We left Cappadocia for Mt. Nemrut. I was really excited for it, because it is an old grave of a king on top of a mountain. We found a bus that got to Malatya, a town to the north, at 6AM and from there planned to catch a bus towards the mountain. Turns out that the guy at the ticket office just tells people that the bus arrives at 6AM because if he told everyone that it actaully arrives at 2AM no one would buy tickets. According to the guy we bought out Nemrut tour through, lots of people have that problem. So, we had lots of time to cehck some prices and find a decent tour to Nemrut.
Trying to get there without a tour would have been costlier and a much larger pain in the ass, so we hopped on a bus with two conservation farmers living Australia and took a long bus ride to a hotel 2km away from the summit. Our tour included both sunset and sunrise, so we got to see an absolutely gorgeous sunset and a very good sunrise. Check the pictures, they are awesome. The ruins itself didn't really impress us that much, aside from the usual "Why did they do this?" part. Large statues of said king's ancestors along with some Greek gods on a mountain top is heartily impressive, but the sunset was top notch.
Trying to get there without a tour would have been costlier and a much larger pain in the ass, so we hopped on a bus with two conservation farmers living Australia and took a long bus ride to a hotel 2km away from the summit. Our tour included both sunset and sunrise, so we got to see an absolutely gorgeous sunset and a very good sunrise. Check the pictures, they are awesome. The ruins itself didn't really impress us that much, aside from the usual "Why did they do this?" part. Large statues of said king's ancestors along with some Greek gods on a mountain top is heartily impressive, but the sunset was top notch.
Post sunrise we headed down and caught a bus to Divrigi, a town that houses an old mosque/insane asylum (sounds odd, but that combination is not uncommon around here). Getting off the bus we met a reporter for the local paper who had some free time, so he came with us and told us a little bit about the building. He was a really nice guy and we had a great time talking with him while gazing at some exquisite architecture and design. I'm really glad that it was on the way, because while it may not be a major stop, both Shiz and I had a great time there.
We saw it on a Wednesday, which is market day in Turkey. After leaving the mosque we saw the local market and since we had an hour until the bus we decided to get some fruit and socks (Shiz needed socks). Small towns are great for wandering around and getting said hello to, and doing that with the local reporter is just that much better since everyone knows him. In Turkey the two most common questions one gets asked after someone says hello are "Where are you from?" and "What's your name?" and our reporter friend loved how it was a classic Turkish thing to ask. Since we were quite a rarity that day, every fifth person or so said these things, after which ourt friend would laugh, grab my arm and excalim "Classic Turk!" I think he said it about forty times. It was great
Our bus eventually came, so we said our goodbyes and made our way to Sivas. We arrived very late but found a decent hotel with as pretty nice guy. Sivas didn't have to omuch aside from some neat old mosques and, well, some neat old mosques. We walked around for about three hours and saw everything, so we found an internet cafe and uploaded some pictures. Sivas does have a Turkish bath that was voted Top Ten in Turkey eight years or so ago, so we set out for it that evening. Sadly the women's one closed early that day, so I went in myself. We read what to do before going, but I was still a bit confused, being used to Japanese-style. It was pretty relaxing and was basically versions of a sauna. I felt pretty clean (didn't have the cash for the body scrub, so I probably haven't really DONE a Turkish bath yet, I suppose) and relaxed.
We woke up this morning and took a train out to Amasya, hoping that it would be a good palce to stay for a couple of days. Good news, it is! This town is pretty small, but very clean and picturesque. In a really odd way if feels like Leavenworth, WA, to those of you who have ever been there. After a walk by the river we found a hotel with some very friendly staff for incredibly cheap and found some dinner. We'll be spending the next four or five days living the slow life, double-checking anf inalizing plans for Africa, uploading pictures, and seeing the old castle and ancient king's tombs. Are you jealous yet?
We woke up this morning and took a train out to Amasya, hoping that it would be a good palce to stay for a couple of days. Good news, it is! This town is pretty small, but very clean and picturesque. In a really odd way if feels like Leavenworth, WA, to those of you who have ever been there. After a walk by the river we found a hotel with some very friendly staff for incredibly cheap and found some dinner. We'll be spending the next four or five days living the slow life, double-checking anf inalizing plans for Africa, uploading pictures, and seeing the old castle and ancient king's tombs. Are you jealous yet?