Km today: 0
Omar is ten minutes early so I quickly find my things to explore this oriental city. He tells me he has to work all day so a friend will do the guiding. Nevermind. We say goodbye (rosch basch – have a nice day in Kurdish) and shake hands. My new guide and me go to have a cup of famous diyabakir coffe at a small restaurant where locals take their breakfast. We make a walk through an amazing bazaar where smiths and carpenters are working in the street. One street smiths, one street carpenter – I am in asia!
In the guidebook and many blogs I read it is hard to make contact with people here. My experience is completely different. All people are looking in my eyes and smiling when I smile (all day) at them. Old and young, man and woman…. And I am invited to have chai everywhere. I find out Kurdish is just another indogermanic language and within hours learn the most important phrases.
We take a look at the citywall which was built in the 11 century and is the second biggest wall in the world. Standing on that wall I see river tigris for the first time. We go to a small fishing tackle store and they sell fish from the river too. Carp and a kind of barbel (not the European one). I buy a little tackle and decide to do some fishing on the tigris – but a little further away from any city. Visiting a music instrument shop a very nice old guy shows me some drums and makes little music for me. I fall in love with a frame drum and buy it. When I see some jets in the sky I am told that there is some bombing at the Iraq border again – no reason to be excited seems this is business as usual.
I try some Turkish tobacco, but the light one is still much too strong for me. Still I am amazed by the sellers who offer their tobacco in big plastic bags sitting on the street. We visit a very old kerwanserei which is a kind of shoppingcenter now. In the cellar is an amazing bookshop but no Karl May books (only Turkish books of course). I´d love to have one of his books with me now. We have some kebap together and in the afternoon I go to hamam again.
Like I learned in Istanbul I go in and have a long shower first. I have been sweating a lot the day before so I really enjoy even though the water is not as hot as I would have liked. As there is only one other guy inside I ask him if he is giving the massage. Obviously he doesn’t understand one word but he starts massaging. It’s a little strange but its my second time so I don’t know what to think about it. Soon he start to massage my ass removing my towel more and more and asking “Yes? Yes?” “Nau!” (No!) I say and put my towel back in place. I would have been a real funny situation if I wouldn’t have been so confused. In a muslim country I would never have expected something like this. Just another lesson in “no expectations” :D.
Soon the real masseur comes washing and massaging me for nearly an hour. When he is finished I am so hot I just want to take a cool shower. Unfortunately the cool water is not really cool either. Never mind I was never ever before in my life so clean. I drink another chai (probably the 20. Today) in the hamam and when I am leaving I am nearly to tired to go back to suryananda. I take a little rest and too soon Omer and his friend pick me up to have some coffee. They ask me again if I want to buy some carpets (no I don’t) and soon I go home. Coffee is strong but I am too tired. Going to bed not too late is ok for me so I can leave early tomorrow morning…..
