A full day

We managed to pack an awful lot in today. The hotel breakfast was unappetising as per the guidebook and we headed out to see the Selimiye Cammii a mosque in which the architect achieved his life's dream- to build one ever so slightly bigger than the Aya Sofya in Istanbul. I got us rather lost on the way but Alex sorted us out and we arrived at an impressively large building with integrated bazar. Unlike the other tourist couple in there, (taking pictures of each other) I respected the request for no photography but it was really hard- the place is wonderfully decorated- not tiles or frescos but bold block colours and painted floral boarders and stripy blocks of colour contrasting with a stark white background. There is also a stunning series of four or five circles of lights hanging at about 11 foot from the floor surrounding a wonderfully carved and painted platform above the ceremonial fountain. Hard to describe- you'll have to go there and the trip will be very worth while. The pictures are of the outside decorations and it seems I have none of Bulgaria so today's ones are all of the mosque and an example of the fantastically decorative pavements all over this town- all done in different ways.

I thought about using up the rest of the money on Turkish delight but we already had some so we used it for petrol on the way to the Serbian border. The Turkish side was fine but the Bulgarian side said we needed country specific insurance. The on site insurance booth was closed and the guards said it would be 70, no 150 Euros but we could give them a 'present' instead. Alex came back to the car and we made a show of looking in all our nooks and crannies for money while we discussed what we'd be willing to pay or whether we'd go back to Turkey and go to Greece instead. Just as we'd decided on ten British pounds they called him back over to talk again and this time the subject of Turkish insurance, that we had, came up and they decided that actually this was fine and waved us through- I think they just got cold feet. It was a disappointing re introduction to Europe- I had surprised myself with an unexpected feeling of returning to the fold as we had spied the European flags at the boarder, this experience dispelled it.

We pressed on for the ski resort of Bansko. Most of the route was on a fast road with little view. We chatted just as we were finally due to turn off it and missed the turn but sat. nav. instead took us by a series of much more interesting smaller roads as a consequence and we were please to see a bit more of real Bulgaria and it's people- older ladies in head scarves, run down looking villages, hay and corn leaves stacks, chickens, donkeys and winter wood stores. As we got closer to our destination we were disappointed by the lack of snow but we had specifically chosen this destination for being an attractive town, even if we couldn't ski.

We checked out the slopes first- they were open- folk were just coming down- it appeared to have a telecabin up to the main area which usually has runs all the way back to Bansko but with current snow conditions there were only a few of the high runs open. We then looked for a hotel- the recommended ones were closed- whether the ski season hadn't properly begun or whether they were just for the summer season we weren't sure but we took pot luck on a random one and struck lucky. It is a really nice place- Hotel Sv.Georgi Pobedonosetz, nice rooms, delicious and varied breakfasts, sauna, massage to order and they even let us park the car in their courtyard- all for £25 a night- if you're planning a holiday in Bansko, book there.

We wandered back into town to find a restaurant and naively we went into one looking all traditional with nice wood work just off the main square. It was delicious food and the prices were up front on the menu so we didn't get a nasty surprise or anything but it was medium British prices-hugely expensive for Bulgaria. By the time we had the menus we were too tired to care so didn't mind and it was great food and we did get a very good live clarinettist serenading us!

Leaving Asia

Before even breakfast we headed on up to the ski area- up about 25km of fairly icy roads. We were disappointed when we got there to find none of the lifts running and only one car ouside of eash of the huge hotels. There were people about so we asked and, through gestures, understood that there was not enough snow so the resort wasn't open. It was true that it was less than a foot deep by the road and seemed to be melting to slush so we had a picnic breakfast and started off towards the boarder, about six hours away. I didn't mind too much- less time skiing here means more time skiing in Bulgaria. We had already decided to bypass Istanbul. I have hread so many good things about it that I felt we could not begin to do it justice in the day and a half we could dedicate to it so I intend to fly there sometime to explore it more fully- anyone fancy joining me, maybe next autumn? It sounds like a city best explored without the hinderance of a car. It's interesting that I now view a trip to Istanbul as one to explore the cultures and peculiarities of that city, not of Turkey, as I once would have. I suspect is far removed from all that I now associate with the ever changing landscape and peoples of Turkey that I would barely recognise it as the same country. I spent the rest of the motorway journey typing up blog- it was great to re visit the early days of Iran, I was amazed how much I remembered, even without the propting of my notes. I've got to typo and spell check them so they won't get online tonight but they are coming. I have however filled in most of the wee gap before the Iran boarder. Alex remarked as we went over the Bosphorous that we had now left Asia, which seemed a shame. There is so much more of it we haven't seen. The write up about accomodation in the Turkish boarder town of Edirne was dispiriting so we headed instead to a campsite... which was shut. We looked around for some other ones to no avail so headed into town anyway. We headed for the chepest place in the book as they were all quite expensive but ended up parking opposite another one. The parking warden managed to get accross that if we weren't staying in the hotel opposite there was an hourly charge so we took a look around it. It looked fine but expensive, however, on saying we were going to checkk out other hotels the price was dropped twice to a reasonable one so we took it. I checked the guidebook and it is in here after all- at the first price although it says the free breakfasts are something to be feared! We shall head out shorly to a resturant for some of the local delicacy- deep fried calfs liver with toato, onion and hot chilli garnish...

