DAY 4

DOGUBAYAZIT

I made excellent progress with the investigation today.  Sorry, but I can't say any more than that at the moment.

DAY 3

DOGUBAYAZIT AND OUTSKIRTS

I have been mistaken: the people here are not Turkish, they are Kurdish.  And they are quite adamant about it.  I have been pulled up more than once for asking the Turkish word for something instead of Kurdish.

As time goes by I am becoming more informed about how well known Donald was and the local people's opinion of him.

As I walked through town today with my guide and interpreter (who is well known here, and popular it seems) the owner of an internet cafe came out of his shop to greet me because he thought I was Donald.  When Zaffa (my interpreter) told him who I was the man began to exclaim how sad he was about Donald because he liked him and often joked with him.  Surprisingly, this man said that he had been unaware that Donald was missing.

I had already been told by one man that in his opinion Donald wouldn't have been murdered by religious extremists because he didn't think that anyone here would do such a thing.  But I spoke to another man who knew Donald and he told me that he had heard people before he went missing saying, 'He is saying bad things about the prophet.'  When I asked him if he thought that someone local might have murdered him, he said, 'Maybe.'

Someone asked me for my name in the hotel lobby today, and a local businessman overheard me and asked if I was the brother of Donald Mackenzie.  He agreed to meet me for an interview.  While we briefly spoke, he was able to inform me on something about which I had always been unsure.  And that was in which year Donald had first come to Dogubayazit and Ararat.  He told me it was 2001.  He was quite certain.  I had always thought it was about '04.  That means he had been coming here over a period of 9 years.  Remembering that each time he came he would stay for months.  In Safer's words: 'He lived here.'

DAY 2

DOGUBAYAZIT

Well, that's me in Dogubayazit.  Above is a still from a video clip I took today as we drove into the town.  That's Ararat towering above.  It's huge.  It absolutely dominates everything in sight.
My hotel room here as expected, is basic, but that's OK, I'll survive.

The room here has a balcony though, which is something the Istanbul one didn't have.

Today was interesting.  I have a helper/translator/driver called Zafer.  He tells me he knew Donald very well and talked with him often.  He tells me that everyone in Dogubayazit knew Donald.

The authorities here are very jittery.  What a flap I caused in the wee airport at Agri where we landed today when I pointed my camera out through the doorway.  A policewoman immediately told me that I couldn't take pictures.  When I said, 'is it not OK?' she phoned someone to ask if I could.  She had no English.  In response to her call more police and a number of suited officials arrived wondering what we were doing.  The senior man among them was initially very standoffish and when he heard Ararat being mentioned said, 'It is forbidden to climb Ararat.' but when he realised that we did not actually intend to climb it he immediately became very friendly even showing us lots of snaps on his smartphone.  The policewoman who spoke to me was also very friendly.

It was extremely hot here today, much hotter than Istanbul, but cool enough in the evening to cause me to add another layer.

The hotel is called the Ararat hotel.  For the moment let's just say - it's interesting.

By the way, the sandals aren't mine - they leave a pair beside every bed.

DAY 1

ISTANBUL

Well, I've been flying all day.  Stornoway - Inverness - Edinburgh - Istanbul.  And tomorrow it's to be another quite long flight East to Agri.

As you can see, I'm in quite a plush hotel - it's very comfortable.  But this is Istanbul, a big, vibrant, modern city.  We can't expect the same level of comfort in the impoverished East.

Once we touch down in Agri tomorrow (God willing) that's when we start our investigation in earnest.

Link to an interview with me about Donald and my trip to Turkey:

http://soundcloud.com/iainmaciver/derickmackenzie#new-timed-comment-at-314626

DID THEY FIND DONALD'S STUFF, OR DID THEY NOT?

First of all, apologies for taking so long to update the blog.

You may have seen press reports about some of Donald's stuff being found on Ararat. This is unsubstantiated and dubious. The reason it is dubious is because two separate guides are independently claiming to have found it. The one who contacted me is adamant that he is the only finder. Both these individuals have promised to send photos of the stuff. Well, it's been quite a few days now and still no pictures have appeared.

I'm due to fly out to Turkey with a documentary film crew on the 24th of this month. The intention is to ask questions of the people who knew Donald to try to find out what happened to him.

There is to be an interview with me about this on Isles FM tomorrow (Friday) between 5 and 6pm.

We are looking for people who knew Donald and would be prepared to do an interview for the documentary. If you knew Donald at any point in his life and would like to help get in touch via the email address at the top of the page or call me on 01851 705081 or 0775 257 4479.

Recently, I had a couple of guys with me here on Lewis doing some filming as part of a documentary which is being made about Donald. The plan is for a TV crew and myself with possibly my two other brothers to go to Turkey in an investigative capacity in the latter part of summer, probably August or September. We'll be seeking information as to what became of Donald.

I'll keep you posted on this blog.