Hasankeyf

Hasankeyf is promoted as a second Capadocia. It is still largely inhabited and tourists are as of yet a happy by-product of what seems like the comings and goings of everyday life.

Even before arriving we took a few shots.

Clearly visible from afar, plenty of ancient housing was patiently hacked from the rocks in a pre-explosives era. We rode up to the parking lot and took a few more shots. We were not ready to tackle the place in its entirety, given the heat and an already tough ride that day. I also had to tighten my steering head bearings, as my handlebars were clicking up and down as I rode. A result most likely from an unfortunate horizontal encounter the other day, when the bike's side-stand sank through some soft stuff. The awful sound of a tumbling fully loaded bike hit us as we were taking pictures of Mnt. Ararat.

Where the roads were in good shape, we were able to ride comfortably, without always having to focus on spotting the next killer pothole. Traffic was exceptionally light today on the good stretches. The pictures below are some random shots from a stop today. Riding through the patchwork of fields was a welcome change after the white-out dust conditions from earlier, where trucks were kicking up stones on the bad stretches. We're in the heart of Kurdistan now. Most folks are friendly, but while we were busy keeping the bikes upright in a construction-tarnished section, a few kids fired some stones my way with their slingshots. Luckily their aim was way off the mark.

We arrived in Mardin and scored our best deal on a hotel yet. We're going to stay here for at least a day, as there is lots to see in this little town.