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Van, Turkey
Saturday, Sep 03, 2005

Relics of Van

David Murray
2007-02-21 19:50:41

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Night buses. They fucked me over this time. But basically, since I left Albania. My stomach has basically been fucked. Every time my stomach and bowels start working as a team again, we take a night bus and I am back to square one again and the toilet is my best friend !!!!! Luckily for us, upon arrival in Van, we did not miss the service bus and we were dropped outside the poshest cafe in town, which was open at 07:00. I asked if I could use the toilet, and they let me. It has been a while since I have sat down on a toilet seat, and a cushioned one at that. But it was joy.

Back to the story though. Because of this night bus. I was feeling like shit and did not feel like doing anything. End of day one. I have told you all before that night buses fuck you over

The second day was a different story all together. I felt fine, ready to go. So that is what we did. Now Van is known for a couple of things. A castle and the cats with the different coloured eyes, so we set out to see these two. The castle was easy. Jump on a Dolmus and catch it to the end of the line. Walk 500 metres and there is a cliff and the castle is built all over it. Getting there is pretty much like any site in Turkey. You first need to fend off all the kids asking for money and food. Once done, pay and go in. Now this thing is huge. It is crumbling down, so you are climbing all over it. There was also a tomb that a Muslim Holy Man was buried in. We eventually found it but it was all locked up. Basically, here in Turkey, any tomb or cave, the locals shit in, so we could only think that the reason for it being closed, was to stop it being used as a toilet !!! Our tour was over and we decided to leave. On the way out, a local family of Kurds called us over for a cup of tea. They had an urn and after about 5 cups, we had to leave. On the way back, we went looking for the Van cats, but all we could find was a kitten for sale. It was locked up in a bird cage. Worse were the goldfish. They were kept singualy in wine glasses !!!

The last day in Van, we jumped in a Dolmus and went to a place called Akdamar. From here, a boat will take you out to an island where there is an Armenian church. This was our first church in weeks after loads of mosques. The church is around 1000 years old and is covered with loads of hand carved reliefs. There are paintings inside as well but the whole church is closed as it is undergoing restoration. The outside was covered in scaffolding as well but at least you could see the carvings. On the way back, we finally got to see the hideous statue of the Van cat and kitten that is greets you as you arrive.

That was basically Van. Small with not much to see, with the biggest thing being Lake Van itself. Legend has it that there is a version of the Loch Ness Monster, but we did not see that either.