kozmopolit.de

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…and now Winter is coming, i thought and have not been disappointed

Behind Ürgüp i climbed a unbelivable steep Road (up to 19% Steepness) to leave Cappadocia. After that my Road stays over 1200m of Altitude. While i was crossing my third Metropolis Kayseri a Boy on a Bike invited me to join him for a quick Sightseeing by bike. I agreed and followed him (by Bike) through the narrow Streets and Basars of the Oldtown ending up in the old Karawanserey where his Uncle sells Carpets… After two Cay´s he started his Carpet-Selling-Program and i had to convince him that i don´t need a carpet, not here or at home (in the Moment). When i pitched my Tent behind the City it was dark night but i´ve seen the Highlights of Kayseri, Excellent!

After that i rode into Solitude and towards the Passes. 4 of it up to 1900m followed in the next 4 Days and the Temperatures come near 0° (by Day) and explicit under that (by night). The Route has some very nice Views to the surrounding Mountains but at least it was boring. The Attraction of the Landscape is the wideness but with all the Snow it all just got lost in a great White, without an Eye-catcher…

In Gürüp the Road leads down and i followed the deeply washed out Valley of the Sucati for some kilometers. Also here they have some Caves but nothing really special. In Front of the next Pass there were countless Stalls selling Apricots. Malatya, the Town behind the Pass is famous for it and so they sell it in any kind of version: dryed, in a bowl with other fruits as a gift and also the salty Pip was sold. I enjoyed some invitations for Cay while i had to refuse a lot of others, otherwise i will still be there ;-)

From the Pass down to Malatya it was raining and i was happy to check in in a Hotel in the Evening. My Bike was parking in the Reception that was just a little Alcove in the narrow hallway so the integrated Tabak-Store was almost unreachable… Malatya is a City almost without any special Attraction, but that is the Attraction! I strawled through the Alleys around the Basar and enjoyed the Liveliness of the City while i was Eating a Tavuk-Dürum (Chicken-Kebab rolled in a pita Bread) for unbeateable 50 Eurocent…

The next Day i started to ride to Elazig and up to Hazar Gölü. From the Lake the road winds down through the Valley of Maden Cayi into the wild Kurdistan. On the way i passed the wonderful, dirty and (a little bit) fucked up City of Maden that remembers me of Nepal. After two more Days on the Road i reached Diyarbakir the regional capital of Southeastern-Turkey.
The Kurdish Part of Anatolia is going through hard times. The Kurds are a unwelcomed Ethnies and so there are a lot of reprisals from the turkish government. It is illegal to teach the Language and showing kurdish Symbols will be punished. So there are always violent Protests and the Security-Forces fight them very strikt. The last Protest cause of Kobane led to 4 Death People in the City. The Streetscape is (mainly in the evening) determined by armed forces in armored vehicles and automatic weapons…
In the Moment it is quit in the City and so i strawled through the Alleys and along the 6km long Wall that surrounds the Oldtown since Bycantinian Times. Nice Location with Flair, nice Alleys and Squares. In the Alleys they tried to sell me Marihuana and so i get into a conversation with the Seller and he told me that it is one of the best worldwide. The local market is totally out of control of police but the „Export“ of it to the bigger City is a fight with checkpoints and Drug-Dogs. The Profit-margin is so high that they still try, despite the risk, to carry the Drugs to Istanbul and the other western Cities.

I wanted to complete my Journey through Kurdistan with a visit of Hasankeyf. The little Town is situated in the Valley of the Tigris that winds through a partly deep Gorge from Turkey into the Iraq. Hasankeyf also has Caves and a lot of Buildings and Ruins remembers of the Glory of past Times. A Essay of Tourism brings a lot of Flair to the Streets. Bad thing: A Dam that is going to be Build down the River will flood the Valley and destroy a big part of Hasankeyf. Nice to be here before it is gone. The Weather treads me well and so i got 2 Days of Sunshine and warm air before i started up to Van Gölü were winter is already starting.

