Since it's a bit quiet here, I thought it would be okay to cross-post this from the Travel photo forum. I doubt that we all agree on Turkey being part of the Middle East, but I'm certain that the eastern parts certainly do feel very Middle East-y.

So, I admit to having spent a month in Turkey this summer. Unlike most visitors to Turkey, instead of whiling away my days on Mediterranean beaches, I chose to go see some of the highlights in the central and eastern parts of the country.

It's easy to get there. Still, I met few backpackers, so I figured I ought to show you guys what awaits you when you go there next summer. Because you should. You really should.

I give you Turkey for independent travelers:
http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~bct/ataturk/

Places visited and photographed:

* Istanbul, it's where you pretty much have to fly in to or out of
* Ankara, old town and slightly awkward mausoleum
* Cappadocia, GREAT scenery, cave homes and cave churches
* Nemrut, excellent hiking and epic top-of-the-mountain mystery monument
* Diyarbakr, poor but proud capital of unofficial country Kurdistan
* Van, crisp traces of ancient civilizations
* Kars, touching upon the bad vibes between Turkey and Armenia
* Trabzon, Greek monastery and molested coastline
* Sinop, a burkini and a weird bug

On request, I'll be happy to provide further details about what's really going on in any of these photos.

Happy trails,

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

Those are fabulous pictures. We did the relatively typical circuit of Turkey when we were there - never going further east than Antakya, where we entered the country. We're looking forward to going back at some point with a focus on the eastern part of the country, as well as the Black Sea coast.