Category — Turkey

today’s distance: 0km
total distance: 4801km
riding time: 0h

I woke up late … slept like a stone and had a slow start. This meant of course that I would be heading into the heat of the day … and a good number of tour groups as I was doing the tourist tour at the Goereme Museum, which is impressive though not as much when you have been to Ihlara before.

It was funny though to see the masses of people being channeled and moved along by their guides.

I had wanted to hike quite a bit, decided to put it off given the previous day and found buses to get me from one place to the next. Here are some pics from Devrent Valley and Pasabagi. Cool places and worth a visit for sure.

The really good part came at the end of the day. I am sitting in an internet cafe uploading some pictures and turns out the guy next to me is German and heavily involved in documenting hidden churches in the area. It was an interesting meeting to say the least. Bernd left Germany seven years ago and showed me a few places and put things into perspective that I would have a) never found and b) never seen the connection. We walked up an alley in Goereme, he said to go into a hole in the wall and we stood in a church. Extremely amazing. There are houses all around it and it was used for all sorts of purposes, but was clearly a church originally. We also went to see a basilica just on the outside of Goereme and again, he let history come alive. Extremely knowledgeable and very forthcoming, his website - www.berndputz.de - is a place to take a look at.

We discussed all sorts of things over dinner, which lasted well longer than I had thought. Good stuff.

today’s distance: 97km
total distance: 4801km
riding time: 5-6 hours

I woke up so many times during the night with that nagging feeling that your whole stomach is about to explode. It doesn’t of course, but you still have that feeling. Stomach cramps, no sleep, it all goes downhill from there …

I got up late and had almost nothing for breakfast. Couldn’t eat and not much would have stayed down at any rate. I thought about staying where I was for the day, but that didn’t seem like the place to be. Maybe it should have been. I set out with high temperatures already due to the late start and made my way to Ihlara feeling feeble and weak. I figured I would at least get to Güzelyurt and stay there. That would have been 20km or so. That didn’t happen though. Ihlara gave me an uphill which I knew would come … it wasn’t welcome though given the state I was in. I zigzagged up the climb towards the end in order to lessen the grade. No cars around, so that wasn’t an issue. And then it became all a mind game of sorts. You just pedal. Try to find a rhythm, one pedal stroke after another. You compartmentalize things into smaller increments, put down one km after the other. That was the story until the turnoff to Güzelyurt. I would have gone there, but didn’t feel like it. So I moved on. Bought some Coke for the sugars and the mind and pedaled on for the next 40km without much of an interruption. Every place I stopped was closed anyway. Up a few unwelcome hills interrupting the flow, mostly into a headwind (not terrible, but still) … until I reached Derinkuyu. Temperatures had increased a good deal as well, the tar had become sort of gooey in places (though to be fair, Rob over at 14degrees.org is contending with higher temperatures for sure - go check out his fantastic journey as he is covering China on a skateboard at the moment). Just before getting there, my legs ached. Fatigue, exhaustion … and then some. It was a state I had rarely been in. Bad night in more than one way for sure, only partially hydrated and a stiff wind by then. The pain was there, but covered under some blanket. Funny how your body works at times.

I hit one of the first little markets I could find. Following the old Coke and pretzels cure (yes, I know, this is very German), I did just that. I was shot at that point, drowned in sweat and the salesperson let me know as much. When I was sitting outside the store, drinking small gulps of the black stuff, he and an old man were standing behind me watching me. I could see them in the window on the opposite side of the street. They were talking about me … wondering what nationality I was. I heard it. I replied. They looked baffled. Then non-plussed. Continued to talk about me. Strange situation overall. I moved on after a while, thinking that I would cover a little bit more, now feeling a bit better. I rolled along now, aided by a shifting tailwind. Rolling terrain and the further I got the better I felt. Meaning from entirely crappy to not so crappy any longer. In Kaymakli I visited an underground city and it was an amazing place for sure … how people could live in these places is simply beyond me. Not a lot of pictures generally … my apologies. Not a picture taking day I would say.

After another 12km or so I entered another village, hoping that someone would yell cai at me. Someone did. I stopped. There wasn’t any cai in the end, but a good conversation with an old man who had worked in Dortmund. He called one person in particular a “Dummkopf” (something like idiot) and we generally had a great conversation. My bike and legs inspected, I moved on to cover the last few kms to Göreme, passing the town of Uchisar on the way at which point the panorama of the area unfolds.

