Kemaliye

 

We drove along quite small roads, and round a large modern reservoir on the Euphrates, even spotting a train at one time.

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Kemaliye

On 1922, following the Turkish War of Independence, a decree was issued renaming Eğin as Kemaliye in honour of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The town is known for its historic architecture, including many Ottoman-era houses. It is also notable for its commanding view of the river Karasu (Euphrates) flowing south through a gorge above the Keban dam. We walked through the small town, and although there were a lot of the Ottoman houses, there were more houses that were not. The maintenance of the Ottoman houses varied enormously - some had been completely renovated, others were badly patched with corrugated iron and looked a real mess.

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Bozkurt Hotel

If you need to stay the night in this part of Turkey, then this hotel appears to be your only choice The village itself is worth walking through with a wealth of Ottoman period wooden houses, some of which have been restored. There are fine views over the river below from parts of the village. Though the hotel rooms have very obstructed views over rooftops

Given it is a Muslim area, drink is not widely displayed, but the man in a nearby shop does sell alcohol discretely, from the depths of his stock - in other words you have to ask. The rooms in the hotel are basic but clean. The breakfast, again basic, but satisfactory So this is a reasonable choice if you need a stopover in the area

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Sivas was our next stop

On to next town - Sivas

Back to Overall Itinerary for Silk Road Trip 2016