The benefit of a good night's sleep

Today has been a much better day. Alex seems to be much better and can get out a good few sentences withough coughing- it makes me realise how much the effective lack of company has reduced my enjoyment of our experiances. We met the other travellers in the morning and had a nice chat- the woman is taking her two pre school kids on a tour of Europe, Turkey and Iran for a year in the campavan while her husband flies out to meet them occasionally and travels with them for a number of weeks at a time. I didn't fancy that at all- it's isolating enough travelling with one other adult when you don't speek the languge of the country but I to always have the solo care of two children when he is not with them would be so restrictive. We drove back over to the Hittie site and were happy to find they encouraged you to drive around within the 6km perimiter, getting out at various points to walk around remains of temples, gateways and a castle. Perfect for Alex's lower than normal stamina. I took much of the time to re wrap the chair so that we could store it in the car. This kept us both happy and I was happy to have that sorted and not to get another overdose of 'rocks'. Alex showed me the highlights quickly after he had explored the lot. I got just the right dose- it is an impressively enormous site and a suprising amount seems to have remained intact. The buildings had lower walls of stone with mud and timer walls and roof above and much of the stonework is still there as well as extensive areas of city walls and numerous gateways. As with the Greek remains I was most facinated by the way the odd shaped blocks were carved to fit it's neighbours exactly. We pressed on on uncrowded and speedy roads around the Ankara ringroad and on to the Bolu ski resot, happy to see the rolling hills and towns stream past our window in the sunshine. Northern Turkey has seemed a lot more western than I remember the south being but I'm not sure if it's just in comparison to Iran. It's definately less exotic than Iran- as are we- superstar status no more! Later it began to pour with rain, (the first snce Esfahan?) which gave me hope it was falling thickly as snow up on the ski slopes. The nearest town of Bolu was very western and all the hotel options we could find were £42 and upwards. Since £28 was splashing out for us we found somewhere to have dinner then drove out towards the ski resort where there were thickly forested foothills in which to spen a cosy night in the car.

Muh

Today was a completely disatisfying day although I did at least finally get my Iranin postcards posted. We were both grumpy- for my part the late night was probebly contributairy and for Alex's part I don't think he realised how serious I was about buying a chair and wasn't impressed about either loosing visability if it was stored inside or the reduced petrol efficiency plus security issues if it was stored on the roof. With his early night and my late one we also hadn't properly discussed our route from here and we had to decide as we drove through the busy streets which road to take out of town. Alex's origional plan had been to follow the wiggly, small coast roads, passing through pretty if un note worthy villages and get as far around as we can. The previous day I had read up on all this would involve missing in the interior- princibly some extensive Hittite ruins- as I felt we had no sight seeing on our agenda for northern Turkey and that this would be a wasted opportunity. The roads here also looked a lot faster. In the end, having to decide fast, we choose the interior route although I think we both felt we'd made the wrong decision later on. The rock tombs in the very pretty and touristy town of Amasya were not that exciting, although the town it's self was quite attractive with well maintained and restored Ottoman buildings. Alex found the steep walk up to the tombs incredibly tiring which he found frustrating. I got excited when we were handed a leaflet for hot springs that were on our route but they appeared to be badly signed and we missed them. My still aching limbs slumped in disappointment. When we finally got to the Hattusa ruins there was only an hour of daylight left and we agreed that we'd rather spend the time looking for somewhere to sleep rather than have to rush around the site and then be faced with looking for a spot after dark. We spent the whole hour driving around roads and tracks all over the area and saw some lovely views but found nowhere quite satisfactory. In the end we headed back to Hittusa and took a spot at one of the out of town hotels that also offered camping space. It was out of season- the hotel was shut up and they warned us that there was no hot water but it seemed the easiest prospect by now. We were also intreiged to see a campavan there with British plates and hoped for some company at the very least plus the resturant was apparently open. No such luck- the others had young children and appeard to all go to bed at 5pm and the resturant was uninvitingly open ONLY for the possibiliy of us eating there-I hate being the only customer and Alex is still prefering to survive on cup a soups. I made a soup with slightly more body than that and we hung out in the car all night reading our seperate books as Alex still decends into a fit of coughing whenever he speaks. A dispiriting day.

Hitting the Juice!

