ON TO KURDISH COUNTRY
Enough about trying to describe the area....my words don't do much justice. On to the simpler things.....we stayed in a cave pension, an original rock cave that has been reworked a bit to accomodate people. Cut into the rock, all the chisel marks still visible on the wall, it was cool enough during the day and warm enough at night. Who needs AC and heating. All for a grand total of less than $15 per night. Not bad. Other pensions had room carved into the Fairy Chimneys, the large lava rocks, with nice panaromic views.

Leaving Goreme, we had to change buses in Kayseri on the way to Kahta. Too bad they didnt bother to tell us about the 3hr wait before the Kahta bus departed at 12am. Nothing like killing 3hrs in a bus station. Luckily, the bus was less than full, so we were able to get a full two seats to make an attempt at getting comfortable and sleeping. Arrived in Kahta at 7am or so, and were promptly met by the man from the pension we arranged in Karadut. A few stops and 50km later we arrived at their place in the shadows of Mt. Nemrut. After some eats and a couple hours of sleep, we took off for the mountain. A rough 12km drive winding around and up the mountain proved that we were wise not to try to hike it. Upon arriving up top, we were left with about a 700m hike, more than I would have liked. Anyway, made it in one piece, and got around back to the statues of King Nimrod and the gods. The good king thought he was equal to the greatest of the gods, so he had his people cut large rock thrones and statues, capped with heads about 2 meters in height, and set them up on the top of the mountain. Nimrod surrounded by Hercules and the like. Earthquakes took there toll on it all over the last 1000s of years, and restorative efforts have reconstructed the bodies on the thrones, but the heads are no longer attached, and are displayed below. Around the other side are more stone statues of the gods and our man Nimrod. From there we watched the sunset. I have never sat and waited 45min for the sunset before, especially in the cold wind at the top of a 2150m mountain. Not quit sure it was worth it.

Back to Karadut, then off the next morning for Sanliurfa, right in the heart of the Kurdish lands. And for all the travels thus far and all the people encountered, none top the Kurds for being nice, friendly, happy people. Especially the kids. Of every 10 kids I've walked past on the streets, I think 9 have given a "hello", wave, and a smile. And for once, we've found people that genuienly like Americans! Urfa is about as old as towns get, save Harran and a few others, originally settled by the Hiitites back some 3000 yrs or so BC. A castle sits on a hilltop over the city, as it has ever since then, albiet destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. The Old Testament's Abraham and Job both spent some time in this city back in their days. Now its mostly Kurdish, and not very modern. No McDonalds, no shopping malls or supermarkets, no nightlife whatsoever, just lots of orderly chaos. Despite it all, they are great people. We stayed at Hospitality Pension with our new friend Aziz and his family. "No problem, Kurdish people are good people, we like Americans, Everybody happy, good times, rich inside." Never at a loss for words, thats Aziz.

From Urfa hit a day trip down to Harran, which dates back to before Genesis Ch 11 in the Old Testament. Why they would settle in a dry, barren, scorching hot desolate area is beyond me. The town has remnants of the world's oldest university, which has subsequently been a mosque, church, and fortress. A Roman castle in relatively good condition is on the same site as castles from 3000 or so BC. The town is famous for its beehive houses, which is about as accurate a description as one could conjour up. Remarkable in that, despite 35+ outside, it felt air conditioned inside. The current beehives are only 200 years old, and now only inhabited by kitchens and animals, as the town is now modern. Our walk thru Harran was led by our man Omar Sherif, a 14 yr old kid who learned English, and quite well, from tourists. He has aspirations of going to tourism university, and I think Chris and I gave him his first lesson: don't try to screw over your customers. He tried to badger us into giving him money, after saying any amount is good at the start of the tour and taking us to the cleaners at the restaurant for lunch. They teach them young here, they do.

The whole of the Southeastern Anatolia region where these cities are has changed remarkably in the past 20 years for one reason: water. Some 19 dams were built on the Tigris and Euphrates, among others, rivers, and canals, tunnels, troughs, and ditches now carry water to the whole of the region, turning what was arrid wasteland into fertile farmland full of barley, cotton, various trees, corn, etc. Quite a difference can be seen when traveling north to regions unserviced by the water. Anyway, while improving things for the people, its not all fun and games. Apparently, Eli Whitney hasnt made it here, and dozens of women and children can be seen out picking the cotton by had, acre after acre. In the still dry and arrid parts, flocks of sheep and goats roam the land, tended to by shepard girls and boys, probably no more than 12 years old.

Arrived in Diyarbikar today to set out on the final week of the Turkey adventure: ROAD TRIP. Despite it all, technology has made it this far, and we were able to go to Avis.com from Urfa to reserve a car for a week from Diyarbikar. So we'll be making the rounds to the other Mt Nemrut, Lake Van, Mt Ararat near the Iranian border, and who knows what else.