The landscape thru Turkey is like the moon and strangely satisfying after the chaos of Istanbul. A few cows, one shepherd with his flok at the water's edge, one tiny army base, then colourless land mile after mile.
I am drinking coffee in the restaurant .and pretty soon the Westerners drifted in for beer, followed by the Iranians. Nigel brought his guitar and pretty soon, we are one big party.Thanks to Masud,who teaches snowboarding in Colorado and was the perfect bridge between our two cultures. Aga H joins us from his compartment bringing Madame H and Habibe, my sister. There is singing, Nigel's playing, I sing too. A**x, who is definitely not a journalist but an ordinary tourist like the rest of us, is adorable and his companion beautiful. Best train ride so far. The conductors even give me food so I share my dates with them. Everyone is happy.