Mosques and Air Ballons
Turket and Cappadokia
First stop Derinkuyu , an ancient multi-level underground city near the modern town of Derinkuyu in Nevşehir Province. Has sheltered as many as 20,000 people together with their livestock and food stores. Derinkuyu is made up of 18 levels of tunnels that burrow more than 85 m underground.
Dont miss that if You vist this area
After this spectactular visit and exploring I headed for Konya where I stayed one night, needed to fix my bicycle, my front rim was broken. Then Antalya at Mediterranian Sea. Before I get there I was informed about an ongoing state coup. News on the radio and TV no matter where I stopped. Pretty scary!
In Antalya the cars honked all the time, crowds and protests. Despite all this, I did not feel threatened. Had a nice hotelroom and also some good evening dinners. The bad thing was that the beach was private to the hotel.
The rest of my Turkey journey until Istanbul wasen’t much to tell about. However, Istanbul and its atmosphere were something I appreciated. Nice hotelroom close to The New Mosque and later named New Valide Sultan Mosque. You can spend lots of time to explore this exciting town.
Istanbul is historic and vibrantand unique in that it combinates two continents: Europe and Asia, just separated by the Bosphorus Strait.
I found Istanbul worth to visit again which I did may 2017.
After this journey it was time for me to enter a train back home to my Pearl of High Coast, Örnsköldsvik. Took four nights and five days!!
See yeah later
P-G
//The Global Cyclist 1726
Turkey and Cappadokia became my last annual bicycle vacation journey before ”The Global Tour” Train all the way from Örnsköldsvik in the north of Sweden to Ankara. This train trip was like no other similar I did before.
From Istanbul a bustour to Ankara from where my Turkey journe began. My first negative experience was all the abandoned dogs, and they were not friendly, unlike most Turks. The Weather was hot, hot and more hot and the traffic was scary. Sometimes encountered cars driving in the wrong and oposit direction.
No problems with tent camping other then the heat. In Kayseri two nights at a almost emty hotel. Had also huge problem to find a bar, pub, restaurant serving beer… Turkey has Islam as its religion…therefore the probs. But I found one serving beer deep in a cellar whithou any windows. The special with Turkey is the combination of Europe and Middle East, but that is also a positiv trait.
I Continue to my main goal, Göreme and Cappadokia, about 70 km west from Kayseri. Now I cycled into a area I never seen live before. Eroded rock formations, many of which were hollowed out in the Middle Ages to create houses, churches and underground cities, looked more like a moon landscape. Everyone lives herea has income direct or indirect from tourism. My hotelroome wasen’t worth the name but cheap.
Day after very early in the morning, 4.30 a.m a cab picked me up for transport to a flight with AIR BALLON while the sun rising up…. 4000 meter up and I only mention ”What a view” Hole Göreme under and around me lots of other colorful airballons.
Göreme in the evening light was a divine sight, lights, candels all over and my dinner was also perfect. Then south towards Mediterranian Sea and Antalya, 600 km. Still sunny and hot weather so many stops for refilling my bottles and cooling down my self in a lake or river.