Going East, opening the door to exoticism!

Hello lads from Diyarbakir, the main city in the Kurdistan, in the South-Est of Turkey. The city has been the epicentre of the Kurdish resistance and their stronghold. The Kurd people are people without state, mainly scattered between Turkey and Irak, and that have suffered persecutions in both countries. The troubles with Turkey date back many years, but the most recent ones were on the 80's and 90's when the Kurds started a guerrilla war against the Turkish army that left more than 30,000 causalities. Their fight is to have some recognition as a nation, to be able to speak their own language, to have their own newspapers and TV. Their dream, to achieve independence and create their own state in Northern Irak.
Obviously, the change entering this area from western Turkey is pretty big. The presence of the army, checkpoints on the dusty-bad preserved roads, power cuts, more poverty and bitterness speak by themselves. They are willing to meet foreigners and share their oppression and problems, to make their culture known, so they stop you on the streets more then in other cities to talk to you, to show you the city or just to greet. Although the situation has improved during the last years, one can still feel the tension in the streets, being kind of rough but also full of character and personality.
We have been discovering this area and culture with Pierre, a pure traveller who fell in love with India back in 1999 and has been returning there ever since. He is a part time worker and a full time traveller, working in Belgium for 3 months and spending the rest of the year in India. He has passed over his love for India to us with long conversations and definitely we now know a lot more about it. Next trip? Dream on...
After Ihlara Valley we went to Nemrut Dagi, an ancient shattered-stones pyramid built on top of a mountain at 2,100m and with mystic-enigmatic statues sitting on top of the summit, just on the feet of the pyramid. The setting is fantastic, captivating and really unique. Getting there was a big effort, a long walk 12Km uphill from Karadut village, with a really steep road. We decided to walk rather than taking a sunrise or sunset tour and this proved to be much better as we could enjoy the whole scenery for ourselves. Really rewarding!!! And then 12 more Km downhill taking in stunning views!
Last stop was Diyarbakir for a couple of days before jumping in a bus journey eastwards to Tatvan, a village on the shores of Lake Van and on the feet of Nemrut Dagi volcano (yes same name but different, do not know why...). The plan is to put our feet on top of this promising giant with a huge crater and five lakes on the summit. We will see if we manage...
The closer we get to Iran, the more excited we feel lads! This journey to the east is being great, amazing, meeting loads of people on the road, enjoying the local culture and discovering great hidden-isolated places!
Loads of love and kisses!