Castle-d out in Van
Since we were taking a night bus from Diyarbakir to Van, the four of us spent a leisurely day taking care of errands (on my fourth pair of sunglasses in 2 months now) and catching a flick at the local movie theater (Wolverine. Like i said to deb, the man is GOD). The bus trip was unfortunately pretty rough. We arrived around 7:30 am in Van and stumbled about searching desperately for a hotel to crash in.
We all took a 5 hour nap and slowly gathered ourselves together by 1pm. The afternoon was dedicated to a small trip to Akdamar Kilisesi, an old church/monastery on an island, smack dab in the middle of the magnificent Lake Van (or rather, Vangölü). Despite the complexity of getting there (we had trouble getting any clear directions on how to get there. finally a woman just got on the bus WITH us) the trip was well worth it. The church itself was really interesting with reliefs and murals in a style I haven't seen before, and the island was a wonderful opportunity to take in the loveliness of Lake Van and the surrounding mountains. Think switzerland...or austria. even though i've never been to either!
The next day was ambitious...we hit up 3 separate castles.
1. Ho?ap Castle - Perched haphazardly atop an impressive rocky craig. The moment the little kids saw us they came running after us trying to sell tiny miniature knit mittens. I don't think many people visit here. The groundskeeper keeps it locked at all times until he sees some tourists and then comes running out with a key. Matt had to help heave the huge metal door open. We were instant local celebrities down at the town below the castle as well. We were invited to tea and then we were immediately swarmed by seemingly every man in the vicinity of 60 feet.
2. Çavu?tepe Castle - a waste of time, in my opinion. don't bother!
3. Van Kalesi - I almost skipped this because by the end of the day I was completely warped, but i'm really glad I ended up going. This castle is absolutely HUGE. We were easily walking for 15 minutes around the perimeter, simply trying to find the entrance! The view was fantastic and I was able to enjoy another middle eastern sunset.
We all took a 5 hour nap and slowly gathered ourselves together by 1pm. The afternoon was dedicated to a small trip to Akdamar Kilisesi, an old church/monastery on an island, smack dab in the middle of the magnificent Lake Van (or rather, Vangölü). Despite the complexity of getting there (we had trouble getting any clear directions on how to get there. finally a woman just got on the bus WITH us) the trip was well worth it. The church itself was really interesting with reliefs and murals in a style I haven't seen before, and the island was a wonderful opportunity to take in the loveliness of Lake Van and the surrounding mountains. Think switzerland...or austria. even though i've never been to either!
The next day was ambitious...we hit up 3 separate castles.
1. Ho?ap Castle - Perched haphazardly atop an impressive rocky craig. The moment the little kids saw us they came running after us trying to sell tiny miniature knit mittens. I don't think many people visit here. The groundskeeper keeps it locked at all times until he sees some tourists and then comes running out with a key. Matt had to help heave the huge metal door open. We were instant local celebrities down at the town below the castle as well. We were invited to tea and then we were immediately swarmed by seemingly every man in the vicinity of 60 feet.
2. Çavu?tepe Castle - a waste of time, in my opinion. don't bother!
3. Van Kalesi - I almost skipped this because by the end of the day I was completely warped, but i'm really glad I ended up going. This castle is absolutely HUGE. We were easily walking for 15 minutes around the perimeter, simply trying to find the entrance! The view was fantastic and I was able to enjoy another middle eastern sunset.
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