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Eastern Turkey (Antakya, Malatya, Trabzon, Yusufeli & Erzurum)

It took us a full day to get from Amman Jordan to Aleppo Syria. By the afternoon of the second day, we arrived in Antakya, the nearest big town to the border. Here we 'rested' the next day and visited the town museum with its interesting collection of mosiac art, much of which is of the Christian faith. We then boarded the overnight bus for a long journey to the town of Malatya. Bus services in Turkey is extensive, cheap and very good.

Arrived in Malatya at dawn and spent two nights here. This small town is very pretty and is known as the apricot capital of Turkey. Its also the base to visit Nemrut Dagi, a king's tomb, high up in the mountains, which is strongly influenced by the Greek civilization.

            
Snow covered Nemrut Dagi / Pretty girl with green eyes

Started the journey to Nemrut Dagi with our guide Ali Baba (yes Ali Baba) in the morning and it was a very pleasant drive up the mountains, passing picturisque villages and orchards. Our host was a Kurdish family who provided us with authentic local cuisine and we slept in a farmer's cottage with a lighted fireplace. At dawn, its off to Nemrut Dagi, which involved a short trek over snow-covered tracks. The scenery ontop was breathtaking. We started back to Malatya late morning and arrived late in the evening.

We spent the next day moving about in Malatya including a exquisite Turkish bath with Ali Baba and a visit to a local tea house cum gambling joint. This is the real Turkey we have come to see. Late evening, we boarded another overnight bus to get to Trabzon which is situated near the border of Georgia.

        
 Mountain village  / Kurdish children in Nemrut

Trabzon is a major town with a thriving economy. There's even a huge Russian bazaar, manned by traders from Russia, Georgia, Armenians etc. The town is touristic but still very pleasant, especially when one have time to move about and explore. Another attraction is the Sumela Christian Monestry, a short bus ride away. The journey took us through pine cover hills and crystal clear rivers and this was a very pleasant day outing.

After two days in Trabzon, we proceeded to Hopa, where we spend the night engaging in local delights. After that, it was off to Yusufeli, a small mountain village, to stay with Cevdet, a Turkish wrestler and tour guide. On arrival, we proceeded in his beat-up car to visit an Armenian castle. The next day, Cevdet took us to a nearby village where we viewed the ruins of two Georgian churches. We also sat and enjoyed tea with the local villagers in their tea house.

After two days in this pretty town, we bade a reluctant farewell to our friends and made our way to the town of Erzurum, a district capital. This town is a stopover for many travellers with extensive connections to all the major cities in Turkey. After a night in Erzurum, its off to Antakya and back to Syria, Amman and home.

Hopa to Georgia (Tiflis), Armenia (Batum), Ukraine (Erivan) etc

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