Beton Ski Team – Blog 14 – Lessons of hospitability in the mountain paradise of Turkish Kurdistan

…barbed wire, kalashnikows and surprising openness of the Turkish army on our way to mountain paradise where the habitability of the locals seems to have no limits

When you tell somebody in the Western part of Turkey that you are going to Hakkari, he would be asking you whether you know what you are doing. Hakkari, a city with approximately hundred thousand inhabitants is located in the far eastern corner of Turkey close to the Iranian and the Iraqi borders. In the 80s it became the epicentre of the fights of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for independence. Despite the current ceasefire, in the mountains of Hakkari the fighters of PKK are hiding and in summer months there are occasional clashes with the Turkish army.

Short after Van you drive into mountains which lead to the Iraqi and Iranian borders. Not so long time ago, it was difficult for foreigners to drive through. Nowadays it is enough to say at the military check posts where you are going.

Surprising visit to a military base

„Czech Republic? I studied there for two years! When I finish my service here, I will go there again“ – Chris, a soldier doing his the basic military service is saying this to us on one of the check points. A while later the iron gate is being opened and we are driving behind the barbed wire. The chief commander of the military base has invited us for a dinner.

In the dining room of the officers there is a table full of food waiting for us. All soldiers are nice and curious about our trip. It’s a strong contrast after the tear gas the day before. It’s getting dark outside so after several cups of tea, we accept the offer to sleep at the base. The soldiers find it incredible that we drive from the Czech Republic to this forgotten corner of Turkey where normal Turkish people would never go. The less they seem to understand our trip, the more they are trying to help since there is not much information about the Cilo Dag Mountains where we are heading to. After the dinner everybody watches football – its derby time – Fenerbahce Istanbul plays against Besiktas. Thanks to the chat with Chris, we have an interesting insight into the everyday life of privates (i.e. soldiers of the lowest military rank). During their six months´ service they are not allowed to go home, they are prohibited to use mobile phones and are not allowed to leave the base. We are glad that there is a professional army in the Czech Republic. In the end the soldier cannot give us the military map; however the key information is that we can go to the mountains, we should only watch out for the PKK.

Hakkari a let´s go to paradise!

We are entering Hakkari, a city located in a hillside above a narrow canyon of the Zap river. The surrounding mountains are mysteriously hidden in clouds. You can only guess where their summits are. The weather is quite bad and we have this strange feeling. We are glad to be here and are thrilled about going to the mountains here. Feels like entering into cloudy Chamonix.

Hakkari is a city with probably the highest rate of Toyota Hilux per capita. Lot of locals are involved in smuggling. From Iran and Iraq various goods are smuggled, ranging from oil, electronics, fruits, tea to weapons and various drugs. And you need a fast and resistant car when being chased on the mountains roads through which the smuggling paths lead. In the city, these 4X4 cars often park just next to armoured personnel carrier of the Turkish army. A strange coexistence.

There are only a few foreigners coming to Hakkari every year. It’s really a pity, since this area has so much to offer – not only for climbing and mountaineering but also for mountain biking, rafting and paragliding. We found Emin Yildirim – the local outdoor freak and the head of the Hakkari Resko Nature and Sport Association from which we tried to get more information about the situation in Cilo Dag, jagged four-thousand meters high mountain range, which is probably the most beautiful one in Turkey.

During winter, local mountaineers visit Cilo Dag only rarely and mostly from the Eastern, less steep part. Nobody knew a lot about the conditions in the northern part of the mountains and in particular in the Cennet Cehennem valley (Heaven and Hell) which we wanted to go to. However, Emin and several other people tried to do their best to help us. The outcome was clear – we can go to the mountains only watch out for the soldiers.

The habitability of the locals means almost a whole-day care, from breakfast till the dinner. We had the chance to see pictures from the mountains, meet interesting people and for example also visit the local university. In the end we learned from Sabina, a Czech woman which married Mehmet – secretary for the Rector of the Hakkari University, that the locals could feel ashamed if we continue sleeping in our car on the parking lot in the middle of the city so we accepted an invitation to hotel Sibar which Mehmet arranged for us. It was great rest before setting off to the mountains. The weather forecast was promising three and half days of nice weather in Cilo Dag.

So let´s go to this wild mountain range where apparently nobody has ever been with skis. Let´s go to paradise!

#SkiToCloud

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