On the way to Doğubeyazıt we had some incredible mountain views, but none of Mount Ararat. Apart from that mountain, the most important sight in this area is the Ishak Pasa Sarayi, one of few surviving historical Turkish palaces.
We are now in Turkish Kurdistan, and regularly we have to pass military controls along the road with big armoured cars waiting for something to happen. We didn’t take pictures, just to be sure we don’t get in any trouble.
The Ishak Pasha palace is an Ottoman-period palace whose construction was started in 1685 by the bey of the Beyazit province. It follows the traditional model used in the construction of Royal Palaces in the Ottoman Empire, but corresponding to its location, the architecture is a mixture of Anatolian, Iranian and North Mesopotamian tradition. The palace got restored during the last years, with a glass roof added for protection.
We had a great time chatting with our neighbours, Rebecca and Patrick from #weltumsaurerung, who travel in an impressive Saurer truck.
Our next destination will be Lake Van. Hopefully the weather stays nice and we get some sunshine again. More on our next post!