Turkey

After crossing the steep green hills of Bulgaria and heading into Turkey we immediately noticed quite drastic changes. that is compared to the rest of Europe where country seemed to roll into country and minor differences would evolve  slowly along the way. Turkey overwhelmed us immediately. It was loud and alive every other car would beep us, the towns and villages were busy with traffic and people callling out to us. It is a land of noise, be it from the minarets calling people to prayer or from the general 24 hour lifestyle of  the Turkish people. the landscape was also different, gone were the green forested hills of Bulgaria we were now faced with a much harsher land, dryer with less greenery and more rolling hills much dominated  by grazing  rather than agricultural land. The roads were also a revelation, in short they were fantastic compared to what we had experienced within the former eastern bloc countries. the majority of roads had a wide hard shoulder and no matter how heavy the traffic, we managed to feel pretty safe on this lane. especially as there was a noticeable reduction in the number of roadkill animals encountered . On entering Turkey we headed Southwest down towards the Gallipoli Penninsula. It took us 4 days to reach this area and though the hilly terrain of Turkey made this heavy going, we really enjoyed the scenery and the wonderful weather. We were able to keep the tent packed away and opt for the luxury of Hotels, only costing us £10-£20 per night with Breakfast. The Gallipoli Penninsula was strange. It is a remarkable place where tens of thousands of British, Australian, NewZealand and Turkish soldiers died during the first world war. We followed the path of the Allied forces from the beach at Anzac cove to the surrounding hills where the extent of the allied advance was realised in a series of still visable trenches. It was such a confined area where so many lives were lost and the area is still littered with debris from the battles. It was a real sombre experience to be at this place, but also very strange since it is also a place of celebration for the Turkish people where they feel that their nation was born and the seeds of their republic were sown. Even so there is much warmth and freindship shown by the Turkish people to the many Australian and English people who visit to pay hommage there, even though are  doing so to the memory of an   invading force who were responsile for thousands of Turks deaths.

I had to spend a few days holed up in the Gallipoli penninsula with a chest infection, Jayne looked after me pretty well, I kept putting on my dying swan impression and sending her out for chocolate , crisps and coke, and we managed to get hold of some antibiotics. This is good if you are ill in Turkey, no need for a doctor to get a prescription, just diagnose yourself and go get what you want from a pharmacist (not good for hypochondriacs). What is not so good if you are ill in Turkey, at least during Ramandan, Is the guy who is payed to go through the streets at 4 o’clock in the morning banging a drum to remind people to eat before sunrise. nor is it good to have a hotel room which faces a mosque especially one which has a very large loudspeaker attached to it through which the call to prayer is emmitted complete with the whistle of feedback at all hours of the day. If you are really unlucky, as I was they will also set off loud explosions to remind you to eat after the sun has set. After recovering from my chest infection we were eager to move on and head towards Istanbul. We crossed the Dardanelles and headed Northeast for a few days battling intense headwinds before giving up and settling for taking the ferry for a couple of hunded miles to Istanbul.

Istanbul- Hectic/Mayhem DO NOT DRIVE THERE. I am so glad we never cycled into Istanbul, It was enough to cycle the 500 yrds or so from the ferry to where we managed to find a decent hotel. Istanbul is like many other cities chaotic, noisy, and to put it nicely a rip-off, every one is after your money having said that we did enjoy our time there, the sights of the mosques and the Waterfront are amazing, and you can spend hours immersing yourself in the sights, sounds and smells of the spice market, bazars and warren of streets. The food was amazing and we developed a liking for sitting in the local buffet style restaurants sharing plates of stuffed vines , rice and bowls of steaming harricot beans . followed by sticky baclavas and sneeking boxes of assorted Turkish delights back to the hotel to munch on during  frequent powercuts . In all we had a great 7 days in Istanbul. It was expensive but it would be  mine and Jayne’s last week together as she was due back in Jersey to pick up where she had left off.  My constant companion of nearly 3 months would be leaving me, This was going to be really strange and I knew I could never know how strange until she had actually gone. For 3 months we had lived in each others pocket, shared everything we had been exhausted together, felt that fear together when being chased by vicious dogs. we had argued we had laughed and we had ached and we had shared that most precious of commodity  time, something that very few couples will ever get to do so intensly for such a long period.  I know that I will miss Jayne’s company deeply and that it is gonna take some time to learn to be comfortable with only my own company.

Jayne flew back to Jersey on the 8th of September -

I have lost my St Christopher!  panic! not that I am too superstitious but, he is the patron saint of travellers. Since losing my St Christopher Turkey has been hit by the worst flash floods they have had in 80 years. over 30 people have lost there lives in Istanbul as a result of it. and now I am stuck here  because the rain has been that bad that my ferry ticket has been cancelled. Now I have to pay another 40 Euros for another night in an expensive hotel in Istanbul. The next day I find my St Christopher, The sun breaks through the cloud and I arrive by ferry at Bandirma. Back where I was almost 2 weeks ago minus a girlfreind. It feels really wierd not having Jayne with me, I am really going to have to get out and socialise otherwise I am going to go stir crazy. As luck has it that evening I venture out on my lonesome and get chatting to Emrah at his restaurant as I tuck into my favourite meal of haricot beans and rice. Emrah invites me out to watch the football with him that evening and we roll back worse for wear some time in the early hours of the morning. This was so welcome to me , I had just said goodbye to my partner a couple of days earlier and felt really low and wondered how I was going to cope with just myself for company. I am really indebted to Emrah for his kindness and hospitality on this evening and this made me realise I will cope, why? because it reminded me of all the kind acts and words that people had given along the way, especially in Turkey. I started to rmember all the people that had taken the time to engage with me, like the 2 Turkish guys who on seeing us buy a melon at the roadside , immediately came over and insised on buying us a further  3 melons ( yes we had to carry 4 melons on our bikes). or the truck drivers who would pull over and offer lifts up the hills. and all those people that called out and offered us glasses of  tea or the man that gave us bunches and bunches of grapes of his cart.

I have applied for my Iranian visa , It will take about 3 weeks to process if I am successful. I will need to pick it up from Ankara which means I have 3 weeks to travel around the South West of Turkey before heading to Cappadoccia and then on to Ankara. Only problem is , Its still raining very heavily, and I am now sitting in Cankkale waiting for it to stop. may build an Ark !

Turkey

Anzac cove

Front line to Suvla bay

The Blue Mosque- Istanbul

Hustle and bustle

dodgy balcony(but only £10 a night)

boxing Jaynes box up to fly back