Aventures Bicyclétales ...

country overview, map and followed itinerary, the journal with the best pictures,   [chap 5] the highlight, what I liked / didn't like, useful information.
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Country overview (as of February 2009)

• Capital city : Ankara.
• Area : 780,576 km2 (= 1.1 x France).
• Population : ~72.9 million inhabitants (= 1.1 x France).
• Density : 94 inhabitants / km2. 

• Language : Turkish
• Religion : Islam (95%).
• Human Development Index (HDI) : 0.757, the 92th country out of 177. What is HDI ?

• Government : Parliamentary Republic.
• President : Abdullah Gül (since August 2007).
• Prime minister : Recep tayyip Erdogan (since March 2003).

• Growth rate in 2007 : 5%.
• Currency : Turkish Lira (TRY), 1 Euro = ~ 2.13 Liras.
• Main imports : oil, vehicles, electric and electronic equipment.
• Main exports : vehicles, garment, machines, iron, steel and various equipment.

Turkey map and followed itinerary (in green)




The travel journal in Turkey with the best pictures : 

• around Van,
• the Kurdish territories around Diyarbakir,
• Cappadocia,
• around Beysehir and Eğirdir lakes,
• Afrodisias,
• the Mediterranean coast.

Friday the 20th of February : my very first few steps in Turkey … and once again, everything is different : houses are much bigger, most cars are modern (to the exception of the antique Renault 12 which was produced in Turkey until year 2000) and Atatürk statues and paintings are all over the place (see below in the middle).



Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President. He established himself as an intelligent and extremely capable military commander, making a name for himself during World War I. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the hands of the Allies, and the subsequent plans for its partition, Atatürk led the Turkish national movement in what would become the Turkish War of Independence. Having established a provisional government in Ankara, he defeated the forces sent by the Western powers. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. As the first President of Turkey, Atatürk embarked upon a major program of political, economic and cultural reforms. An admirer of the Enlightenment, Atatürk sought to transform the ruins of the Ottoman Empire into a modern, democratic and secular nation-state.

Coming from Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, one can feel how much those two countries took two opposite paths. This heightens even more the feeling of freedom one can fell immediately when arriving in Turkey …


Once done with the immigration formalities, I really enjoy riding those first few kilometers in Turkey. The road is scenic, in good condition, there is no traffic and all is pristine white around me …



After about 40 km, I arrive in the village of Yuktsekova. I will spend the night here … but before going to bed, I adjust all my clocks once more, and the time difference with France is now down to just 1h00.


Saturday the 21st of February : it’s snowing this morning when I wake up … and the streets are already under a few centimeters of snow. An hour later, when I am ready to leave, it does not snow anymore, but the snow did not melt yet. It’s still here, all around, even the sky is white.



A few kilometers and falls later, I must admit I greatly under-estimated the difficulty of riding a loaded bicycle ON the snow. Two wheels are just not enough for this. The back wheel spins, skids, and the whole bike goes from side to side, making it quite a challenging task to keep a proper balance and stay on it, which eventually I don’t, as most of the time this ends in a slow motion fall … head first in the snow. I’ve covered only 15 km in two hours, and when it starts snowing again, I can barely see where the road goes …

Then a van passes me, stops a bit further … and reverses towards me. The driver wants me to get into his van. I refuse politely, but he insists, and explains something related to the snow and to some four-legged animals which sound like wolves ! He looks determined to not let me go … so I give up and get in the van, for about 20 km and the junction with the main road going to Van. There the road has been cleared and there is only little snow on it : totally rideable.

I get back in the saddle, the grip is good and I can move forward … on my way, a few other cars will stop and propose me a lift, including two journalists from « Turkish News » who will also interview me by the side of the road. When they finally leave, they warn me about the snow, the wolves (hungry when it snows), the PKK activists (classified as a terrorist group by some countries) and the minefields !!!

I continue for another 30 km, but the snow falls really heavily now, I don’t have grip anymore and while going uphill, I have no other option but to push the bike … and while going downhill, well, I slide from side to side and miraculously manage to stay on the bike. Obviously, it’s starting to get dangerous since I am not alone on the road, and when Cahit and Eyyűp propose me yet another lift to Van, for about 100 km, I finally accept …


Sunday the 22nd - Thursday the 24th of February : I am now in Van … and Van is one of the biggest cities of Eastern Turkey. The buildings here are massive and so are the mosques.



