spot as wverywhere I explores another lair of kissing turks appeared :D 

As I looked out mosque speakers pierced  air with the call to prayer adding to the setting. At the top was a very welcome sight. A lovely cafe in a huge tent with clear plastic walls, I sat down in the comfy chairs and ordered my chai, taking in the view of the castle directly before me and the town spread out far below. Wishing I had more time to see more of the eastern reaches of turkey. 

Sadly, however, my time here in turkey is not unlimited and it's time to move on. After one last look at the scene below me i made the walk down to town. taking care not to slip on the icy pathway devoid of any grit. Having spent a winter in Reykjavik, I became skilled in the art of navigating my way over sheet ice on pavements! 

A morning train to Kayaeri awaits me

At 7am tomorrow and New Years in Cappadocia! 

Till next time folks! 

Christmas in the Kackars. Sumela to Yusafeli

Sorry folks :o this is a long one, bear with me :) 

Waking up in Trabzon I was hit with the urge to get into the countryside as soon as possible, after two eventful, interesting, fun and crazy days in Istanbul spending another day in a city did not fill me with much joy. Wanting to get my moneys worth and experience Turkey away from the cities I toyed with the idea of heading straight to the Kackar mountains.  I decided, however, to head on a day trip to Sumela monastery. 

A mere 45km south of Trabzon nestled high in the mountains it is well worth the trip. The fact I went in winter maybe added to the enjoyment. Driving there the road snakes it's way up and up, villages and mosques scattered around the snowy mountain sides. 

On arrival I realised it really is off season, the place was devoid of tourists bar me and maybe four or five Arab and Turkish visitors. Without the crowds the erie quietness, coupled with the perfect winters day of sun blue skies and snow on the ground, made the trek well worth while. 

You walk up through the forest for about half and hour, the pathway thick with snow and ice, thankful for the odd handrail or two to grab a hold of as your feet struggle for grip. The views as you climb of the surrounding mountains become more impressive the higher you get. 

All of a sudden up above the monastery appears, hewn into the sheer cliff face, spectacular.  I couldn t help thinking surely at least one monk said;

 "hey, how's about we build in down there, you do realise this is a cliff" well at least they had a room with a view or two I guess. 

The Byzantine paintings on the chapel walls and ceiling although scarred by graffiti are still impressive. The chapel itself is cut out of the cliff face rather spectacularly.

On return to Trabzon I greedily ate my tasty last meal in the city square, an array of lamb and vegetables in a rich sauce, accompanied with the obligatory huge basket of bread, and made my way via the trusty local dolmus taxi to the bus station jumping on a bus bound for Artvin.

There is not much of note to see or the first few hours, the roads hugs the shoreline of the Black Sea, the sea to your left and a mishmash of unappealing towns on your right.  Until you near Hopa. 

The Mountains suddenly appear in the distance snow capped, dominating the skyline. 

We turned right at Hopa into the mountains, the road to Artvin is definitely one to remember. Climbing fast and hugging the mountain, the drops are breathtaking. As far as the eye can see snow capped mountains and in the distance the Black Sea provides the perfect backdrop to mountain range. 

I did not stay long in Artvin, a town which  is built on the most improbable steep mountain face, sadly as the lonely planet points out, the valley below is scarred by the building works for the dam project. 

The road all the way to Yusafeli from Artvin goes side by side this huge project. Everywhere you look the mountains are being blown up and reshaped, new roads, tunnels, bridges under construction to make way for the rising water level once the dam opens. 

Even with all this it is still a stunning drive and the widened river snakes stunningly below as the road hugs the cliff side. 

I arrived in Yusafeli and decided to spend Christmas Eve and day here. A place sadly ear marked to go under water in a few years when they fully open the dam. For now though at least a town camped in a stunning valley by the mighty river barhal surrounded by impressive mountains every where you look. 

As it was Christmas I decided to treat myself and booked myself into hotel almatur, on the forth floor with bedroom views of the town and valley :) seeing as its off season I think I m the only one here so I got a discounted rate on a double room, result. A mere 50 lira (£15ish pounds) Finding that The hotel comes complete with sauna and Turkish bath, I knew it was going to be a good Christmas as I watched the sun set over the Kackars. 

