Trip Start May 24, 2008
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Trip End Jul 26, 2008


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Where I stayed
(Van hotels)

Flag of Turkey  ,
Tuesday, July 1, 2008

We found Van to be a pleasant and welcome surprise from the conservative world we had found in most of the places we had traveled in the southeastern part of Turkey.  We went to a restaurant on our first night of the city and saw groups of younger ladies out together along with dating couples.  Turkey continues to toss and turn our expectations.  The city had an upbeat vibe about it and after passing through the streets lined with more trendy cafes, restaurants, and higher end clothing shops it was hard to believe we were still in this part of Turkey.

We spent 3 days in Van - 2 for sight seeing and 1 to just relax.  It's a sizable city with a population of over 400,000 people and although it sits near massive Lake Van (2325 square miles), it makes practically no use of this proximity.  There is no water front activities to speak of and water sports or recreational use of the lake are pretty much non-existent.  Still, the blue waters with mountains set as a backdrop and the slight increase in elevation made for a very nice change of pace from the arid climate and dry looking landscape we had been experiencing for the past week or so.

Enjoy!

Jon and Liz
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