 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
17. – 20.06.2012 Border Turkey - Istanbul 239 Km
Olli:
Shortly after crossing the border we were pretty exhausted from cycling uphill all day. Without further ado, we pitched our tent in a forest not far from the border - all military zone - to spend the night there. The funny thing was when Sonja woke up at night: "Who turned off the light?" We usually camp in the open with moonlight all around us but the forest was so densely wooded that it was pitch black ;). Aside from that, during setting up our camp, we repeatedly noticed something falling from the trees. Now we knew where all the butterflies came from which we had marveled while crossing the border: The trees all around us were littered with caterpillars.
The next few days we went undeviatingly uphill and downhill, but the nice thing about Turkey is that there is always some wind and so we could stand the heat much better. Our first negative experiences were unfortunately not long in coming. On the third day I just wanted to ask for directions and stopped to ask 2 men... They didn't give me informations about the way but they told me about their relatives in Germany and that Germany plays very good football... Dude, I just wanted to know the right way ;)! Meanwhile a third man stopped by and chatted with Sonja. I thought that everything would be ok, until Sonja came close to me with the words: "That guy sucks." Sonja told me later that he asked her for sex, even though she just stood one meter away from me! Some Turkish men obviously have a completely wrong picture of European or American women probably caused by television. The tip of the iceberg was when some young guys sitting on the platform of a truck carrying wood threw a wooden club at us. Seemingly you can find dumbasses everywhere. All this plus unrelenting heat and headwind finally brought Sonja to her knees: a small dizzy spell! We were glad when we finally lay in our tent at night and could check off that day.
Sonja:
All this must sound very negative, but apart from these few bad experiences all Turks have been very friendly and helpful. They are always overhappy when I address them with my very meager Turkish, which I've been practicing a bit at home in Germany. One or two words are already enough and they start praising my good Turkish skills to the skies. We highly recommend the bakeries here. The scent of fresh "ekmek" (bread) draws us always from afar. There is only white bread, but fresh from the oven it's absolutely delicious. We always eat this bread together with tasty white "peynir" (cheese) for lunch. During such a lunch break right next to the road I greeted a passing woman, Fatma, with a friendly "merhaba" (Hello). She seemed so happy about that, that she invited us for tea on her patio. Apart from the tea we were also served fresh goat milk, cheese, olives, honey, tomatoes, apricots, mulberries and in the end she even insisted on cooking Turkish coffee for us. What a feast!
Afterwards she exactly explained the way to Istanbul and we left, perfectly strengthened, to master this very arduous stage into this crazy city. Riding by bicycle into Istanbul is anything but fun. Already about 50 km from the center the urban area starts, the traffic rapidly increases and the road is first two- and finally three-lane. Like rush hour traffic on the highway! Of course, there is no bike path and you have to fight past honking cars, buses and trucks, through their fumes on a very hilly course with plenty of headwind.
Olli:
While we were pushing our way through the sea of cars, I suddenly had the great idea to get out my camera while driving: Simply leave one hand on the handlebar, then open the handlebar bag with the other hand, turn the camera with the lens upwards, meanwhile don't cease breathing because of the exhaust fumes and keep your balance, remove the lens cap, lift the camera out of the bag, press the power button with your teeth and snap away. Sonja scolded me afterwards, when she saw the photos.
Sonja:
The Bicycle nomads Jens and Sabine fortunately had given us the tip to go to the airport, where you can hop on the metro and comfortbly take a ride into the city. By 8 p.m. we arrived there completely exhausted and dusty all over. After a short odyssey through the airport, looking for internet and a CouchSurfing host, we finally reached Couchsurfer Aleks just after midnight, after several transfers and stairs we had to manage with our heavily loaded bikes. We immediately fell into a comatose sleep there after all the hardship. Finally made it!
Olli: Pigs in Space or the Odyssey through the airport
So we finally were able to reach the airport at 8 p.m. and now had the task of finding a place for the night. We had contacted several people in advance over CouchSurfing and both thought that this would not be that hard. Sweaty and full of dirt all over thanks to the soot from the exhaust fumes we stood in the entrance hall of the airport and just wanted inside to get a free internet connection. But at first you have to get past the entrance control. The rude lady there made it clear that we don't get past her with our bikes especially since we have pepper spray and gasoline in our luggage. I then furthermore asked, if it's possible to leave the bikes behind the fence so that the guards can have an eye on them... Answer: NO! And then we were asked to vacate the entrance hall. When leaving the terminal, I just wanted to know if they have free internet: Yes of course, it just requires a free registration... a first ray of hope, which turned out shit a short while later. To get a free user account for the wifi connection in the airport you have to activate a confirmation code via mobile phone. Too bad I don't have one... hehe. So I armed myself with Ipod and wallet and went through the control into the airport, while Sonja remained outside waiting. My first destination was the tourist office on the ground floor. The guy behind the counter just gave me a map of the metro and sent me to the tourist info on the first floor. 10 minutes later (the terminal is huge ;)) I stood in front of it. The woman there was totally annoyed by my presence as well and referred me to "Desk 3" with a vague movement of her hand. I should use the PC there. No idea where desk 3 is ... after 10 minutes I still hadn't found it. Instead a Burger King caught my eye. The staff there adviced me to use the free wifi network of the airport. But how, you jerks, without a mobile? So keep on searching. Half an hour later I stood in a coffee shop and explained my predicament. A nice waiter then unlocked the internet access with his own cell phone in exchange for selling me a large hot chocolate. Sometimes you just have to ask nicely several people... eventually it works out ;)
<- previous report --- next report ->