The Arabic and Most southern Part of Turkey

4th – 6th of December:

Actually we just want to check our e-mail and get some money in Antakya. Our destination was the Mediterranean sea. Buut, on my way to the ATM I meet some guys, which invite me to smoke a cigarette. Finally, they (Sina, Kubi, Mrs. Las Vegas) show us the town and we go to eat Koefte. On our walk through the town we always meet more of their friends. One friend his name is Marek has a house where we can stay overnight. It is just an empty apartment but nice for us since it is getting again rainy and cold outside. In the evening we go to one of Marek’s cosine who has a bar in a village not far from town.

(N 36.2233 °, E 36.16159 °)

We go together with Marek to his English lesson. It is quite funny for us and also for them. Quite young people, some policemans who want to work in the international police. The teacher is an amazing woman coming from the Philippines. She lives here already 15 years can speak English, Arabic, Turkish and some other languages that I forgot. After that we go again to the bar in the village and experience the Arabic live in this most south part of Turkey. Card playing, water pipe smoking man and young guys you see most. While talking with our new friends we find out that most of them are just here for holiday. They are working normally in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, that means basically in the Arabic countries. However, the older people mostly worked or are working in Germany. We also meet a couple from Germany which comes just back for holiday. They tell us 50% of the village is in Germany or has at least relatives there.

This time we are sleeping in the bar, since everybody was drinking beer.

Next day we visit again the English course in the afternoon. After that we go to Marek and finally to Alis house to eat Turkish pizza. Everybody has to dance and especially our new friends Ali and Memed are perfect in it. Smoking water pipe in the evening and sleeping again in the bar.

Jandarma being afraid of PKK

After Nemrut we want to escape to the warm mediteranian sea. That means we are going more south and coming close to the Syrian border. We get to eat our second Döner (:) on our way and have some nice pickles. Hot and sour chilli (:). To avoid the dark we find a nice sleeping place close to some olive grove. We put up our tent and start to make a fire to cook. Today’s meal is Plov. After it got dark, which happen these days very fast (around 4 a clock), 10 guys with their guns come out of the dark. I recognise it is the Turkish army called Jandarama. They try to explain us that this is a very dangerous place and we can not stay here. We finish cooking our Plov, I close our tent and then we go to the Jandarma station in Hassa. They tell us we should only stay in the centre of the city and show us a place behind a school where we could put our tent. Actually around there it is very dark and in cities I never feel save. In the cities you find often a few people which are the worst. In the TV we also saw that there are actually a lot of riots with burning cars and street fights around Turkey. E.g. in Agdara, Istanbul ..... i.e. big cities.

We wait until the Jandarama is away and then we go on and I ask a farmer if we can put the car in his yard. It is really funny, there is no common language anymore we can use. But somehow we can manage and stay there in our tent and have a dinner together with them. He, his two wife, his kids, and us.




Next morning we are having breakfast together with the family and once more we get to see how they make their fresh bread. It is in all countries a little bit different but always delicious.

(N 36.75023°, E 36.51343 °)

Nemrut

1st – 3rd of December:

Although visiting families is interesting it also takes a lot of power from us. We have to concentrate on all the people who want to the same time something from us. Normally, you there is no time to write Blog or anything like this, a lot of impressions and the need to understand although we do not understand their language. Therefore, it is always nice to have some day time to write down what you have seen. After Ergani our main direction is Nemrut Dagi, which is a grave of an ancient king on top of the mountains. It is also world heritage. But distances are not small here and we need 2 days to go there. We have to cross an anabranch of the Atatürk reservoir by ferry and decide to have our camp there. We do not want to go on to Nemrut since it is quite high and definitely colder than here.

(N 37.89359°, E 38.95756 °)

We are lucky the weather is still very nice and we drive up the serpentines to Nemrut Dagi. The air is freezing cold but the view in the blue sky is great. On top of the 50 m high grave hill, which is artificially made by tons of small stones, several statues can be seen. Nemrut Dagi was explored just in the last century and before this it was long time hidden in that height. Until now nobody could reach the inside or find out if there are some hidden chambers. Some weeks later this place will be closed and we are lucky to have the chance to see it. We met our first German tourist and feel that we are very close to home. To avoid the freezing cold night we go down and make our camp at a river. People always care about us when we just make a camp. They come to us ask if everything is ok, sometimes suggest a better place and ask if we need something. I really never feel unsafe in any of these Islamic countries.

(N 37.90783°, E 38.60995 °)

We go on in the direction of Syria and hopefully some last warm and sunny days. We do some shopping and buy our first Turkish Döner. An noisy place beside the main road is our shelter for this night.

(N 37.73934°, E 37.92722 °)

A Special Day and Turkish Hospitality vs. European Hospitality

27th – 30th of November:

We could not see so much the night before since it was already dark but the street from the Black Sea to Erzurum is amazing. It is sunny and we are driving through a huge canyon in the far east of Turkey. I never imagined that Turkey has such a nature. The sheer rock walls have structured but artistic patterns. As in other valleys on our journey the people live at the bottom having there farms and animals. Further up everything is dry. We leave this canyon and go up in the mountains. It is sparse populated but from time to time there is a village or a military check point. The houses look quite new, which means they are build in this “concrete style”. The “concrete style” is the same everywhere in the world. Just some steel and concrete is casted in a form. Ready is the house. Traditional house construction methods are already lost in here and also later we will make this experience in other parts of Turkey. This is a big difference to the countries in Central Asia where in some areas the people still build in the traditional way. Old style houses are hardly to find, maybe 30 years ago or in some hidden villages in the mountains.

