A plane from Van to Ankara, lunch in Ankara and a quick visit to Ataturk\u2019s mausoleum, then another plane to Sanliurfa. Some photos of the changing of the guard at Ataturk\u2019s tomb. Our guides say that no other group has attempted to this level of travel complexity and dexterity. A truck takes our luggage so we sail through the airports with just carry-ons. I find it quite easy and relaxing myself. Just sitting on planes and buses instead of running around taking photos. More time to go through my shots and sleep. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m relieved to be out of Van. All the sites we visited\u2014the island monastery and the hilltop fortress \u2014were inspiring and full of Light, and the archaeological dig with our friend Mehmet Ku\u015fman was a visit with a living desert sage, as if we were talking to a live Essene in Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found\u2026but I felt the vibe of the region as a whole was rather dense. Not much going on, limited mind horizons, and empty, barren landscape with prefab housing and stores. Could have been rural Nevada or Texas but poorer, without the wild individualism and sense of personal agency that makes those places fun. Ataturk\u2019s mausoleum was kinda over-the-top Soviet with some Egyptian pretensions. <\/p>\n
But none of it matters because we have a higher purpose of planting the Light, and that makes everything fun and easy. Whatever is missing we add ourselves. We joke on the bus and Keka makes fake AI renderings of our guides with huge second families and wives that look like our staff people. Jsu Garcia keeps everybody laughing. I\u2019d be willing to bet we\u2019re changing the karma of the region but I can\u2019t prove any of it, and we\u2019re probably better off not knowing or we\u2019d mess it up.<\/p>\n