Day 11 - Nemrut Crater, Malmadi & Diyarbakir

Day 11 Wednesday August 24

We will be in Adiyaman tonight as we leave Van at 8.30 am

On the way we went to see Nemrut crater lake (in Anatolia province), actually there are 2 lakes, one has warm water while the other is cold. The lakes have been formed due to the volcanic eruption of Mount Nemrut. It is absolute virgin territory and except for the startling natural beauty there is nothing else. We stayed here for an hour and enjoyed the scenery and tranquility.

Lunch was at Baykal town and it's very hot here. 39° C

Next we saw the biggest and oldest stone bridge called the Malmadi bridge over river Batman which was part of the ancient silk route. It was built in 1147 by the Salchuk empire who originated from Persia and had come to Turkey. Most of the structure is still in its original state. We have repeated history as we too have come to Turkey from Persia which is now Iran.

At Diyarbakir we had a glimpse of the famous wall that surrounds the old city and has a circumference of 5 kms. It is 10 meters high and is 3 to 5 meters thick. We had tea at the bridge built on the Tigris river that flows through the city. Interestingly the Cafe serves popcorn with tea!!!!!!

We reached Hotel Park Dedeman, Adiyaman at 9.45 pm. All in all a very long day with impressive detours.

Data for the day:

Double Tree Hilton, Van, Turkey 8.30 am

Nemrut crater lake 11.45 am - 12.45 pm - 150 kms

Lunch at Baykal 2.30 pm - 3.15 pm - 103 kms

Malabadi Bridge 4 pm - 51 kms

Diyarbakir 6.15 pm - 6.45 pm - 106 kms

Hotel Park Dedeman, Adiyaman 9.45 pm - 211 kms

Traveled today 621 kms

Total distance 3451 kms