In the morning I went for a spin to Arsameia the former capital of the king that built Nemrut Dagi. To get there I went down a switchback mountain road. It was a ton of gravel on badly deteriorated asphalt. So I took it easy and slow. Arsamenia has some amazingly well preserved reliefs

and offers nice views of the surrounding area

including the hilltop Yeni Kale, a Mamluk castle

I came down the road in the background

How nice is that

Or that?

I took the road East and arrived just in time for my ferry. I got lucky and the ferry was nearly empty which made it pretty easy to turn around and point in the right direction on arrival. My Zumo was a hit with the locals and they followed the ferry’s progress on the map.

I had a lot more territory to cover until Tatvan and rainclouds kept hovering above me. I took a picture of dead mule no 2 and 3 of the day

I also came a across a very fancy turk TUV station in the middle of nowhere. Thanks Germany for exporting more bureaucracy and rules to the rest of the world.

Seljuk bridge on the way.

with cool kids nearby

and another hydro power dam

I considered briefly to pay Batman a visit

A rainbow greeted me on arrival in Tatvan

After some searching I found a hotel with safe parking just across from the military barracks. When I looked out the window of my room I thought the house next door was on fire but it turned out they just had turned on the furnace. It sure looked like they were burning some old tires.

I set out early in the morning for the Armenian church of Altinsac. I programmed the Zumo to lead me to the village nearby. I zipped past some stunning landscapes

Zumo send me down a dirt road. When I reached a village after 3km I asked for directions and whether I could get there, being doubtful seeing the mountains in front of me. One older gentlemen mimicked that it was possible to walk but that there was no road and that I should go the long way around. I confirmed which way to go with the help of the Zumo, which was again a great hit with the gathered crowd. I followed the new route, which again took me down a dirt road for about 15km to the village of Altinsac, where I asked for directions to the church, which was a further 3km. I parked my bike at the start of a single track below the church.

and walked up to Altinsac Kilisesi

I spent a considerable time exploring and just admiring the view across the lake. The church is completely unprotected and some signs of vandalism and graffiti can be seen.

Eventually I pressed on and made my way to the docks for the Akdemar ferries.

I ferried over with a group of teenagers on a school trip. Just as all the teenager in the world they tried to act very cool. One of them giving his best Titanic impression

There clearly was some dating going on between the boys and the girls. Some shy and some not so shy.

Akdemar island:

Because, as I now realised, it was a Sunday the place was very crowded with school classes singing and dancing and families having a picknick. There was a lot of litter everywhere despite the provided trash bins. However, some of the school kids walked around with trash bag picking up the litter. Maybe there is hope and the next generation will take better care of the environment.

Akdemar Kilisesi

Akdemar Kilisesi

Akdemar Kilisesi: Frescoes

Akdemar Kilisesi

Akdemar Kilisesi: Stone carvings

Its all about timing. This is looking at Altinsac,where I was in the morning

I drove the last 40km to Van in heavy traffic as everyone else was going home too.