Below : Turkish salaengs ...




Below : Van bazaar ...





... and one of the so many bakeries !




The main attraction of Van is its Castle (below), where some fortifications are believed to date back as far as 900 BC !! The Castle is perched on a rock and Van Gölü lake is right behind …



At the foot of the Castle one can see the foundations of the old city of Van, destroyed during the upheavals of World War I, at a time the city and the whole region were mostly inhabited by Armenians.



Turkey and the Armenian genocide : the massacre of about 1.2 million Armenian people in Eastern Turkey in 1915 continues to be the subject of dispute and recrimination almost 90 years later. The Armenians who survived the cataclysm, as well as several Western countries, blame the Turks for what they call a genocide. However, the Turks deny there was an official policy of genocide and claim that many Armenians were traitors at a time of war. There is a lot at stake for Turkey on this issue, as if they do acknowledge the genocide one day, they will likely be asked to provide financial compensation and maybe even territories to the Armenians.


Wednesday the 25th of February : weather does not look too promising today, if the sun is shining above Van, large grey clouds are coming my way from the western shore of Van Gölü lake …



Quite mysteriously, I have cycled around most rain and snow falls this morning, and it’s now time to climb the pass of the day.

 

Clouds are low but the sun is not far behind. The top of the pass is reached when my altimeter shows 2,300 m.



When I come down the mountain ... here I meet with my first kangal, also known as the Anatolian Shepherd Dog. This is a muscular breed, with thick neck, broad head, and sturdy body. It weighs between 40 and 65 kg. Anatolian have been known to chase bears and according to Turkish shepherds, three Anatolian Shepherd Dogs are also capable of overcoming a pack of wolves !! I could also add that they usually attack as a group, and on my first encounter, I have to deal with five of them, terribly aggressive and determined to not let me go.

I saw them coming from far, from so far that at first I did not think they were coming for me, but they were. My first move was to get off the bicycle and use it as a protection to keep the dogs at a distance. Well, this works when there is one or two dogs, but with five, I am surrounded. I give a few kicks, aim at the nose so they say, but it only got them more excited. My situation is hopeless … but then a truck driver comes to my rescue, with a stick, but the dogs don’t look impressed and don’t back off even an inch. We are under siege. Five long minutes later, some soldiers pass by, it seems those dogs are theirs. They quiet them down for a while … but as soon as I leave, three of the five dogs chase me again … and here I am back to the starting point, surrounded again. Some loud shouting to show some authority and a few rocks in the face finally discouraged them … this is emotionally exhausting. F*** B***rds.

Back in the saddle, the day is far from over, although night is coming. Snow is falling again … and a second unexpected pass slows me down a bit more. Several vans stop by to propose me a lift, but I refuse, not this time … this time I will go to the end of it. It’s really a beautiful night, and clear, with all the snow around. Temperatures have dropped way below zero, but the grip on the road remains OK, and I finally get to Tatvan around 7.00 PM, after 150 km …


Thursday the 26th of February : it’s still snowing this morning … but before leaving I carefully check that the main road has been cleared, and it’s all good, so I can go.

I’ve decided to head south-west today, towards the towns of Kozluk and Diyarbakır, both located at a much lower altitude (700 to 900 m) and where I hope snow won’t be a problem anymore. As planned, the snow disappears indeed when I get below 1,200 m, but only to be replaced by some sticky mud. My bike becomes brownish, the chain creaks and the brakes melt ! Well, well, well … no road is perfect and I’ll have to change my brake pads tonight !



During the afternoon, I come under dogs’ attacks a few more times, but nothing as impressive as yesterday … or I am getting used to it. Staying calm helps, the key is to show who’s the boss and convince yourself this is you … but another more tricky type of attacks starts to appear : kids’ attacks, throwing rocks in my back … nice ...

