Saz

While we spent a long time hiking around, looking at the wonderful rocks and fabulous fields, we also explored some of the ruins and castles that dotted the landscape even here. There was an island in the lake with what looks like the remains of a fortress or monastery on it. It has an eerie, ghostly look to it - I'm sure there are stories that the locals tell about it, particularly at night, sitting around a warm fire.

One of the local instruments in Turkey is called the Saz. It's a long necked instrument with similarities to a lute. It's unusual because it has 7 strings. We were entertained by a local player who spent an evening playing and singing local folk and drinking songs. The sons of the owner speak English so they interpreted some of the stories for us. We had a very enjoyable evening, listening to the songs, enjoying the tunes and finally heading off for bed.