As it was Christmas Eve I treatedmyself to my first cut throat razor, beard and head shave, done expertly by a friendly local barber, who not understanding English I figured it easiest with sign language to just point and say, 

"All, off, gone!" And with that he got to work. 

I awoke today on Christmas Day and wanted an adventure! After looking at the map I realised the road to Erzurum is littered with spectacular scenery, so I jumped on a bus with no intention of ending up in Erzurum, merely a sight seeing tour. Boy was it worth it. Perfect day again, blue skies and sunshine. The road starts off snaking through a gorge with sheer vertical mountain sides reaching high into the sky, the rock face changing pattern and colour every corner you turn. 

The road climbs and opens up and suddenly your faced with an amazing lake surrounded on all sides by snow capped mountains, the road perched on a cliff face that plunges some 30-40metres straight down to the emerald green water. 

We rounded the lake, the scenery continuing to amaze me, but, after an hour I decided it was time to head back and explore more of Yusafeli. 

With the driver and no one speaking English I had to explain I didn t actually want to go to Erzurum today, I was sight seeing and taking pictures, I wanted to go back to Yusafeli! 

The driver didn t quite get my point, so eventually I told a white lie. The easiest way I figured to help him understand was to say, 

"My passport" and longed back down the road "Is in Yusafeli!" "I need to go back" pointing again back down the road.

"Ah" he said, and with the magic use of the word passport, he told me with sign language to wait here and in 10 mins someone would drive me back to town! 

On The drive back I was in the front seat and the road was probably more breathtaking heading to Yusafeli as the sun was behind us making for better views and pictures.  We were also on the cliff side of the road most of the way. Exhausting my camera battery I sat back and drank in a Christmas Day drive I ll remember for a while. I would come back here and rent a car without a second thought! 

Arriving back in Yusafeli I walked down to the river and followed it out of town. The town itself is not amazingly aesthetically pleasing, a mixture of concrete block buildings, its the setting that makes it.  If you take the time to walk just half a km down the river the town is hidden and all you can see are the surrounding mountains in the valley. 

The frost by the river is thick on the ground, I have never seem anything like it before, almost like a sea of snowflakes frozen as soon as they touched the ground, looking jagged and sharp about 1-2 cm think all around. 

With no one around I had the sound of the river and the surrounding mountain views to myself as the sun set over blue skies. With the sun gone the cold sets in and I headed back to the hotel for a much needed sauna! 

As far as I can see I am the only tourist in town, each restaurant or tea house I go to, they ask in broken English, "why do you come here now, very cold" I try to explain how beautiful and quiet the place is, but I guess to them it's nothing special as its their home, they ve seen it everyday all their life.

Everyone again is amazingly hospitable. The food in Yusafeli is the best I have had in turkey so far, from fish to lamb to chicken, all cooked over a roaring fire, accompanied by rice and what I would describe as the best salads I have hadin a  long while. 

If you ever make it to Yusafeli, the salad is a must...And the chicken and the fish! 

So onto Kars tomorrow via Erzurum, the eastern most destination on my travels. Before Heading back west. Weather permitting, hopefully not too much snow, a visit to the ancient town of Ani awaits

Tea tales from Trabzon

Arriving in Trabzon one is struck by how little People there care about Istanbul. A city with its own identity on the Black Sea coast, built on some of the most improbable hills, roads and houses built on inclines you wouldn t think it possible. 

The main sea port for Turkey on the Black Sea which makes for a not so appealing busy commercial harbour. 

I picked the cheapest hotel I could find. up a a windy cobbled street just above the harbour. Also a stones throw from tree lined Ataturk Alani Square, a place bustling with locals day and night chatting and drinking their ever present Turkish tea. 

Whilst its cobbled windy side streets give it some character, it is still a big city so I didn t plan to stay long. I was itching to get into the countryside. but first tales from a Turkish tea house. 

It was the evenin of the Galatasaray v Trabzon game so I hunted out a suitable local tea house to watch the game. I hit the jackpot and found a side street lines with tea houses, all the local men sat outside sipping tea waiting in anticipation. 

