Lake Van reminded me a little of Alaska. The lake is a gigantic blob of blue covering the eastern part of any map of Turkey, and viewed in person is ringed by ice-capped mountains. The lake is at about 5,500 feet, but the north shore road was totally flat and largely desolate. I started the morning under hail, but that petered out after a few minutes. Ahlat was one of the few towns along the way, and it housed this Seljuk cemetary with giant gravestones made of volcanic rock carved with Kufic lettering. It was here that the sheep dogs and stone-throwing shepard kids began their concerted offensive against this unprepared cyclist, an assault that would continue through to the border region with Georgia. (5/3/05)

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Seljuk Cemetary, Ahlat, Lake Van