Hmmm, sounds like Harout did not use the good road to Dadivank - much longer than the Gandzasar "shortcut" but half the time and quite comfy... :-)
So we have been through too much to write about in any detail - especially since I am pooped and also because this place only has a Turkish toilet. That for those who don't know is a porcelain hole in the bathroom floor. They are everywhere in this country ans so the name is well deserved. Turkish coffee on the other hand, almost nobody has or drinks. So really it should be called Arabic coffee (or Armenian or Greek) but not Turkish...
OK so briefly - we went south from Adana to hmmm I forget the name of the town Jack's dad is from (I know it means four roads and is in the corner of the Med. Sea). From there south to Yayladagh and then up the coast looking for Musa Dagh... we finally found it and the only Armenian village left in Turkey - called Vasif something. We spent the night there and went around with Panos the next day and then zoomed up to Aintab. An overgrown sprawl, without character. The funny thing is that there was security and metal detectors in almost every building (malls, hotels, etc), which we had not seen before and I thought it was because we were approaching Kurdistan, but no, we are in Diyarbekir and have seen nothing of the sort. Here we saw the ruins of the two Armenian Churches - one was huge and quite beautiful. Then we somehow ended up at an Assyrian Church and met the last Armenians in Diyarbekir. Baydzar was the only one who spoke Armenian still. So it has been quite fun. Next, off to Van, Kars and Ani....
The countryside here reminds me a lot of Armenia, and the villages/towns often of Tijuana/Mexico. They are building some massive infrastructure here and there, especially roads, but for the most part things are pretty backwards. In the cities even, there are a huge number of old fashioned/villagers - many men and women wear the MC Hammer pants and can be seen washing their feet in sinks. There is no tourist infrastructure to speak of and almost no English speakers. Diyarbekir is ahead of many of the towns we have been in which is a surprise to me.
So that is all for now... we are skipping some towns to save time. Wizzed through Urfa and will do the same to Bitlis tomorrow while skipping Mush altogether, but we have a lot of monasteries/churches to hunt in the next few days!!
So we have been through too much to write about in any detail - especially since I am pooped and also because this place only has a Turkish toilet. That for those who don't know is a porcelain hole in the bathroom floor. They are everywhere in this country ans so the name is well deserved. Turkish coffee on the other hand, almost nobody has or drinks. So really it should be called Arabic coffee (or Armenian or Greek) but not Turkish...
OK so briefly - we went south from Adana to hmmm I forget the name of the town Jack's dad is from (I know it means four roads and is in the corner of the Med. Sea). From there south to Yayladagh and then up the coast looking for Musa Dagh... we finally found it and the only Armenian village left in Turkey - called Vasif something. We spent the night there and went around with Panos the next day and then zoomed up to Aintab. An overgrown sprawl, without character. The funny thing is that there was security and metal detectors in almost every building (malls, hotels, etc), which we had not seen before and I thought it was because we were approaching Kurdistan, but no, we are in Diyarbekir and have seen nothing of the sort. Here we saw the ruins of the two Armenian Churches - one was huge and quite beautiful. Then we somehow ended up at an Assyrian Church and met the last Armenians in Diyarbekir. Baydzar was the only one who spoke Armenian still. So it has been quite fun. Next, off to Van, Kars and Ani....
The countryside here reminds me a lot of Armenia, and the villages/towns often of Tijuana/Mexico. They are building some massive infrastructure here and there, especially roads, but for the most part things are pretty backwards. In the cities even, there are a huge number of old fashioned/villagers - many men and women wear the MC Hammer pants and can be seen washing their feet in sinks. There is no tourist infrastructure to speak of and almost no English speakers. Diyarbekir is ahead of many of the towns we have been in which is a surprise to me.
So that is all for now... we are skipping some towns to save time. Wizzed through Urfa and will do the same to Bitlis tomorrow while skipping Mush altogether, but we have a lot of monasteries/churches to hunt in the next few days!!
posted by Raffi K. at 11:51 PM
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