Last stop in Turkey

Hitchhiking in turkey is so easy - does not matter if you are 1, 2, 3 people, even if it is two men and one woman. It did not take too much time after we were all three picked up from the place where Onder left us.

The longest ride was with the bus - for free of course.

During our way to Dogubayazit we were two times stopped and controlled by military guys. Eastern Turkey is a problematic district, where turkish military tries to have control over some kurdish extremists. It seams however like a witch circle, as kurdish children have to grow up being constantly under army control, which may thus rise more and more hate in them towards the officials.

When we hitchhiked a turkish car, the driver said: Kurdisatan - problem !

When we hitchhiked a kurdish car, the driver said: Turkiye - problem !

Anyway, turkish soldiers are still very nice and wished us good trip after getting to know that we are tourists.

Few km-s from Dogubayazit is Ishak Pasha Palace at the foot of Mount Ararat. To this place we were heading for the night with the hope to get a cheap room. Eventually we made a good deal in Murat camping and got a nice room for 2 euros all together for 3 of us.

Murat camping was at the same time organizing expedition to Mount Ararat for a group of mountaineers . Surprisingly we were told that it was a group of estonians !

Later we found out an interestig fact -

-On 9 October 1829, the first person ever to reach the peak of the legendary Mount Ararat was Johann Jakob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot (1792 – 1841), Tartu University physics professor and later rector.

So it was 180 anniversary of conquering the Ararat.....

Also when having dinner in one kurdish restaurant down in Dogubayazit, we got discount, just because Branko could speak few kurdish words. They were all so happy that a foreigner knows some words in kurdish...

Gelec spas !

Our last Turkish evening went by in front of our room, having a beautiful view down to the city, finishing Greek Ouzo, that we carried all he way from Greece to Turkey and cracking hazelnuts, that was given to us by one driver in Kapadokya.

Next day big and unknown Iran was waiting for us !