(N 39.11313°, E 40.84087 °)

For two days we are driving through the mountain side. It is cold but sunny; we are often above 2000 m. As in Central Asia this landscape is used for the sheep and cow herds. The night is quite cold but we are happy to see the sun in the morning. We are driving down from the mountains and it is getting warmer. We decide to warm up and to stay a day at a warm place with a spring. The first contact to a Turkish guy is funny. We are used to communicate in Russian or English. Now we only have hands and feet to “speak”. Again the people are very friendly invite us for self-made cigarette and also to stay in there house. But for this day we decide to stay here: N 38.31786°, E 39.99798 °. It is a really nice ancient looking warm place; a small cave, a spring and the water floating through a pond into the rocky valley below us.



Next day we are washing all our clothing. Meanwhile people stop by and we get again invited by two nice guys with their two small boys to visit a wedding party. We just wait until our clothing is dry and then we drive to their village Koey, which is just 2 km away. First they prepare a lunch for us in their family’s house. Half of the village visits and most of them are family. A lot of kids, but first we always have to say hello to the elderly and most respected persons. We make a short visit at the wedding but then they say lets go to Ergnani. There we visit another uncle. It seems all the family is gathered around. Veysel just visits his family from Istanbul. He stays most of the time there studying. His English is very good and we have the chance to understand more. He explain us that today is a very special day. This is a time the whole family comes together. So why it such a important day I ask. He tells me the story: “Allah asked in ancient a man to kill and sacrifice his son for him. Asking this was just a test if the man really would do it. The man takes the knife and tries to cut the neck of his son but it seems it is impossible to cut. Allah sends a sheep to him and tells him he should kill the sheep instead and share it with the poor people. That is what the people do this day.”
We saw a lot of people killing a cow or sheep beside the street. For the rich it is obligatory to share this with the poor and they do it.



All people sitting in one room, in case an older or respected person enters the room everybody stands up to greet him or her. Just after he/she finds a place everybody else is sitting down. The elderly are much respected. Mostly the kids or the young woman are sitting on the carpet and only a few are sitting on something like a sofa that is above the others. We eat; we drink and talk a lot. Veysel makes always kidding with the people. He tells them that Kotomi can speak Kurdish. Some women start to talk to Kotomi in fast Kurdish happy to know that she will understand. Finally everybody recognises and we are laughing all together. Actually they all can speak Kurdish but they are not fanatic PKK fighters. Veysel explains that most of them living in peace with the Turkish. For him it does not matter if somebody is Turkish or Kurdish.



We talk a lot with him and Veysel tells me that he experienced already in Europe that the hospitality we experience now he could not receive in there. Unfortunately, I have to agree and I tell him that I am always ashamed about this. I hope he can visit us one day and I could give him shelter and show that he can also find hospitality in Europe. I guess most people are afraid to invite a foreigner, they are not able to trust the people. Nevertheless, later on we experience that the Turkish do not trust other Turkish/Kurdish/Arabic or other way around. It is strange they trust us but they wouldn’t trust their own people in some cases.

Later we sleep at Veysel’s cousin’s house in the town. There we meet his father and the rest of the family. I have to say that I got in trouble with all the names, it was like 50 names this day and I am sorry for that but it is just to much names in the short time L.

(N 38.26583°, E 39.77236 °)

We will come back to Georgia!

24th – 26th of November:

In the morning we visit the Stalin museum in Gori. Actually visiting this museum was the only reason to go to Gori, but we met such nice people there that we almost forgot about the museum. It is always like that, we have a main direction and are open for everything what happen. Finally, the monument to visit gives us just a direction. However, before we leave we wanted to see the museum. Unfortunately, the museum shows basically the heroic parts of Stalin’s live. Most interesting is for me the house he was born in. It stands in the a park and as protection they build something like a hall with antique columns over it.

We would like to see more of Georgia, its people and nature. Unfortunately, now it is not really the time for our kind of travel. In the mountains is already snow and the streets are difficult to go. In the lowlands you have rain coming from the Black Sea. We decide to definitely come back to Georgia another time. The street in the South through the mountains sounds nice, but all suggest just to go to Batumi as the road in the mountains are closed because of snow. I am not sure and with the broken spring of the car I am not in the mood for an Off-road adventure. Somewhere in the mountains between Gori and Batumi we find a sleeping place in the mountains. Again people come and invite us to there home to drink some wine and stay there. We have to refuse since we need some rest from the drinking in the last days (:).

(N 42.09221°, E 42.3084°)

When we arrive in Batumi it is already afternoon. We decide to do some shopping and I bring my shoes to a shoemaker for repair. It is to late to cross the border to Turkey that day and anyway I have to pick up my shoes next day. We eat some Katchapuri (cheese pie) and drive back to the scenic bluff at the black sea. From the street it is going down very steep to the sea but all the way down you have mandarin trees and some houses from time to time. Everything seems to be private area. I drive a small road down to such a house. I can see some people and ask if we could park our car behind the house and open our tent. The lady, her name is Valentina, offers us a place in her house to stay. She, her son and the grandmother are living there. In the moment we are there they just sell their harvest of mandarins to an Armenian guy who will sell it later in Armenia. Around half a ton they harvested and are tiered from the hard day. In the evening we are chatting and I recognise that her Russian is very good and also with her son she speaks Russian. Actually she has Georgian passport but is Russian Nationality. In this part of Georgia still a lot of Russians are living, although a lot of them left already because of the bad economic situation. She tells us a lot of Georgians work in Russia and especially at the universities. The other way round it is not like this anymore. She prefers to speak Russian and is not really used to the Georgian language. The old Russian times she likes and a lot of things seemed to be better. In former times this area around the Black Sea was very touristic. Nowadays there is almost no more tourism. She complains that everything is too expensive here and most Russian will go to Turkey for holiday instead of Georgia. But she do not want to go to Russia. It seems she has a hard but satisfied live in something which looks for me like paradise. She has her own cow, potatoes and all kinds of vegetable. From the mandarins she has a small income which helps her family to buy the things she can not crow. But she starts dreaming and telling us how nice it is here in spring and summer. A lot of flowers and a smell in the air you never forget. We have to come back in these seasons she says and we really think once more that this was not the last time we visit this cultural and natural rich country.

(N 41.7634 °, E 41.75167 °)

In the morning we start for Turkey and say Good Bye to Valentine such a warm hearted and strong lady. We hope that we will see her again.

Again I risk filling up my entire additional canister. Again 140 Litre illegal Diesel are inside the car. From Azerbaijan to Georgia the Diesel price doubled from 30 EUR Cent to around 60 EURO Cent and now from 60 Cent to 1.2 EUR. The border check point is located just between the black sea and the steep rocks of the fast ascending mountains. It is an incredible place. The street is blocked by a fence and after entering the neutral zone you drive through scanners and a big gate is closed behind you. We are trapped and I am always hoping they won’t find the Diesel. Georgian’s check this time is no problem as we just leave the country. In Turkey everything feels already European; the custom guy is not really interested. He looks inside sees all the “garbage” and he let us go. Just get car insurance for 20 USD for 3 month and we are in Turkey. It is dark, heavy rain, and no cheap place to stay. We go to the South into the mountains and after 100 km of amazing good streets it clears up and we make our camp.

(N 40.84494°, E 41.68151 °)

Great Time with Micha in Gori

19th-23rd of November:

A short visit to Tbilisi an old and interesting town is all we planed for the day. It is not like Baku, the houses are not perfectly renovated. For me this town has more charm than Baku. Nevertheless, in the evening we go on to Gori and want to make a camp somewhere on the way. We can not find a good place, it is cold and windy and suddenly we are already in Gori. The homestay from Kotomi's guide book is not easy to find. But father destiny helps us again. When asking for the street where the homestay should be, we get invited by Micha and his friends. Micha is director of an Alpine club and also of World Vision Gori. In the evening we celebrate together with him and his co-workers (friends) the coming day (:). After travelling almost 4 month in Islamic countries we are back in the world of wine and beer. All of them doing their own wine and brought it that evening in 30 litre tanks. It is first time for Kotomi to drink such a wine. We really enjoy the wine, the food and the company of Micha and his friends. We learn how to drink in Georgia. There is no drink without a toast. We drink for peace in the world, health, woman, kids, ….., ….., ….., ….. until the 30 litre are finished (:).



Friday: In the next morning Micha invites us to a very special Georgian breakfast. We are driving to a shop of his friend. It is a small cafeteria from a butcher. The special food which is necessary after heavy drinking consists basically of milk and bowels of the cow. It is called Xas and you have to drink 3 class of Vodka with it. For us drinking Vodka in the morning is quite hard but we give our best. Coming back to his office the training or conference already started. The guys who already participated in the training several times before are drinking beside. Tschatscha is the stuff with 75% alcohol called. I kindly refuse but Kotomi is very brave and stands 6 more of this dangerous stuff. Meanwhile we are disturbing their conference when we are walking through the conference room to come to Michas “royal” office. There we use the internet and from time to time we chat with the great and interesting people from World Vision. World Vision organizes and supports the help for the refugees from the last years war with Russia. Almost everybody lost somebody in the war but still they do not hate the Russians. Although for them it is partially hard to understand the reasons of this war. Along the highway from Tbilisi to Gori we saw a lot of this huge refugee camps. That is all which we can see from the war. Gori itself was also bombed but it can not be seen so much. Almost everything is renovated.

Saturday: We go on a trip to Kakheti region with all the workers of World Vision. I am a little bit scared in the bus, since the driver seems to make a rally. Fortunately we arrive safe at the monastery but with a quite high adrenalin level. The monastery is located just in front of the snow covered Caucasian mountains and the day is clear and sunny. The monastery was used as storage room in the communistic times and almost all paintings were destroyed. Now around 20 years after independence they still have to renovate and to bring back the beauty of this monastery. All together we have a picnic and of course with Tschatscha (:). After being almost drunken, we visit an old kings palace that also includes a gallery of old and new art. In the night the guys from World Vision Tbilisi join us in a restaurant where we enjoy full course Georgian food and experience the great Georgian dancing.




Sunday: That is the day before the Saint Georges day. We are drinking all the day, I stick with wine but Kotomi can not refuse the 75 % Tschatscha. She is already drunk in the morning and has to sleep all the afternoon. In the evening we are again invited to a restaurant with all kinds of Georgian food and a lot of dancing. Enjoying live with food and dancing is great and I enjoy the time with these people and their Georgian soul. Kotomi is very moved by this emotional dancing and is almost crying.



Monday: It is cold outside and raining, it is Saint Georges day, the day of Georgia. Kotomi can not do anything, sleeping all day, recovering from all the alcohol. In the evening we visit together with Micha and his friends a village and are drinking, eating again.


(N 42.01383°, E 44.13831 °)

140 Litre Diesel Problem

18th of November:

We were driving through rainy landscape all the day. The street is bad but interesting villages surounded by autumn. It is noon when we are close to the border, it is raining and we do not feel to stay and decide to cross the border that day. We have to wait a long time at the Azerbaijan side. Finally we can cross the bridge to Georgia. Welcome in Georgia! After we get checked from the custom, they find 60 litre of our 140 litre of additional Diesel in 20 litre tanks. They say it is a problem and we have to go back in the neutral zone (bridge) to throw it away. I want to ask a truck driver if he wants to buy the Diesel. The customs get angry and say I should go in the neutral zone to sell it. That means I have to leave the country again. I go out, on the bridge are a lot of cars and everybody is wating to enter Georgia. For them it is funny how we put our 7 tanks on the bridge, but I succed and sell it to a Turkish truck driver. He can speak a little German and is like a Papa to me. After selling our cheap diesel (:(( we leave the neutral zone and enter Georgia again. This time they do not check again; should I have kept the 80 litre that they did not find? (:) Anyway I could at least sell it and for the firts time we did not need a visa anymore. It is already night, after some kilometeres it is not raining anymore and we decide to make a camp in a field.

(N 41.75702°, E 46.10201 °)

Autumn days in Azerbaijan

15th-17th of Novemmber:

From the grey mountain steppe we driving down through colorful landscape. It is autum and sometimes the sun comes out which makes us allways really happy. Our last destination before we leave Azerbaijan is Lahic. It is also a mountain village with a unique culture. Old and new stone houses build in their own style. The houses have special constrution. Its walls look like layered, 50 cm stone after that a 10 cm wood layer filled with loose stones (I could see this, because somebody just buil a new house(:)). I was guessing it is because of earth quakes. I asked the guy who was buildiing the new house and he told me it is true. Lahic is also famous for its copper smiths and carpet weaving. The anchestors come from Persia and the local language, which the speak here is very similar to what they speak nowadays in Iran. The village is surounded by mountains and mixed forrest which is now standing there in its most beautiful atumn colors. Nevertheless, the village is not as impressiv as Xinalik. We open our tent at the parking of the guest house with the oldest Hamam in the village. They say it is around 300 years. But what is a Hamam. Instead of going to the Banja as n Russia, now we go to the Hamam, which is some kind of steam bath. This Hamam is under the ground and looks almost like a cave. After deep cleaning we chat long time with the owner and go to bed.

(N 40.84305°, E 48.37744 °)

There is nothing else what we wnat to see on our way to the border, but we have a sunny day and that is why the landscape seems to explode in thousand of colors. I can not stop to make pictures especially at the places where you can see the white peaks of the Caucasus behind. We make our camp at a river with sun and the mountains behind us.

(N 40.94428°, E 47.61391 °)

We wake up and the Caucasus disappeared. Again it is a rainy and grey day. In Shaki we buy an electric Samowar and some special cups Kotomi already wanted to buy in Kazahkstan. She is happy and I am, because in Kazahkstan I told her that we can buy it later. But all the way until here we did not see this kind again. Azeerbaijan was the last chance (:). It is too cold and rainy to do anything else. In a mobile shop we can use the internet and we upload some pictures. Not in the mood for a cold and rainy camp I ask in the Doener shop for some homestay. For 3 Manat per person 1 EUR = 1.2 Manat we stay in the house of a nice Russian woman and try for the first time our new Samowar (:).

(N 41.20032°, E 47.16887 °)

The "President" of Agdara

13th-14th of November:

Baku would offer us the best road to finally to West to Lahic another mountain village, but in my map is a secondary road which leads through the country side. Well we have a good weather and decide for this road as it is for sure more interesting than going back on this high way to Baku. We just manage a few kilometre this day and sleep at a very wind place. (N 40.90846°, E 49.13717 °) When we started to sleep the wind is strong but we and the tent can stand it. But it gets a hell night; almost no sleep; storm from all directions, we call it air bombs. We think the whole car including tent and us will be frazzled into thousand pieces.

From asphalt to stony road, from stony road to muddy road, from muddy road to almost nothing that is what we experience this way as a secondary road in Azerbaijan. Everything apart from the interest of the FAMILY or something which is not touristy is just forgotten area. But again this are the most interesting places for us. On our way through a village we get again invited for the tea and buy there some bread and honey. In the villages it is easy to ask for the way, but mostly the only answer we get is to go straight. for them there is always just one way to go. And in their mind this is the only way you can see. For us it is different, I see a lot of ways and always have to ask again. Then we are in some kind of mountain steppe, sometimes you meet a hunter and only close to villages some farmer. The description here are like: over hill, then down, through the river and then straight. We are coming closer but I have a better feeling after I am using the Russian Military maps. Fortunately I have the maps for this area and since the seventies nothing changed in terms of the dirt roads. To be sure and to ask about the way I drive to the village Agdara that is shown in the map. There we meet Parviz, who cleans up a small river together with some kids from garbage. We get invited from him to stay in "HIS Village". Later he explains us that he will be major of the 100 people village at the 23rd of December. He gives the kids, his loyal followers, some flyers with his CV and a picture. They feel quite important now and putting them around the village. That means there will be some kind of election, but he already said that he will be the major at the election day. It seems he is the only candidate of this forgotten village anyway. When we are walking through the village he acts already like the "President" of the village. Everywhere we have to make a picture with the kids around him; in front of the school, the dirt road, the mosque .... Just for the pictures a kid has to get for him his long black coat. I am ask him what he promise to do for the village and he answers that he want to make the streets better and the usual "THINGS". Well, after seeing his empire, we go to his brother Muschfik where we have good food and a nice time with his family. His father is 83 years old and I tell him that my grandmother is in the same age. He is some kind of dreamer and just has a new idea. He says lets bring them together via internet. I tell him she can not speak Russian or Azeri. He does not care at all. Everything is possible, you know the internet is just translating when they are speaking with each other. That is a nice idea and maybe possible in 10 years or less (:). But the father seems to be very tired, he do not want to live anymore. He tells me tat he has to do nothing and somehow no more reason to live. Just to weak and the need for help. Well, I think luckily my grandmother is still very strong and she is needed from us. She always has to do something, go to some sports group, meeting friends or cooking for us delicious food.

The father is still talking and seem to enjoy to use his Russian again. He tells us that in the Soviet times it was a lot better than now. Being the boss of the Kolchose at that time still makes him proud. Everybody had good live and now it seems to be worse. At least for this village in the middle of the mountain with bad street connection nobody seems to care.

(N 40.6921 °, E 49.0184 °)

Two Different worlds in the Caucasus

10th-13th of November:

From Baku we go to the north along the Caspian Sea. It is again cold, grey and rainy. In Guba, just before the Caucasus starts, the fog is so dense that we can see almost nothing. We "really" look forward to the night. As usual there are no street signs and I have to ask for the way to Xinalik, which is a small village in the Caucasus mountain. Coincidence again, the guy I am asking for the way has a uncle there and we get his phone number just in case we want to stay there. Furthermore, he tells us good news; going up from the lowlands to the mountains means that there is no more fog up there; just sunny. Right now hard to believe but we decide to drive until the rain and fog stops. Sometimes I have difficulties to find the way. The street gets more and more narrow. We are driving through villages and forest covered in fog. Suddenly we are in a very steep canyon and the fog disappears. Yeeees, it is cold but wonderful. It is already night and the canyon above us is like a gate to the stars. We find a place, which is just big enough for the car and the roof tent. Fortunately their is almost no traffic. After cooking we just go to bed while using all sleeping bags and blankets we have, but knowing the next day will be warm and sunny (:).

(N 41.2158 °, E 48.27761 °)

Sunny morning, yeeeeeessssss. It is long time ago that we had such a nice weather. Just some sun rays and the mood gets so much better. Although this fascinating canyon does not allow that any sun ray reaches our tent we know that soon we will come out of the shadow. You drive slowly out of the canyon and in front of you the Caucasus mountains with its snow covered peaks builds up. I do not know why but for me such a scenery is always fascinating again. I can see thousand of mountains and I never get tired; I see 3 cities and I do not want to see anymore. It is hard to explain why it is like that. Maybe nature gives everybody different interest.

A car which just overtake us comes back showing us that the way will end soon. Well I do not believe it since the other cars did not come back. But suddenly we are in front of a landslide and only a dirt road leads down to the river. In front of the river a TV group makes an interview. They also ask us for an interview and want that we say that this way is impossible, that it is a big problem for us. I just say I think it is possible. Driving through the river is at least no problem with our car. It is funny since the TV "Lady" gets a little bit mad because I am not answering as she want (:). We drive through the river and going on to Xinalik. While washing our plates and pots at a river in the sunny warm air, some hunters with 3 big Off-road cars are stopping beside us. First they are curious and are asking what we are doing here. As they recognise we are just tourists they invite us to come in their mountain hunting house around 20 km Off-road after Xinalik. Nevertheless, they warn us that the way is really bad. It sounds interesting and we decide to go their for that day and after that we will go back to Xinalik. At one hand we will see these hunters that seem to be part of the FAMILY and on the other hand one day later we will be in Xinalik with its unique culture having even their own language.

World I: After Xinalik their is a military control since this area is border zone with Russia. As the hunters already told them that we will come we have no problem to get the permission to go behind.The landscape going up into the mountains is really amazing, but the way is sooo steep. I never drove something like this before. Sometimes we stuck in the mud, we have to drive through a river bed with big stones. Like a snail we slowly going up to the pass, which is still covered with snow. After the pass a wide valley opens. In the end of the valley there is a mountain that looks like a wall. The rocks of the wall are in a shiny red illuminated by the deep standing sun. The valley is like a big pot and the bottom is a grazing ground for the wild animals. There are several ways to go and I am not sure. I just follow the one with the freshest tire prints. And there it is, the luxury hunting house in a side valley. Looks like a house in Beverly hills, surrounded by a fence and having a small security house in front. It feels surreal in this nice landscape. First we get invited by the security to tea, bread and cheese. The hunters already went out to trace the wild something; sorry I do not know the name. After some time they come back and we get to see the inside of the house. Luxury; bath, TV room with big chairs, grate, several sleeping rooms and everything in European style. The funny thing is that everything looks perfect but nothing is working. The heating, the three different satellite dishes and also the grate. Ok it is on 3000 m height with almost no street. Finally everybody is sitting their with warm jackets in the cold. The most important looking guy starts to play with another the game Domino (:). I figure out that actually only this guy is the boss. All others are just his security. Next morning the security finds the wild "something" for him. Then they bring him to the place; he shoots it and everybody is happy. To feel the difference in the peoples live of another country is interesting, but here we feel it is a little bit crazy. One day with these people is enough and we drive back to the village Xinalik, which actually would have been our final destination the day before.

(N 41.22107°, E 48.0366 °)

World II: We enjoy the way back to Xinalik in this beautiful landscape. At the military post we have to open everything. They just want to have some gift and as long as they do not get anything they do not stop searching for something. Taking a tomato can and asking what is in there. Looking at our onions and wondering for what we need it and so on and so on. Finally I just wait and sit there and again we can go on. In Xinalik I call the number of the uncle from the guy we met some day ago. He is still at work but he tells me I should already go to his house. Xinalik is a really fascinating village. The houses have really special stone architecture with a lot of glass wood balconies or stairs. The houses are arranged on a hill in some kind of labyrinth structure. Around there you can see up to the high peaks, which are covered with snow. From the upper houses you can look on to the roof of the lower ones and below the village is a wide valley. We come into the house through a wooden door and going up the stairs to the main part of the house. All this front part is closed with some wood-glass frames painted in blue colour. In the second floor you find everywhere carpets. They explain us that they are all made by the mother. The carpets have original and special Xinalik design. Some years ago they sold one of it to a museum in London for 8000 USD. Kotomi fell in love with these carpets. Next day I asked how much it would be. He starts with 5000 USD and the minimum is 3000 USD. They tell me it needs two years for one person to finish one carpet. I can believe it, since in Samarkand we saw similar ones and there also two people need around one year for the same size of carpet. Anyway, this is not a carpet in my price range and I tell him he better sells it to some rich people, which will pay also the 5000 USD. Apart from the carpets the village is realy interesting. Only here a special language is spoken. The village was in former times so isolated that their are almost no similarities to other languages.

We stay in this magic place for one day and experiencing again great hospitality of the people in this remote area.

(N 41.17954°, E 48.12826 °)

The FAMILY REPUBLIC

9th of November:

On our way to the Caucasus we pass Baku again. I have to do several things in the internet, like extending my health insurance, writing mails etc. Therefore, I need to get the settings for my Azerbaijan SIM card to get it work with the internet. But there is no NAR shop. NAR is the phone company. By mistake I went into a car tuning shop. The owner speaks very well English and helps me to get the settings by calling his brother who is is expert in such things. We get a tea and can use his WLAN for free. I have to do a lot of things and Kotomi too. Finally it is evening again. We leave the place and want to go North, but my phone rings. The guy from the car tuning shop calls and asks if we would like to have a dinner with his family.

Since he is still building his house he is living together with the family of his wife. Mother, father and a brother who can also speak English very well since he is flight assistant. Both young mans would like to leave Azerbaijan. They have the feeling they can not changing anything or it would be to dangerous to try it. That it was also Hartmut told us. Most of the young and well educated people leave or try to leave the country. So what is the reason. The government is basically "The FAMILY". Each department, like tax, immigration ..... is working like a own company. 20 % of the income of each department has to go to the president and the other 80 % are there to run the department. That means just spending the really necessary for the department and all the remaining money goes into the pocket for the department head, who is member of the family. But even between the family members, sorry departments they have to pay. Actually the country is really rich because of the oil. Like every oil company has to sell 80% of their production to the government (family) for a fixed price of 10 USD per barrel. Only the remaining 20% they can sell by their self to the world market price, the other 80% are sold by the FAMILY to the world market price. Unfortunately this money goes in the pocket of the family which means there are a few very rich people and the others just try to survive. Only for the family necessary infrastructure is build, like a street to the president Dacha, all other things are left as they are. The remaining money is spend in this expensive shops in Baku, but that means they are just for this super rich people. Everybody tries to get something from that big money. Like our friend with his car tuning shop. Last time he had a Customer of the family who bought some 20000 EUR expensive car bumpers for one of his 10 cars.

Well that is all politics but with this it is easier to understand why they want to leave the country. Some years ago some people tried to change something, but finally they were in prison or dead.

We have a warm bath and go to sleep at the new friend s house.

One of those Days

8th of November:

Breakfast with Hartmut in his favourite restaurant and after that washing and drying some of our clothing. In the afternoon we go to Baku since we got an invitation from one of the guys who are working at Toyota. He calls us several times and ask when we come. Well finally we are in Baku and we call him to ask where to meet. He excuses and says he need some more time. Almost in the night we get to meet in front of Soviet Dom. His friend and he are around 20 and still studying. As part time the one is working for Toyota and the other one as driver for an oil company. They want to show us the city and we are driving up to some hill where a monument from the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan is located. From there you have a nice view down to the town and the Caspian Sea. All the town is illuminated. Left from us the build a huge hotel in the mountains, which has the shape of a ship. Below us are the super renovated old houses of Baku. Everything is shiny, almost each house is illuminated. Both are really proud of there modern and shiny city. For me it is interesting, but somehow I feel it is too much; it is quite artificial. The town does not have flair, it is just new and renovated. In the city you find a lot of really expensive shops and for normal people as you and me it seems there exist not that much. Of course at the suburb you can find the small shops. From time to time the police closes the street in front of us. Then we know in some minutes the president will come around here with a bunch of cars driving with high speed through the city. Everybody says, now he is coming back from his hard job. If you are living in the direction of the presidents Dacha you can be also lucky since the streets are wide and new. In the other direction from where we came we had traffic jam waiting almost two hours.

It is getting later and the one who invited us gets more and more nervous. Finally we find out that there is a problem to stay at his house. The problem is that he just decided we could stay there without asking his family before. He is still living together with his mother and sister. The father is working in Denmark and I think that is the problem. Inviting foreigners and the head of the house is not there is some kind of Taboo. That is live so we have to find a sleeping place outside the town. We stuck again in the traffic jam and it is again raining. No place to put the car, but we find a muddy road that goes in the step. Would have been better to stay one more day in the Shirvan Milli Park of Hartmut, but that is live.

(N 40.26664°, E 49.59774 °)

In Cold Coffin on Caspian Sea, "Hartmuts Park"

4th-7th of November:

We went around 11 am to the port as the guy told us the day before. And we were lucky this day in the evening the ferry will start. He filled out all documents and then the stamp marathon of three hours was starting. First as usual some stamp from the Customs. But where is the custom, there are a lot of buildings with a custom sign. If you ask then they point in some direction. In this way you have to ask several times again. The papers from the ferry company were filled out wrong. They put my name name as owner of the car, although I told him it is registered on Kotomi. I have to go back and get the corrected documents. 10 sheet of paper get now a stamp at the custom. I asked them for the port police which is the next point on my stamp route. Well I get an direction but this time I need some time to find the building since there are no signs at the buildings. The police is training outside in the cold and the boss from whom I get the stamp is playing a computer game. He looks very serious on me and ask what is my purpose and seems not convinced that I am a tourist. Anyway, I get my stamps and he can play again. Next stamp is from the head of the port in some building there! Hmmm !?!?1? I visit a cafeteria and everybody is laughing when I am asking if the boss is somewhere here in this building. I get a new direction, again nothing written and everything closed, in another building they send me back. Finally, I find an older guy who invites me for a tea and then he tries to call the boss. I stay there some while tell our story and get some more warm tea, which is very nice since outside it is really cold and windy. Yesssssss I got my last stamp. Now I want to bring the car into the harbour but they do not let me in. They do not care that the ferry office guy said we should bring it in. After trying it two times our car is inside the port area. We still have to wait until 9 in the evening. 9 pm the ferry arrives. Waiting again until 12 pm to bring the car on the ferry, wait until 3 in the morning and the ferry starts.

On the ferry you find no warm place, the blankets are dirty and even you paid more you come in a 4 person cabin. Of course they offer you another one if you pay additionally. Anyway the ferry feels like a cold coffin from inside on the Caspian Sea. Almost one day we need to go to Baku and the sea is not so calm. Early in the morning we arrive in Baku but the ship stops and waits until 7 to go into the port.

