5 August, Muradiye to Çaldiran, 36km
Öğretmenevi 40TL
A short, super day, our distance dictated
by accommodation options, Çaldiran being the only sizeable town between Muradiye and Doğubayazit, our next major destination. When we crept
downstairs later than usual this morning, we found we were locked into our
hotel. Luckily the security guard arrived shortly thereafter and let us out. Not
in any rush, we ordered Nescafe at a sidewalk çay evi, which the owner of the
next door shop insisted on paying for. Leaving town we got caught in a traffic
jam caused by sheep being herded across the road. We breakfasted a few km
outside town at the Muradiye Waterfall, just off the road and across a
suspension bridge. We gained 300m in elevation between the two towns; gained it
slowly, slowly (yavaş, yavaş) over the entire distance; gained it all in
middle-gear following a river upstream. Sometimes the river ran on our left;
sometimes we crossed a bridge putting it on our right. For part of the distance
the river ran in a gorge carved over millennia out of a shallow valley between
undemanding hills. The Çaldiran Öğretmenevi
manager asked us twice if we were married.
We fudged our answer, not sure of the implications in conservative eastern
Turkey, saying yes, we were “together”.
Between Muradiye and Çaldiran
Between Muradiye and Çaldiran
Between Muradiye and Çaldiran
Between Muradiye and Çaldiran
Between Muradiye and Çaldiran