In the Meantime i was just 50km away from Syrian Border and recognized it… In the Night warplanes were flying over my Tent and the Number of Camps of Jandarma (paramilitary Forces) get more and more. South of Diyarbakir i cycled along my first Refugee-Camp (Millions os Syrians escaped to Turkey). I didn´t really felt fine to be so near to War and so i decides to head back north into the Mountains after Hasankeyf.
But it came totally different. On my search for the right way (i don´t like to cycle a road twice, if not necessary) i headed more south and took a secondary road into the Hills. But no one knows the Names of the Villages i had on my map and so i decided to take a road more south and reached the Ilisu-Dam in the Evening. A little bit up the steep Hill on the other Side i decided to stay for the Night.
The Construction that will destroy Hasankeyf is almost ready build and impressive. The next Day i cycled out of Tigris Valley and rode over the Plateau back into the Gorge of the River again. One of my best Cycling-Days till now! Sun was shining and the Road winds beautiful along the River through the Gorge. After 40km i had to leave the Gorge. In the Morning i met four Guys from Diyarbakir and they offered me Breakfast. Later when i was cycling through the also impressive Botan Cayi Gorge i met them again and they invited me to stay in their Apartment in Siirt. So i climbed the last 15km out of the Gorge and reached the City in the Night and with Fog. There a Checkpoint welcomes me, which blue circling Light gave a scary feeling in the foggy Air…
The Roadlights in the City were mostly off and so it was strange (also for the People seeing me) to cycle through the City. After four times asking for the Way i reached the apartment and got a very warm Welcome!
A Shower later i sat in the Round with them and got Dinner. Very Nice!

The next Day the Guys packed me in their Car and gave me a very special Sightseeing. They are working for the local Electricity-Company and their Job is to cut the Connection of Clients who didn´t pay… So i get a view into the Heart of the Oldtown and the Sensitiveties of it´s Population… Hard Life for the People down here. 1500 Times they cut it every Month, so it´s no wonder that the City is so dark at night.
Two Days i got a deeper view into kurdish Culture, we played together and we shared the Meals (always on the Floor). As the Parents of one of them came for a visit i had to move and so i got the opportunity to sleep in a Mosque for the last Night. But one Day i have to leave…

On my way up to Van Gölü i followed a River Valley to Bitlis. Again a very nice Town, squeezed into the Valley and packed full with historic Buildings and a impressive Castle on top of it. Not far behind i reached the Lake and stayed one Night in Tatvan at the southwest Corner of it. The next Day the way leads me along the Southshore through Mountainvalleys towards a Pass. From Time to time the Scenery opens and offered superb Views over the Gigantic Lake and the Surrounding Mountains with Peaks up to 4000m and a Vulcano on the other Side of the Lake that reaches 4400m. On my way to Van i visited the Akdamar Island with its 1100 years old Armenian Church. The Sky was a little dizzy so the Sights were not so impressive but the Church is wonderful.

In Van i got an Accommodation from a Warm-Shower Member. Levent, who is working as a Doctor in the City Hospital welcomes me warmhearted and introduce me to his Friends. A liberal Circle in the middle of these Conservative Society of Eastern Turkey. Refreshing!
Young Doctors and Teachers have to work for the Government in the first Years. So the western People mostly get a first Job in the East before they can choose their work somewhere in Turkey. So all of the Friends are conscripted in Van…. For the Teachers it is extra complicated cause the kurdish Children mostly learn turkish in School, while everything else they have to learn is offered in turkish. One more Reason to be at the Bottom of Society…

While i was in City it looms ahead that the Situation of my Parents will force me to come home and this Time stay until it´s solved. This will take me 2 Months but i will come back to Van (were my Bike and my Stuff is waiting for me) and continue my Trip as soon as possible. Too Bad, but Family is First!

After 56 Days in this Country i can make a uniformly positive Resume. Hospitality of the People was immens. The Size of Turkey brought me to my Limit sometimes. Infinite Distances heading over great Plains needed Patience and Endurance. But the Landscapes recompense me for all this and if it was not the Nature it were the People along the Road.
This Time gave me a deeper View into turkish and kurdish Culture. Sensitivety, problems and the complicated way into western world. This Conflict of Tradition and Liberal Lifestyle shows it´s face everywhere.
Behavior against the Nature is like in every southern and eastern Country dubious. The most beautiful Corners of the Country are speckled with wild trash dumps and i have to get back to „let loose“ (drop down of Garbage) that is totally normal in Asia…

The Infrastructure like roads is growing in a unbelievable Speed. gigantic Amounts of Money are pouring into that. Every (more or less) important road is 4laned and this with a immens Force. Some Valleys are just filled with Roads after the Construction…

(For me) this Country worths minimum one Trip more. There´s the Southwest that i have to quit cause of the far advanced Season and a lot of beautiful Mountains along my way that are waiting to get climbed by me ;-)
Let´s see when i could realize this…

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Now it´s time again!… after almost 4 Months in Germany in returned to Turkey. The Flight brought me nice views of Istanbul and the Bosporus and the Mountains of Eastern Antolia call up the spirit of Discovery in me.

