Shortly after the arrival of the local train from #Amed / #Diyarbakır, my #SleeperAndEater #GüneyEkspresi arrived. It features most comfortable and spacious wagon-lits compartments with a desk, two proper beds, a sink and even a mini-bar - a comfortable hotel room for the next 25 hours.

The steward was already waiting for me and didn't even wanna see my ticket since I was the only passenger boarding the wagon-lits carriage.

Finally back on track ! After a week of bus travels, my first #AzadiRail train back home : I'm in #Êlih / Batman waiting for the famous #GüneyEkspresi / Southern Express #SleeperAndEater bringing my to #Ankara for the next 25 hours.

Êlih is a cute station, a couple of cargo carriages in the cargo terminal, a cute maintenance vehicle for display, three tracks but sadly no catenary.

The station has three train pairs per day : twice the regional link to the Kurdish capital #Amed / #Diyarbakır and six days per week a pair of my Güney Ekspresi linking #Misircê / #Kurtalan, Êlih, Amed and #Malatya with #Ankara over night.

#AzadiRail day 7 was : #Diyarbakır - #Hewlêr / #Erbil - 12h45 by bus.

From #Diyarbakır bus terminal, my #AzadiBus will bring me to #Erbil / #Arbil / #Hewlêr in Iraqi #Kurdistan region. #AzadiRail country 8 of 9 in sigh !

The bus is comfortable and modern though not as fancy as the bus I had on my way to Diyarbakır. To my surprise, the steward spoke decent English. This will simplify the communication at #IbrahimKhalil border crossing.

#AzadiRail day 6 was a relaxed day in the downtown of #Diyarbakır. Now preparing to leave early for tomorrow's #AzadiBus to #Erbil .

Anyway, vegan restaurant discovered in an absurde location in a completely broken street in #Diyarbakır . #AzadiRail

#AzadiRail day 6 : let's have fun with with #Diyarbakır public transport !

#AzadiBus stop #3 : #Diyarbakır bus terminal - my destination, arrived 35 minutes late.

The bus terminal was surprisingly calm with low traffic considering the proximity to the Iraqi border. Anyways, I'm tired and immediately headed over to the hotel.

My room presents luxury and comfortable, sadly with street noise. Time to sleep ; work is waiting tomorrow morning.

#AzadiRail day & night 5 were :

- Sivas - Malatya by regional train with amazing sight
- Malatya - Diyarbakır by comfortable night bus

List of #AzadiRail decisions I will regret : #1 night bus with arrival at 2 a.m. #Malatya - #Diyarbakır. Anyways, #AzadiBus number one of many !

The bus is clean, spacious and has good sleeping seats at least. Four hours of travel time ahead .

#Diyarbakir region has a long tradition of metalworking. The name literally translates to "land of copper" (although due to 20th century "etymologisation", similar naming in the course of 7th century Islamic expansion may've been derived from Banu Bakr tribe).

https://diyarbakirhafizasi.org/en/the-story-of-the-land-of-copper

#Turkey / #Turkiye #Wildfires > "11 people lost their lives" when the fires hit several villages in #Mardin and #Diyarbakir provinces - 78 people were injured / 10 critical.

You can already see who fell victim to the flames... villagers who tried to fight the flames before the fire brigade arrived .... Please, don't do that!!!

#Turkey / #Turkiye #wildfire #brushfire near #Diyarbakir - Death toll has rosen to 6

3 people lost their lives in #Diyarbakır and 3 people in #Mardin

43 people were injured, 9 of them critical