During our first stay in Tbilisi we would have liked to organize the visa for Iran. Unfortunately, the required reference letter did not arrive in time, so we left for northwestern Georgia without having achieved anything.
The first changes were already evident at the border crossing. The Turkish border post, officially open 24 hours a day, was manned when we arrived at 8 am, but no one was allowed to cross before 9 am. Finally, at 9:30 am, we could queue for the passport control at the counter 🙂 The apparently uncoordinated large construction site at the Turkish border post as well as the chaotically piloted Iranian trucks made the waiting highly amusing. In contrast, the entry to Georgia was straightforward. Within a few minutes we were processed by the border guard under a probing look and without any words.
The demanding journey to Istanbul was well worth the effort. We spent five days in this fascinating metropolis on the Bosporus. On foot, by metro, streetcar, bus, ship and gondola we explored the city.
As so often, we adjusted our itinerary from Novi Pazar to the weather prospects. Because the weather in the mountains remained cloudy for a longer time and the nice weather approached from the west, we decided to make an additional loop over the Uvac Canyon.
During our stay in Novi Pazar we spotted a new trekking idea in the Bulgarian Rila Mountains. The planned route takes three days from Borovets to the Rila Lakes and because of the altitude of 2200 to 2900m stable weather is a must!
