Oh Beautiful Tigris

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Arrival in the Countryside

From Mardin, I caught the only direct bus to Hasankeyf early in the afternoon. I met a Dutch guy that reckoned the place was worth about two hours and had one solitary hotel, that the guidebook didn't like. I wasn't expecting much when I went there. Got there at about four in the afternoon and figured if this Dutch guy was right, then I might try to get a bus to Batman (yes, spelled correct!) that evening. I got off the bus and the hotel was in front of me. I checked it out and took a room with probably the best view of any hotel I have ever stayed in. The balcony overlooked the imposing Tigris below. The far bank of the river a shear rock that had been tunneled into by the locals in the past to make their homes. The staff were young and among the nicest Turks I had met. I certainly wasn't going anywhere!

After traveling the cities of eastern Turkey, Hasankeyf really was a breath of fresh air. Everybody in the small village is your friend (except the seven year olds, but they're not allowed be nice). A small country village that is really struggling to keep it's people around, there's nothing for them to do. If the irrigation projects of eastern Turkey are completed, it will be consigned to a history below water from a dam that is planned on the Tigris. Everyone is of a different opinion about when this will happen, and even if it will go ahead at all. Tourism here over the past few years has been very poor pickings. It seems like the whole town has worked in Marmaris at some stage, a tourist resort the far side of the country.

Many seem to blame the government for the loss in tourism. Not only are they planning to submerge the town, but they believe that because they are Kurdish, the government are not as keen to promote their area for tourism.

Exploration

The ruins of an ancient bridge crossing the Tigris show the villages importance in past years. Only three pylons survive now. Not fully consigned to history, with one being lived in by the locals (see photo)! The real attraction in the town is the castle topping the cliff face overlooking the river. Walking though the village to get there, I felt sorry for the locals. Souvenir shops along the road, but not a person to even look into them. They're not even out trying to get me in. I pass a beautiful slender lonely minaret from El-Rizk Cami dating to 1409. A stork has made the top it's permanent nest.

I am invited to detour via the Tigris shore for a cay. How can I resist? The wooden canopies out over the river, shaded from the sun, backed by the rushing Tigris and facing the imposing cliff to the castle. What a place to relax! I finally got going towards the castle, which dusk will be dropping on shortly. Every step along the way there is someone else to talk to. The guy at the kiosk loved the parties he used have with the Irish in Marmaris. I meet him later in the evening in the internet cafe and he demands tea for me from his friend the owner. This guy had nothing to get from me apart from the entrance fee for the castle.

I climb the winding lanes up into the castle. It was more of a living fortress perched on top of the mountain. What a setting. The houses are terraced along the mountain, dug into the natural soft rock that the whole mountain is formed from. The roof of one forming the entrance to the house above. Some are actually quite well laid out with many rooms off the central living area, many having storage space dug out of the sides of the rooms as a bonus.

The presence of Mosques and graveyards really ring a sense of community to the complex. In the graveyard on top of the hill, a lone local sits among the grass singing his prayers (see photo). The drop into the Tigris is quite spectacular. Houses perched right against the cliff face. The winters can be quite harsh around here, and I could only imagine how exposed these people would have been to the elements. One tower so perilously close to toppling over, that fresh air could be the only thing keeping it up (see photo).

Wandering the Hills

I had originally intended leaving for Van first thing the next morning, but a jewel like this in the countryside was well worth stopping off in for another day. I figured with the mountains that are about there had to be good walks. I headed toward the castle the next morning, and kept going. I'm told there are two villages about 7km off, so there'll be some life about. The road brought me through a canyon and out out of the rocky mountains that the people made their homes in. I wandered off road to admire the beautiful rolling valleys with the castle slowly becoming smaller on the horizon behind.

I came to a point about ninety minutes in that I thought was the end of the road after I was confronted by a fairly mean looking dog. I stand my ground, but didn't fancy trying to get past. About a minute later, a guy appears like an apparition over the hill. They were goat herders that were out to keep an eye on their flock. They just seem to ramble with the goats all day through the mountain commonage. About fifteen minutes later I come on a crazy old man. Craziness like this doesn't come from just drinking black tea! He has a bag on the road beside him, and seemed to me he didn't want to let me pass until I got a car to bring his stuff back to town. He wasn't too impressed when I eventually slipped past!

Deeper into the mountains the fields are planted with poppies, that are just coming into bloom. One field stands out bright red against the green foliage of the later crops in the surrounding fields. I couldn't get a conclusive answer in town later in the evening what the poppies were grown for. The guy from the castle said that since 1995 'the Kurds leave the Turks alone, and the Turks leave the Kurds alone'. Others dismissed that they may have been for grown for mischievous reasons. Don't know really, but the few fields that were in bloom were stunning.

I spotted a village off to the left. Trouble is that the road I am on is headed up the mountain on the other side of the valley. There was power going there, but not sure how they managed to get there. After about 2 1/2 hours the road was just gravel. I hear a band of kids singing from around the next bend, and a tractor appears free wheeling down the hill with about 15 kids in a trailers on the back. The guy in the tractor is shocked to see me, and really doesn't want me to go any further. He has no English, but PKK and actions with a gun were enough to get into his trawler and take a spin back down the road. It eliminated any encounter with my canine friends also. The kids hopped out by the poppy fields. Obviously an afternoons work ahead for them???

The old man was still perched on the side of the road. He was delighted to see me this time, and with the kiss he gave me after the trailer was loaded, he seemed to think I was responsible for the appearance of the tractor. Not only has he got the bag, but a full trailer full of bushes that looked like they'd been lying at the side of the road for months. Lucky I hadn't got him a car!! I get a lift back to the castle where my friend there tells me to go and wander for the rest of the evening for free. Sitting on the top of the hill, with the old ruined houses below, birdseye view over the surroundings and the only company a heard of goats going about their business, it was the perfect place to relax for a bit before heading for town.

The day had been very good to me. I woke up to clouded skies. As I walked into the countryside the sky seemed to clear in an instant. As I returned to the village toward the hotel the light is fading, and the clouds are making a return. The stork perched high above might have to pull over the covers!

Departure was first thing the next morning. I had really enjoyed my time in the village, after really not having any expectations at all. Would recommend it as a must see while it's still there to anyone in the area.