I really like Turkey, but if dogs were chained and kids more friendly, this would be a lot nicer. In the meantime, it feels sometimes very hostile, the very first time I get this feeling since I left Bangkok. The village of Kozluk is on the way to the bigger city of Batman (picture on the left) !! Tonight I sleep at the teachers’ house of Kozluk … and during the evening, the teachers confess to me that the kids are very difficult to handle around here, which does not come too much as a surprise given the few problems I myself encountered with some of them.

Friday the 27th of February : I leave Kozluk early morning as soon as the rain stops. The landscape is hilly and the road is undulating all day, but it’s unusual enough to be highlighted, there is a strong tailwind to push me through the hills !! Attacks wise, today the dogs lead the kids by 4 to 1. I try to be patient, it will stop sooner or later.



When I arrive in Diyarbakır, it’s quite a surprise to be welcomed by a TV crew of Kanal 1. They saw me on the road and they would like an interview, which I am happy to give despite the imminent rain …


Saturday the 28th of February and Sunday the 1st of March : I am in Diyarbakır, the town which was best known until recently as the center of the Kurdish resistance …


Who are the Kurds ? The Kurds are an ethnolinguistic group of about 30 million people, who have historically inhabited a region that includes adjacent parts of Turkey (~15 millions), Iran (~7 millions), Iraq (~6 millions) and Syria (~2 millions), which is known as Kurdistan. Since the Antiquity, the Kurds have been regularly fighting for independence … but the States with a large Kurdish community always opposed it, fearing the loss of territory and natural resources.

Unlike some other minorities in Turkey, the Kurds were never given rights as a minority group, and until recently the Turkish government refused to even recognize their existence, insisting they be called « Mountain Turks ». The non acknowledgement of the Kurdish cultural specificities lead to a strong resentment among the population, which eventually materialized by the end of the 70’s with the creation of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party. The PKK’s goal was to create an independent socialist Kurdish State in Kurdistan, and the fighting which followed during the 80’s and 90’s against the Turkish army lead to about 40,000 deaths. PKK’s goal however has now been moderated to claiming cultural and political rights for the ethnic Kurdish population in Turkey. The situation is indeed better nowadays, with books, newspapers and even a TV channel in Kurdish language … and ultimately the best hope for further speedy change seems to lie with Turkey eagerness to join the EU, which champions the rights of cultural and ethnic minorities. Kurds in Turkey live in the south-eastern part of the country, and as the biggest town of the area, it’s quite naturally that Diyarbakır found itself right in the middle of the battle. The PKK announced in 2004 the ending of the latest ceasefire, but only low-level fighting restarted.

Below : on Diyarbakır’s main square, in front of Ulu mosque, and with Hasan Pasa Hani caravanserai in the background.



The place is really friendly and I get invited several times for a cup of tchai (tea). Each time, the Kurds tell me how they are grateful to the European Union for forcing the Turks to give them more freedom … and I am glad to learn that the EU can occasionally be more than just a common economic area. It’s really good news ...

Below, in Diyarbakır's streets ...



Diyarbakır's greatest feature is certainly its circuit of basalt walls, probably dating from Roman time. At almost 6 km in length these walls are said to be second in extent only to the Great Wall of China.



Until 1915, the city was inhabited by many Armenians, and several churches have survived since they were massacred. Below, the Keldani Kilisesi church and its clock tower, with the Kasim Pedisah mosque’s minaret just behind.




Monday the 2nd of March : it has become far too unusual since I am in Turkey, but today the weather is nice, the sun is shining and the sky is blue … unfortunately the west-wind is stronger than ever !!

Grasslands are covered with rocks, and sheep, goats, cows and donkeys graze around them in search for some good green grass. Dogs are busy looking after their flocks and don’t bother running after me, which is quite a relief …




Tuesday the 3rd of March : the wind is gone today, but the clouds have arrived … just can't have it all.

I am heading this morning towards the artificial lake formed by the Atatürk dam. This dam is part of the GAP megaproject (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi), which aims at developing south-eastern Anatolia. In total, 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric power plants have been built and about 3 million hectares of land have been brought under irrigation.



With water level way above what it used to be, the road going from Siverek to Kahta is now partly under water, and a « Feribot » is necessary to cross the flooded section.



