Second Week: Turkey

Abant Lake near Bolu to Erzurum in Northeast Turkey

8the Day: 8 August - Capadoccia

Two days in Cappadoccia had been our plan, mostly to wait for the new key of the bike to arrive, but also to see the sights. But in the morning, we found out that the key is still in Istanbul. The reception was great to call the DHL. What ever could be the problem – more time, a delay? No. DHL asked for a payment of Euro400 for a filing fee for importation of the key and warned us that the import may not be that easy even with the payment. They did not have any idea how long it would take. On their recommendation, we returned the key back to Italy to Paolo’s niece, Valentina (thanks Vale). So now, we were on our own devices, with the spare key. 

We got our exploration gear on: sneakers, shorts and shades. Paolo put his Indiana Jones shirt on and was ready with his invisible camera stick to hit the sights. We were off to the Gorome Open Air Museum.  Over-enthused on our trek, we overshot and missed the museum and, instead, followed some others misguidedly to the top of the hill in the blazing heat and saw strange stone formations and sceneries of the coned stones. On return from the hill hike, we did curved to the left for the actual outdoor museum and got us tickets and even the guided tour earphones. This only because the ticket officer accepted two of Paolo’s IDs for both of us, and gave us a pair of earphones. I think he was flirting a bit with the ticket sales girl. 

Anyway, through the earphones you’ll listen to the explanation of the 10th century St George’s activities. The local priests had painted these ancient walls with okra paint to reflect biblical stories and added iconoclastic symbols for warning. We learned something, but the left confused. Who were these people? Why did they come here? The explanation said that they did not work, and that the villagers fed them and that these priests just hung around to perform the masses. 

9th Day: 9 August - Cappadocia - Gaziantep, Turkey

Morning felt somber. Is it the right thing to do, to travel like this - on a motorcycle in the scorching heat. Breakfast at the #SplendidCaveHotel - a great stay, by the way - was the usual thick cuts of wheat bread with cheeses and Turkish coffee that ends with a porridge and Turkish tea. 

We packed the panniers after the breakfast and then: A disaster! The spare key broke inside the right-side pannier. Now what? Exasperation took over us for a moment. What will follow now? A week, 10-days in Cappadocia? We’ll certainly see all the sights now, I sighed. In a taxi? Since the bike cannot be started and the passports were now locked up inside the top pannier. Obviously, we would now be confined to stay at the Splendid for an eternity? 

Then, Paolo tried the stub of the leftover key (the rest was inside the pannier lock)  and the sensor under the chassis still worked. The bike started! But the panniers would not open without breaking into them. No-one would accept us to their hotel without passports. We knew that we could travel, but would not get far without the passports? When are they going to agree that physical passport is a thing of a past and waste of trees? The gloom had not faded from our faces. Was our trip over? Before, it had even started?!

The owner of the Splendid Hotel came out with Paolo as he had gone back to the reception to call the BMW or someone. He recommended that we’d head to the locksmith’s shop in Urgut, a village just 10 minutes away. He know the specific shopt to go to. We did as he said. The bike started with the stub spare key. Riding on a newly reenforced strength and hope and the sense that we are in it together, supporting one another, we rode in bewilderment to Urgut. Right here, next left… 

Led by the GPS, we pulled up next to the Urgup bus station. ‘Where can we find this Hasret Anahtar, the locksmith?’ we asked everyone. Well, mainly older men sipping tea in the shade of their shops’ canopies. They kept pointing us here and there. A true life treasure hunt. We arrived at Hasret’s shop and told him that we would bring the bike around to his shop now. The old man seemed confused. I was left in charge to be sure that the son of the main man would not leave. So, I did stay put to do just that. 

When our ask was clear to him, the son looked up to his father to ask whether they would do this. After his Dad’s nod, the son put on his protection glasses and opened up a panel in front of his desk that revealed a professional digital set of key replication electronics and got to work. He produced two keys for the panniers and they opened up. Yeh!! We had hope again. He then put the sensor key together to look ok, although one small piece of it had fallen off it, it still worked. We could go! We really could go and continue our trip! Wow! Thanking and thankful, grateful and thankful again for all and everything, we skirted to the highway toward East. Hearts full of hope and awe! Saving our trip had costed us 22 bucks. If you are reading this, Hasret Anahtar - thank you again!

We arrived through small roads through the country-side and saw even a lone nuclear reactor, literally in the middle of nowhere. We ended up in even smaller single lane tracks with uneven pavement and some gravel roads that led us eventually from a highway to another and finally to Goksun, Southwestern Turkey very near Aleppo, where we had well deserved Ayrans and coffees and checked our directions. 

