I hadn't done too much planning as to where exactly I would go in Turkey other than Istanbul, but I didn't feel the need to visit Istanbul for more than two days. It was an fascinating city for sure and there was much more I could have seen, but I was more interested in seeing some of the more remote parts of Turkey on my trip. I knew there were great places I could visit in Turkey like Ephesus, Troy, and Cappadoccia, but Eastern Turkey was high on my priority list, and I only had a few days left of my spring break.
I decided the next morning to fly into Van, a regional capital in Turkish Kurdistan, since domestic flight tickets are pretty cheap. (Van is pronounced waan). There were buses to take to Van, but they had a 22 hour trip, which did not seem like much fun. Before I bought my flight ticket, however, I had to locate an ATM where I could get my card to work. The previous night I tried several dozen ATMs in Taxsim, but none of them accepted my North Brookfield Savings Bank card. It has a PLUS sticker on it, but it didn't work at any of the PLUS-affiliated ATMs for some reason. I remembered it had worked at the CitiBank at Atatürk Airport, so I took the tram across the city to find another CitiBank. It was very inconvenient, but I eventually got some money and bought my ticket. The travel agent was confused why I was going to Van. I was aware my itinerary was a little unusual.
My flight was at noon, and I left my hotel around 10AM and rushed onto the tram and the metro. The travel agent assured me I would have plenty of time to get there after I bought my ticket, and she was right. I was the only foreigner on my flight, and I think the only foreigner in the entire domestic terminal. It was a little under two hours by air to Van. As the plane prepared for landing, I could see the landscape out the window, which was really amazing. Snow-capped mountains surrounded Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake, which was flanked by flat, brown plains. Getting out of the plane, it looked and felt like a remote place. It was cold, but there was a "wide-open" feel to it.
The airport in Van is small, with only one gate. There were military personnel doing security checks at the exit, but even here the "white phenomenon" came into effect. They checked everyone's passport but mine. The airport is located about 10km out of Van, so I had to take a taxi into the city. The cab driver spoke no English, but I showed him a map of where I wanted to go, and he brought me there. The only problem was it cost a whopping 25 lira, metered.
I had a list of hotels I wanted to check out, and I navigated myself into this place called Büyük Asur Hotel, not far from the center of the city. The manager spoke some English, but with such a strong Kurdish accent that I could almost not understand him. The room was a modest 40 Lira per night (about $25 USD) including breakfast, but it was clean and comfortable. I'd recommend it to anyone staying in Van.
After settling in, I went to the tourist office which was located adjacent to the hotel. It was supposed to be open, but it was locked. The tourist industry isn't too big in Van. My primary concern was finding an ATM. I had brought enough money to buy a way flight back to Istanbul and a little extra, but not too much. Unfortunately, my card didn't work at any of the banks in Van. I wanted to visit the Armenian monastery located on an island in Lake Van, but considering the price of the taxi ride and my ATM dilemma, I decided I would be more conservative with my money.
Downtown Van around my hotel.
My hotel room.
Instead I ventured around Van for the remainder of the day. It's a fairly big city with over 250,000 people, most of them Kurdish, not Turkish.
There is a national museum located near the center of Van, but when I arrived, it too was locked despite the fact that it was supposed to be open.
I went to a nice restaurant that evening which served some excellent food. I ordered lamb kebabs. I don't remember what it came with, but there was plenty of it. I ordered tea with every meal I had in Turkey, since Turkish tea is world famous, but it wasn't that different than the tea I had in Egypt. I had some sort of dessert, though I have no idea what it was called. Turkish desserts are small but very dense, and usually consist of some sort of pastry soaked in honey. I saw a saw a group of women eating there who were clearly not from Turkey - the only foreigners I saw the entire day in Van.
I went to a few different Internet cafes to see what they were like (and to surf the Internet). At one point the whole street lost power without any explanation. Luckily my hotel remained powered.
I had expected Van would be conservative, poor, or backward in some way. This was not the case. It was a very modern city that felt safe, comfortable, and even trendy in a certain respect. The people seemed happy and friendly. My American appearance stuck out strongly among the Kurdish population, but nobody seemed to mind. Van does not command a fraction of the excitement level of Istanbul, but just seeing the other side of Turkey was exciting enough for me.
A park near central Van at night.
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