As kick off neared the alleyway became packed with locals and the atmosphere and hatred of Galatasaray was apparent :D since arriving in turkey I have become addicted to Turkish tea, and so I sat there sipping in bemusement not knowing what was being shouted at the screen but understanding the general meaning through the tone.

Trabzon scored and the place erupted, street fireworks went off to my left, flares also and I found myself grabbed by the group next to me jumping around and cheering as though I was a lifelong Trabzon fan! 

After the game I stayed to soak in the atmosphere. It made a nice change from the beer, pub and football combination we are used to in the UK. 

Whilst sipping my tea I found myself the point of interest to the group of young Turkish men who had grabbed me during the goal celebrations.  One could speak a little English and we ended up having a good natured two way conversation between him and his friends forthe next   couple of hours. Topics that ranged from, why I was not an Arab/Muslim, they all assumed I was :) , Israel (a genuine hatred due to the marmara incident) football, religion, whether or not I liked their president (they did) and what the hell I was doing in Turkey at this time of year :) 

At one point it turned to a three way conversation as the chap translating could not understand so phoned a friend, I then relayed my point over the phone, and it was translated back to the group :)

Great amusement was had in teaching me Turkish phrases, they wanted to test my accent. Unfortunately I did not have my phone or a own and paper with me so couldn't write them down. 

One I do remember went something like "bize hireh trabzon" as we all chanted it together (phonetically remembered that is) 

For my efforts I was rewarded with a good hearty clap and chuckle all round. And of course more Tea and Turkish cake. One called Dankek, a wonderful invention with 8 different kinds of cake in one bite size slice :) 

It turned out the main translator was the son of the owner of the tea house, so by the end of the evening I had tried the whole array of their fine flavoured teas and Turkish cakes, accompanied by the local bread, sinat (forgive my spelling) a doughnut shaped bread sprinkled in sesame seeds. 

After putting the world to rights with a good couple of hours of friendly broken English banter, I was struck again at how friendly and willing to chat to a stranger, such as myself the locals were, I got up to pay. The owner and his son would have none of it, and said "no no I don't want your money, we enjoyed having you as a visitor!" 

I tried again and with that he told me jokingly in no uncertain terms to, i won t repeat the exact phrase "get lost with your money, I said no :D" 

And with a smile and a handshake I left, another eventful and hospitable evening in a Turkish city. A city I happily failed to spot another tourist in throughout my stay :) 

It was, however, time to venture into the Countryside, and so the real travelling begins, where I ll be wishing you a happy Christmas from somewhere in the kackar mountains :) 

Good times, bad times, how many more times :) ...faith in humanity restored :)

Firstly, a big thank you to Josh, Tristan, Morgan and all the workers in cheers hostel for making such a good evening after the initial bad luck :) 

Churches/converted Mosques littered the skyline as I spent yesterday walking from the Hagia Sofia over the Golden horn to Taksim square. 

The day was perfect, blue skies and sunshine. I started the day with a wander around the awe inspiring Hagia Sofia, a byzantine church converted to a mosque now essentially a museum. After hunting out the viking grafitti which adorned one balcony on the second floor I made my way towards Taksim.

The route takes you over the bridge and across the sea, the views of the surrounding city were something to behold. The hills and mosques creating the perfect backdrop to the view. As you cross the bridge the local men line the sides fishing lines dropping down into the sea searching for the next unsuspecting victim.

On the other side I made my way through the alleyways and small streets where local cuisine and market stalls filled ones senses with the sights and sounds of a bustling city. 

The walk back over the bridge was timed to perfection as the sun set beautifully behind the mosques that dotted the skyline. A good 6 hour stomp was coming to a close.

On my return to the hostel I unfortunately left my wallet by the computer, on realising this I returned to find it gone :( a search high and low came to nothing, but out of this unfortunate turn of events the hospitality and generosity of the Turkish people left me speechless.

The workers in the hostel wanted nothing more than to make my evening as good as it could be, refusing to charge me for drinks and offering me

Food. Searching high and low.

whilst trying my best to refuse the help as the situation was all of my own making (note to self, keep your money, bank crard in your money belt when traveling :) ) eventually one has to accept genuine heartfelt hospitality at face value.

