Final Station Kurtalan 🚂

I open my eyes and see the landscape passing before me. It is slightly hilly and I can see many fields where people are occasionally working.
Our compartment is well air-conditioned and looking at the landscape is a real pleasure.

Our compartment mate Ani looks like a ranger in his khaki-coloured clothes.
He's a funny guy and he knows how to emphasise things so well that the lack of a translator doesn't carry much weight. Outside, Diyarbakir passes by and we see one tower block after another. They are built but then only utilised to 30%. Then a new one is built. The construction industry seems to be booming, but whether the buildings will ever be fully utilised ...

We arrive in Kurtalan in the afternoon. The heat hits us in the face and we flee to a café.

Finding a place to sleep is very easy this time, we are recommended the city park.
I remember the complications with the police a few days ago... 🤭

We've just got all the shopping ready, want to buy some fruit - and are told to stay for a little tea.
We have a short crash course in Kurdish and I learn that Turkish is no longer fully appreciated/heard. Many people are Kurdish and understandably value it.

We set off to find a quiet spot in the park - please what? 😨
The whole park is full of people. Small groups are sitting on the grass or walking through the park, music is playing, children are playing, romping, riding and rolling around - a nightmare!
Bruno and I try to find a quiet corner, but like two colourful dogs we attract a lot of attention and are often approached. 😬

We have found a spot and a group of young people in tow. I'm dog-tired but try to hold a conversation at first.
It's no use - as soon as one group leaves, the next one arrives.
At some point, I concentrate on building up the time and only answer sporadically. We eat and are visited by two little girls who are very interested.
We eat and offer them something.
When we have finished, I politely ask them to let us rest and they leave us.

Tired, I close my eyes and wake up not long afterwards with itchy feet - mosquito bites!
I anoint my feet, fall asleep, wake up and itch again. I anoint myself again.
The next time I wake up from the itching, I discover the beasts in my tent. About fifteen hungry beasts have made it into my tent and pounced on me.
There's a brief massacre and then it's quiet - I fall asleep...
... until I wake up to a jet of water hitting my tent. The park lawn is being sprinkled. Tired, I sit in my tent and monitor the amount of water. After a quarter of an hour, the spook is over. 🙏😴

I oversleep the next day. Bruno is already driving off because it's going to be 38 degrees in the shade again.
The ride is demanding and hilly and forces me to cycle slowly. I keep cool by keeping my clothes wet.Baca selengkapnya