During an early morning walk through a very pleasant residential area, I noted an extremely small number of private cars in evidence – lots of vans, trucks, and buses. I was invited in for chai and perhaps breakfast by a woman near the far end of the walk, about a mile from the hotel.  On way back I saw a tank, complete with soldiers and guns.  I saw a tank again on the road to Hakkari.  Same one?

We paused to take pictures at a beautiful lake (created by a dam? Or just controlled by it? ) that reflected like a mirror.  Then we visited Hosap Castle; some of us got caught up buying beads from a vender at the entrance, while some of us climbed high into the castle and saw all its features and magnificent views.

 We paused to take pictures at a marker that showed us at 2710 meters (8810 feet).

 We next stopped at a suspension bridge, complete with holes, that is a remote village’s only route to the outer world.  Their economy is animals and smuggling.  The scenery grew more extreme and more desolate and harsh as well as more beautiful as we approached Hakkari.  Finally, we approached Hakkari along a beautiful gorge.

 Hakkari is the farthermost city in Turkey, both geographically and culturally.  There were no services, anything, until 1998.  When it opened up after the truce with the Kurds, they changed the military base into a university prep school first.  Hakkari is cut off by snow for four months of the year.  There is snow there until mid June.

Just before we reached Hakkari, we got stopped at a checkpoint, complete with tanks.  The soldiers were not in uniform, but had big guns – they call them a Special Team.  They took our passports to check us out through the computer before letting us proceed.  The soldiers informed Meli that the waterfall she had intended to take us to see is a restaurant. 

There are rugged mountains with caves and glaciers all around the town. The women of the town wore a variety of costumes, many very colorful, some like the Kurdish dancers we had seen in Van.

We had an excellent local dish, Hakkari dolma, for lunch in an extremely light and attractive restaurant above the main street of town.  A pop music video was playing on a large screen TV.  Meli asked them to change it to the BBC when we were the only patrons left in the restaurant.

 A quick trip to an Indian shop yielded a table for Meli, a vase for Nancie, and a base for Ruth and Larry’s tray.Huge rocks loom over the town.  There is lots of construction for people moving in from the villages.  Looking at this terrain, you can see why it took 14 years to quell the terrorists.  Just outside of Hakkari we saw caves that were terrorist’s homes. 

Unfortunately we could not linger, as we had to do most of the drive back to Van before dark

 

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