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| grasslands in eastern Anatolia |
Moving east, we rose in elevation and the land got drier..
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| one of about 6,ooo turns |
Our furthest east was Divrigi, a longer than expected day trip from Sivas. Not only was it a twisty, turny road, but there was an enormous amout of roadworks in various states of construction. This was a surpirse to me. There's not a lot of traffic out this way, why were these roads being widened?
As we finally made it to Divrigi, we were hit with the sight of multiple and almost identical apartment high rises - about 10 storeys each, and a main shopping street with equally identical 3 storey shops and services. Our guide Pinar was almost in tears seeing the change to what she remembered a a lovely and typically Ottoman little village. Okay, so that explains maybe why all the roadworks, but what on earth is here to attract so many?
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| up high |
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| dramataic Anatolian landscape |
What attracted us was a mosque and hospital complex, built together in the 13th century and regarded as having the best example of stone carving from that era. At the time, this place was a major and important centre. It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and sits partway up a steep hill, commanding a wonderful view. I was rather surprised to learn that both the mosque and the adjoining hospital were built by a woman, Turan Melek Sultan, daughter of the Mengujek ruler. Go Turan!
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| carving |
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| more carving |
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| incredible entrance |
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| inside the hospital |
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| a lovely fountain pool in the hospital's central space |
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| skteching in the mosque |
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if you are there at the right time of day,
you can see someone reading a book in the shadows |
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