We crossed the mountains from Bulgaria into Turkey and were met with our first non-EU border station. The process of both entering Turkey and arranging for a visa was straightforward. We applied for e-visas online about a week prior to reaching the border, and were able to display them on our iPhones (bonus as we don’t have to go through the hassle of finding somewhere to print a single page). Apart from getting the first stamp in our passport (huzzah) the border crossing was fairly dull and felt more symbolic of the progress of our trip.
Once we rolled out things changed immediately. The road surface was amazing. I don’t know if they had just finished paving the 4-lane highway, but rolling onto fresh, deep black, smooth tarmac after worrying about breaking your coccyx from the roads for a week while we were cycling the mountains of Bulgaria, was a welcome change! The landscape and flora changed as well, it reminded me of how I have always pictured Greece to be. Rolling hills, a little aired with tough gnarly looking trees and tough spiky shrubs. The architecture changed as well, most notably, from the highway at least, Mosques were now the most identifiable structures in any city, town or village; with their minarets poking up into the sky they were a clear sign that we were somewhere different, and it was exciting.
As with most of the 1st days we have in a country, we had pre-arranged a place to crash for the night. Our hosts lived in the first largish town on the main road south from Buglaria, Kırklareli, and since we had set out quite early and were so close to the border we had a few hours to kill once we reached the city. Getting to the city centre, and cycling within it was intense. Traffic was disorganized and manic. We were later told that they have a saying that “Turks get their drivers license from butchers”. We survived and found a park that was completely filled with tables, chairs and people drinking tea and playing backgammon. It was the first of what would be one of the most common sights in Turkey a ‘Çay house’. We settled in to a bench made from shipping skips and enjoyed our first of hundreds of cups of tea while in the country, and were surprised by how friendly people were, we were even suspicious at times, having come from Bulgaria where few people showed any interest, and fewer still would approach us for a chat. Our hosts met us later by the old Mosque in town where we sat and people watched for a while. We had a great evening, receiving a crash course in the Turkish language, getting tips for where to travel and what to see in the country. We planned to continue on the B road east towards Istanbul via Vize to avoid the main highway, and also considered catching a train if we were running out of time. Luckily our host had a friend who we could stay with further down the road in the town of Vize, and put us in touch, which marked the beginning of a trend of amazing hospitality and kindness from the Turks.
Our ride east towards Istanbul began with grey skies, which quickly deteriorated into a downpour of rain. The road however was fairly cyclist friendly, with wide shoulders and lots of small towns to stop and pick up supplies; however, the hills persisted throughout our trek east. When we arrived to Vize we were drenched, cold and a little disoriented. We managed to find a small teashop in a park, where we were given a nice hot cup of tea.
As a side note, Turkish tea is prepared and served in a way I have not seen before. For starters the tea pots/kettles are not one pot where you put the tea and then pour it out. Instead it is a set of 2 pots, one smaller than the other. The small pot holds a highly concentrated tea, which sits above the larger pot that holds hot water. The pots are set on a stove, which is constantly being heated, for fresh hot tea when you want it. (It’s an elaborate and energy rich method.) To serve a cup of tea, a ‘lady shaped’ glass cup is placed on a saucer where you pour a quarter to half cup of tea (depending on your strength preference) followed by the water to dilute the solution. This is topped off with a teaspoon on the side of the saucer, and 2 sugar cubes (although we witnessed 3 or even 4 cubes being dropped into these thimble sized glasses) It is truly a ritual to prepare! Turkish Coffee might be the most well known outside of Turkey, but Çay is King here.
We were then met by our host in Vize, Serkan, a man who would set the tone for hospitality during our time in Turkey. Serkan is an amazingly active man with qualifications in mountaineering, scuba diving, and survival training to name a few. He had recently been to Everest base camp and luckily for us was in town when we arrived. We were whisked off to Serkan’s apartment and made to feel completely at home. We had a chance to rest and recharge for a night. The next day we were brought to the Black Sea coast about an hour away for a meal at a traditional local restaurant. The rain had persisted and had knocked out the power in the fishing village, but everyone seemed unfazed as candles were brought out, and meals continued to be pumped out of the kitchen. Dinner was great and when it came time for the bill we had our first of what would be many battles to pay for dinner, which we would almost always loose. In some cases we were even laughed at when we would try to pay behind our hosts back. After dinner we were invited to tag along to a Turkish wedding! The event was very festive, and had quite the guest list. We arrived to a hall filled with people, perhaps reaching one hundred or so, with children running around, the dance floor in full swing, and the band splitting eardrums left right and centre, it was a blast.
