Bob Keith from Van Turkey - Safe - Iraq Project One
This dispatch was sent on Saturday, October 29, 2006 Turkish time:
I have made it to Van, Turkey. From this point forward I will dispense with the Cool Dadio Media dispatches. I started them when I entered Iraq and I will now just send regular emails now that I am out. The Kurdistan of Iraq trip was a Cool Dadio Media project and I wanted it so documented. But I am back now to just traveling and so you will just get regular old emails for the rest of the journey. I was able to reconnect with the two bags I left in Midyat, Turkey and then move on to Mardin on the mountain to reconnect with the friend I made there.
Van, Turkey likes to remind you everywhere that it is famous for Van Cats. They are white and have each eye a different color. Their pictures are everywhere. That is good because the only real cats I have seen here are ruddy old black and yellow street cats.
Coming to Van after all the patriarchal cities I've been is a refreshing change yet it seems a culture shock. It is a frontier town because Iran is just down the road as is Armenia. I cashed some traveler's checks in Mardin, Turkey because I figured this far East I would not find a bank. But there are banks all over the place here. It is a university town so the kids wear modern cloths. Most women and girls wear modern cloths and let their long hair flow. There is the presence of women working in many shops and restaurants. The 20-something girl sitting in the next cubicle here in the Internet cafe is chain smoking. Never have I welcomed cigarette smoke in my face more. I am sitting in a three-story mall type center and some of the 20-something girls shopping here are wearing short skirts. That is something I had yet to see in all of Turkey. In Iraq I say few women let along any in short skirts. Men here often have longer hair as apposed to the Turkish barber manicured cut I have seen everywhere else including Iraq. English is tried a bit here because of the university. People in the Internet cafes like to practice their slang with me. The big lake on the edge of town and the castle that overlook it are tourist stops; so, people come from Istanbul and Ankara with their modern demeanor and cloths. There is a main airport and train station here also.
Coming here to Van after having been in Iraq reminds me of when I traveled from Laos (one of the poorest countries on earth) back into Viet Nam. I feel like I am back in America. Who would have thought I would get that feeling only a few miles from Iran. The tour book does not really tip you off to this well kept secret. Had I known Van was here I would not have wasted half a day trying to cash five traveler's checks in Mardin, Turkey. I went back to Mardin to film a Kurdish folk band as the guest of the fellow I had met there earlier on the trip to Iraq.
The first bank in Mardin I waited 45 minutes to be told I could certainly cash them at the only other bank in town. The other bank was determined to do it. They only had two tellers. First I waited 30 minutes for them to figure out what the checks were. Then I was served tea. Then I was sent to manager to double check that they were actually traveler checks and I was actually an American. Like many things in Turkey, ten people had to weigh in on the cashing of the checks; including some customers that did not seem to have a good grip on Turkish let alone English.
They operate with Dot Matrix technology at this bank too. Each check took 15 minutes to cash. Then after all five were cashed, it took 10 minute to convert it all to U.S. Dollars. I turned to see about 75 customers waiting patiently for me to finish. After two and a half hours I walked out with 250 Dollars worth of Turkish Lirasi. I had been warned Traveler's checks may be a problem here in rural Turkey. And for sure I could only bring cash into Iraq (that upped the stress tensions there on top of everything else). They had no banking system to speak of at all in Iraq. In Iraq, street vendors handled all exchanges. But even after being warned, I never expected such a bank fiasco over five checks in Turkey. I did thank one of the bank manager assistants that looked worried I would be displeased. Her real problem was the 75 waiting people I think, and not me. I am on vacation now and do not really have a time constraint. All those 75 people needed to get back to work I fear.
Many times people could have certainly short changed me. But I do not believe I ever was. Like the names of streets, the prices of things here in Turkey are rarely posted. Often a bystander on a bus or restaurant helped me sort out the price. People seem very serious about the exchange of cash here. I think sometimes in America we think, ''hey, you gave me too much back and that is your problem.'' That does not seem to happen here. People and shop keepers will correct you. Although, as talkative as this culture is, a dishonest vendor or customer is probably doomed. My advice if you travel in rural Turkey, bring cash and hope for the best.
The bus ride to Van was interesting. It was my first night bus ride here in Turkey. It was through the mountains. By now the travelers flu has caught up with me. Thank God it stayed away in Iraq. The bus attendant could tell I was ill and kept trying to get me to get off the bus at these little mountain towns to find a doctor - at 2:00 a.m. in the morning - I did not just fall off the turnip truck dude. Then after a seven hour ride and with me the only person left on the bus, it stopped just outside of Van at a closed gas station for an hour to wait for another big bus to drive the last 15 miles into Van. I could have choked both the driver and the attendant. A huge tour bus finally came (empty) at Four in the morning to take me to Van. The last laugh was mine I guess because it just happened to stop right in front of the hotel I was looking to use. Two cab drivers rushed up to me (they probably had been smoking, drinking tea, and shooting the bull all night) all out of breath in a big hurry ready to drive me around in circles. I got a bit of quiet satisfaction from the looks on their faces when I just pointed at the hotel door in front of the bus.
