Blogs from Amasya, Black Sea, Turkey, Middle East

AMASYA REST DAY 2. 27 September, 2016. Today I needed to change the rear tube on the bike, clean away the mud from a few days ago, and take care of the drive chain. Afterwards walked up the mountain to a cafe near the Sultans' tombs. The views over the town were spectacular, and reinforced my thoughts that it is a town reminiscent of Florence, same earthy colours, mountainous back drop, river flowing through its centre, Mosques instead of Churches and a great atmosphere, at a fraction of the cost of the Italian city. Wandered back after consuming fried ice cream and two Turkish coffees. One of the benefits of cycling is the weight loss, which enables me to then eat what appeals! Checked on the tyre, semi soft, despite checking the tyre for sharp spikes. ... read more

Amasya, Turkey July 24th 2014 “The best laid plans of mice and men” Robert Burns, To a Mouse I was 'free' after my Georgia saga, albeit that now I had my first ever 'criminal conviction' (but that's all another story ….see previous 12 blogs). My lift from the border got me to Posof at about 2 pm: a cute little Turkish town parked on the side of a mountain just 10 kms from the Georgian border. But it was a Muslim holiday, which while of no consequence in larger places, meant there were no buses out of this place to anywhere. And I wanted to get to Ardahan (78 km away) at least, and possibly all the way to Dyabakir in the middle of Kurdistan. So... I decided to try and hitch a lift. I walked ... read more

Photos, i love apple tea and all the Jewllery with the eye on it to keep away bad spirits.... read more

When I checked my email this afternoon I was surprised to see so many messages asking me if I was okay. I’d only been offline for two days. I’d gone much longer stretches without contact before and no one seemed to mind. It was only when I got to the sixth message that someone said something about an earthquake. Suddenly, it clicked. People had more reason than usual to think that I might be in danger, and they were worried. I assure you that I am okay. I was hundreds of kilometers away – safe, and blissfully ignorant – from the epicenter of the earthquake that rocked eastern Turkey on Sunday. It was never part of the “plan” to travel that far east (practically Iran), and now I will avoid it all the more, so please ... read more