The following day we were brought to a secluded and amazingly authentic breakfast restaurant tucked away off the main road. Located on an organic farm, the restaurant itself was a simple, large open space with picnic benches, a wood burning stove in the middle of the room that doubled as a toaster for your bread, shelves and shelves of jars filled with preserves and pickled food and farming relics on the walls and ceiling. It was dripping with authenticity and Claire and I both felt fortunate to have had the chance to be exposed to such a place. We later went for a walk on the ground where we were accompanied by a stray dog, picked some wild figs, met a shepherd and were given survival tips from Serkan.
This entire time we had no common language, just a few words of English and a few words of Turkish. However, Google translate not only got us by, but we had a great time laughing, making jokes and enjoying each other’s company during our entire stay.
We eventually needed to say goodbye, and had decided to skip the traffic heavy and very hilly ride into Istanbul. We had planned to take a train, which we had done some research into. However, we were quickly informed that the train line was closed for maintenance for some unknown reason. There was no information on this on the national rail carrier’s website, but it was just inherently ‘known’ by locals…. this would be a common occurrence in Turkey, and I suspect is something which will continue in frequency as we travel further east.
Instead we chose to take a coach into the big city. And what a great idea that was! We were a little concerned about the bicycles being an issue, however the bus driver was completely ‘laissez-faire’ about the situation and simply put our bikes into the luggage hold stood up, no fuss no problem. It was amazing. The bus journey was an interesting one. The coach was a large modern bus like you would find anywhere in the west, but for the first few kilometres it was being used like a city bus, stopping to drop people off or pick them up. The door was often left open while we were in motion, and exists and entrances were often made while the bus was on the move. It was a little hectic! However, at some point the doors shut and stayed shut, at this point the at seat service began. Now, we were both shocked at this point. We had bought a bus ticket for 17 lira and were now being asked if we want tea or coffee and given a snack. Whereas back home you can’t even get a bag of peanuts on a flight often without pulling out your credit card. Easy Jet could learn a thing or two! The ride in was a little manic, as driving in Turkey is more improvisational than organized and our bus driver spent a lot of time chatting on his mobile phone, which apparently is completely fine over here! Even the bus made some moves that forced us to grab onto our armrests a little tighter, we were glad we hadn’t cycled. Especially when we saw the size of Istanbul, it was huge, there was traffic everywhere, and as mentioned the drivers are crazy.
Istanbul was a shock to the system compared to our time in the countryside over the past few months. We had been to some cities while on the trip, but nothing on this scale, and with over 14 million residents combined with some poor town planning and urban development the contrast from the calm countryside could not have been greater. The first challenge of getting into the city was completed, we now needed to make our way to our host’s flat, which was another challenge all together. Cycling was out of the question, a cab was not possible logistically, and is also not budget friendly. So, with two fully loaded bikes, panniers and all we hopped onto the metro. To our great surprise we had no problems getting onto the metro with our bicycles, and it was also surprisingly cheap. A local gave us a hand sorting out an Istanbul Card and gave us the low down on how the transit system worked. As soon as we managed to get down a flight of stairs to the platform we were off! After a few transfers to different metro lines, and a lot of strange looks from passengers on the metro, we managed to get to where we thought was the right part of town. It turns out we were wrong, and had overshot our destination by one metro stop, the difference may not sound great but it turned out to be very tricky to get back. We only learned this by heading to the point where google maps had placed the home of our hosts, note to the reader don’t trust google maps, only to find a different university campus than the one we were looking for, we decided to stop, eat a banana and regroup. The area where we were cycling was the auto repair district of the city, and it was amazing, hundreds of small garages everywhere, half taken apart cars, seemingly no organization, utter and absolute chaos. (This was a common site in Turkey, a concentration of shops all selling the same type of things closely packed together.) Naturally the area was not at all cycle friendly, and to make matters worse the topography of the area was comprised of steep hills, to the point where even with brakes fully engaged our bicycles would still continue down some of the ‘streets’ we passed through. Climbs after short descents were often taken in a few stages to catch our breath and rest our burning legs. After having no luck finding wifi, and cycling in circles it seemed, we eventually asked for directions from some friendly shopkeepers. After some miming, and discussion we were understood and given directions to our destination.
With grumbling stomachs we decided to stop at the greasy spoon where we asked for directions in the heart of the auto district and were pleasantly surprised by our authentic blue collar lunch, for about a quid; beans, tzatziki, rice and unlimited bread. After lunch we sailed onto the highway and headed for our destination, a few tunnels, fly overs, wrong turns and stopping for directions we eventually ended up at our destination. We stayed with our hosts at a great location which was green and overlooked the massive suspension bridge connecting Europe to Asia. Our host was actually a Canadian who lives in Turkey, and was a great help for getting us oriented and teaching us about some local customs, standards and food. We made stuffed vine leaves, authentic Turkish style on our second night in the city.
