Europe and Turkey
It took us 4 nights and 3000 km to cross 7 countries and finally arrive in Turkey. Our first stop there was Edirne, just accross the border. For the first time we slept on a camping instead of next to the street, and got a decent dinner. The next day we went to Istanbul.
We both loved Istanbul - apart from the classical sites, it is a nice city to just wander around. Even though we only stayed three nights, we are determined to come back later. After a short visit to Istanbul - and the guarantee that we will be back - we drove to the Uludag to have a short ski break. Nice, but very cold, especially as we wanted to sleep in the car. And we dind't break any bones neither.
Next stop was Pergamon, with some nice old roman remains. we took the opportunity to enjoy some warmer weather again and did a long walk to the site. Then up to Ephese, an obliged stop on any trip to Turkye, but the cold and the uncertainty in Iraq made that we were the only tourists on the site. I think that is a pretty unique experience.
We needed some sun and sea, and so we drove to Bodrum, to camp in a little village a bit further on the semi-island. When we went for dinner that night, we ended up in the mid of a wedding ceromony: with the mayor, the promise, the rings, and typical cookies and drinks. They didn't seem to mind us being there and sharing in the eating and drinking.
The next days, we drove along the south coasts - with beuatiful views around every bend. We also ended up n Cisari, a calm village close to Olympus, and there for the first time tried a walk in T-shirt and shorts. But it was only a short break as we headed for Cappadocie, inside the country and therefore again much colder. But it was worth it. And we actually saw a white Cappadocie, as it started snowing again. We liked especially the walks in the valleys, they make you experience it in a totally different way.
Even though people told us it is very difficult to visit the Nemrut Dagi in winter time, we decided to try it anyway. Because all hotels were closed, we were invited as a guest in the house of one of the hotel owners. We got food (I don't know what it was, but it seemed very much like organs, head, etc. of some animal) as well as the privilage to watch Turkish movies with them. When waking up the next morning, it was snowing. We drove to around 5 km from the top and then starting walking in the snow, which was about 30 cm on the road. We felt in Antartica: snow and wind in the face, but we did climb up to the little tourist house on the top. But there we had to give in: visibility was less than a meter and it was impossible to find the statues. In addition, we could hardly see our footprints, so we found it wise to try and go back home. So we should have listened to... but it was worth the try. |