Needless to say, such a huge project also generates sizeable problems, especially ecological ones. The change from dry agriculture to wet has already caused an explosion of disease. The incidence of malaria has increased tenfold, and it is feared that dysentery, already on the rise, will follow suit. The project has also generated political problems, as Syria and Iraq, the countries downriver from whom the water of the Tigris and Euphrates are also vital, complain bitterly that Turkey is using or keeping a larger share of the water than it should. Innumerable archeological sites have also disappeared under dam water …

Below : on my way to Kahta, with Nemrut Daği (2 150 m) in the background.




Wednesday the 4th of March : a low cloud ceiling, a misty cold rain all day, no sun in sight … and one thing for certain this evening when I arrive in Gölbasi, tomorrow will be a better day.


Tursday the 5th of March : the sky is still low this morning … but at least it does not rain anymore. It’s another 100 km today, continuing at the same pace as on the previous days …




Friday the 6th of March : today the sky is so low that I actually ride in the clouds !! 50 meters of visibility ahead of me, 50 meters behind me, and that’s it, everything else is foggy white. The snow re-appears above 1,000 meters, and by the time I reach the top of the pass (1,630 m), the road is lined with walls of snow about 1 meter high ! The snow and the fog make the riding quite uncomfortable, and clearly unsuitable for claustrophobic people.



Is it the snow or the fog that get them so worked up !? but today pack of dogs are back and are still threatening. I’ve gained experience and confidence though, and I better know how to handle them : I stop calmly, grab a few –big- rocks and talk to them … in Turkish and Kurdish, since I never know which language they are used to. This is supposed to help them realize that the cyclist they mis-identified as a fleeing game is actually human ! It’s rather efficient, although you need to be patient as it can take time before they quiet down, but eventually they do.


Saturday the 7th of Mars : the top of the mountains are still hidden in the clouds this morning …  and I am starting to really miss blue sky and sunshine !



By the end of the day, in the long downhill leading to Pinarbasi, the front hub of my bicycle starts to click, clicks again and clicks even more, louder and louder. It sounds like the bearing is worn out, and when I turn the wheel with my hand I can hear the distinctive « grrr-grrr » of a coffee grinder … which isn’t too good news. Damn !


Sunday the 8th of March : miracles do happen. This morning my front wheel does not make any noise … and by the end of the day, I even set a new speed record with a nice round 80 km/h, which suggests that if the bearing is tired, it can still do the job pretty well …

I am staying tonight in Kayseri, a bustling city of modern, apartment lined-boulevards, with a tramway just about to be completed. The center however testifies of a rich ancient history with a basalt walled citadel built in the 6th century and several 1000 years old mosques …



Below on the left, yet another Atatürk statue ... and on the right, a « kebab master» operating on the main square, and where thanks to outstanding teamwork, peak output sometimes reaches more than 10 sandwiches per minute ...

 


Monday the 9th of March : while leaving from Kayseri this morning, I catch a sight of Mont Erciyes (3,916 m), surrounded with white, grey and black clouds. The wind renews constantly the balance of colors and brings alternately rain, hail and sunshine …



« DUR » (means hard in French) ? No, but I admit I am quite happy to arrive in Göreme this afternoon. After 8 days non-stop on the bike and 800 km since Diyarbakır, a little bit of rest will be nice …


Tuesday the 10th - Friday the 13th March : I am in Göreme, a small village in the heart of Cappadocia ... and  here is what Cappadocia looks like !!



Amazing isn’t it ? Cappadocia heavenly backdrop consists of soft volcanic tuff that has been sculpted over millennia into fantastic shapes by water and erosion. The end result is fascinating : huge stone mushrooms and fairy chimneys, soft ridges and deep valley, acute edges and mild undulations, all riddled with numerous rock-cut houses, churches and monasteries with frescoes (below on the left, a monastery … and on the right, inside a church).



Below, in Zemi valley, south-east of Göreme.



Curves, colors, stratums, chimneys … the landscape is surreal.



The rock-cut houses have suffered from heavy erosion since their construction, and many of them now stand ripped open in the middle of the valleys (above on the right) … so let’s have a look inside (below) !

