7 Aug 2014

13. Turkey.


Turkey, what an excellent country!  

After two days of isolation writing the previous blog-post I finally peeled myself away from the computer keyboard and started to socialise with other guests at the Istanbul hostel.  I was soon talking to some friendly people, Sara - a Croatian, and her friend Ivana from Macedonia (coincidentally I’d actually cycled through her city on the way home from Athens last year).  We soon came up with a plan for the evening. 


Our hostel was in the Fatih district of Istanbul, not as hectic as the central district but still a popular tourist area and much to see at night time - when the city transforms itself and comes alive to the full.  Deciding on making an evening tour around the mosque plaza area, this features a long boulevard-like market with a plethora of goods to buy; rugs, clothes, ornaments, jewellery, fragrances, spices, and henna tattoos…being outnumbered by the girls I decided to go with the flow!


The Islamic month of Ramadan had started - a month where strict Muslims can only eat and drink after sunset and before sunrise, not even water is permitted when the sun is up, an extremely strict requirement in the heat of the day.  Ramadan falls on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, each year starting ten days earlier, so at least within the winter and spring months sustaining from drink would not be such a problem.  As part of the Ramadan celebrations a performance stage had been set at the plaza area with traditional music being played to the congregated audience.  A drummer stood at the stage centre along with various musicians arched around him, all dressed in traditional costumes playing their instruments in an almost regimental stage-like performance.  Later the stage gets transformed into a TV set for a live show.


The next day we further explored the plaza area and in the afternoon friends of the girls joined us and guided us around more of the city.  In the evening just the four of us took a ferry across the Bosphorus strait onto the Asian side of Istanbul, my first visit to the very continent that the crux of my bicycle tour would be on.  Here we sat by the waters edge drinking cay (tea) (pronounced as Chy)  watching the sunset.

Emre, me, Sara & Ivana.

Istanbul wake-up time!! 

Cay, served the traditional Turkish way.

To cross Turkey my plan was to head inland to a few key tourist sites.  Heading next into the country of Georgia would then mean heading north-east through Turkey - going against my predominantly south-east intention, but this ‘plan’ had been stalled anyway by the inability to enter Iran so was not of much concern.  The first area I intended to visit was within Cappadocia, an extremely historical area of Turkey.

From Istanbul it was about an eight day ride and on the third day I rode through the historic city of Eskisehir (Pronounced as Eskeshir).  Not knowing anything about the city I had no plans to stop apart from buying food goods, as I pull off the main road and start to look for a supermarket a girl calls me over, Eda explained she was the female Turkish mountain bike champion and was interested in my journey and asked if I would like to stay the night at her family’s house.  Her father ran a small bike repair shop and was the sponsor for her and her brother’s mountain bike team.

 The Konuk family: Koksal, Aysel, Eda and brother Gokay.

The family business bike shop.

In the evening we went into the old historic part of the city where a local TV company were filming a live show for the Ramadan celebrations, various people were being briefly interviewed and not before long the camera and microphone was pointing at me!..the second appearance of live TV that yellow-7 has put my way. 


I met this Spanish couple + dog walking from Syria to Spain.

Wild roadside poppies.

Flower art by the main road within Eskisehir.

The entrance to the city’s ‘beach’ swimming pool.

Cherry trees are everywhere in this area of Turkey. 

Eda’s family had pointed out another major attraction that was worth visiting.  It turns out the southern area of Eskisehir is covered in historic points of interest, many in one specific area which Eda’s family had suggested, this would be a slight  detour from my plotted route but information like this was - providing not too much of a deviation – what I was after.  The main attraction I wanted to see way Yazilikaya Midas City but en-route to it I stumbled across the Doganli kale and Deveboynu Kale attractions; these being rock dwellings where a small village would have once resided.







Walking around both of these ‘rocks’ as the sun started to set almost gave life to the area, I could almost sense a spiritual connection with the people that had once lived here, imagining the simple life they’d lived, people busying themselves within the ‘rooms’ of their rock home.  I was tempted to camp there but decided - mainly as I had slightly spooked myself - to ride another few kilometres, departing the site in rather deep thought.     

The ‘Midas touch’, an expression most people are familiar with but no doubt unaware of its origin.  It actually comes from King Midas whom thousands of years ago ruled over this area of Turkey and resided in a large sandstone dwelling within his aforementioned city, it is said that all he touched turned to gold.  Sandstone covers much of the area, presumably the main reason that people chose to settle there as dwellings could soon be carved out from the rock and the settlers would flourish.









 As much of Turkey, the route to Cappadocia was through mountainous terrain, and the further south I headed the more drier and barren it got.  Free-camping was relatively easy with no one giving any problems so I always felt safe.  Fresh-water mountain springs are in abundance which prove a great place to clean myself, cook, wash-up and fill water bottles before the night’s camp spot is found, sometimes I’d even manage to camp next to a spring so I could start the day squeaky clean, before the cycling commenced and the day’s heat kicks in.
Upon entering into the area of Cappadocia a few days later I was rolling into the town of Göreme, one of the two main attractions I wanted to see within Turkey.  This is where the ‘fairy chimney’ rock formations are found, naturally formed chimney-like formations formed over millions of years by the wind slowly eroding the sandstone, return in another couple of million years and the place would look totally different).  The campsite I stumbled across was located on the descent down to the town and gave an excellent view of some of what was on offer.  This is a hugely popular tourist area and the best way to view the place is from the sky, early every morning swarms of hot-air balloons take to the sky.  Here is a photo slideshow from my day’s off snaps.


