A volcanic crater, even one with an extinct volcano is captivating. Nemrut crater, not far from Lake Van is also pretty stunningly beautiful, particularly in autumn. Above is a little video of the drone flying over some of the orange and yellow trees inside the crater.
We went to Nemrut cater right after Van. The road was beautiful - full of still green pastures and trees with autumn foliage. After too many days in Van the trip was meant to be a test of whether my car had really been fixed or not. You see, I haven’t had much luck with the mechanics of Van, which I had so much hope for.
With the first repairs workshop I think I actually got a bit ripped off and the guys were clueless. At the second place the mechanic was a real nice dude, but… as I learned on my way towards the top of the crater, he did not fix my car.
I’ve had the engine coolant boiling on me a few times and that's no fun when you’re making your way around a very remote place. As I saw the coolant/water mix bubble at Nemrut, I decided - the hell with it, it’s too late to drive back now, I’ll just add some water and let’s enjoy the place. So, we did. That’s our camping spot above.
The crater is actually quite eery at this time of the year. While there were sheep herders over a high ridge on the other side, there wasn’t a soul, apart from us for a few kilometres around. It was very quiet too. I haven’t had this much quiet since the desert in Mauritania.
It was very surprising when at night a car made its way around a road at the top of the crater, shining a spotlight in various places. I still have no idea who it was. It was too dark and too far to tell. Knowing that these parts of Turkey are currently experiencing conflicts, I figured it might have been a military patrol. Nevertheless, we put out the fire to avoid being spotted and questioned or… bothered by whoever was in the car if it wasn’t the military.
My daughter Mia (with her mum) had her first experience of a camp fire. It was really cold at 2,300 meters, so any bit of warmth was appreciated. Regardless of car problems or whatever other minor crap gets in the way, spending time like this with my little family is pretty special.