 

Below, this is the « Love valley » going from Uçhisar to Cavuşin, and at first one may wonder why it is called this way …



... but going a little bit further down the valley, it becomes quite obvious !! humm ...




Saturday the 14th of March : back on the road today … or so was my plan until I saw the snow falling outside. Unbelievable, yesterday it felt like summer, with about 25 Celsius in the afternoon, and less than 24h00 later, temperatures have dropped by some 30 degrees. Global Warming is really breaking the weather ...

So go or no go ? I hesitate. Today’s stage is rather short with only 70 km, so I can wait a bit and see if the weather improves, I am in no rush. At 11.30 AM, here it is, the snow has stopped falling and the sky is clearer. From dark grey to light grey, believe me, it makes a big difference, so I go ....



... but less than an hour later, it snows again, the wind picks up speed, headwind of course, temperatures drop further down to -4 Celsius, my derailleur quickly freezes, gears don’t work anymore, the whole bike carries tons of ice around and the estimated 70 km turns out to be closer to 95 km, with a few hills to climb …

... but that’s not all, I also get a puncture, my second since I left Bangkok… and I ride the last 20 km leading to Aksaray in the dark on an icy road. Quite a day ...




Sunday the 15th of March : and here it is again this morning, it does not snow yet but the sky does not look trustable at all. Whatever, I’ve decided to go, so I put my hat and my gloves; I secure my bags on the bike, and at the exact moment I am about to sit on the saddle, the first snow flake slowly lands on it. The first flake of the day, but certainly not the last, many more are coming … and Konya is 160 km away …



My derailleur freezes again, this is becoming usual, and it’s best to choose the right gear before this happens otherwise the only way to change it is to stop, clear the ice and manually operate the mechanism. Tonight I arrive once again after nightfall, but with 70 extra kilometers in comparison with yesterday. The sky is clear, the clouds have faded away … and maybe tomorrow it won’t snow !


Monday the 16th of March : SUNSHINE today, at last !! I leave Konya this morning with a beautiful blue sky and a nice sunshine … 



... a real enjoyment after all the snow.






Tuesday the 17th of March : I am riding around two large lakes today, along the eastern shore of Beysehir Gölü from south to north and along the eastern shore of Eğirdir Gölü from north to south. I zigzag a lot and certainly don’t follow the shortest route, but the sceneries are truly magic, with great lake views, apple orchards, flowers and a lot of sunshine for a second day in a row … 



Below : the Eğirdir lake.




Wednesday the 18th – Friday the 20th of March : I am in Eğirdir ... and I am waiting for a new front wheel coming from Istanbul.

The «Bisiklet» expert of Eğirdir, Mr. Kadir, opened the clicking bearing of my wheel and delivered his verdict : completely worn out … and soon out of order (see on the right, the bearing cone has marks and cracks all along the diameter marked with a red dot). A bearing is usually easy to replace … as long as its dimension is standard, but unfortunately mine is not since the hub has a built-in dynamo : not a smart choice I admit. So for a defective part barely bigger than a 1 Turkish Lira coin, I will have to replace the whole hub, the 36 spokes (too short for a standard hub) … and in the end I decided to replace the rim as well, since this would be pretty ridiculous to mount a new wheel with a 10,000 km rim.

Below : the Thursday market on the main square of Eğirdir ...



... and some traditional houses on the eastern peninsula.






Saturday the 21st of March : my new wheel arrived yesterday and I am back on the road ! The weather is great, almost warm, the wind is weak, the wheel is perfectly spinning and everything goes well … it’s one of those days where travelling is 100% pure enjoyment ...




Sunday the 22nd of March : change of weather this morning, clouds and rain are back. However this isn’t heavy rain, and it’s certainly not enough to keep me from riding … especially with those amazingly pretty cumulus piling up above the skyline ...




Monday the 23rd of March : quite a dilemma this morning, where to go and which direction to take ? I hesitate between two ancient Greek cities : Hierapolis 20 km up north, in a valley … or Aphrodisias 80 km south-west, in the middle of a few mountains. The first is on the “coach parties” trail, meaning thousands of tourists to deal with, whereas the latter is completely off the beaten track … so despite the greater distance and the climbs ahead, I take Aphrodisias' direction … in the fog first, then under the rain and finally under the snow once again !!