I have made it to Van, Turkey. From this point forward I will dispense with the Cool Dadio Media dispatches. I started them when I entered Iraq and I will now just send regular emails now that I am out. The Kurdistan of Iraq trip was a Cool Dadio Media project and I wanted it so documented. But I am back now to just traveling and so you will just get regular old emails for the rest of the journey. I was able to reconnect with the two bags I left in Midyat, Turkey and then move on to Mardin on the mountain to reconnect with the friend I made there.
Van, Turkey likes to remind you everywhere that it is famous for Van Cats. They are white and have each eye a different color. Their pictures are everywhere. That is good because the only real cats I have seen here are ruddy old black and yellow street cats.
Coming to Van after all the patriarchal cities I've been is a refreshing change yet it seems a culture shock. It is a frontier town because Iran is just down the road as is Armenia. I cashed some traveler's checks in Mardin, Turkey because I figured this far East I would not find a bank. But there are banks all over the place here. It is a university town so the kids wear modern cloths. Most women and girls wear modern cloths and let their long hair flow. There is the presence of women working in many shops and restaurants. The 20-something girl sitting in the next cubicle here in the Internet cafe is chain smoking. Never have I welcomed cigarette smoke in my face more. I am sitting in a three-story mall type center and some of the 20-something girls shopping here are wearing short skirts. That is something I had yet to see in all of Turkey. In Iraq I say few women let along any in short skirts. Men here often have longer hair as apposed to the Turkish barber manicured cut I have seen everywhere else including Iraq. English is tried a bit here because of the university. People in the Internet cafes like to practice their slang with me. The big lake on the edge of town and the castle that overlook it are tourist stops; so, people come from Istanbul and Ankara with their modern demeanor and cloths. There is a main airport and train station here also.
Coming here to Van after having been in Iraq reminds me of when I traveled from Laos (one of the poorest countries on earth) back into Viet Nam. I feel like I am back in America. Who would have thought I would get that feeling only a few miles from Iran. The tour book does not really tip you off to this well kept secret. Had I known Van was here I would not have wasted half a day trying to cash five traveler's checks in Mardin, Turkey. I went back to Mardin to film a Kurdish folk band as the guest of the fellow I had met there earlier on the trip to Iraq.
The first bank in Mardin I waited 45 minutes to be told I could certainly cash them at the only other bank in town. The other bank was determined to do it. They only had two tellers. First I waited 30 minutes for them to figure out what the checks were. Then I was served tea. Then I was sent to manager to double check that they were actually traveler checks and I was actually an American. Like many things in Turkey, ten people had to weigh in on the cashing of the checks; including some customers that did not seem to have a good grip on Turkish let alone English.
They operate with Dot Matrix technology at this bank too. Each check took 15 minutes to cash. Then after all five were cashed, it took 10 minute to convert it all to U.S. Dollars. I turned to see about 75 customers waiting patiently for me to finish. After two and a half hours I walked out with 250 Dollars worth of Turkish Lirasi. I had been warned Traveler's checks may be a problem here in rural Turkey. And for sure I could only bring cash into Iraq (that upped the stress tensions there on top of everything else). They had no banking system to speak of at all in Iraq. In Iraq, street vendors handled all exchanges. But even after being warned, I never expected such a bank fiasco over five checks in Turkey. I did thank one of the bank manager assistants that looked worried I would be displeased. Her real problem was the 75 waiting people I think, and not me. I am on vacation now and do not really have a time constraint. All those 75 people needed to get back to work I fear.
Many times people could have certainly short changed me. But I do not believe I ever was. Like the names of streets, the prices of things here in Turkey are rarely posted. Often a bystander on a bus or restaurant helped me sort out the price. People seem very serious about the exchange of cash here. I think sometimes in America we think, ''hey, you gave me too much back and that is your problem.'' That does not seem to happen here. People and shop keepers will correct you. Although, as talkative as this culture is, a dishonest vendor or customer is probably doomed. My advice if you travel in rural Turkey, bring cash and hope for the best.
The bus ride to Van was interesting. It was my first night bus ride here in Turkey. It was through the mountains. By now the travelers flu has caught up with me. Thank God it stayed away in Iraq. The bus attendant could tell I was ill and kept trying to get me to get off the bus at these little mountain towns to find a doctor - at 2:00 a.m. in the morning - I did not just fall off the turnip truck dude. Then after a seven hour ride and with me the only person left on the bus, it stopped just outside of Van at a closed gas station for an hour to wait for another big bus to drive the last 15 miles into Van. I could have choked both the driver and the attendant. A huge tour bus finally came (empty) at Four in the morning to take me to Van. The last laugh was mine I guess because it just happened to stop right in front of the hotel I was looking to use. Two cab drivers rushed up to me (they probably had been smoking, drinking tea, and shooting the bull all night) all out of breath in a big hurry ready to drive me around in circles. I got a bit of quiet satisfaction from the looks on their faces when I just pointed at the hotel door in front of the bus.
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