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Published: August 28th 2010
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We rarely tell locals we're cycling around the world,usually we opt for a tale about coming from the last border or foreign capital and are heading for a similar destination west.Sometimes telling the whole story can place a financial wall between us and them, we're lucky in the sense that, even as working class people we can afford to do this, where they cannot.İt keeps it simple and gets us talking more about where we are not where we've been.Right now the story goes from Tbilisi or Trabzon to İstambul or Greece, still a fair old hike which raises a few eyebrows of wonder and some of disaproval as the more conservative of the men think it too hard for a woman to do such things.
Here in Capadocia though the Turks are outnumbered by tourists who in turn are outnumbered by İtalians.The Romans were here 2000 years ago and it seems they have returned in numbers , replacing chariots with RV's and Togas with Bermuda shorts.The legions have become tour groups as İtalians, unlike the French( the other numerous nation here) seem to enjoy each others company and go round in large camera clicking mobs.
We stayed
on the campsite for five nights, cooking for ourselves having being priced out of the cave accommadation and most restaurants.İn between RV's from the old empire we met Shu a Japanese cyclist on a big trip heading to Cape Town who has no idea when or if he'll ever go home.Then there were the young İrish trio,likewise heading to Cape Town in a sturdy looking 4X4. My moneys on the İrish getting there first.Likeminded people doing likeminded things.Since were spending more than a passing moment together we tell each other of our trips.Sometimes I enjoy telling and other times it feels like im going through a list.A list that ,after all is getting pretty long.With 2 years,5 continents,26 countries,28000km and my personal favorite 6 back wheels İ bore myself going through it and prefer to listen to other peoples stories,they always seem more interesting to me.Theres only one reason for that though.After this amount of time on the road,at some point it stops being a holiday and becomes normal life.100km here 120km there, up a mountain,through a valley,a monument an old city,beach and wilderness.İts all passing by,still exciting but the energy has been harnessed and sometimes on the long stretches
it feels like a job but thats fine ,İ like this job.And i dont say that very often!
Loved the Berlin campsite with lots of shade and with a table and two chairs we were living in five star accommadation.Our cooking has moved up a gear too as we now make moussaka and curries, cuisine not seen in our pot since the hey days of camel tajine in Western Sahara.Weve gone yogurt mad too, fruit salad and yogurt, buscuits and yogurt,yogurt in curry, yogurt in tea, yogurt in the hair and toothpaste yogurt.
Not really!
Capadocias great,we spent three out of the five days exploring the area,mainly on foot as Shu told us he'd had 41 puntures in his three week stay.Damn thorns!Cave dwellings,rock churches,underground cities and hundreds of different shapes and colours made from volcanic leftovers blown,shaped and erroded by the elements over the centuries give this place an enchanting feel.İ wont go into detail,it was a great break right slap bang in the middle of Turkey.We only went out one night,in search of Liverpool v Trabzonspor we only got Galatasary v Someone else fc as the Turkish tv stations favor the bigger Turkish teams.Nevermind,we had
Selime
İlhara valley beanbags you could live in and a steady flow of expensive Efes beers coupled with a nice Shisha apple pipe.
After Goreme we made our way to İlhara which sits in a valley on the edge of Capadocia.Weve been to Turkey three times and have never had a bad vibe anywhere we went.İlhara was different.The men there wore scowls and were short tempered with us,some of the youngsters were plain rude.Hunger during Ramazan?Or being a bit player on the fringes of tourism?We were going to stay but decided to leave, feeling unwelcome.Even a bloke in the shop after learning where we were from told us he worked in England once and didn't like it or the people.
''Money,money money'' he said before trying to overcharge us.Some people.
At the other end of the İlhara valley we had our best experience in Capadocia.This untouristic village called Selime has an amazing array of cave dwellings and churches cut out of the soft cliff walls.No matter where weve been in the world the most memorable touristic places have been the ones weve had to ourselves.İt really creates an atmosphere to what it was like back when these places were inhabited.Scrambling around
Selime cathedral was worth ten trips to Goreme's over run sights any day and made up for the disapointment at İlhara.
İt was a pretty straight run to Konya from here.Up on the plateau, camping is still easy,lots of wheat fields about although the gypsies are raking up the leftovers in the fields to sell as animal feed.Dont they know thats our bedding.İ'd have a word but theres loads of them.Better let it go this time.
Had a stop off Sultan Hani the ımpressive 12th century caravanseai before cycling across the Konya plain our last wilderness of this trip.Flashes of the 6000km odd of desert that weve done coming back to us as we meandered through the barren mountainscape.From here on it gets busier,starting with Konya. We headed into town like a couple of whirling dervishes.
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