But two valleys further, the sky finally clears up and I suddenly come across some olive tree plantations. What a dramatic change in just a few hours …




Tuesday the 24th of March : Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, who had here her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias.

Below : the monumental gate -tetrapylon- leading to the temple of Aphrodite.



The temple of Aphrodite (below) was a focal point of the town, but the character of the building was altered when it became a Christian basilica in the 4th century.



Some other buildings are spread out around the temple, such as a 270m long stadium, a 10,000 seats theater (shown below), several public baths, a bouleuterion (council house) and other houses … excavations are still under way.




During the afternoon, I finally ride down the very last mountains before the coast, spring has definitely kicked in around here and olive tree plantations are covered with daisies.




Wednesday the 25th of March : quite a busy day today … it was supposed to rain and I was supposed to stay for the day in Nazilli … but since this morning it does not rain –yet-, I finally decide to hit the road in the direction of Selçuk and the Aegean Sea.

At this point I don’t really suspect I will be riding until 9.00 PM.

Out of Nazilli, I turn right on the main freeway. The road surface is amazingly good, which is really unusual, and I should be feeling like on a flying carpet, but I don’t. There is an annoying “klong-klong” coming from my back wheel. I check the spokes, the tires, the brakes … but I don’t really find anything. I go slow, stop again and again and try to find out where the “klong-klong” is coming from. It was not there yesterday, why is it here today ? After a few kilometers, I finally stop because of the rain and take this opportunity to flip the bike upside down. Here it is, there is bulge right in the middle of the tire. Damn ! The tire is dead, it could even have exploded. At least I did not carry a spare tire for nothing.

When the rain stops, it’s 11.30 AM, and I rode only 12 km since I left town … however, I decide to stick to the initial plan which is to get off the freeway as soon as possible, and continue on secondary roads. Of course this will come with some extra kilometers, about 20 I think, making it a ride of 100 km or so, but I still have plenty of daylight ahead of me and I am in no rush.

I don’t regret it, the road is quiet and very scenic, with lovely small villages, olive tree plantations, orange tree orchards, grasslands covered in flowers, many birds … and a few storks building up their nest on top of electric posts ! Yes it’s really nice, but kilometers are far more than I first expected, and I keep revising up the distance to go to Selçuk : 110, 120, 130 … 140 … 150 … and maybe more. I have been too optimistic and I will arrive after dark, but nevermind ...

At 6.30 PM and after 120 km … the sea is finally right in front of me. I enjoy the sight for a few moments, it's really nice, but everything soon gets dark and Selçuk is still another 35 km …



Riding by night is not unpleasant, it can actually be very enjoyable if the road is quiet and the stars are out, which is the case tonight …




Thursday the 26th – Saturday the 28th of March : I am staying in Selçuk, only 10 km away from the coast and just nearby the fabulous ruins of Ephesus.

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city whose fame came from its Temple of Artemis (the Goddess of the hunt and the moon), back then one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately it was later destroyed by invaders and today not much is left of it.

The interest of Ephesus lies today with the many buildings still more or less standing, among which the theater, the library (below), the port, some terraced houses … and several sculpted porticos.



Above on the right : on the front of the library, a statue of Arete, the goddess of Excellence … 

Below : here is the port … or what's left of it.




Back in Selçuk, I climb up the Ayasuluk hill where the ruins of the St Jean Basilica lie. Jean, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, is said to have come to Ephesus at the end of his life and to have written his gospel here.







As the day goes, the temperature keeps rising and I soon find myself riding with my summer gears : short, T-shirt and, of course, flip-flops !! And to think that it was still snowing last week …



Getting closer to Izmir, the road expands from 2 to 4 and to 6 lanes, but the traffic is light and I must say this is the first time I enter a city of 3 million people so easily. I soon reach the clock tower (below) where I meet Mehmet, a Turkish cyclo-traveler who offered to host me during my stay in Izmir.





I actually meet both Mehmet and his friend Meti, and we ride together to the Bornova district where Meti –and his wife Gül- live. Mehmet and Meti are mechanical engineers (what a coincidence, so am I) and Gül is anesthetist. The three of them love cycling and pratice several outdoor activities … and we spend a great evening chatting with each other.


