turkey: journalborder crossing to istanbul - 29th junethe border crossing wasn't as straightforward as we had hoped. despite the advice from our insurance company and from the turkish tourism board in the uk, it appeared we did require a green card after all. no problem, as this could be bought at the border but could any of the officials tell us where? after wandering round the duty free and shopping precinct a couple of times and getting increasingly frustrated we finally found the office and purhased the required third party insurance. customs were happy with a cursory check of the inside of the land rover and then we were on our way. this all took about an hour when it should really have taken ten minutes - i'm sure this will be nothing compared to africa.
istanbul didn't disappoint and nor did the hotel we treated ourselves to. we were staying in the heart of the historical district of sultanahmet, just behind the blue mosque and aghia sophia. we arrived in time to watch the sunset from the roof-top terrace with panoramic views of the istanbul skyline and the glinting shipping lanes of the bosphorous.
whilst searching desperately for a toilet in the commercial centre of instanbul we came across a land rover parts shop. i'm sure if we had been looking for it we never would have found it. a new shock absorber mounting ring was acquired to be fitted at some later date. the owner of the shop told us that he was travelling to the uk on business and asked us if we were from london or cardiff - the two places that he was visiting. we replied essex and he then said 'loughton?'. it transpired he would be staying with his relations in our home town. i hope he likes it!
into asia - 1st julyafter navigating our way through the frantic istanbul traffic, we made it across the bosphorous and entered asia. this felt like a milestone on our journey, we were leaving europe behind; a fact that was driven home immediately. trucks clogged the road in front of us. some had eyes painted on the rear tailgate - a style we had seen before in india. all spewed black clouds of noxious exhaust fumes. it was an unpleasant drive. lake iznik - 2nd julyto avoid the diesel choked highways we've started taking the smaller roads as we made our way to the southern coast of turkey. it's very hilly and makes for slow going (lots more hairpin bends), but the scenery is well worth it. wild flowers line the roads, their colours bright in the summer sun. fields of sunflowers stretch across the hills and snow-capped peaks sparkle on the horizon. when the sun drops lower fields of cereals sway golden in the breeze. the outlines of the first few individual stalks standing out against the darker shades of the homogeneous whole behind. every field a slightly different hue.
the villages are small, and the way of life looks simple. the men sport moustaches and the women wear baggy trousers with high waistbands, tucked in blouses and head scarves; all intricately patterned; all mismatching. tractors seem to be the vehicle of choice here, but the rugged good looks of the land rover have still been attracting some admiring glances. the winch seems to be a particular head turner. people point it out to their friends and bus passengers flock to the windows to catch a glimpse of it. i guess i shouldn't be that surprised - it does look cool. pamucak - 3rd julywe based ourselves here for a few days as we were keen to visit the ancient site of ephesus (efes) which whilst nice to see was a little disappointing compared to the ruins we had seen recently in tunisia. however, at the campsite we met some other overlanders for the first time. since then we have met people who like us are traveling in 4x4s, some by motorbike and one inspiring couple who are cycling to china from holland. we have not yet come across any fellow land rover overlanders nor anyone tavelling to africa. the turkey, iran, pakistan, india route is proving to be the preferred route of the moment.
marmaris penisular, oludeniz and olimpus - 8th julyit's hot, really hot. it's so hot that we can't make it onto the beach until 5.00pm each day. we have been trying to drive in the coolest part of the day but despite all our efforts to make an early start we seem to be travelling at the hottest time. we are making our way along the coastline before turning inland to central turkey to visit cappadocia. driving through marmaris we couldn't resist stopping for the lorry drivers 99p all-day full english breakfast at a resort bar.
oludeniz is famous for its lagoon and we were able to camp right on the edge of the beach. we spent an enjoyable couple of days here. swimming in the lagoon itself resembled swimming in the lake at alton towers except warmer. armadas of plastic pedalos circle the lagoon shaped to resemble vw beetles and dolphins topped with multi-coloured parasols.
the coast road at points is right on the edge of the land and as we headed towards antalya it must have been over 50 degrees celsius in the land rover. as we turned a corner we saw this beautiful bay so we pulled over, climbed down the stairs and ran straight in. definitely the best way to cool down.
as sunset approached we stopped off at the ruins of myra. a byzantine city with tombs cut, with astonishing meticulousness and precision, into the cliff face. lacking marble, it wasn't as overtly splendid as ephesus, but late in the day as it was, it also lacked the tourist hordes. for this reason we were able to enjoy it more and merrily snapped away.
we never made antalya that night, and stopped instead by the ruins of olimpus. after myra though, we didn't bother going round them. in turkey, we've learned, if there's something to see, you have to pay for it.
cappadoccia - 10th julyon the road to cappadoccia the landscape changed again, opening out into a barren grey steppe. the road was flat, straight and empty, with large potholes irregular enough to test your concentration. nomadic looking people camped beside the road with patchwork tents and old motorbikes. out on the steppe there were few villages, but those that we passed through were as grey as the surrounding earth, which they were made from. unsurprising, but the lack of colour was startling; grey horizon, grey earth, grey walls, grey houses. the villages could have been medieval.
we climed from the plains into a volcanic landscape. more hills. more bends. no more nomads (except us). the men here wore bobble hats, thin and flat. not like the bulbous bright type sported in winter playgrounds and alpine ski-resorts. these sat closer to the head, shaped like an onion. rounding a bend into the famous tourist destination of cappodoccia, a row of restaurants and souvenir stalls guarded the panoramic view of the valley, spiked with smooth rock pinnacles and surrounded by dramatically rippled cliffs. in places the soft rock had been carved into dwellings, churches or just decoration. intermingled with houses, restaurants and neon signs it looked like a disneyland creation on a grand scale.
cappadoccia - 11th julyhaving camped amongst the towering rocks, we were up at dawn to catch the best light for photos. as we wandered up into the hills, we were joined by an excited band of mongrels. six or seven dogs of various breeds and sizes yapped about our feet, chased each other and eagerly dashed ahead whenever they thought they knew where we were headed. we didn't lose them till a jogger passed by two hours later. even then, one remained and spent the rest of the day under the land rover, only emerging to chase off anyone who passed by. we didn't bother with a dawn start as the rocks had been surprisingly difficult to do justice to on film (or sensor). but we headed out to visit one of several underground cities in the area. our itinerary was rapidly changed however as a cross-threaded suspension bolt that i'd been worrying about decided to give up, causing us to search the village streets for missing washers and (suspension) bushes. once these were retrieved by eagle-eyed claire it was a simple case of removing the front shock absorber in the street, taking it in a taxi to a local mechanic who re-cut the thread, getting it back on, then continuing the sight-seeing.
the underground city was quite astonishing. with "millstone" doors to seal off the tunnels it was very "dungeons and dragons". it would have been pretty cramped though when occupied by the reported 8,000 temporary inhabitants. it was good to see but i (andy) am not really a cave dwelling type of person - too tall. plus i like to take photos and caves aren't the best place for that. maybe we should have taken a guide - he was very insistent.
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turkey: accomodation
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turkey: other infoentry checks: passport, purchased visa on the border, car registration document, driving license, car insurance for turkey and customs check. costs: diesel more expensive than greece at 60 pence per litre; beer at a £1 a bottle, camping about £5 a night and a tasty kebab £2.50; getting us and the vehicle in to turkey cost around £55; you always have to pay entry to the sights normally £4 per person. must sees: the blue mosque and aghia sophia,istanbul; the countryside and isolated villages; at least one of the ruins; and cappodocia as there isn't anything else quite like it. |
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| kusafiri: the swahili verb "to travel" |
