Ahlat

I woke early on August 2nd to catch a bus - a rather intimidating busride in fact as I was the only non local. All the others were loaded up with big bags of grain, or other thigns I presume to sell in the next town over. There wer so few seats that many had to sit in the aisles on small stools (or their luggage). For $2.00 YTL, the 2.5 hour ride along the south side of Lake Van to Ahlat was indeed beautiful... more beautiful (as the guidebook says) than the north side: There were cows sunning themselves on the shore, people gardening, small villages with houses made of mud stone and cement spilling off the hills into the lake and a backdrop of volcanos.

Luckily for me, the driver seemed to know that I would want off at the little museum just before reaching Ahlat. I visited the museum where the museum man decided that he was bored enough to walk me through the Selcuk cemetary behind the museum (The picture below shows one of the grounds keepers and one cluster of stones, which comprises a very small portion of the cemetary):
This picture shows a close up of the massive stones of the graves. Although I normally feel a little uncomfortable in graveyards, this one was vast, quiet, beautiful and peaceful.
The hillsides behind the graveyard were also stunning. There were massive tombs dotted here and there and below and around them houses carves into the rock of the hilsides. There were also the remains of castle/fortress walls on the top of the hills.
The museum man knew his way around the ruins well and although he had no key, he knew just which tiny hole we could squeeze ourselves through for a view inside the ancient homes. The room below led into other rooms which were clearly places for praver or meditation. They were blackened and had gothic arch shaped indentations in the far walls in which there were shelves for various religious items (sorry for the lack of photos - 5 maximum per post).
The final picture in this post is of an ancient hamam or bathhouse. Each of the 5 circular shaped areas is a room. This hamam sits below the gate to the castle (a gate I couldn't photograph as there were university archaeologists working on the site who forbid photos) and is made of a particular type of volcanic stone round only in Ahlat.
After finishing my wandering around Ahlat, I sat in the garden of the museum waiting for the once hourly bus to come by and take me back to Tatvan. Luckily, the museum man and his friend gave me a chair under a walnut tree and used a little pocket knife to shell and hand me my first taste of green walnuts.