Fortunately, we have titled our posts on Anatolia unspectacular and never concluded with “… third and final part”. Now we continue just as unspectacular… 😊

In Kars, we took a lot of time to research the feasibility of our onward journey. Although a trip through Iran (according to the DFA) would still be possible, we liked the alternative we thought of in Georgia so much that we wanted to realize it… Our new plan is to cycle through Turkey back to the Mediterranean Sea, from there via Cyprus to Israel and through Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE to Oman. In spring we would like to continue cycling through Iran to Central Asia. Whether everything works out, we will see… in sha’Allah 😊

After a city tour and a visit to the cheese museum in Kars, we set course West. Because we had a lot of time before the next fixed date (= crossing from Cyprus to Haifa in mid-November), we chose the detour via Ankara. On the way, we visited the ruins of Hattuşaş, the capital of the Hittie Empire around 1700 BC.
Passing almost endless sugar beet fields (for drinking tea you need a lot of sugar!) we reached Ankara. In the Turkish capital we visited the impressive, huge Atatürk mausoleum (Anıtkabir) and enjoyed a few days of city life before we followed the migratory birds and headed south.

In Konya we gave our bikes another excellent service. After that we crossed without squeaking and clicking flat agricultural land with the excavation site Çatalhöyük as the only elevation. Çatalhöyük is a village from the Neolithic Age (9000-7500 B.C.), where 3500 to 8500 people settled for the first time in history. For the school classes who also visited the place, we were undoubtedly the more interesting attraction! 😊

The past three weeks were much more exciting and diverse than expected. We rode the long distances in 10km alternation for motivation reasons. In addition, the numerous breakdowns provided involuntary diversion. In the meantime, we were able to patch up flat tires with absolute confidence, even under the observation of many men. With David as operator and me as assistant, every move sits perfectly. 😊

The most beautiful experiences, on the return trip through Anatolia, were the encounters with the people. One morning we were sitting in a surprisingly cozy tea house with delicious pastries when a young couple brought us baklava. They had seen our bikes, read our blog and wanted to give us a treat. They had also paid for the rest of the bill. Another day, we stopped at a gas station for a toilet. When I walked out the door, David was sitting comfortably with the manager in the Ofis, waving a sinfully sweet (but perfect for cycling) Nescafé at me. After a nice chat, the manager handed us his business card so we could reach him at any time if we had any problems. Shortly before Ankara we put on our jackets at a mosque, when we were invited for tea in the warm “church coffee shop” and served a second breakfast. In another bakery, we drank tea, ate snacks and used the WiFi. Payment was also out of the question for these two nice guys. We can experience the great hospitality every day and are extremely happy about the many smiling faces, honking trucks and waving hands!

During almost three months in Turkey, we were able to improve our Turkish to such an extent that it is sometimes perceived as fluent 😉. People usually ask their questions in the same order, so we can guess the correct answers and answer with our 30 words of Turkish:

• Q: …? (Something incomprehensible)
  • A: İsviçre (although we often have to correct the similar İsveç;-))
• Q: …?
  • A: Ankara (or the next big city on the route)
• Q: …?
  • A: iki yüz gün (English: 200 days)
• Q: … kilometre …?
  • A: on üç bin kilometer (English: 13’000 kilometers)
• Q: … Türkiye …?
  • A: Türkiye çok güzel! (English: Turkey is very beautiful!)

Obligatory at the end of the conversation they check the tire pressure with their fingers 😊…

After it has become cold in recent weeks and the evening bottle shower at < 10 ° C in wind became a matter of overcoming, we are happy about the warmer temperatures on the Mediterranean. Also getting up from the cuddly warm sleeping bag should be easier for us at 15°C instead of 0°C now. At the moment we are sitting in a tea house in Taşucu, from where the overnight ferry will take us to Cyprus. We can explore Cyprus for almost two weeks before the journey continues to Israel.