The feeling when I arrived was amazing. The views were stunning for sure, but I felt elated and happy to have made it as far today. I booked into a small hostel for a couple of nights, hoping that things will look better tomorrow.

today’s distance: 11km
total distance: 4704km
riding time: less than an hour

The ride wasn’t going to be long, but it was even shorter than I thought. I was in Selime in less than 20 minutes and decided that I would spend the night in the area. Good idea in hindsight. I looked for some kind of accommodation … I needed to store the bike, recharge some batteries, etc. The first one was closed, I chose the second on the list. Too bad I wasn’t sure where it really was. Turns out it was nearly on top of a big hill. Didn’t really want to climb that much any more, but given the direction I was heading ultimately, it suited me just fine.

I left pretty soon and instead of heading back to Selime to hike up the Ihlara Valley, I headed to Ihlara by car and would hike back down. The valley is gorgeous … there are a great number of churches to be found in what used to be a Greek-inhabited area until 1923. The frescoes are sometimes extremely well-preserved and you wonder how man has come up with the idea to hammer chambers into the rock in order to worship.

What is left is quite amazing though and the good thing was that the area was - at least today - not completely overrun by tourists. It was Wednesday after all. I also met a few friends along the way …

The only issue was my stomach. It somehow felt weak and that made for some rough going and not as explorative an experience as I would have liked. After lunch I continued down the valley without meeting anyone until I reached the road to get back to my hotel.

The trip was well worth it … more Kappadokya fun in the next few days.

today’s distance: 136km
total distance: 4693km
riding time: 6-7h

Mehmet was adamant I take a different road and after some drawing in the dirt, I was convinced that his route would be the right one. I said goodbye to him and his wife, them waving me off and making sure the foreigner would not go the way he intended. They had been extremely kind to me, worried much about me being cold during the night and inspected the tent before I went to bed. I am deeply indebted to them.

The route back was to lead me past the two dogs, but the next village promised a short cut which I was glad to take … only to discover that the two dogs were now coming from the right towards me as they were accompanying a shepherd. Nothing to boost you like a good chasing in the morning. The shepherd didn’t seem to care at all, which sort of left me fuming. But I was on my way by then.

A couple of villages later, another serious dog was chasing me for about half a km. He actually snapped for one of my packs and got a hold of something. The bike all of a sudden bucked, but he quickly let go and I couldn’t see any real damage. Still, what the hell … if you know your dog goes bananas when s/he sees a biker (alright, one once a year in those villages, happened to be me) why do you let it walk freely? No recourse of course, can’t go back, the dog will be there waiting for you. And I’m sure it’s gonna think “come on buddy, if you dare”. Can’t talk to the person most likely as they are in the fields and my Turkish is limited. And because of the collars, there isn’t much you can do to the dog, not that I would want to.

I hit the first of two Karavansereys today, the wind deciding to give me a run for my money for a while. It eventually switched to be a tailwind for a good part of the afternoon.

In Sultanhani I visited the second of these quite amazing buildings, serving as waystations on trading routes. The inside is quite nice and cool even in the warm temperatures that are around during the day.

For the next 40 or so km I was able to coast along the highway at extremely high speed. The wind wasn’t fierce in my back, but it gave me a good push. I also saw this raptor …

Two men had let this one free and I turned around to see what was going on. It had a broken wing and was certainly going to die sometime soon. There wasn’t much to do … it may have been better to kill this once proud bird rather than let it fend for itself. A veterinarian? I suggested as much to the two guys, but one of them said that he wouldn’t kill it and leave it to the one above. A strange notion I feel - certainly a good deal more suffering for the bird in the next few days.

About 20km before Aksaray I filled up the stupidity meter for the week. I was stepping out of a bathroom after splashing my head with water only to bump my head into the low door frame. A sudden clonk, my head started to hurt and blood came spurting out for a bit. It soon stopped, everything was OK. Damn those low door frames.

