Chillin and going high up :O (Day 5 + 6 of the world trip)

09. + 10.09.2019

Whether it was the hearty kebab or the Tatle that we ate afterwards, or the water at the bazaar, we do not know. What we do know is that on Day 5, the three of us spent the day in Mehmet's apartment, lounging, drinking tea, and receiving a lot of information about (alleged) homemade remedies for stomach problems :D So, something I had never heard of before was yogurt. I thought, "hmm, kind of strange". Then a soup was cooked, potatoes were boiled, and there was an extra portion of Ekmek (white bread). Then Jonas' father mentioned that cola helps him, and bam, Mehmet was out the door and came back with 5 liters of cola :O You really have to be careful about what you say here :D It was obviously very kind of them, but this exaggerated offer was quite exhausting. Actually, the three of us didn't want to eat anything and just wanted to rest, but our hosts couldn't understand that at all^^

The next day we felt better and packed our things to drive 250km to visit Nemrut Dagi, a mountain about 2,000m high in the inland. This meant saying goodbye to Mehmet and Fatma for Jonas and me. Although the frequent eating wasn't always easy, we had a really great time with them. This kind of hospitality, hosting and feeding complete strangers for 4 days free of charge, can't be found everywhere. Maybe there will be a return visit, as the two of them are in Germany for three months every year, but not until 2020 as Jonas and I won't be home before that :O

Of course, a lunch package consisting of the huge pomegranate from the photo from Mehmet's garden, pistachios, Ekmek, and a thermos of Cay tea, couldn't be missing ;-) The drive would take about 4 hours, so we had to make sure we wouldn't starve :D Oh, and pomegranates supposedly help 100% against diarrhea. Hmm, could be? Grateful and a little excited because it's "going further" and not going home (as is the case with most vacations when you pack your things again), we headed north, to Halfeti - again on the dirt road :O - and then to Adiyaman, a big city on the reservoir. The way there was quite relaxed and I'm still amazed at how good the roads are up here, as the villages between the larger towns are really very simple and original. Road construction obviously has a high priority here :)

From Adiyaman, it was another 80km (or 1.5 hours) to Nemrut Dagi. The first part continued on the country road, but then we followed the navigation onto the wooden (gravel) road :/ Luckily, another car came towards us and Jonas' dad quickly rolled down the window to ask for directions. The driver and his passenger, about our age, spoke friendly and cheerfully in Turkish. We didn't understand a word, of course, but we even understood the gesture that we should follow them :p We stopped at a small market because the driver wanted to get a snack, and we waited relaxed :) After that, the two of them drove uphill for at least another 10km, through the serpentine curves, until we reached the last turnoff, after which even strangers like us couldn't get lost anymore :D I think it's really cool that people still help each other out "up here", as package holidays in Turkey often give you a rather negative impression of the locals, as they often try to "rip you off". For showing us the way, no return favor was expected. People are happy to help :)

The road up to the mountain was still paved but sometimes really steep and with sharp curves, so as a scaredy cat, I got a little nervous. Maybe it's good that we're visiting Turkey before India, because I suspect that driving there will be even more adventurous than here :D Except for a few German Turks and two German couples, we were the only tourists who made it to Nemrut Dagi, which had a really nice charm! A mountain is just a mountain, but the best part is usually the view. And here, we were definitely not disappointed.

We stayed at the summit for a while and then decided to look for accommodation for the night. There's a hotel near the summit and two guesthouses. The first one didn't look very inviting, and the other two options seemed to be closed. So, we drove the 80km back to Adiyaman, where we checked into a Hilton Garden Inn - which is quite unusual for our planning :O Jonas' father didn't feel like searching for accommodation for a long time, so we literally took the first one we saw. With almost 100 € for 1 double and 1 single room, including breakfast, it was clearly above our budget, but we were invited and I can also understand that Jonas' dad just wanted a "standard" accommodation after the long drive and yesterday's day^^

The highlight of the hotel is not the 6th floor with a nice view, nor the really tasty and amazingly cheap dinner (noodle dish for 22 TYL, so less than 4€), but rather, in true Generation-Y style, the (free) wifi!!! :D :D Finally, uploading a few blog posts and replying to friends from home on Whatsapp :)

I'm curious about the first night in a fancy hotel in a (presumably) rather unknown city in Turkey, and especially about breakfast :p #noolives ;-)