Old Van

... the norm. The castle was huge and we spent ages climbing all over the place. I climbed up a tower and looked over into old Van that had been completely flattened in 1915 during the war. There are only a couple ruins left and two mosques that have ...

... islam to read which will keep me busy during those long bus journeys. Might help me understand the culture gap a little better! Turkey has been great this time. East Turkey has good cheap food, friendly people and is without tourists. I had to ...

... There was also a tomb that a Muslim Holy Man was buried in. We eventually found it but it was all locked up. Basically, here in Turkey, any tomb or cave, the locals shit in, so we could only think that the reason for it being closed, was to stop it ...

... name of  the  university. But the campus seemed a lot like other university campuses I have seen in Turkey. A vast space punctuated by randomly placed buildings of no particular,  distinguishing, unifying style, the large intervening ...

... called Orumiyeh where I should be able to find a bus to Van (that is if the bus station is open there) which is a town in Turkey. After saying goodbye to the guys, I jumped into a taxi with a very nice and young couple from New Zealand (Miles and Fran) ...

... neither to read my book or sleep. Instead, I sat in the busy area and watched as the numerous people flowed in and out. Old men sat in shaded corners fiddling with prayer beads and talking. The younger population seemed to be sat near me and a collection ...

... carry it! On our way out of Van we  stopped at the University to see the famous swimming cat of Turkey, the Van cat...a white cat which often has two different colored eyes because of interbreeding.  There is a special breeding program ...

... when there was a huge language barrier. I kept trying to talk about my boyfriend, even getting out Barika's photos, but in Turkey, 'boyfriend' has little meaning except to show that you are 'loose' (in hindsight!). He then wanted me to drink beer with ...

... . You're welcome" they continued to tell me where they went to school pointing down the road and asking whether I liked Van and Turkey and where my wife had gone.  They chatted for a while stopping to regularly ask one another what a ...

... steep) rocky hill with great views of the lake (and surrounding mountains), the modern town of Van, and the former old city of Van (which was destroyed during the first world war).  It was originally an Urartu fortress, but the Selcuks and Ottomans ...