Blogs from Ani, Kars, Eastern Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East

Advertisement

Middle East » Turkey » Eastern Anatolia » Kars » Ani May 17th 2014

Heute ist ein kurzer Tag, es sind nur 211 km nach Kars. Die Landschaft ist wunderschön, Wolfgang und ich waren vor 5 Jahren schon mal da und ich dachte immer: Da müsste ich mal mit dem Motorrad hin. Es ging einige Zeit ein Flusstal entlang und ansonsten durch ein weites Tal, völlig baumlos. Lange verlief die Straße parallel zur Bahnstrecke Istanbul–Ankara–Kayseri–Sivas–Erzurum–Gjumri (Armenien). Seit 1994 ist Kars jedoch östliche Endstation, da der Streckenabschnitt nach Gjumri als Folge der Grenzschließung zwischen der Türkei und Armenien im Kontext des Bergkarabachkonflikts stillgelegt wurde. Es verkehrt täglich je ein Zug zwischen Kars und Ankara und Istanbul. Kars ist der Ausgangspunkt einer umstrittenen Bahnstrecke nach Baku über Achalkalaki und Tiflis, die seit 2007 gebaut wird. Vor Kars dann die Katastrophe des Tages: eine Radarfalle, ich war 107 kmh statt 90, diesmal gab ... read more
DSC01175
DSC01176
Dorf bei Kars

Middle East » Turkey » Eastern Anatolia » Kars » Ani August 7th 2013

With just 3 days remaining before I cross the border over into Georgia, it's time to say farewell to Turkey. Having spent the past 9 weeks cycling through this beautiful country, visiting the western, southern, central and north-eastern areas it is fair to say that I have gained a good insight into what makes up this huge land, its people, its culture and its traditions. The cycling has been the toughest I have yet experienced on this trip, crossing numerous mountain ranges in the intense daytime heat. I have one more pass to cross the day after tomorrow which will see me pedalling to a height of 2640m (nearly 8000 ft). The heat has been so intense at times that the tarmac has been melting and sticking to my tyres. The number of punctures has also ... read more
A hat to stop him getting sunburn
Calcium water pools at Pumakkale
Pamukkale ruins

Middle East » Turkey » Eastern Anatolia » Kars » Ani July 13th 2011

The bus ride to Kars wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but I didn't drink anything and didn't use the bathroom the entire 10 hours. I don't hate the bus ride nearly as much as I hate the bathroom stops. The woman next to me was quite large too, but I slept almost the whole time. I was feeling pretty sluggish by the time we got to the Kars Otogar (bus station). I got my bag and a taxi driver approached. I got a good vibe from him, so I agreed to let him take me to the hotel and come back two hours later to take me to Ani. Altogether he cost me 120TL and I wouldn't have saved much if I had waited to go with the service from the ... read more
Another church
Such detail
Beautiful

Middle East » Turkey » Eastern Anatolia » Kars » Ani June 19th 2011

Ráno jsme zašli ve Vanu do snídaňový ulice, kde všechny kavárny nabízej za pár šušní snídaně šampionl, kde najdete úplně všechno. Od vajec, přes uzeniny, ovoce, zeleninu, mléčný produkty, pomazánky, med, ořechy, prostě mazec. Bohatýrsky jsme posnídali a zbalili si věci na cestu. Před odjezdem autobusu jsem zjistil, že nám došel toaletní papír, tak jsem se ho vydal hledat po okolí. Naučil jsem se tak během pár minut víc turecky než doposavad, holt když člověk musí, tak to jde samo. V Turecku na autobusový nádraží svážej minibusy od cestovních agentur, kde si koupíte lístky. Protože nikdy nejedou na čas a většinou na kažýho počkaj, tak jsem hledal a hledal až jsem nakonec zakoupil nejmenší balení osmi papírů a pospíchal zpátky, kde už Mona nervózně vyhlížela jestli jsem se ještě do odjezdu stihnu vrátit nebo ne. Ale ... read more
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4

Middle East » Turkey » Eastern Anatolia » Kars » Ani September 5th 2010

The taxi driver in the Georgian town of Akhaltsikhe laughed at me as I put on my seat belt - he demonstrated the cause of his mirth - his frame and stomach were so big that the seat belt wouldn’t reach across him. I assumed his sheer corpulence would make all head on collisions a non-issue. So off we went along the road to the border with nice mountain scenery but atrocious roads; despite this being one of the main highways between Turkey and Georgia, we spent most of the time slowing down suddenly and veering from right to left in order to avoid the giant pot holes. Borders are such weird places and Vale was no exception. The taxi driver dropped me off at the Georgian border gate, or rather the farm yard - because ... read more
1 Georgia to Turkey - 6 Aug 2010
5 Georgia to Turkey - 6 Aug 2010
6 Georgia to Turkey - 6 Aug 2010




Tot: 0.081s; Tpl: 0.005s; cc: 11; qc: 37; dbt: 0.0385s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb