Anatolia

I had been to Turkey 3 times before, but it wasn't until I visited Anatolia that I got to know the 'real' Turkey. Away from the tourists and the country that desperately wants to become an EU member, this is a very different Turkey that one usually sees. Here is poverty, the land is arid and barren, life is harsh. Not surprisingly, this is where the Kurds live. They are the largest minority in the world and still without their own nation. Spread over Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, they are being persecuted and discriminated.
Anatolia is the Turkey for the backpacker, the traveller who wants more than resorts, beaches and nightclubs.


Haran is an old village on the Syrian border that boasts the oldest university of the world, some ancient ruins and dozens of cone shaped houses. These funny looking structures were built many years ago to cope with the extreme differences in temperature and to store food and other supplies. Today they are being used as storage rooms, some are still inhabited.
A few days prior to my visit, Saddam Hussein was hanged. This is an area that is quite conservative and religious. The anti - Western sentiments ran high after Saddam's execution and I was being accused of being American by some villagers. Even when I denied this (I am Belgian), they pressed on that I was American and directed their anger and frustration at me. I was lucky to get away unharmed.
The only other time I was in direct danger on this trip was in Peshawar where I got in trouble for photographing a woman.


Winter landscape - on the way to the Iranian border.


Hosap Castle in far East Anatolia was one of the mightiest sites on my trip. This impenetrable fortress is built on a mighty cliff and domanites the surrounding hills and valleys, all covered under a glistering white carpet.
This photograph was taken from the little village that lies at the foot of the castle.