Merhaba.
 
I’m now in the land of the Turks. I kind of changed my plans. Instead of travelling through the high North and freezing my balls off, I decided to take the old hippy trail, going through Turkey into one of the axes of evil (must be cool): Iran, then Pakistan and after that, India.

In Turkey, everybody is a millionaire. 1,5 million Turkish lira equals 1 euro - talk about inflation.
I arrived in a rainy Istanbul, so I had the feeling I was back home: many Turks and rain, feels like Holland. Istanbul is a fascinating city, on the one hand, you see Muslim woman in the traditional all-body covering dress, and on the other hand people selling viagra and porn cd-rom’s. It also looks like everybody has a shop. The people are very friendly and hospitable. It has happened to me a few times that I have been stopped on the street by somebody who started a conversation. You are just waiting for the moment he wants to sell you something, but this moment never arrives. Very nice indeed. They are genuinely interested in you and want to practice their English or German.

After Istanbul, I went to Ankara to arrange a visa for Iran and Pakistan. From there I went to the Mediterranean coast. I stayed a few days in a kind of cross between an Ewok village (tree houses) and a backpackers resort in Olympus. I think they put something in the food there that makes you wanna stay, because the place was hard to leave. One day I wanted to go for a hike in the beautiful pine-forested mountains. It was very interesting (especially when you’re into SM, I encountered, I think, every stinging plant in Turkey).
 
Cappadocia was next on my agenda. In a part of this area they shot parts of the first Star Wars movie. Indeed the landscape is out of this world. It consists of very strangely eroded volcanic stone. Some in the shape of giant mushrooms, some in the shape of giant penises. Many places were once carved out and inhabited - some still are. There are also many underground cities in this area, some 8 levels deep.
After the moonlike landscape I went to Guzelyurt, which was very pleasant because this was the first non-touristy place (besides Ankara, which is just a big city) I had visited in Turkey. Now I’m back in Ankara. Maybe I’ll go to another place in Turkey, but after that I’ll go to Iran.

Kurt

One time I took a side trip to Bolu to go camping - and suffered great pain to my fingers and toes because of the unexpected cold in the morning. The kind of pain with which, for unknown reasons, it is impossible to sit still: moving around and shouting until your body parts reach an agreeable temperature seems to help.
But the area was very nice; densely forested mountains with trees in their autumn colours - brown, yellow, red and green - making it a feast for your eyes (Bob Ross would have approved). Unfortunately, the 7-lake park (the reason I was there) was only accessible by expensive taxi, so I just went into the mountains by my self. But the view over the valley was great anyway. In the morning, the whole valley was filled with fog, giving the hills a blueish-white shade, like in the old nerofen commercials. The valley was also lit up by a strange red glow the first night. Unfortunately, I could only see a small piece through the trees -  and the second night, when I had my camera ready and could see the whole valley, of course the glow didn't show up... or did I just see it because of the canned beans I ate the first night? Only Allah knows.

It was good to be out of the city and in nature; although you would be surprised how fast you start to talk to yourself once you're on your own.

In Ankara, I also came into contact with a family of political prisoners who were holding a hunger strike. Some prisoners are kept in isolation for years and other forms of torture are also still happening. I visited them several times (I had nothing to do anyway) and was very moved by their persistence and spirit. On the latest 2 occasions, there was a big squad of armed police officers (some with machineguns) posted just across from where they were. This really symbolizes how the Turkish government thinks and I think this is really a sad thing. As if these hunger-strikers would cause riots. But the government and some of the press see them (or want the public to see them) as terrorists. It was a really vulgar display of power.

One day I was standing with Can and Byran, a friend of his who sells copied Video discs (we were standing in his "shop" on the pavement), when suddenly a police car with flashing lights stopped. One police officer came out and started to talk to me, of all people. Of course I didn't understand what this guy was saying (later I heard he had asked me who was responsible for this). Then he talked briefly to Byran and he began to collect the VCD's of his liking, while his colleague waited in the car with the flashing lights. How about that!

I didn't do the trip to Iran in one leap, but stopped in Van. The eastern area of Turkey is remarkably poorer. I saw many tents and many jandarma (police). The area around Van is mainly Kurdish and was - until the arrest of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK- not the best part of Turkey to travel around. But now things are more relaxed. Van was a bit disappointing so I didn't stay long. The people seemed interesting though. More rough and traditional. Unshaved faces and moustaches.

I left Turkey with some excellent Turkish music in my luggage (Kardes Turkleri), baklava (which didn't make it far past the border) and very good memories.