Journey to the East

There are so many things I could write about the solo trip I did to east Turkey, but I'll try to focus just in a few, at least for now.

As seen on the map, I went from Istanbul to Ankara, where I only stayed for a few hours before taking the bus to Trabzon. Stayed in Trabzon for a couple of days and then went to Doğubayazit. One day and a half there and then to Van, where I stayed two nights before coming back to Istanbul by plane.

It was a very short time to travel east, but ever since I left Turkey 2 years ago, time in which I didn't have the chance to go east, I promised myself to come back one day and go there, so I had to take this opportunity. Actually now I was left with a similar feeling because for me this was just like a taste of what could be. I definitely want to come back some day and travel with more time, and having practiced my turkish also.

Restaurant Turkish

One of the things I quickly realized while I was traveling is that I had lost most of the little turkish I had 2 years ago. Sadly, I was just left with my 'restaurant turkish'. As soon as I entered a restaurant I became a fluent turkish speaker, understanding and communicating without an effort, and receiving compliments every time; but one second after I left the restaurant I turned again into a complete idiot. Of course, an important part of the 'restaurant turkish' is just plain and simple names of foods and drinks, which makes it even more embarrassing.

Language and Traveling Alone

The shame to have lost the little turkish I had is nothing in comparison with the helplessness when trying to communicate with people during my trip. Before going to the east of Turkey I thought about the possible difficulties of traveling alone without really knowing the language, but soon I realized I was worried about the wrong thing. Traveling east Turkey alone it's very easy, at least for a man, even without knowing anything, and this is just because people are so helpful that they will do anything to understand what you need to help you. Even if this wasn't the case, there is always a way to find the place you are looking for or ask for what you want, and if you don't for whatever reason, there are always another options. I mean, there are much more difficult things than going somewhere alone, unless of course if it's really dangerous

The real problem is that I left knowing that I couldn't experience an important part of the travel which is just communicating with people. At least for me, just being there and seeing things is not enough. To learn how locals are there, and see things, it's for me a major part of traveling.

In the picture is Volkan. He runs a small shop in Doğubayazit. When he realized I was a foreigner he invited me to have tea with him. We could communicate a little, on a very basic level, but trying to talk more with him and not being able to, was very frustrating. Was then when I realized for the first time how important was to know the language.

Luckily in Dogubayazit I met a local who spoke english and was also a very interesting character.

Mehmet

There must be hundreds of thousands of Mehmets in Turkey, and I'm sure there are quite a few in Doğubayazit, but if you ask for Mehmet there, almost everybody would know who are you looking for. That's what happened when I arrived in Doğubayazit with 'Park', a south-korean guy that is traveling alone around Turkey for 45 days. His brother did the same thing 2 years before and gave him the name of this guy in Doğubayazit. When we arrived and ask for Mehmet, which could have been the most ridiculous thing to ask anywhere else in Turkey, they quickly call him on a mobile a pass it to Park. Of course we were very suspicious that this was the right Mehmet

When we finally met him we went to his office and there he offered us 'raki', the national alcoholic drink. Surely I didn't expect that kind of hospitality here, taking into account that this region, and particularly this town, is very conservative and alcohol is not something that many people appreciate. Even more surprised to see that he was also a heavy drinker.

It turns that this man is a tourist guide in Doğubayazit for the past 25 years. He was one of the first ones to start tourism here, but even after such a long time he still does it in a very personal level. He has hundreds of pictures in the walls of his office with people from all around the world, and I'm sure all of them remember him very fondly.

I had just a few hours to speak with him but he is undoubtedly a very interesting person, with thousands of stories to tell, and a very wise approach to life in my opinion. If you ever go to Doğubayazit, be sure to ask for Mehmet.

The importance of an open mind when traveling

It was hard not to be overwhelmed when arriving to the Doğubayazit bus station. As soon as I got off the bus, 5 kids came running and asking for things. Once inside the bus station the men came to us, in a way I perceived as aggressive, more so not knowing what they were saying. Then I asked them to wait for one minute, we sited down, they offered us tea, and then everything calmed down. From that moment on I began to understand what this town was about.

If I had left with my first impression, then I would have always think that Doğubayazit was an inhospitable place for foreigners. Luckily I stayed long enough to realize a little of the dynamics of the place. It is so incredibly easy to misunderstand things when you arrive in a culture which is very different from yours. This is when the culture shock comes. When you judge things, you do it with your own experiences and background, and to do it is inevitable. The problem comes when you face a culture with a complete different background from yours. Then you are doomed to perceive things in a very different way as the locals do. As I said, this is inevitable, what's important is to be aware of it and try not to become isolated by your own prejudices so you are open to understand the place and the people.