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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul September 26th 2023

It was a late night last night due to the river cruise so there was certainly no hurry to get up this morning. We also had very little on the list of things to do, as most of the big ticket items had already been done. We left the apartment about 10am and walked over the hill (again) and down to the Saltanahmet area. Two things on the list here were to finally go to the Ayasofya Mosque which was completed in 537AD. It's interior is showing signs of wear with patches of the ceiling decoration having come away. Its still one of the longest lines to get into, thankfully we beat the peak period and it only took about 20 minutes to get in. After that Jeff and Tom went to the Basilica Cistern which ... read more
Ayasofya Camii
Ayasofya Camii
Ayasofya Camii

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara September 25th 2023

As I have mentioned, we still haven't decided how to get our bikes to the airport. Our options are someone comes and collects our bikes, takes them away and packs them, and then returns on the day of departure and transfers us to the airport in time for our flight. A great option but two considerations are that we won't actually see our baggage being packed, and Jeff has some concerns about someone else packing his bike without him being there. The second option we have is to find bike boxes ourselves and pack the bikes up here at the apartment and then find an airport transfer independently. This is made difficult by the fact it's not that easy to find bike boxes in Istanbul and we would be spending time packing instead of exploring the ... read more
Down the stairs . . .
. .. and into the dungeon
Eggplant and sausage with tomato

Middle East » Turkey » Aegean September 24th 2023

We had an early start today being picked up at 6:45 for our all day tour to the Gallipoli Peninsula. It was a long (and fast) drive to Ecebat where we stopped for lunch at 11:30am. We had covered 300kms in that time including a couple of 30 minute stops. After lunch we hopped on the minivan and our guide started telling the story of the Gallipoli Campaign. The goal of the campaign was to gain access to the Black Sea to support Russia against the Austrian Hungarian Empire (Germany) during WWI. To do this the allies needed access to the Dardanelles, a body of water down one side of the Gallipoli Peninsula which effectively linked the Mediterranean all the way through to the Black Sea. The offensive which landed on April 25th was the second ... read more
Anzac Cove Beach
Memorial
Ari Burnu Cemetary

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul September 23rd 2023

Now that the riding is over we can take it easy and rest up, right? Well, that's not how it panned out today. We left the apartment shortly after 8:30am with a list of 6 things to see. 1. The Blue Mosque 2. Topkapi Palace 3. Basilica Cistern 4. Hagia Sofya Mosque 5. Grand Bazaar 6. Galata Tower Although we had metro cards we plotted a course in google maps that took us to each of these points and started walking. We first reached the Sultanahmet Area which provided many sights including a couple of obelisks brought from Egypt. We then stood in the line for the Blue Mosque which moved quite quickly. The Blue Mosque is very impressive, most of the mosques are, but this one especially so, not only because of it's size but ... read more
Obolosk of Theodius
The Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul September 22nd 2023

We had breakfast overlooking the pool and the Black Sea. What an outlook. Breakfast was one of the better ones we've had too. The tardus like stomachs of my travelling buddies defies reason, I don't know how they do it and then ride straight after. We got away at 9am, no hurry today as we only have 45kms to ride into Istanbul with a 2pm check-in, plenty of time. Our ride out of Kumkoy is uphill, not too steep to start with but then it turns uphill viloently for almost two kilometers averaging 14%. None of us can get to the top without having to have a break. We regroup at the top and continue on to the town of Bahcekoy and then turn towards the Bosphorus River. Considering the climb we had just done it ... read more
The Bosphorus
Saiyer
Local enjoying the river

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara September 21st 2023

We had a bit of sleep in this morning because breakfast wasn't until 8am. We had to order off the menu so there was no syphoning any food off for later in the day either. Durusu Park Club Hotel was a little like a resort hotel but we seemed like the only people staying there. we were the only people in the restaurant last night and the only people at breakfast this morning so I'm not sure how they turn a profit. We had a small climb up from the hotel onto the D020. It's a full on motorway now taking lots of traffic. If wasn't for the emergency lane there's no way we would be riding on it. The noise from the traffic as we ride makes it almost impossible to hear each other. About ... read more
More of the same scenery today
Marking 4,500kms with a photo
Morning Break

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara September 20th 2023

We found a great place for dinner last night which meant we ate way too much, I also found somewhere that sells halva on the way back to the hotel so we all enjoyed some with a coffee back at the Hotel. Breakfast was a bit meagre this morning but considering we didin't realise it was included I guess we can't complain. We did manage to get on the road by 8:45am which was good considering the distance we have to do today. As soon as we left town the undulations began, up and down, up and down. Eventually this takes quite a toll on your legs. The scenery today was much more interesting. Up and down means lots of spurs and gullys. We are in an area that is mostly forested which provides for a ... read more
Note the Dog picture that's been added
Tom cresting a climb
Scrub around us

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara September 19th 2023

In Turkey there is a "Call to Prayer" a number of times per day. The "Call" is broadcast from the towers of the mosques but also from loud speakers around the bigger cities, one of which was directly outide our hotel window. I can tell you the first call today was at 5:48am!!!! Breakfast wasn't available until 8am today so it made for a late start. We didn't get riding until 8:45am and as normal it's always slow going out of a big town and all the one way streets didn't help. We were on the same road as yesterday, the D020. This road is being upgraded. In part it is a separated two lane each way highway with a big emergency lane to ride in, and in part, a dual carriage way with barely any ... read more
Very flat and featureless acenery
Tommy Again
The clouds help keep it cooler today

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara September 18th 2023

As we walked back to the hotel from dinner last night the thing we all noticed was that the temperature had dropped and the wind had picked up. When we looked out the window this morning, if anything, the wind had gotten stronger. We got away from the hotel at 8:30am after a good breakfast. I think The Plaza might just have been the best hotel we have had on the trip. Getting out of Edirne was hectic. The road we left on was extremely busy and in very bad condition with no shoulder at all. We had to be on our guard the whole time until we exited the city. We were then on a smaller road with no shoulder for a while, but much less traffic, until we turned onto the D20. This was ... read more
The newly completed D20 road
Kirklireli
Before . . . .

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Edirne September 17th 2023

As we've come to lean, a rest day is not necessarily a day when we rest. We enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast at The Plaza where we tried a number of different breakfast options. The number and variety of cheeses was amazing as were the types of bread. There were many spreads (olives, walnuts, peppers and other ingredients) as well as the more typical western options. One of my favourite items though was halva - for breakfast!!! Tom and I journeyed out today to explore Edirne. We only had 4 sites on our list and 3 of those were mosques, with the forth being the Grand Bazaar (Altinay Kuyumculuk). I have never been in a mosque before and so I was quite interested to see what they looked like. The largest of the mosques was Selimiye Cami ... read more
The smell of fresh seafood was amazing
The Grand Bizaar
The Grand Bizaar




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