"Helllo, helllo." Giggles follow and we're really not sure which which little person down below us in the school yard is saying it - because now, all their heads are down and they're scurrying off. This is the village of Doğansu, close to the town of Patnos in Ağrı, East Turkey. Some of the …
Lake Van & Akdamar Island: When All Is Not Quite What You Envisaged
Tourism posters for Turkey; we've all seen them: Ölüdeniz from above with its deserted lagoon and golden sands, the pristine white travertines of Pamukkale and not a soul to be seen, the Library of Celsus at Ephesus and not a soul to be seen, hot air balloons gliding silently over the enchanting …
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With The Help Of A Stranger – Negotiating Public Transport In Van City Centre
Squirming in my seat. Constantly changing positions. Facial contortions and looking out of the window trying to focus on anything that will take my mind off this awful, potentially very embarrassing situation. It's agony. Barry's comforting me. "We're nearly there." Except 'nearly there' isn't …
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Tatvan – The Seaside Town On The Shores Of Lake Van
Wow, don't we just make a fabulous job of getting side tracked on this blog! One minute we're taking you to East Turkey, the next minute we're eating meze at a restaurant in Dalyan and allowing our addiction to Kabak to take hold; and that's in between writing about daily life in Fethiye - such as …
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Visiting The Seljuk Tombstones Of Ahlat – Haunting Beauty In Eastern Turkey
Okay, so where are we up to? We showed you the map of our route from Patnos to Tatvan on our little mini road trip. Our first stop was Adilcevaz with the centuries old mosque and beautiful views across Van Gölü, and then it was time to press on towards Ahlat. And the Seljuk tombstones of Ahlat are …
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Road Trip Along The North Shore of Van Gölü – First Stop, Adilcevaz
This was one of those little outings where, when you go to visit a friend in a new place, they have things they really want you to see before you leave. A bit of a quick stop tour. The east of Turkey really isn't close to Fethiye - it's only when you head that way that you really get a feel for …
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Patnos To Tatvan Road Trip – A Journey Along The Shore Of Van Gölü
Back in February, we told you we were taking you on an East Turkey road trip and mapped the route out that we took. It was a long journey done over a couple of nights and our stops were Muradiye for the Muradiye waterfalls, Doğubeyazıt for İshak Paşa Sarayı, then Iğdır for a sleep, Tuzluca for the …
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East Turkey Road Trip Part 6 – To Kars And (Almost) Back Again
In our two days on the road in the east of Turkey we'd seen so much, observed so much, realised a couple of ambitions - it was all bordering on the overwhelming; just amazing - and now it was time to head to Kars to get some food before driving back to Patnos. Let's recap where we've been and what …
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Exploring Ani Ruins, East Turkey
The Ani ruins lie in the Kars Province, southwest of the city of Kars in a village called Ocaklı. As with most drives we did around this area, the route from Iğdır towards Kars and Ocaklı is virtually traffic free. The roads stretch for miles until they disappear over the horizon. And, as we told …
East Turkey Road Trip Part 4 – The Tuzluca Episode
And we left the story where we were sat in a police station in Iğdır, on a national holiday, smiling politely at the policeman on duty in the hope that he would authorise our hire car to be released from car prison. There are four of us, sitting there. Our two Turkish friends are doing the …
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