Izmir used to be Smyrna, the most westernized and cosmopolitan of Ottoman-Turkish cities, where more citizens were Christian and Jewish than Muslim, and where there were thousands of foreign diplomats, traders and sailors. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WWI, the Greeks invaded Smyrna and cruised all the way to the outskirts of Ankara where they were eventually repelled and pushed back to Smyrna. The day Atatürk recaptured Smyrna (9 September 1922) marked the moment of victory in the Turkish war of independence.


Monday the 30th of March : Mehmet and I embark for a busy day, fighting all morning with Turkish postal services bureaucracy to collect a parcel my parents sent from France and spending the afternoon in a great bicycle shop for a complete overhaul of the transmission of my green bicycle. Ali the mechanic did a fantastic job and had all the suitable parts on hand (XT). Here are the contact details if you need to repair your bike in Izmir: SARDA Bike Shop, Bisikletleri ve Bisiklet Komponentleri, Sehit Fethi Bey Cad. No : 23/1, 35210 Izmir, tel : +90.232.489.78.28, www.sardabikeshop.com

Below : the northern section of Izmir’s Kordon, an amazing place with an unusual mix : a cycling lane and a pedestrian zone, a kids' playground, some abandoned highway concrete structures (on the right), and at the back a few NATO warships (Turkey joined NATO in 1952).



The Kordon’s story is a victory of mankind against « carkind », when Izmir citizens protested en masse and successfully stopped the construction of a motorway along the city’s seafront. A great example for all those suffocating metropolis in the world who don’t know what to do when confronted to the ever-growing motorways and car traffic, one leading to another and vice-versa.


Tuesday the 31st of March : I leave Izmir this morning and I say goodbye to Mehmet, Meti and Gül … hoping to see them one day in France and get a chance to return their great hospitality ! Mehmet accompanies me for the first few kilometers to make sure I find my way out of the city, and here I am, cruising to Bergama …

I arrive over there in the middle of the afternoon, and with a few hours of daylight ahead of me, I pay an interesting visit to the ruins of the Pergamum’s Acropolis (below).



Pergamum is an ancient Greek city with an unusual vertigo-inducing theater built into the side of a hill (above on the right), a huge Altar of Zeus (most of it removed by Germans excavators and now displayed in Berlin museum) and one of the largest library of that time said to have held more than 200,000 volumes.


Wednesday the 1st of April : Pergamum was also famous for its Asclepion (below), an ancient medical centre named after Asclepios, the god of medecine and healing. Treatments included massage, mud bath, drinking sacred waters and the use of herbs and ointments. Diagnosis was often by dream analysis.



The Asclepion was a holy place where all gods were welcome, except for the god of death of course … and quite ironically, today the god of death has nearly surrounded the place with a huge military base next to it. Doing and undoing, building and destroying, curing and killing, here is maybe one of the main characteristic of the Human specie …



Around noon, I leave for the seaside village of Ayvalik. The weather is nicely warm, the road is good, the traffic is light and I ride leisurely, taking a break about every 20 km as usual … but today my second break could also have been the last … when a car crashed full speed into a tree just 10 meters behind me !



Nearly got me, but nearly is not enough and the trip goes on !!


Thursday the 2nd – Saturday the 4th of April : Ayvalik is a magic place … far from the crowd and the coach parties, spared from the hideous massive hotels, it’s the perfect place to relax and watch the sunset from a terrace overlooking the bay … I loved it, and I stayed much longer than initially planned.



Until after WWI Ayvalik was inhabited by Ottoman Greeks, but during the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey in 1923, Ayvalik's Turkish-speaking Greeks went to Greece, and Greek-speaking Turks came here from the islands of Lesvos and Crete. Most orthodox churches have been converted in mosques since (above on the left) and remind in a weird way of the Greek's heritage. The clock tower is usually still standing, but its cross is gone and there is now a minaret next to it.



Below : Ayvalik's port with fishermen selling their catch of the day.



