Eastern Turkey

The bus network made travel effortless. We used large long-distance coaches that served tea and coffee, small mini-buses full of local farmers, as well as local taxis. We had nothing arranged in advance but fate and the local population seemed to know what we needed and we surfed on a continous wave of buses from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

We used the usual apps (Airbnb, Booking.com, etc) as well as a bit of wandering the streets. I was impressed by the quality of the places we stayed at. Many of the hotels were hundreds of years old and full of character and charm. They were always in good locations and were surprisingly affordable (even for a budget traveller like me).

Varied, fresh, delicious and plentiful.

And not a single kebab!

Our usual routine was to stay in a place for two nights. There was always plenty to see in all of them. This region has played a significant role in world history, and every city was atmospheric and interesting. I found Şanlıurfa (Urfa in Kurdish) to be particularly enchanting.

I regret that we missed the city of Mardin, but we were short of time. I would like to go back one day.

The only thing that marred the beauty of the cities (and elsewhere) was the earthquake damage.

Just over a year before our visit this area was struck by an earthquake. It was centred on the region of Gaziantep and was felt as far as Egypt and the Black Sea coast.

The devastation must have been staggering at the time, and evidence of destruction was apparent wherever we went. The Financial Times reported widespread damage in an area about the size of Germany. I was amazed how far we travelled and still saw extensive seismic damage to buildings and infrastructure.

More than 50,000 people were killed. There were more than 30,000 aftershocks in the three months that followed the initial quake. An estimated 14 million people were affected, and about 1.5 million people were left homeless.

I never heard a single person complain about it the whole time we were in Turkey.

Breathtaking, vast, lovely.

I hope these pictures paint a thousand words.

Some of the remarkable locations to visit outside the cities include:

• Göbeklitepe* – a prehistoric temple.
• Mount Nemrut* – a spectacular vista and the location of a royal tomb.
• Akdamar Island – located in Lake Van and home to a 10th century Armenian cathedral.
• Ishak Pasha Palace – another breathtaking location and a well preserved Turkish palace.
• Mount Ararat – a 5,000 m volcanic peak.
• Ani Ruins* – an abandoned Armenian city.

* denotes a UNESCO World Heritage Site

You will see from the map that we skirted the borders of several countries: Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia. Countries that are infamous for conflict and poor human rights. Regular security checks on the buses became more frequent as we travelled further east. Every passenger was required to show their documentation. I noticed this to be particularly strict when we were close to the Iranian border.

This is the heart of Kurdistan. 40 million people without a country. In the popular media, Kurds are consistently portrayed as criminals or terrorists. In reality, they are, in my experience, some of the kindest, most trustworthy people. I felt completely relaxed as we travelled through this region, and I would love to do it again one day.

This area has a special place in my heart.