Saddle Sore

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Yes, that's right. All this cycling has left me, well this kind of embarrassing but as I'm amongst friends (!), with a nasty rash akin to nappy rash. I know ladies don't sweat but this "lady" is sure doing more than her fair share! Next trip I'm going to pack a couple of proper pairs of cycle shorts, get some toe clips, invest in a gel seat, maybe even buy a new bike... In short I would probably do things differently.

I am spending another day here in Beysehir (which on first impressions is not as beautiful as Egirdir even though it's on a lake) so I can see about getting a salve of sorts to ease the pain and to rest a little. I've got a big day coming up to get to Konya, my next destination - 95km with two passes. Don't know how I'll go but I'll try. It's always difficult to gauge from the map how the terrain will really be, plus it's probably more mental than physical.

It's the next day now and although the actual town may not be as beautiful as Egirdir, the people here sure make up for any shortfalls. They have been so kind and friendly. Last night I made a quick dash to the shores of the lake to catch the last few minutes of the sunset. It was quite beautiful with the clouds adding to its intensity as the sun was setting between the mountains (yes, there's mountains all around - still). Don't know how my little point and shoot camera with 100ASO film will cope with it but we shall just have to see when I get back home. Have I said before that I should have bought myself a digital camera?

I also got talking to a lovely family which was initiated by the father calling "hello mister" followed by the usual "where are you from?". OK, so it wasn't a full on conversation but it was nice to walk together by the lake and exchange simple questions and answers. The mother was worried (as mothers do ) about her son who had gone to Europe on a 3 week backpacking holiday on his own. Apparently on learning that I was here in Turkey on my own and obviously quite unharmed she felt a little more relaxed. I don't think they see too many foreigners come through here and so I was for them a bit of a novelty which has continued on today also.

I took a little walk through the back streets of Beysehir and saw a woman making rounds of trahana. I'm still not too sure what exactly it is because the Greek version of trahana looks totally different. This trahana was rolled out in rounds, laid between a block of wood, jumped on by a little girl a couple of times to flatten it even more then laid out in the sun to dry. There must have been at least 200 of these rounds. I stopped to ask what this was and another couple of women who I had passed earlier came over and gave me a round to try. It was like a big corn chip in texture and had a bit of a sour like taste which I think is the yoghurt that's added to barley (?). And then I was given a little bag full of apricots. Anyway, it was an interesting experience all before 10 o'clock.

Before arriving here though I did have a couple of days of gorgeous cycling. The morning's cycle around part of Lake Egirdir was really lovely. I had started out early so it was coolish which is always a good thing. The road hugged the cliffs and, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that I was cycling along the Great Ocean Road back home if it wasn't for the fact that I was in Turkey, by a lake with apple orchards in abundance and nowhere near an ocean. Later I was stopped in a village by an elderly man who waved me down and promptly gave me a bag full of beautiful peaches and refused any offers of money. These helped provide me with sustenance during the day and were very refreshing, if a tad warm by the end.

The day terminated at Yalvac which is situated in a valley too and you guessed it, surrounded by fertile fields and mountains. I stayed at the Hotel Antiochean which also had a Turkish football team staying in it. I was a little concerned at the noise level that this might involve as well as the kind of behaviour that normally goes hand in hand with end of year football celebrations. I'd like to say that Australian football teams can learn a lot from the Turkish ones. I didn't hear a peep out of them and as for bad behaviour there was none. I think there's a lot to be said for being alcohol free.

I also got in in time to visit the ruins of Antioch ad Pisidiam the place where St Paul the Apostle first attempted to convert pagans to Christianity. I had said to myself that after Ephesus I would not visit any more ruins but I couldn't help myself. The site of these ruins, ofcourse not as large or as well preserved as some of the ones I had seen, were equally beautiful though. And, there was something very poignant about being there, amongst very few and the only foreign tourist as such, whilst a small group of 3 French priests were conducting a sermon of sorts, chanting in Latin (?) in what was the ancient Byzantine basilica. This act was beautiful and haunting at the same time, made more sombre by its location - dry, windswept and almost deserted - and that this was being conducted in a country whose religion is different to that that was being practiced.

Yesterday's ride from Yalvac to here was equally beautiful (I must find another word) but scenery wise quite different. Gone were the orchards to be replaced by fields of gold and roads of toffee (which made cycling up and down a little more difficult) and for about 10km views of the lake, Turkey's second largest freshwater lake, and mountains behind. Magical. I did have to ride through some arid, hilly country prior to being rewarded with these views but even that was beautiful (there's that word again). I guess I should make the most of this wonderful ever changing scenery as after Konya it's a 145km ride on Turkey's central plateau which the guidebook describes as "dull driving".

Must go now and do some mini bike maintenance (front wheel is a bit shaky) before meeting the family for chai and a visit to the Esrefoglu Camii mosque which dates from between 1297 and 1299. This evening I'm also planning to do a little boat tour around the lake which lasts for an hour and a half and then it's an early night to prepare for tomorrow. It would be nice to get a good night's sleep. Can't remember when the last one was...

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