November 21 Gürün – Diyabakir [N 37°54´56,4” E 040°14´05,4“]
—> http://tinyurl.com/7nw6wo4
Km today: 385
Today I wake up around 8 o clock and recognize the front window is frozen – inside. I remove the curtain between “living room” and cockpit and within minutes the ice melts. I have coffee at a bar and see the neighbor shop is selling fishing gear. I try to ask what kind of fish they have but no English possible. So I find out myself as there is a little river close by my car park. Its trout! For a moment I think about unpacking my fishing gear bur then I decide to drive on. Suryananda needs a few attempts again but then the engine is running.
The night was clear and cold so now the sky is blue. The scenery is superamazing and I really enjoy driving today while listening to music and singing in the car. All day people standing next to the road greeting me waving hands and making peace signs. I can in no way describe the happiness I feel today. All problems of the last weeks seem to be solved and all is bliss again. I pass mountains driving up to 1900 meter and amazing lakes, I cross river euphrat and meet the most friendly people someone can imagine in Kurdistan. I leave the mountains and keep taking of clothes until I am dressed in pants, t shirt and chapels. It is warm again after more than a week of freezing in Austria, Istanbul and mountains of central turkey.
At sunset, which is at 4pm already in eastern turkey, I arrive in Diyarbakir. Like suggested in the guidebook I go directly to the center. I don’t believe to find possibility for camping there but at least I want to try. Traffic is hell – traffic like this was much easier to handle on a motorbike last year in india…. No possible to go inside the old city so I park in front of a hotel at the wall. I take food at the hotel and ask if its ok to stay there and maybe use there wifi connection. No problem. When I am back in the car I find out the hotel has very weak signal outside so I look if I see the name of the strongest signal somewhere. It’s a car rental right next to where suryananda is parked.
I go inside and ask for the code using only the “no words dictionary” (a dictionary with pictures only). Within minutes the small room is full of people who want to share tea with me. Ten minutes later somebody who speaks English arrives – there seems to be a problem with the internet. He explains the manager of the car rental has forgotten the code – but no problem he searches the office for half an hour and finally finds it. I am more than impressed once again – I walk into a shop and they work half an hour like mad to get free (and fast) internet for me while I drink lots of free tea…. I love Kurdistan. Tomorrow Omar (the one who speaks English – he is tourist guide too) will show me the sights of the city and some people who make traditional Kurdish music.