But first there is reunion and a collection. First i meet again with my bike and with Levent, my Host, sitting on it. the four Days in Van i could concelebrate some things with Levent and his friends. I had to reorganize myself. But one day it was the time to leave the city and i was back on the road, fully loaded. My way took me northwards along Van Gölu heading to the Mountains and towards new Adventures…

The 2644m high Tendürek pass reminds me of the Loss of Condition in the last Months. Perhaps it was also the Acclimatization that was not perfect…. The View short behind the Pass was Breathtaking. Mount Ararat, the Turks call him Agri Dagi (speak Ahri Darih) was straight in front of me, a gigantic white snow and Ice covered Pyramid raising up to the Evening Sky. Short after that Moment i found a nice Campsite and enjoyed the View also in the Morning when i woke up…

The Descent took me to Dogubayazit where i visited the Palace of Ishak pasha. It is situated on a Rockplateau over the City and the Road up there is going straight (turks don´t really know Bends) up there. A badly Cobblestone Road… The Sight up there was so good it compensates me for the work and so i enjoyed the view over the Valley of Dogubayazit with changing lights… Also Breathtaking!

The Road leads me northwards where i crossed the Pamuk Pass down to Igdir (speak Irrder) where Nature started teasing me… After cycling through green Plantages i reached a Plateau without Plants and the Wind started to blow… mostly from the front or the side… It took me a lot of Power and coordination to stay on the Road. Overtime a Truck came the Sidewind was gone and i had to be careful not to fall on the Road… Except of the Colors the Landscape was not very spectacular and so i could invest all my concentration on the Wind. After a 15 Minutes Rainshower (like needles hitting me in the Face) i was soaking wet and the wind stops for a little bit of Sun and a green Oasis…

In the Meantime i was just a few hundred Meters away from the Armenian Border and the River valley i was riding through was totally idyllic. In the moment i started to leave it on a Ramp uphill the Wind came back. It pushes me up in one direction and almost stopped me in the other…
after i reached the top it got worse. The wind turned to headwind and i crawling forward in the smallest gear with 5km/h. In the Evening i was hiding from the Bordercontrol in a Ditch next to the Road. Totally done.

The weather remains the same until i reached the border, varied just a little bit with temperature and wetness…
My next target was Ani, a historical City of Silkroad. You can reach it with a shortcut over gravel roads through the middle of nowhere…
There are just ruins left but they worth the trip. I met Simon and Davide two other cyclists on there way to Iran and we enjoyed the Afternoon sharing our stories and experiences… They were the first cyclists i met since Albania!

The next day was the total rock bottom. The weather stepped up a notch and i decided (after it went so fine yesterday) to take another shortcut. But it went wrong and i get stuck in sticky mud in the middle of nowhere. I waited one hour and then a farmer came along to take me back to the asphalt. So i got to ride back 30km (with headwind) and got wiped out by hail and graupel. A 2000m Pass has also to be climbed and i was so happy as i found a nice place next to the road before night came down…

In the Morning there was a surprise… It got snow in the night, 5cm and additionally (hooray!) to flat tires… The Bike was totally covered with mud from the Day before and so the search for the hole went muddy. But i can´t find them. So i reinstalled the tires and started up to Cildir Gölu a Lake up in the Mountains. From there the Road will take me down to the Border to Georgia the next Day. Short before the City of Cildir i found a nice Place next to the Road and pitched the Tent before the Snowfall went serious…

In the Morning everything was snow covered and it kept on snowing. In Cildir i get the information that the Border is closed so i hab to take another road through the Mountains to get to Georgia. On this road i had to climb a 2550m high Pass…
So here we go! Before it gets up i had to go down a little bit and the Snow kept falling and started to get wet, I stopped cycling after a while and pitched the Tent.
In the Morning the Front Tire was flat again and i repaired it in the next village. In a Motorcycle-Workshop i found a warm corner to do this. But afterwards my gear shifting was still frozen and so i couldn´t change the gears properly. The lowest ones are working and it was going up the Hill, so here we go…

The wind was blowing more (traditionally) headwind and that went so strong that on the last 3km before the Pass i was not able to cycle anymore. The Road was to steep and the wind blew me off the Bike. So i decided to push the Bike to the Top.
On the Top i took the compulsory picture and with a song on my lips i started to descent. Now also my brakes were frozen so i couldn´t ride so fast. The Cold went more and more on the Way down and in the Valley i was totally frozen to the core…

10km before the Border i pitched the Tent a last time on turkish Territory. The Sky went clear and it started to get serious cold…

In the Morning Sunshine woke me up and i also could see the Mountains i came over yesterday.

In front of me there is a new Country and new Adventures, but this is another Story i will tell you next Time!