The further east we headed in Turkey, the more like travelling it became. cars were replaced with donkeys, western tourists replaced by Kurdish people, bars and restaurants replaced by side of the road eateries, the English language was dropped and only Turkish and Kurdish spoken and the whole atmosphere went from a tourist trap to a traveller’s paradise.
Everything over in this half of the country is completely different from the west side. This is the perfect place for an eager, independent backpacker. We had been looking forward to coming to the east for a long time, it was going to be the highlight of Turkey for us, and it sure hasn’t disappointed!
Local boys in Eastern Turkey
Travelling along the Mediterranean coast and the western half of the country was great as well, but a different kind of great. It was more like a relaxing beach holiday. once we hit Cappadocia everything began to change and the real travelling started. The further east we went from Cappadocia things got even better.
We spent one night in the town of Gaizentep, known for its pistachios and the best baklava in the world. As soon as we stepped off our bus in Gaizentep, everyone was willing to help. We had our map out and a guy actually pulled over his car and walked up the street to help us, he spoke minimal English but enough to understand what we wanted.
He led us to the right dolmus (minibus) into town. As we were looking for our hotel, we had 3 different people stop and ask if they could help us, again, in very broken English. By using our map and some hand signals we were able to find our hotel. Along the way, Nick got pooped on by a pigeon! I was cracking up, couldn’t stop laughing. He hates birds as it is, so being publicly shit on by one was extra funny.
Nick’s enemy strikes! Gaziantep, Turkey
The 10 or so men working at our hotel spoke no English whatsoever. We were wondering what time dinner was served and what time check-out was. You can imagine how that conversation went! However, by using some moves from charades and our cell phones to show the numbers we were able to figure it out.
The next day we roamed the streets to find the best spot to try out the baklava. The place we stopped at was great! All the workers wanted to help us out and give us the best baklavas they had on offer. One guy actually spoke some English and was eager to practice with Nick. Oh, and the pistachio baklavas were an ooey gooey delight.
Delicious baklavas in Gaziantep, Turkey
After just one night in Gaizentep we were on the move again further into Eastern Turkey, to a town called Sanliurfa. While we waited, we sipped on a tea offered to us by the bus company. We drink so much tea in a day it’s unreal. The Turkish love their tea and always offer it to us for free, even after a meal. It’s rude to decline, so we sip back the tea in the 35 degree weather and try not to sweat too much!
We boarded the small minibus and set off in the blazing heat with windows that wouldn’t roll down and a bus driver that didn’t put on the air conditioning. somehow the locals were perfectly fine with the temperature. We were pointing on the map and trying to tell the driver and the other guys in the bus where we wanted to be dropped off.
He decided the side of the road looked good and pulled over, we figured we were close so we got out. curious people came over to see what we were all about and to try to help us figure out where to go. A group of younger Kurdish guys (16 years old) came over and one of them spoke English!
We were about a 1/2 hour walk from where we needed to be and the group of them offered to walk with us and show us to our hotel. It was out of their way but they walked with us anyways. The hospitality of the people in Turkey is amazing. At one point I looked up to see a digital sign showing the temperature…36 degrees…the backpack was feeling a bit heavy at that point! We arrived at the hotel, said our goodbyes to the boys and cranked the a/c in our room.
Fantastic food in Turkey
The following day in Sanliurfa we walked to the market and did some browsing around. There were so many sections to this market: woodworking, blacksmiths, metalwork, food stalls, clothing, produce, carpets, etc. We watched some guys making metal decorative bowls, spoons, plates and cups from scratch.
Heating up the metal, banging it out into the shape they wanted and then putting in the decorative touches with a chizzle. best netjes. Of course, we were offered tea and sat with a man for awhile. We asked the few questions we knew in Turkish and he showed us some pictures of his family on his cell phone.
Sitting with one van de handelaars in de bazaar. Sanliurfa, Turkije
We kunnen gewoon niet overgaan hoe vriendelijk, gastvrij en genereus de mensen van Turkije zijn – en vooral de mensen in Oost-Turkije. Het is geweldig. We droegen langs een broodje van het brood en kregen een enorm stuk brood vers uit de houtbrandende oven. We liepen naar huis na onze dag op de markt en wachtten de hitte in het comfort van onze A / C-kamer tot later die nacht.
‘S Avonds gingen we uit om een ander deel van de stad te zien met een groep moskeeën, een kasteel op de berghelling en een enorm park met een rivier gevuld met vis die er doorheen loopt. Het was een prachtig gebied. Gezinnen met picknicks op het koele gras in de schaduw, jonge paren die hand in hand wandelen (wat moeilijk te geloven was) en oudere mannen die backgammon spelen en thee hebben. We hebben een tijdje genoten van het gebied voordat we dineren in een van de vele 19e-eeuwse stenen herenhuizen van URFA die zijn omgebouwd tot restaurants en hotels. Het was een prachtig restaurant en we aten op het terras terwijl de zon in de verte ligt.
Brood Making Factory. Sanliurfa, Turkije
Een zeer gefocuste man. Metaalwerk in Sanliurfa, TurkijeHappy Jongens in de Bazaar. Sanliurfa, Turkije
Die nacht was er een maanverduistering en we hadden het geluk om in een deel van de wereld te zijn die eigenlijk de volledige verduistering zag! Noord-Amerika kon het helemaal niet zien. Het was behoorlijk geweldig. We zaten op het dak van ons hotel en vonden het leuk om naar de maan te kijken voordat hij het een nacht noemde.
Kijken naar de Lunar Eclipse in Sanliurfa, Turkije
Bijna een volledige MAILAR ECLIPSE! Sanliurfa, Turkije
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