off the tourist trail in turkey

we've left trabzon and we're heading farther into the northeastern anatolia region of turkey.
you remember ander's photo of the sumela monastery
this will give you a bit of a context to where it's built into the hillside. the visuals help so much, don't they?
we're in the kurdish town of kars to be exact. here's photos from our bus ride into kars showing the warm, tropic, humid climate that is northeastern anatolia.
aren't you sweating just looking at this photo
this dude might get heat stroke from wearing all this clothing
outside kars is ani, the old armenian capital, and home to armenian ruins of the former kingdom.
g's up, columns down
snow capped hills in the distance. wish it were sunny. lighting is flat. it's not my fault.
ruined
more ruined-er
my favorite scene at ani. a ruined armenian church and sheep in the background while mark (a.k.a. 'lord of the rings' by turkey locals) gets jimmy james'd by the mustafa brothers selling "authentic antiqua" coins.
my favorite part of travelling has always been the people. and being way off the tourist trail, all that we see are locals. here are a few of turkey's finest.
this guy saw me taking photos. then he volunteered to be shot, and then he invited me back to his house for tea. unfortunately, we had a bus waiting to go to ani. everyone offers you turkish tea, from shop owners to everyday people. don't say no unless you've got a legitimate excuse.
he's not as tough as he looks. he actually smiles a bunch.

of course they try to look tough, but eventually.....

they can't hold their laughter

here they are teasing a friend

do you see what i see?!? did che get to this kid?
Dónde está Ché Pelotas?