Thinking the hospitality couldn't get any better one man took me aside and said:

"I feel so bad for you, life teaches you to help people out, if I do a good deed then you will pass on another good deed to someone else!" And with that he handed me 50 dollars! With my best protestations I refused to accept, he would have none of this and forced it into my hand. I assured him I would pay him back the next day when money transfer came through. He replied "I will not be here tomorrow, but this is a gift from the heart, please accept." :) the hostel also halved my accomodation bill in half :) 

With my faith in humanity restored fully I headed out to Taksim with some fellow travelers, where we happened upon a Turkish live band in a bar where we were most definitely the only foreigners there. Initially I declined to go out, due to lack of funds, but, with the persuasion of the friendliest Irish man Morgan who made it his mission to ease the pain of my

Lost wallet by generously paying for the evening, I found myself in Taksim.

The live band played a cool fusion of Turkish and reggae music, which the local crowd appreciated by providing a amazing atmosphere with which to see my first live band in Turkey. 

Today a big thank you has to go to my mother, on hearing of my predicament wired money via western union. Anyone that knows me, will not find it too hard to believe I misplaced my wallet :) my day was spent sitting in a bank, where the queue seemed to standstill forever as I waited 3 hours to get to the teller :) 

The hospitality did not stop there, without asking the hostel manager bundled me into a taxi fully paid for by the hostel, to the banking area this morning. Amazing, I am left truly

Speechless as to the lengths the locals went to make the best of a bad situation :)

And so my stay in Istanbul draws to a close, tomorrow I head off to Trabzon and the Black Sea coast and onto Kars :) 

This evening I sit here with the initial bad feeling of someone having taken my wallet drowned out by the generosity of both the Turkish locals and traveling fraternity around me. I am lost for words the lengths that people went to make a bad situation good, faith in humanity restored. :) 

Istanbul

Istanbul, the city where east meets west and as I disembarked from the plane I met a rather rotund Turk trying to offer me all kinds of deals on transport into the city :D 

Whilst trying to extricate myself from the situation at hand my new found friend was too busy describing to me in his best English slang terms we use for people offering dubious lifts into the city: 

"How you say my friend, they are a tea leaf, wide boy and my favourite...scam merchant! :D"

I didn t have the heart to tell the gentleman he ticked all of the above boxes! 

I politely made my get away and found myself heading into the city.

The road snakes along the sea front, as you look out to sea a army of ships and tankers sit in wait, as if stuck in giant game of naval chess no one wanting to take the first move. Lights gleaming in the dusk an armada laying in wait.

A fleeting thought crossed my mind, the Bosphorus seemed to be a pirates paradise, after toying with the idea of hi jacking an oil tanker and making my millions, the thought of a life in the not so safe haven of Somali deterred me from this quest. 

To my hostel I arrived, sitting under the watching eye of the Hagia Sofia, A mere 100m away. I sit here in the roof top terrace drinking in the not too unimpressive view! 

My taxi journey was not without incident, half way to the city we stopped on the side of the busy motorway, the taxi driver got out, opened the bonnet and with a cloth and spanner rummaged around for a minute or two before jumping back in exclaiming "no problem!" And with that we set off again!

"Sir, do you want some money!" The phrase that greeted me as I stepped out of my taxi :) realising the literal meaning may have been lost in translation I declined the offer and paid for my journey .

On showing me to my room the attendant asked:

"Are you Muslim?" I don t know maybe the beard growth made him question me :) on hearing my negative reply I was met with a broad smile and a hearty handshake  :) make of that what you will! 

And so begins my journey through Turkey! 

Preparations

After many weeks religiously reading my Lonely Planet it's nearly time to set off to the gateway between Europe and Asia, the last stand of the Ottoman Empire, a country named after its founder, (that bit i may have made up ;) ) Turkey.

Armed with my trusty lonely planet I don't plan (to plan) too far ahead. 

Come join me for traveling tales starting from Istanbul to Trabzon, then east on to Kars (Ani). Across to Erzurum, through the centre to Cappadocia and on to the Med coast and Pammukale, Denzili and down to Antalya. (And many more places in between :) ) 

09:40am Thursday, Heathrow to Ataturk.  See you some time after I ve landed for the next update!