Below : the Thursday market in Ayvalik …



Below : in the Dalkira Mehmet Aga Cad. pedestrian street, an example of what the mayor of Istanbul is calling semi-nudity advertisement … and his intention is to forbid it in his city.



And for my very last evening in Ayvalik, here's a great sunset for all to enjoy …

Sunday the 5th of April : I leave this morning for the ruins of the ancient city of Troy, and I zigzag the whole day by following the coast. 50 km north-east, headwind, 30 km west, great tailwind, then 70 km north through the mountains with a killer headwind and the last 5 km going west with a little tailwind. It’s been quite a day … ... and on the way, I got the amazing surprise to meet Haktan, a friend of Mehmet, who was driving to a family pique-nique ! It’s true I am getting closer to France, but I still do not really expect to meet by chance people who know me ! On the right, some … Trojan horses !?

Below : Troy city walls ...



The Trojan War is a legend but there is a chance that some historical events actually did inspire it. The Trojan War took place during the 13th century BC between the Trojans and the Greeks, the Trojans having kidnapped Helen, a Greek king’s wife and the Greeks trying to get her back. After 10 years of carnage, Odysseus dreamt up the idea of a wooden horse filled with soldiers, the famous Trojan horse. The wooden horse was left outside the west gate for the Trojans to wheel it inside their walls. During the night, the soldiers emerged from inside the belly of the horse and set fire to the town, a signal to their colleagues outside that it was safe to attack again, and so Troy finally fell to the Greeks.


Monday the 6th of April : today is an important day, I am going to Europe …

Below on the left, while crossing the Dardanelles strait between Çanakkale (Asian Turkey) and Eceabat (European Turkey) ... and on the right, my first step on European soil, after riding 15,800 km through 10 countries.




Tuesday the 7th of April : this morning I am making a day-trip to the Southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula … one of the two landing points of the infamous Dardanelles battle.

Just 1.4 km wide at its narrowest point the Dardanelles Strait has always offered the best opportunity for travelers and armies to cross between Europe and Asia Minor. Hoping to capture Ottoman capital and access to Eastern Europe during WWI, Winston Churchill organized a naval assault on the strait. In March 1915 a strong Franco-British fleet tried to force it but failed. Then a month later, British, Australian, New-Zealand and French troops landed on Gallipoli. Both Turkish and Allied troops fought desperately and fearlessly, and devastated one another. After nine months of ferocious combat but little progress, the Allied forces withdrew, leaving behind 45,000 dead soldiers on their side and 90,000 on Turkish side.

Below : the main Turkish memorial for the Turkish soldiers who died during the battle.



There are also a dozen of British cemeteries all over the peninsula … and one hidden French cemetery in a pine forest.


Wednesday the 8th of April : I ride up the Gallipoli peninsula today, with the tranquil Aegean Sea on my left (below) and the busy Marmara Sea on my right, as many large cargo-boats heading towards the Bosphorus and the Black Sea are using this route.

Thursday the 9th of April : Greece is in sight … « Yunnanistan » as Turkey call its neighbor, is only about 30 km away. The sun is shining, temperatures are warm, and after my first steps on the European soil few days ago, I am now about to enter the first European Union country on my route … ... to be continued in Greece !

The highlight in Turkey : 

After the rather boring “meat, bread, meat and bread and bread and meat” menu in Pakistan and Iran, Turkish cuisine came as a real relief with its abundance of fresh produce. Salads with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, cabbages, carrots and parsley, lentil soups, vegetable or meat stews, assorted kebabs, cheese or meat pides (Turkish pizza), gorgeous bread to go with, olives, lots of different cheese and yogurt ... and also many desserts to die for. Turkish food is the best food I had so far on this trip ...




What I liked / didn't like in Turkey : 

I liked	I did not like
the freedom of a secular state	the DOGS
Turkish outstanding hospitality, especially in Izmir	stone throwing children
the fabulous cultural heritage	suburb architecture in medium-size towns
the cuisine	fermented carrot juice ...
light and slow traffic on the roads	March never ending snow falls
Cappadocia, Aphrodisias, Izmir and Ayvalik	the hopeless leaking noisy plumbing
the energy saving mindset	road sides covered with garbage

Useful information about Turkey :