Once in Aksaray I pondered what to do and decided to go for the Ihlara Valley for a couple of days, followed by the Goreme area here in Kappadokia. My initial push there turned out to be just that. Person after person pointed me in that direction. Turned out to be a dirt track in the wrong direction. It made for an interesting ride for sure though. The shepherds I asked had no clue (though me thinks that they are sitting together right now, laughing about the strange guy on the bike, slapping their legs and having a good time). Once back on a main road, two wardens at a gas station seemed to know what they were talking about and gave me good directions. Things worked well and after a bit of a search I found a nice place to pitch my tent.

today’s distance: 132km
total distance: 4557km
riding time: 6h

Waking up to sunny weather is a good thing and for the last few days this has largely been the case. It has been kind of cold though during the night as well, going down to 5C last night if not colder. Good thing the sleeping bag keeps me warm.

I left the nice spot I had found the previous night, ran some errands in Ilgin and continued along the way with a beauty of a tailwind which was to last all day, hence the distance today. I have been following a good-size road for quite a while now and was happy to turn off finally and get into some quieter territory. The turnoff to Sarayonu signaled just that. Hardly any traffic from there on out. It was great … gently rolling hills and a tailwind and hardly a car to be seen. Temperatures have now risen during the day time to the point where for the first time I am riding in only a t-shirt and bike shorts. Good stuff.

After finding another Fenerbahce fan along the route who was - despite them not winning the championship - in a great mood (the other team - you know who - shall not be mentioned). Even less cars after Sarayonu through farm territory with mountains in the background. In the places that I stop the same story repeats itself every time. Kids try out the two sentences they know in English - mostly how are you and what is your name without really wanting an answer. They just bugger off and eventually find the bike extremely interesting. When I leave they want to race me and after a while of following the strange foreign guy who doesn’t know their language, they drop out of sight.

Well, on to Altinekin, or so I thought. I cross a highway, had seen the Jandarma (some form of police, quite military style) at the red light. Didn’t pay much attention to the van. It pulls away, I mind my own business and realize it stops. Me thinks this is because of me. Oh well …

Two young guys get out, slight their assault rifles around their shoulders and stand on both sides of the van. One motions me to stop. I laugh and can’t believe it. Guy from the shotgun seat gets out, the others become a bit stiffer even and the conversation ensues:

“Where are you going?”
“China.” (as if that isn’t obvious)
Perplexed look on the face.
“Where are you going now?”
“Altinekin.”
“No, you are not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You are going to Ankara!”
“No, I don’t want to go to Ankara. I quite like it here.” (smartalec Markus, stay where you are)
“You are on the wrong road for Ankara.”
“I don’t want to go to Ankara. I want to go to Aksaray. I can show you on a map.” Markus pulls out the map and shows where he wants to go. “Is there a problem?”
“But why not Ankara?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“OK.”

Surreal conversation. I ask why I was stopped and all of a sudden he doesn’t understand any English. I ask again and he says that he thought I had gone the wrong way. Hm … makes me wonder with all those huge signs at the red light. At any rate, I try to end on a lighter note and ask them for a picture. Here is the result.

In Altinekin I am introduced to the caiphone and the caitokens. Ingenious. A cell phone store is my internet connection and all of a sudden, the whole place is full of people. The caiphone is like an intercom that is hooked up from the store (from almost all stores it turns out) to the cai cafe. Cai comes a minute later and in return the cai server takes cai tokens with him that are in a big plastic cup. I should have taken pictures … next time.

A geography teacher serves as translator for everyone (more or less), but expertly draws up a map for the next 20km. It worked like a charm. He also hooks me up with oil which is not a gallon or 5 liters and keeps the now 20 kids surrounding my bike in check. 

I go up the final climb of the day, no one on the road now. I pass through pretty desolate villages and flat farmland. Riding is great. No good places to camp though. Everything totally open, no trees. Hardly any area which doesn’t serve as a field.

Just as I was nearing the 130km marker, two dogs come after me - I just barely saw them and just outdo them. Kind of close. They were nasties, one of them wearing a big nail-spiked collar.

I finally get to a place with lots of trees. Looks like Fort Knox kind of. Mehmet makes short shrift of things, asks me in, continues to fix his roof while I set up my tent and eventually we set up dinner. He had learned some German in school, his wife is a teacher, speaks a bit of English and so we pass the time communicating about this and that. She keeps asking me Why? Why? I should point her here. But she doesn’t really want the answer. It’s a beauty of a night though.