Feeling the heat of central / southern Turkey I wondered if continuing to the next proposed attraction was a good move or not, but knowing I’d later regret not going there I decided to stick to the plan,  from Goreme it would take yet another week or so to reach.  Turkey is a relatively long country so I expected it to take a month or so to traverse and that the places I wanted to see were quite well drawn out.  Needless to say, when I finally arrived at the second site - Mount Nemrut - I was in total awe at what my eyes laid feast to, said to be the 8th wonder of the world.

 The route started to become even more barren, never too far from civilisation but just very dry, petrol station cola stops increased and also starting to ride earlier in the day to avoid the afternoon heat.  The main city of Kahta is next to Nemrut Dagi, the national park that Mount Nemrut sits within.  Upon reaching Kahta signs indicated the way to the park, this covers a huge area of land, containing many mountain peaks and little did I know - partly through lack of research - that I was heading the wrong way.  This cost about a wasted day and a good few kilometres up, over, and down some steep sections.  The following morning was even worse, having walked 90% of an 8 kilometre section due to stupendous inclination of the road I eventually backed down and stopped at the village where the climb had commenced.  A friendly guesthouse / campsite proprietor came up with a plan.  Suggesting I stay at his guesthouse, along with lunch, dinner and breakfast and a minibus trip to take me to my destination, a deal was struck, closing the agreement with a handshake on the excellent price of 150 Turkish Lira (£45).  The vehicle would collect me early evening and take me to see my Mount Nemrut and return a few hours later.

 The ride there hi-lighted just how wrong my original mountain route was and how bad my lack of research had been.  The taxi was in fact from a hotel in Kahta and had two of us en route to the destination.  Upon having to pay (again) to enter the Nemrut Dagi national park the car climbed, climbed and climbed, slowly rising above the mountain peaks to the north, and revealing a huge area of flat land as far as the eye could see to the south.  Cycling here would have been pointless as it was quite literally a one-way road, apart from another [dirt] road from the northern side.  The last section of road was a mountain-like spine, a tapered drop-off on either side of the road running down for a fair distance.  As the road finally comes to an end at the visitors centre we are then presented with a 10 – 15 minute walk up a step-paved path, before running out onto rough craggy rocks for the last 100 metres of the mountain itself.  

 It was only when I reached the summit that the last 7 days efforts seemed worthwhile, hopefully my photos encompass it with the awe at which it deserves, and personally I think to rank it as the 8th wonder of the world is rather low.


 To think this was made thousands of years ago in honour of the Kings and Gods of the time, carving each figure out from the very mountain peak itself, this would have taken a huge team of people, stonemasons perched a top of the mountain chiseling away, along with countless other people further down the mountain supporting their need for food and tool maintenance, that is unless, our ancient ancestors came from distant galaxies with advanced technology and the gods we honour are merely those who brought us here from distant planets.

 Having been cycling through the Kurdistan area of Turkey, an area where several people had informed they were not Turkish, but actually Curdish as consider themselves an independent state to Turkey, here the men wear traditional trousers that have a large baggy-like crouch section.  This area had seemed poorer to the previous sections I had travelled, but the people were just as friendly and generous.  One morning in the Kurdistan area of Turkey I heard and saw some shepherds with their flock coming over to where my tent was as I packed it down and made tea.  After observing for a while they set up their own breakfast camp, using dung / straw to fuel a fire and invited me for cay, and also gave me bread and warmed cheese.  They laughed as I tried to copy their sheep calling noises, I think both sides felt a connection to one another (us that is, not the sheep!), I had my donkey (yellow 7) along with its panniers and they had their [real] donkey’s carrying their pannier like bags.  We were both travelling over the land, okay mine was for pleasure and theirs for work but it was definitely one of those moments I won’t forget.


Within Turkey I broke a few records; The hottest temperature I’d ever experienced, a staggering 51’c!.. the very reason I was looking forward to heading north back toward the Black Sea.  The fastest I’d been on my bike, hitting 71km/h on a downhill section,  the longest day of the tour at 137km and lastly the tour's highest mountain pass ‘Ovit Dagi’ perched at 2600m - from where I’d camped at 1300m the mountain pass took 3 ½ hours to reach, plodding along at 7.7 km/h.


Free-wheeling down from the pass was slower than anticipated due to an angry-like rip-roaring headwind that felt more like being in a wind tunnel set at maximum speed!  A few kilometres down from the pass and it felt like I’d entered a new country!  Greenery galore that resembled Austria, tea plantations smothering any tree-less areas, this was a welcomed change to what had started to become a bit mundane, certainly a welcomed change and nice way to exit the country.

Through the entire route of Turkey I had people offering things, one evening I was low on food and stopping at a roadside spring a car pulls in and a family exit the car, the mother coming over and handing me a bag with 3 big fish inside!  This was on a mountain valley route with a clear-water river at the side, setting up camp for the night with an excess of bone-dry twigs and sticks I make a fire, placing a large pebble-like stone on the embers to lay the gutted fish upon to cook, a real connection with the natural surroundings.  I had been given cay (tea), Melon, bread, dinner at a petrol station, always things being given to me.  With the heat Turkey was hard, but nevertheless worth it.

- - -

The next country is so far proving to be a crackin’ place, another one of those ‘I’ll come back here’ places, but more on that in the next post! ;-)



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