Customs as usual. But port officer that is new. A surprise they want that we pay for the length of our car. 40 USD per meter. Well I was wondering why the car in Aktau just cost 20 EUR. This was just the fee for the paperwork in Aktau. In Aktau I asked them if there are any other costs but they said no. Another 50 USD we have to pay for insurance and street usage. Another 10 USD bribe, because they say it is not allowed to have a car with the steering on the right in Azerbaijan for more than 3 days. I am telling them we have a lot to repair at the car and that it is impossible to leave Azerbaijan in 3 days, With 10 USD and a lot of crying (:)we get the car custom paper which is valid for 1 month (:). With all this we got some help from Aleksei with whom we had a nice time on the ship. He is coming originally from Kazakhstan but now he is living in Germany. We have to go to the custom boss, he looks strange on us, as if we are criminals. Anyway it seems he do not want us to pay anything, but the other Kazakh guy has to pay something for whatever.

Just if somebody else want to do this trip: the ticket price for one person is around 80 to 100 USD. Ask for the cheapest since although you pay more they put you first in an dirty cabin. For some 10 to 20 USD more you get a better one.

In Baku we meet Hartmut the father of Stephan. I do not know if I wrote about him but we met Stephan in Irkutsk. Hartmut made the invitation for the Azerbaijan visa for us. (Unfortunately we did not know that there is an Azerbaijani consulate in Aktau. There you get visa same day without invitation!). Together with us he drives to the Toyota service to find some new shock absorbers. It seems impossible since it is a Japanese version of the Landcruiser and not a European version. Anyway the second Toyota service can help us, but one spring is broken (This was the strange sound I heard in Aktau (:(( ). I can not get this spring it in Baku; same problem Japanese version. They weld it with no guarantee; of course. In Germany nobody would weld a spring. I just hope it will hold until Germany, although I am sure it will not. At the service the people make tea and bring a cake for us. They even wash the car. Toyota hospitality!

We do not want to stay in Baku. it is just an expensive city. Except the old town which looks perfectly renovated there is nothing. Just 100 km in the South there is the Shirvan Milli Park (national Park) in which Hartmut was director. We can stay there in a weekend house. This is quite nice since it is rainy and cold outside.

The next day Hartmut comes and makes an excursion with us. It is really fascinating with how much energy he tries to change something. His explanations make the flat steppe to a really interesting place for us. We see Gazelles and several birds who's names I forgot. We get a lot of background information related to Azerbaijan's "Family Republic", nature and people.

(N 39.75193°, E 49.14892 °)

Big Hallo Again in Aktau

3rd of November:

Again we have around 100 km of this terrible road but then thanks god or the Kazakh government we have a good road. My father is calling me at the phone and I stop at the side of the street. After some while a car stops in front of us and a man jumps out. He looks really happy and I recognise him. It is the guy we met almost two month ago. He, Volodja, was driving with his Suzuki motorcycle through Kazakhstan visiting his friends. I am really happy to see him and he too. Anyway we wanted to call him that day anyway. We decide to go to the harbour to check the ferry schedule to Baku. After that we go to a Banja to warm us up and to clean. After Volodja came back from work we meet again. He already organised a place to stay for us. One of his motorcycle friends has a hotel and we can stay there for free until the next day. In the evening we have a chat together with him and another friend who can speak very good English. And one good thing we can get the ferry next day and do not need to wait for 7 or 10 days as other people told us.

(Somewhere around here N 43.65345°, E 51.1702 °)

On a Ghost Ship

2nd of November:

We buy some stuff in Beyneu and start our way on nice asphalt. I wonder why the truck drivers said this street to Aktau is horrible. But soon I understand why. After 10 km the asphalt ends and the street gets sometimes so bad that I can only drive 10 km per hour. We drive through a dark grey kind of something. Even worse it starts to rain. The street gets muddy and slippery. My broken shock absorbers are a real pain now and looking in the steppe feels like looking from a ghost ship on to the ocean where the grey fog connects with the dark almost black water. I get really tired of this street. But I do not want to drive 3 days here. Therefore, I try to drive as long as I can. At a point where we drive down into a canyon which is made of white rocks, I guess from former and bigger Caspian Sea, we decide to stay. Camels racing out of a side valley. The white walls of the canyon disappear in the grey fog. I guess this landscape is quite interesting if there is some sun. Now I can just guess how it would look like.

The car is covered with yellow brown quite liquid mud. Each time you take something out of the car your trouser is full with that stuff. We are looking forward to get some possibility to wash. (:)

(N 44.09831°, E 53.18419 °)

Again the Custom Game

1st of November:

At this cold and rainy day we pass the border. Last time we crossed the border to Kazakhstan we had a lot of trouble at Russian side but just some time was needed at Kazakh side. Well this time we had to wait a long time in the rain and mud of this outer border post. Everything is under construction and the custom stuff took us quite a long time. There are a lot of trucks which go to Russia. 20 tones of grapes, textiles from China or Uzbekistan. To speed up the process I see a lot of people putting some money in the passport. Well finally we had all documents and go on. As promised the street is just a dirt road left and right steppe and some camels from time to time. It is really cold and I decide to ask at a farming house in the middle of nowhere if we could sleep there. He is a little bit surprised, but finally we can stay there overnight having it almost to hot.

(N 45.05148°, E 55.70911 °)

You always meet two times in life

29th-31st of October:

By coincidence we meet again Klaus and Joelle on the way to the border in Qunghirot. They are looking for Diesel it seems. I follow them because they did not recognise us. Since we had same problem with the Diesel the days before I want to help them. When I knocked their door they were surprised since they thought we are much behind them. It was nice to see again. We went together to the place where I got the Diesel two days ago and we got the promise that in one hour there will be Diesel but for a price which was 10% more than last time. We agreed and eat some Schaschlik in the Shaihana of his cousin and talking what happened recently.