Our time with a few kind hosts in Istanbul was amazing, but we soon migrated into the centre of the city. Some of our friends from England made the trek out to visit us for a few days, and we also had one night arranged to meet up with our fellow world cycling travellers, Thomas and Bryan. They also cycled from London to Istanbul around the same time as us and you can see their blog HERE. We had some time to kill before meeting our friends, so with a packed lunch in hand we managed to find a patch of grass (it’s rare in Istanbul it seems) and plopped ourselves down for a bite. However, as we were heading towards the park we heard an Irish voice call out to us. The owner of that voice was another cyclist, Adrian, who had peddled to Istanbul from the Emerald Isles solo! After a little while we realized – what better way to spend the evening than with not 4 but 5 touring cyclists together over some dinner and beers! We had a great evening exchanging tales from the road and discussing our plans ahead.
The following day our friends James, Roos and Stu from ol’ Blighty met us! Fresh faced and ready to see the city we headed out on a casual tour of the sights. Taking in the numerous fishermen on Galata Bridge, visiting the famous Blue Mosque and sampling delicious street food and other delights in the city.
We also ventured across the Bosphorus to Asia to visit an authentic Turkish bath that is off the tourist track and frequented by locals. The baths are segregated, so with genders split we headed in to the Hammam stripped down slapped on our standard issued towel/sheet and headed into the steam room. Now don’t be fooled by the name bath, a more apt description would be a bathing house. There is no grand pool or even small pools to have a soak. There is however a blazing hot sauna, heated marble floors and bathing stations (which consist of a hot and cold tap, a basin for the water, and a plastic bucket to douse yourself with). The last and most important other ‘feature’ of the bath is the burly Turks who give you a scrub down and a massage. We all opted to give the full experience a shot while at the baths, some more reluctantly than others, so in turn we were shepherded and contorted by the men armed with a luffa glove, and we were all given a good scrubbing and massage. At times I think we all felt a little confused or slightly uncomfortable but like many unfamiliar experiences the first time always carries with it a bit of a learning curve. It was a very authentic experience, and one that I am glad that we all had a chance to try out.
After more fun and frolics, and enjoying a beer or two together, as quick as our friends had arrived, they had left us! We were glad to have a chance to see some familiar faces and experience Istanbul with our friends.
By the time our friends had set sail it was definitely time for us to move on from Istanbul. To avoid cycling through the sprawling metropolis and around the dense and traffic-heavy area east of the city we opted to hop onto a ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Bandurma. Istanbul was a great break, and we feel lucky that we had a chance to meet up with so many friends, but getting back to the countryside was certainly a welcome change, it was nice to be out of the city and back on the road.
Cycling along the coast south of the sea of Marmara was not particularly spectacular apart from the unbelievable tail wind which we had for a few days. We easily picked up between 5-10 km/h from the wind and felt pretty guilty when we stopped to talk with cyclists heading in the other direction.
Once on the west coast of Turkey we lost the tailwind, but the scenery was truly amazing. Off the main highway the landscape was wild, with tough shrubs on rocky hilly terrain. We passed kilometres of olive groves that stretched as far as the eye could see. Cotton was another popular crop along the road, and seeing it harvested was great, as it looked as though a vacuum had passed over one section of a field and had picked up all the white fluff in a tidy little line. We also passed sea salt pools where mounds of salt had been claimed from the sea, clementine groves, and more pomegranates than you could shake a stick at!
The wild camping along this stretch was some of the most picturesque on the trip so far, and hard to turn up. However, we did have a few nights of random hospitality where we were fed till we could take no more and once again humbled by the kindness of strangers.
The west coast proved to be a tough, but rewarding riding, with spectacular views over the Mediterranean and riddled with ancient ruins.
With a family visit on the horizon, we needed to make some tracks further south to Turkey’s 3rd largest city, Izmir. We dashed south on the highway as far as Aliağa where we had been tipped off to the local train that runs into Izmir, called the Izbahn! One of our hosts had put is in touch with a family member so we had a place to crash in Izmir, we arrived early to Aliağa to have some time in the city. Everything was going great until we got to the Izbahn station. We bought a ticket and chatted with the staff who informed us that bicycles are not permitted between 11 am and 8pm, and it was 11:40am when we were told this. Shocked at the situation, we protested but to no avail. For the first time, we had been foiled by some stringent rules in Turkey. A place that for the last few weeks we had been amused and often amazed at the lax attitudes towards, by western standards at least, the rules of the road, queuing, general organization and any other normal rules. Not the case on the Izbahn. We had an unscheduled 8-hour layover at a metro station. To add insult to injury after waiting for 8 hours the security guards tried to prevent us from using the elevators to access the platform, as it was part of their policy for bicycles to not be placed in the lift. We almost lost it completely, our bikes weigh around 50kg each and despite not seeming to care about this fact, I think they sensed our rising tempers as they let us onto the lift.