On bike rides like this, you can change direction by just a press of a button in your GPS on the phone. So, we decided to go for the world’s best ice cream in Kahramanmaras. Kahramanmaras had suffered a 7.5 degree earthquake in February (2023) and six-month aftermath warning was still out. The earthquake damage was very visible. Some 60,000 people had perished in this deadly quake, a third as many as from Covid-19 in Turkey between 2020 and 2022. The Hampton of Hilton was closed due to damage and under rebuilding. But ice Cream was available on the main street from a kiosk built into a container and we had cones. So great. So yammy with the sticky solid cream they can make here in Turkey, with pistachio powder on top and a kind of Baba limoncello on top (no alcohol, of course). Looking around was difficult though. Every other building was in rubble. People eating ice cream with us said that the return of normal business had been quick, but all of them had lost a friend or family members. We left this disturbing scene of earthquake damage and coursed our route out of the city toward Gaziantep, a decision made on the go again, right on the bike. So, the plans can change on a motorcycle journey in a swing. 

Always on a look out for a Caravanserie, we found #AliBeyKonagi Hotel in Gaziantep. It looked cool and the price was good. It was also an easy distance from the latest truck stop, where we guzzled more water than the bike gasoline. We rolled into the courtyard of the hotel with the bike. This was a family hotel, with the small lady, the mother of everyone there, who did most everything there. They were so friendly and accommodating. She came to open the gate and offered to bring the luggage to the room. Some of them were just too heavy for me to give her. 

After showers, we began our walk toward the ruins of the castle. Yes, the earthquake again. After a short walk, we found a fantastic restaurant that served beer to the Russians and ... to us; and we were privileged to a live-band music and a large mezze (some 7 types of cheese, potato chips, but not from a bag - but fried right there from fresh potatoes, and at least 5 types of olives, humus with oil, yogurt of several types and two sorts of bread) with lamb kebab medium rare as the main course. This ended with a wonderful walk through the old town with Turkish music everywhere and a well-deserved sleep in an aircon cooled room back at Ali Bey Konagi Hotel. 

10th day: 10 August - Gaziantep - Sunliufar, Turkey

Woke up well at Ali Bey Hotel - a Caravanserai in Gaziantep. Did breakfast of a feast again with pistachio pastries and cheeses, Turkish tea and coffee. At around 9:00 am, we made it to the copper market. It was already scorching hot. The son of the lady of the hotel had to call someone from the neighbouring kebab place to stop eating his breakfast and come move his car so that we could roll out through the gate of the hotel to the street. 

Once we go to the highway to Sanliurfa or Ufar, it reached 44 degrees Celsius. Like a furnace blowing at my face, I worried that the tires would melt. We stopped every 15 minutes to have a bottle of water and Ayres, Turkish yogurt drink in a tetra pak. Very cooling. 

We then opted for the highway to reduce the time on the burning road and got to Sanliurfa town and quickly arrived to the #TessaraHotel. Had to do two rounds on the small cobbled streets inside the old town to find the correct door. Ali came over from the hotel to help with the luggage and showed the way to the OTO-parking near by. Perhaps they will also wash the bike? The tea at the hotel chiostro was accompanied by a water cooled fan, a great relief. Burn-faced from the sun, we made it to the room and got our laundry out that was so gracefully accepted by the lady of the house. 

Once cooled off, we took on the little old town roads toward Medalion Hotel and Restaurant for dinner, famed in Tripadvisor for availability of wine and indeed they had it. They also had Humus Pastirmali, my first. Kind of a baked hummus with meat (which looked and tasted like bacon, but could not have been, of course). It was so delicious. By 7:30pm we were back in the room, cooling. Still 7:30pm, the outside temperature was at 40 degrees and it felt like a lukewarm sauna to walk back. 

It’s a dream come true journey, but you don’t expect a lot of rest or much sleep. When I planned the trip, I really thought that it would be all restful and physically easy. The heat takes a toll. We are outdoors in the fresh air all the time, which is great. We constantly concentrate on the road, the sights and sounds, the people around; and Paolo, of course, driving, needs to be intensely watchful of the traffic. On the bike, we read books and stories and are now about half way through the One Thousand and One Nights. It’s very engaging, a bit cruel, and not for kids, this book has been an inspiration for many, including Paolo Coelho, a great story teller from Brazil. 

