Tekkale

 Why were we in Tekkale? Dortkilise, the church we came to see is another 7 Km away from Tekkale up the hill. So we had another 7Km to hike to get to Dortkilise.

We hadn't had breakfast. So we asked the villagers where to eat. There were no restaurants in Tekkale. It is a tiny village with no services, just a chai shop and a dried goods store. I asked, they replied, 'chai'. They only serve tea. I asked 'ekmek?' or bread? They started saying something like, 'Cemil pension.' They walked over to the pension the only one in the village to wake up 'Cemil'. Cemil is the pension owner. He had a huge group who has come in for whitewater rafting and they had a late night. That was why he hasn't woken up. He cooked us breakfast and sent us on way up the hill to find Dortkilise. He is written up in the Lonely Planet guidebook. In late Spring to early Summer he organises whitewater rafting. In late summer he takes visitors up the Kackar mountains to go trekking. He is of Georgian origins.

at 20 TL per person

I'm always amused when I read travel magazines that say, 'Madrid hotel, a bargain at US$175 a night. 20 TL is about US$14. I have friends who come home to tell me their Rome hotel room costs them $450 a night. My budget is US$50 a night. Here on this trip I paid for the 3 of us, we traveled to so many places in Eastern Turkey and ate well and the sleeping part at 20TL per person did not hurt us. We were safe and comfortable. In fact in Yusufeli our room was right next to the river and the roar of the water was constant. The owner was so laid back and friendly. It was cheap in Kars as well at 110TL per night for the three of us. In fact in Kars we got lost a few times and the locals pointed us to our hotel before we even asked. They knew who we were and where we were staying. They have seen us wandering around town for 3 days, the only Asians in town.

On our way to Tekkale

 Local women laying out the tarp to catch the mulberries that are falling off the tree.

Tekkale is 7 Km away from Yusufeli. We were told that there are lots of mini buses that go between Yusufeli and Tekkale. Yes but in the morning they bring people from Tekkale to Yusufeli because Yusufeli has the long distance buses. So all the buses were coming in the wrong direction. So we decided to hike. It was really pleasant, we passed local villagers and we exchanged our obligatory 'merhaba' or hello. But half way there I decided we should hitch, hiking wasn't my thing. We found a nice guy in a truck who stopped for us and took us the rest of the way to Tekkale. These are the back roads that we were traveling on.

We fell in love with Yusufeli

 Nestled in this canyon is this cute little village. One could never tell from the ruggedness of the surrounding mountains. The rushing of the river is constant and here people from all over Europe and Israel come to enjoy whitewater rafting. We met 2 girls from Russia, a first for me. They wanted to visit the old Georgian churches in the area.

 The locals are the star, they are so friendly. Here we were buying so soda pop and the girl's father wanted us to take her picture as she rang up our purchases.

 I don't remember if the traffic light actually worked but it is a one street town.

 He was trying to open the cherry pop bottle without an opener. He did it and they shared the cherry pop.

 Mulberries drying in the sun.

Yusufeli wasn't even in our original itinerary but we decided to go there for a night and we fell in love with the place. We ended up staying 2 nights. It's an agrarian economy, fruits that go into dried fruit and sold. The place is covered with orchards, vegetable plots and some farm animals. Tourists come for whitewater rafting and to visit the old Georgian churches and life is absolutely pleasant. The weather is a micro climate, the winters are not that severe. It is heaven, a paradise.

Near Ishan

It was hard for me to believe as the taxi drove up the mountain that there would be a mountain oasis there. I didn't know what to expect. I knew that monasteries are usually tucked away in some remote place that is so inaccessible. It is inaccessible, when it rains this dirt road is treacherous. But as we approached Ishan, suddenly the village opened up and there is lush and beautiful place. A few people have built their homestead next to the church and one can stay with them. It was recommended to us but I couldn't figure out how the transportation would work. Now I  know. Yusufeli is the transportation hub and there is a daily bus from Yusufeli to the big city of Trabzon. So every morning the mini buses would bring people from all the villages around the area including Ishan, to Yusufeli. These same mini buses would return to their respective villages in the afternoon. So if you want to stay at any of the villages including Ishan, you would arrive in Yusufeli, take the afternoon mini bus to the village of your choice, stay the night, wake up next to the church, listen to the birds, meditate on the quietness and return to Yusufeli with the morning mini bus.

Ancient writing

The Holstee Manifesto