After the Diesel project we go to the market to get some food/beer and spend our last Uzbek money. Some kilometres out of the city we make a camp together. We have a nice evening together in their warm camping car.Talking about their family and how it is to speak two different languages with the kids. Well this is interesting for us since for us it will be the same. This time the beer taste much better since it is not freezing cold around us. The other days nobody of us is normally in the mood for beer; we just want to have a warm tea or coffee. Thank you Klaus San and Joelle (:).

(N 43.08293°, E 58.54631 °)

Next morning we have breakfast together with Klaus and Joelle. Although the border is not so far we have to spend to days until there since the visa starts at the 1st of November. The street goes northwest and just straight through the steppe/desert. Bushes, sand, a lot of small marmots, few camels, a lot of gas trucks. I have always a salty taste in my mouth from the dust of the street. The sky is grey, looking up or down makes no difference. In both directions almost no contrast. (N 44.06556°, E 57.40209 °) Next day the same; just driving through the steppe. Around 10 km before the border we are making a fire and cooking. It gets cold and rainy. (N 44.82633°, E 56.12521 °)

Beached Ships in the Desert

28th of October:

In the morning it is cold again and the tent is frozen from the inside. I remember the words of Nadja in Irkutsk when she said we will arrive in Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan in the winter. I am just happy that it is not yet snowing, but it is not really nice especially in the morning hours. Anyway, it is a really sunny autumn day and we have nice warm fire. As long as there is no rain or snow everything is fine.The trees around us are colourful. The leaves are yellow as the sun and some turn into orange or red. Around here it is silent, the only thing we hear are the falling leafs. It is like in the winter when big snow flakes are falling down, just now they are colourful leafs.

From here we start to Muynoq, a former fishing village at the Aral lake. We are visiting the beached ships which are standing now in the desert. There is something like a monument and around there some pictures which show how fast the Aral lost his water. Now the coast line is around 150 km away. Maybe in some years there will be no more lake at the Uzbek side. In Kazakhstan a huge dam was build to separate a small part of the former Aral lake. This lake still gets water from another river. It seems at least in this region the lake could be saved. Also the micro climate around there is stabilized. In Uzbekistan there is almost no hope. This year was the first year that some water arrived in Qunghirot which is still 100 km away from here. The last 3 years there was no water.

We go back to the place where we stayed the night before. I was thinking to drive to the new coast line of the Aral lake but with our broken shock absorbers this is no fun. Therefore, we decide to go slowly back to Qunghirot to arrive at the border at the 1st of November when our visa starts.

(N 43.31464°, E 59.05763 °)

No Diesel in this remote region

27th of November:

It is fu*** cold in the morning, snowing, cloudy and windy. Also the Shepard's around us feel cold. A small boy drinks with us a tea and has some bread. He is proud on his sheep and cows and shows them all to me. The older boys made a fire. We go to there to warm up give them some bread and say bye bye. But the small boy left before us and stole one of our towstrape. I had the feeling he was disappointed that he did not get my watch, which is actually a present from my father. Anyway we follow him ask him why he did it. Since a older guy is there he is ashamed and starts to cry. Finally we go back to the place and he gives us the towstrape back cries and runs away.

On the way to the Aral we need to get Diesel. Since two days all petrol station have nothing. Even at the gas stations there are long rows of cars waiting. For me it is a little bit strange since in this area most of the Uzbek gas is produced. I ask everywhere, go here and there go there. Finally a truck driver knows a place where I could get it. It is even cheaper than officially and I get 160 litre. I am curious from where they have the Diesel and he tells me that it is from the diesel trains. Sounds same like former GDR. Nobody feels responsible and I guess they steal it from the governmental train company. Anyway for me it is good I do not need to worry anymore that I can not reach Kazakhstan.

Now we can go to the Aral, but once more on this streets I need to ask for the way. The guy ask for a ride and we bring him to his house which is on the way. Again we get invited to tea which ends in a full lunch. He is repairing trains and most of the men in his family work on the Uzbek gas fields. It seems that they have a quite good live and do not worry about the Job. The guide book says this is a forgotten and deserted region, but due to the gas it seems it has changed.

This day we make our cold camp under big trees. And we have a lot of wood there to make it warm and comfortable. In Uzbekistan we always find a wood, which was sometimes hard in the other countries. The people do not need it here as they "swim" in gas.

(N 43.30036°, E 59.0534 °)

Uzbek hospitality

25th-26th of October:

We escape from Khiva in the direction of Aral lake or better what is left from it. There is still enough time until our Kazakhstan visa starts. Therefore, we decide to use the small roads. On the way I ask a tractor driver for the way and where I could get Diesel. He says that he has some and we should come to his house. But first tea, marmalade Khiva style Nan. We want to go on but he suggest we could stay and leave tomorrow. Since it is already afternoon it sounds like a good idea. Narynboi, that is his name, has to go to work in the evening. He will bring the cotton from the field to the factory with his tractor. Meanwhile his wife and we are cooking together with his grandkids. Today's meal is Plov with the chicken which was killed just in that moment. After the meal we are quite tired and go to sleep soon. And again the difference to Tajikistan is that the house is heated even so it is not so cold yet. Everything the kitchen, the rooms, and even the tandor the traditional oven to bake the bread is heated with gas. (N 41.53339°, E 60.39912 °)

Next morning we get a delicious chicken soup, chatting some time. His wife shows us how they make their own bread in the tandor. Narynboi gives us 30 litre of diesel as present and we go on to Nukus. In there we are buying some food and try to get Diesel once more. No diesel everywhere but hopping that we can get it tomorrow in the last town before the border. 50 km behind Nukus we stop and put up our camp in this cold grey steppe. It looks like rain.

(N 42.63024°, E 59.17129 °)