11th day: 11 August - Sanliurfa -  Diyarbakir, Turkey via Mount Nemrut

In the morning, the laundry came back and breakfast give us enough fuel to get started. All that done, and packed to the panniers again, we were back on the highway North toward the famed Mount Nemrut. Just one small tea stop and we were on the climb to the Mount Nermut hills. The climb got steeper and steeper until we arrived, through a small two lane road with hairpin curves up and up, to the viewing cafe. Here you can purchase the 250 Lira ticket to get to the Mount Nermut UNESCO Heritage site of the heads of gods. After you bought your ticket, you can proceed with the bike (or car) for another kilometer and a half, park and begin the steps up. They say it’s 600 meter climb on stone steps, but at some point it turns to gravel and stone and a pretty hairy climb. We made it to the Eastern terrace and were really impressed by the awesome sight of these statues even of the heads had been cut off their sitting and ruling bodies. We proceeded to the Northern and Western terraces and continue to marvel at this great human relic. Imagine that here in Mount Nemrut it was the Hellenistics, or basically the Greeks that had these constructed. We met Zeus and many others. Happy with our excursion and soon got back on the bike, we zipped to Diyarbakir. We had to backtrack some as the road would otherwise not take us toward Northeast, were we would approach Iran. The road was easy and we were soon in the city and at our Amalia Hotel Delphi. Frankly, I did not like this hotel much. It has an inner court where the breakfast is served, but everything goes dead early and the place is a bit gloomy. The room offered a large balcony to the inner court, but as this was covered by a canvas roofing, it was also kind of dark and very hot to relax at. 

This is by the way the city with the greatest concentration of Kurds in Turkey. They are estimated now around 36 million people, or 6 times the Finnish population - half of Italians in Italy (remember that there is an other 60 million Italians living outside of the country). The Kurds as we all know, were left without a homeland when the Turkish borders were drawn after the World War One. What we saw, was of course superficial, but they seem to be living fine here. They are very proud of their heritage and language, to say the least. Their issues have been long standing and complex and transcend countries and religions, as well as demands ranging from independence to respect of their culture and language. Dinner was indeed served by Kurdish waiter who tried to teach us a few words in Kurdish. I still remember thank you (Supas) but the rest has vanished. 

12th Day: 12 August - Diyarbakir - Erzurum, Turkey Balanbakan Ski Resort

The morning began at the mezzanine cafe of the Amalia Hotel with breakfast. Like kind of everything in my view, it was a little weaker than the usual breakfast spread in Turkey. Fuelled with two Nescafes, we were on the road again to Erzurum, which was four hours’ ride away. On the arrival to this ski resort town, we got to the hillside Bolsoi Hotel. But the room was so hot and the fan they gave us was actually a heater. So we left for #DevamanSkiResort just across the road. It was for me to find a hotel with aircon, while the Bolsoi Receptionist had told us that there wasn’t any such hotels. Surprise, surprise, actually just across the street they had air con and lots of other amenities we could appreciate. Like beer! So we selected the 3rd floor room since the fourth floor room, while offering a suite, was so smoky by the puffing of the neighbours. This was not a non-smoking hotel. 

We ended up at the outdoor seating of the bar outside of the hotel, where the blankets were warmly handed over our shoulders to keep us warm and drinking. With the glass of wine, we next entered the restaurant where a local two person band was tuning up and got a great meal of kebabs and salad with some more wine. The music was in the minor tune, melancholy, but much to the revering of the local diners, who enjoyed the chagrined tunes immensely. We loved watching it and had hoped to see some dancing too. 

13th Day: 13 August - Erzurum, Turkey

Today was a rest day and administration day. We went to find coolant for the motorbike as the water level was low. Did not find it and went to the mall instead to find more appropriate and lighter clothes. We got Colombia pants and shirts and I got my Iran shirt. What I mean by this is that as I needed to get something covering to be sure that the Iran segment be successful despite my gender (LOL!), I got a long and lose black shirt that comes to half thigh and covers a lot. This would work well with the black loose Colombia pants. I now should be set with my yellow Vietnamese silk scarf as this is said that covering your hair is the most important part of that a foreign woman needs to cover in iran. We then went to the office Ali to pick up the invitation letters, which we had pre-arranged and got these without any issues. This letter costed us Euros 250 and covered both of us. Tomorrow morning, we still would need to make it to the Iran consulate for the actual visas. 

We also passed by the BMW shops and services in town and even though this one service was on a road with a major road construction ongoing and we had to circle around through the backroads, we got our coolant. We were so lucky to find the manager checking on their BMW service business, when we passed it. This was a great help. So we thanked them and send our hellos back. 

Exhausted from all this administration, we then got back to the Palandoken Ski Resort to take a little breather. Still a bit stressed by the need to bring cash Euros or USD to Iran to obtain the local prepaid bankcard. How could we obtain Euros of USDs as all the ATMs in Turkey give Turkish Lira not Euros or the USD. While we already carried a lot of cash, not enough beyond the payments that we would need to make to Hussain, our Guide in Iran and the tour organizer in Turkmenistan, there was not that much left for the prepaid bankcard and any other possible thing that might happen and require cash. 

For the day’s excursion, we went for a condola ride up the ski slopes. The cable car took us to the top of the ski-lifts and we were able to enjoy a cheese dish, kind of a fondu, with couple of sodas. There were cows grazing at the tope of the Palandoken mountain and views equalled Switzerland, without trees as we were at 3,200 meters above sea level. The vegetation was grass, perfect for the cows. Families were at the terrace cafe enjoying their Sunday and waiting for the sun set. We managed to get down for two unfiltered Bomoti beers. 

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