Cycling at night in Izmir was bit of an adventure, but went surprisingly smoothly. After dodging traffic, and climbing some serious inclines, we had a warm welcome from our lovely hosts in Izmir, enjoyed a great home cooked meal and some rest. We were graciously offered a place to leave our bikes, as we set aside our steeds for a few days while we had a visit with my mother and sister.
We greeted my family at the airport with open arms and smiling faces, it was a great reunion. The next few days were spent driving to Pammukale, Ephesus and Izmir on what felt like the tourist conveyor belt! Claire and I were a little car sick for the first days, and were constantly chuckling about how quickly the road seemed to move in the car. It was a great chance for us to go to some sites that we would have otherwise had to pass up due to time and distance constraints.
Pamukkale was our first stop and was a truly amazing place, unlike any other that I have visited before. Tiered water pools formed from calcium carbonate from a natural hot spring cascade down the face of a hillside. Translated into English Pamukkale means Cotton Castle, and is a fitting title. There were hundreds of tourists, even at low season, but it was worth it. As a crazy coincidence who should we bump into at this beautiful place, but our cycling touring buddies from back home, Tommy and Brian! Above Pamukkale is the ancient ruins of Hierapolis, which had the most magnificent amphitheatre we came across on the whole trip.
Ephesus is another major site in the area, and is also spectacular and awe inspiring. If you thought Greece was the best place to see ancient Greek ruins, you were wrong. This ancient city is huge, remarkably well preserved, and truly incredible; well worth waging war with the coaches full of tourists.
The end of our holiday from our adventure was spent in Izmir, exploring the city, taking in the architecture and sites. It was surprising how quickly the time went by, but we were happy to be pampered for a few days with luxuries such as beds, showers and food not from our little cooking pot. I’m really glad that we could share part of our journey with some of my family, even if it was for a few days! Seeing the ladies off at the airport marked the end of one chapter of our time in Turkey.
There are loads more photos on our flickr page of our time in Turkey – which you can see HERE
We will pick up the tale here in the next blog – Part 2 of Turkey as we head East, away from the coast.
Hey there, we (my wife and I on tandem) crossed paths with you somewhere southeast of Istanbul as you enjoyed your tailwind and we battled the awful winds.
It was great reading about your time in Turkey. Such a great place. I see that you are now in Azerbaijan, and I’d be curious to know the route you took across the country. Also, what are your future route plans? Continuing overland or flying over the middle east?
We’ve been cycling in India for the past week or so (it is the wildest craziest most out of this world experience) and it has been great. Busy and trafficy and often bad roads, but great. If you’re going to be in India or SE Asia at any point in the future we’d love to try and meet up.
Enjoy the road,
Clayton
thetouringtandem.com
Hey Clayton,
Thanks so much for getting in touch. We are actually figuring out our next step right now while we take a small break in Azerbaijan. We are possibly flying into India around christmas, or cycling through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and then flying to India. We are looking forward to it, but have heard it is madness! Can’t wait. We will be in touch, and maybe we will cross paths once again!
Hope you guys are doing well! Safe cycling,
André
Hi Andre, wow you have nearly made it and sounds like you are having great fun on the way. A career in travel writing if you don’t fancy getting back to engineering? Both your blogs/diaries make a great read.
It’s been busy at work over the last and people are still still playing with trains. F3 Christmas party tonight, wahay.
Will continue to follow progress. Best
Adrian
Hey Adrian,
Thanks for the message, great to hear from you! Glad that you are keeping things on track in the office (there’s a pun in there somewhere), and I hope that you have a new eager whippersnapper to keep busy with projects.
Hope you guys are going somewhere a little warmer this year for the christmas party, probably likely as Grace isn’t there to make another daft decision on behalf of F3.
Happy Christmas from the desert in UAE!
All the best,
André
Hi Andre and Claire,
I am a member of Nancy’s Toastmaster club and we’ve heard much about your adventures from her speeches. I look forward to reading more about your journey and even seek some advice for future adventures on how you went about such an undertaking. From getting this awesome website to getting sponsors on board.
You two are crazy and your journey is inspiring! I want to do this, just not on a bicycle but on my motocycle.
I am currently working on our club newsletter, and I’d like your permissions to use some photos for an article Nancy submitted. You can contact me at my email or facebook.
Cheers,
Be safe and enjoy the journey 🙂
Jack
Hey Jack! Your journey sounds amazing, we often envy the motorcyclists on the road, especially on the big hills! You certainly can use some of out photos for the newsletter! Let me know if i can pass on any more info or pictures, if i am able to help out i will. Thanks for your comment, hope to hear from you when you start your trip!