Day 238: Doğubayazit

Nov 27 - Harun, the owner of the hotel we are staying at (Toprak Hotel) says he will take us north to see some sights for the price of petrol to get there. We get in his car at 7:30 in the rain and head out along the main highway northeast to Doğubayazit. It starts clearing up and we get some good views of Lake Van and the many mountain ranges around us, all freshly white with the recent precipitation. We soon climb up through the hills and it gets snowy. Snow plows are out in force, and the roads are still partially covered.

Coming down from the pass, the weather continues to improve. The landscape is dry and stark, with numerous solitary, steep hills. Some are extinct cinder cones, while others are steeply inclined silicious sediments.

We want to get to our destination while the sun is out, so just drive through the town of Doğubayazit and up into the hills on the south side. This town is one of the main entry/exit points for Iran.

Up in the hills is the Ishak Pasa Palace, an Ottoman palace and fortress that started construction in 1685 under Colak Abdi Pasha and only finished in 1784 under Ishak Pasha. It has one of the earliest examples of central heating, with large, stone-lined ducts that network through the structure. Earthquakes in the 1800’s caused it to be abandoned, but it was recently restored and a glass roof was placed over many of the rooms.

On the return, the mountain pass is a bit more clear of snow on the roadway. Past this, before we arrive back at the lake shore, we stop at Muradiye Waterfall. The valley floor here was flooded with basalt flows at some point, then eroded to form a steep gorge.

Our last stop is at the lake itself. Though we’ve been looking at for days, we haven’t actually gone to the shore. Lake Van is one of the largest endorheic lakes (no surface outflow), and is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, many times greater than the ocean. This salinity keeps it free of ice in the winter. Besides this, it also quite alkaline, with a pH of almost 10, making it feel slippery to the touch.

Get into some long discussions with Harun about life in Van. It is a challenging climate here, with months of meter-plus snow. The roads are really good though, he says, along with the schools and hospitals. A great deal of state money goes into this infrastructure. But he adds that while the hospital is modern, fully equipped, and basically free, good doctors are rare.

He talks a bit about the lowering water levels in Lake Van. The climate has not been drier or the rivers bringing less water into the lake. But apparently, dropping levels coincide with the large earthquake that occurred in 2011. The inference is that the shifting of the fault has caused some subterranean drainage to accelerate. In historical times, the water has always fluctuated. Prior to 2011, it had been rising for many years.

Then he begins to get poetic about his religious faith. Several times tourists he has taken around drank to excess, and always wanted him to drink with them. But he sees clearly what alcohol does to people and has not interest whatsoever. He looks forward to holidays like Ramadan, and the prohibition of food and liquids during daylight hours. “I don’t feel hungry or thirsty. Truly, my body feels light, floating like a bird. It is a blessing.” I have never met someone talk about Ramadan like that. He seems completely enamored of Islam and the peace it has brought him, and even begins to promote the idea that true Muslims will always help others, regardless of the the others’ faith, and gives some examples of this happening in the Van region.