Blogs from Black Sea, Turkey, Middle East

As we leave Sumela and head back to the village we provision with more fruit and vegetables, perhaps another sign of perhaps my snow anxiety. The road starts to climb. We have been mindful to the fact that it is winter and I have been watching the weather radar with regard to snow and there appears to have been a lot. My cousin sends me a link to a news feed 'Snow has arrived in the East' our nerves are a little on edge, well mine really. Graeme is a really competent and the main driver of our trip, but if we have snowstorm and even though we're on winter tyres and we carry snow chains we could come a cropper!! Our newly purchased map doesn't go this far East so we have no real idea ... read more

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

YUSUFELI to BLACK FLY ( river camp). Stage 105. 22 September, 2016 112.40 Kms SubT. Kms 3192.47 kms . Road Condition: river valley- ok, new work- goodWeather: cool until after river canyon ( 5 hrs later)-10c max; after lunch- MILD 15c Time in Saddle: 5:43:57 Av Speed: av. 19.6 kph. Av Cadence. 68RpmElevation: 1800 m up; 1000 m downCalories burned : > 5500 We climbed all morning after Yusufeli, 6000 feet up. Yusufeli, was an interesting small town, perched in a river canyon between high rock walls. It rained periodically yesterday so exploring town was tricky between rain squalls. Today the scenery was again beautiful. We may have been the last TDA riders to travel this route as another dam on the river is nearing completion and the dam water will cover most of the roads ... read more

Escaping Turkey Many of our encounters with Turkish people were overwhelmingly welcoming. We had been welcomed in camps , on beaches, on boats and ferries by many Turks. In country parts and provincial cities ordinary Turks extended a warm welcome offering fruit and tea. These gestures and conversations showed us the traditional Turkish culture which puts a high value on welcoming strangers. They used what English they had and where they had little or none they chatted away in their native tongue and we knew by tone and gesture that we were welcome. Those who could muster some English were curious about anything “western” and quizzed us about life outside Turkey. Invariably they wanted to know our thoughts on their country. For example At the Black sea town of Akcakoca we camped right on the beach ... read more

On marshrutka to Tbilisi September 27, 2014 I guess I have been smitten. Yesterday we walked up the Hala (Ayder) valley and caught sight of Mount Kackar at 3900m standing like a cathedral in the clouds above the ridge. It was majestic and shear. The Kackar mountains (actually pronounced Cach-car) form the Eastern part of the Pontic Alps that run along the North coast of Turkey. They continue to rise as the EurAsian plate slams into the African Teutonic plate to the South. They form an major barrier with 'proper' roads only going round either end. There are traversable passes which were trade routes in the summer in the distant past and which are now the domain of the keenest hikers. We stayed at the Otel Doga in the Firtina valley, the middle of the three ... read more