Travelogues

(NB : last update : 2008 11 27).
Calender :
(NB : I changed slightly the succession of villages as there were too many go's and returns which would confuse the order in the photos ;
links in italic refer to WS photos).

>>>>(Because of the length of the text with all the links, I have to divide it in 2 parts
>>> Part 1 = east Anatolia : lake Van and near Mount Ararat.

Aug 1 - REŞADİYE (small village near Tatvan on lake Van), arrival from Kayseri with night bus : I did not want to return straight to Sarikum, a village that I had visited 2 years before as I knew that the family would have problems to host me and there were other reasons too, plus I wanted to see first something different ; Reşadiye (pronounced "Resha-dee-yeah") seemed a nice option and I first left my luggage in Tatvan, not sure of what I would find there... But saying hello to the 1st woman that I saw (middle of the sleepy afternoon), I was immediately invited for tea, then the men arrived from the Friday prayer and soon, there was a large crowd in the shade of the trees. I was invited also inside the house where there was eventually another tea drinking party with only women and I was told that they were there to see the newborn son, 3 days old ; later, I understood that there was another reason for this big family and friends gathering...
A prosperous and forward-looking family working hard in cattle raising, very welcoming ; so, I did not have to look farther for a place where to stay, I slept in a nearby house connected with the same family.
- the young parents of 3 days-old little Hamza agreed to pose for me,
- Hamza the 1st born and his perplexed but tender mother
- my 1st night there, I heard how many children each of these gentlemen had got and had to answer some tricky questions !!!

Aug 2 - REŞADİYE, daytime the 2 mornings that I spent there, I got up early as it was sooo hot inside the sleeping room (they seem to like this kind of heat to sleep, I cannot !) and the mornings were glorious ! I'll add here many photos of the family and of their activity, daytime.
- a multitude of apricots drying on the roof of a house with a view on lake Van and the peninsula
- preparing the room where the bread is baked
- (here are a collection of WSs showing the women going up in the mountains and milking the goats and sheep which are guarded by 2 shepherds ;
=> the last photo of that sort of "PASTORAL ODE" is the photo of a smart and smiling girl !

Aug 3 - SARIKUM (on the shores of lake Van, not far from Ahlat) : my second visit to this village with very poor but so beautiful people, they don't have much opportunities to develop but I found their way of living captivating, that's why I wanted to return and see how my friend Kemal was doing with his big family.
- sun, wind, heath and dust, herds of sheep making clouds of dust when walking along the lake
- my friend Kemal's wife is cooking bread in the oven with her youngest children watching

Aug 4 - SOMKAYA (above Doğubeyazit), arrival and tour the village - This is a "village with a view", the big Ararat mountain could be seen in the distance (but in the haze, unfortunately) ; the children who accompanied me in all my walks were very afraid of all the dogs roaming freely and defending their territories, so it was difficult to go on my own and try to take good photos with the volcano as a BG ; fortunately, the villagers were very photogenic too. There, I slept inside the mosque, in the prayer hall (in the area reserved for the women) and was hosted by the wife of the imam (the imam was in the hospital and many persons were absent because of health problems). Before that, I had a meal in that poor families' living room.

- a panoramic view of this "picturesque" village, with the mount Ararat visible in the distance and tiny figures barely distinguishable in the "large version".
- First thing upon arrival : drop my luggage somewhere. The wife of the (absent) imam opened for me the prayer hall where I could spend 2 nights, here are some of her students of the summer Coranic class for girls.
- a smile behind a veil : this light and enveloping veil is used more for protection against the sun I guess as many other young women were going hair in the wind...
- several girls want to try the same headscarve (please, read story and see WS photo)
- 2 young girls having fun in the wind

Aug 5 - DOĞUBAYAZIT (spent the day there), then
returned to SOMKAYA the evening - It was nice to have a day in town ; I saw again my friend Leman, a strong single woman who keeps a pastry shop and who has the plight of the young shoeshine boys at heart ; there are less and less of these boys and the charity that she runs seems very effective, although in need of cash (the local business people help a bit, but not enough).
- part of a bride's escort waiting in a hairdresser cum beauty parlour
The same end of afternoon, I was driven back to the same village :
- old servicemen leaving the village for work (there are also WS photos)
- I had to accept the invitation for tea and then for dinner in a rich businessman's house, but his house was rather modest... Women were terribly curious about my presence, children less intimidated.
- another photo of the same living room during the dinner, with a moon crescent, a dog watching at the doorstep, a cat and (only apparently) a lot of confusion !

(There is a Part 2 of this travelogue, please see it in the other one with the same name, "From lake Van till Black Sea (2)".