Dogubeyazit to Lake Van

We had a clear view of Mount Ararat in the morning.

The main site in Dogubeyazit was Ishak Pasa Sarayi.

The building was built in 1685 by Colak Abdi Pasi and completed by his son Ishak in 1784. Using an Armenian architect, it’s a mix of Seljuk, Ottoman, Persian, Georgian and Armenian styles. The palace has a huge harem, mosque and even a courtroom. Justice was swift in those days- the trial was held in the courtroom, the verdict delivered and if guilty, you were hung from the gallows nearby.

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We were tagged by what we thought was a UIG (UnInvited Guide). He followed us through the site pointing out each room and it’s function. We tried to brush him off until we realized that he was the architect responsible for the restoration of the palace and was just honestly happy to show us the site and his work. He was a wonderful man who unfortunately spoke very little English- but we managed to get by with a lot of sign language and charades. After our private tour, he invited us for tea and we spent an hour talking with him and the owner of the local restaurant getting travel advice for eastern Turkey.

On his advice, we nixed our plans to visit Erzurum and headed for the true east. Assured that it was completely safe, we headed off (with the warning that all the roads closed at 4:30). Military checkpoints were frequent and we saw the most APC (armored personnel carriers) we’d ever seen in our lives patrolling the roads. Airborne commando officers carrying AK-47’s were manning the checkpoints. and the trucks were staffed with machine guns. We had just a little trepidation at our change of plans.

Our first stop was Lake Van. We made it in time to make the ascent up to the Rock of Van, the fortress of the Urartian capital.

The kingdom of Urartu, called Ararat in the Bible, flourished from the 13th to the 7th C BC. The hike up was quite a feat although the local population seemed to make it up with ease (even the old women in chadors). The town itself was definitely Kurdish—all the men wandering in the streets- oblivious to cars, young boys driving cyclos carrying eggplant and other veggies. The few women we saw were cloaked- although we did spot a few that could have been working in downtown Boston.
Our hotel guaranteed us that the lounge on the roof only played music until 12:00- and that it was quiet music. We grabbed a quick dinner on the roof restaurant (the only clientele) and headed to bed…only to be awakened at 11:30 with pounding Turkish music lasting until 12:30. Turkey is truly the land of no sleep.