Fruit juice that is- there is alcohol in Turkey but tonight I went out to one of the more more common alcohol free cafe venues. Poor Alex is still in recovery so I forced myself to go out out the town by myself tonight- it's Friday night after all! I got a couple of recommendations from the hotel staff of where to hear live acoustic music and, with some help from friendly folk, found my way to one of them. I've have had a very enjoyable, if loud, evening- the only spare seat was fairly close to a speaker so I improvised earplugs fairly early on. The performers were really good and it was very laid back- just what I was after. There was a birthday group next to me, (late 40s I'd say) and it was so laid back that the musicians even accompanied a few different individuals from this group so they could serenade the birthday lady with unexpected talent. The group all sang well- on one song the singer left the group to sing the whole song as they were doing it so well, they danced for some of the songs too. A great evening after waking up grumpy, stiff and aching from yesterday's exercise and cold this morning. Poor Alex got quite sick of me moaning today I'm sure- I've been whining for a sauna or hot springs and a massage all day- the shower here at the hotel in Samson barely counts but an evening of music and the warmer climate here, (14 degrees C as I walked back late tonight) helped. The rest of the day was spent in getting here via fuel, grocery shopping and lunch stops along the Black Sea coastline. It's a shame about the prevailing litter on the beaches and pollution hotspots as it really is a lovely coastline. Unusually we arrived here in enough time to look around the shops in Samson tonight before they shut and I bought a Turkish style chair that I had been looking out for. I tried one in Edinburgh and it was immensely comfy- but not £200 comfy. This one here was a steal at only £35 and I got them to wrap it well so it can spend at least some of the time on the roof rack-sorry Anna, only room for one, I know you wanted one too! Every day Alex gets better- he's just left with a persistent cough and low appetite now that leaves him tired and I think in a day or two he'll be just fine.

Snow

We next day we discussed long and hard whether to go on or not- the wather didn't look bad, Alex insisted he was feeling much better and we managed to get the snow chains on so we went for it. I think I'm still glad we did although my unfit body would still hold that to question. We got through the previous drift easily- Alex had waked on a way last night and said that there was nothing that bad after that he could see. Another bend or two from where he'd walked to and we ran into another drift- you've got to run at them hard to have a good chance of getting through but this also means that we managed to beach the poor TLC good and proper in snow that went over the running board so. There was so much snow under the body that the wheels were suspended too far above the tarmac for even thr snowchains to take effect. The next half hour was fun- I enjoy digging and relished the exercise. The next hour after that I grsdually got bored and cold. It involved a lot of sitting on the ground in (previously) waterproof trousers so I could get right under the car, scraping and digging away at the snow, varying my position so different bits of my body took it in turns to go numb although there was nothing I could do to stop my my arms and shoulders getting tired. The las half hour was frankly a real pain in the neck. Alex did take turns but I mainly monopolised the job. In the end I had to clear ALL the snow from under the 5m long car plus a good way back on all the sides so that it didn't fall back under whenever the wheels were tried. We got out- there was never any question that we wouldn't just of how much damn snow we would have to clear. We had provisions, stove, heating, sleeping bags e.t.c., we'd be fine even if we had to dig back half the damn road but I'm glad to say it didn't come to that. With one chain (the other came off although whether due to breakage or inexperienced fitting we haven't yet checked), using both of the blessed waffle boards, my shovelling and Alex's skilled driving we were off back down the way we had come by early afternoon. The alternative valleys we passed through were snow free and very beautiful so we didn't feel too hard done by and we found an easy enough place to park up for the night but we knoew we'd have to press on the next day to make up for the lost time.

Extremes 12th-14th Dec 2011

The last four days have been two of draining inactivity followed by two with rather too much! Alex's temperature got a lot worse again over night and into the day but with the introduction of ibprofen he got it in hand enough to come down to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. We met an extraordinary charismatic Frenchman that was traveling, on foot through large patches of the world and had been doing so for 18 months. He had a brilliant way abut him that Alex can mimic brilliantly- so you'll have to wait to hear that, but he also INSISTED we try the Turkish pudding Sutlac, on him. It was extraordinarily good- a strange blend of custard and rice pudding. Other than that, the highlight of my day was starting to catch up on my blog and another visit to the cake shop for lunch and the supermarket for various supplies. We both slept a LOT better that night- Alex, more through pill management than good heath, didn't have a temperature and we slept so late I missed breakfast. Alex managed to leave the hotel and we went on a little drive up to the ski slopes- just 5 km away. It has been very frustrating for me that we had had a good dump of snow the day before we got here and fine sunny weather (all be it with a daily high of minus three degrees C) ever since. When we got to the slopes we didn't feel so bad about missing out- while there was a reasonable amount of lifts and pistes, only two of the lifts were running which limited things considerably. There was also a weird system of 30TL per day for each individual lift or 5TL per trip, (10TL=£3.50). Alex did offer that I could ski all afternoon, he wasn't up to it, but it get dark by 15.45 and by the time we'd lunched and I had got changed there wouldn't be much time left. I kept Alex out for lunch but then he crashed for the rest of the day. Sucked in by his lethargy and repelled by the challengingly icy streets I hung about the hotel room too playing computer games and reading. We looked at the maps and confirmed what we had feared- we were running low on time- if he was well enough we needed to move on the next day- no time was left to ski here and we'll have to have some long driving days over the next month in order to create time to ski elsewhere. Luckily, Alex was feeling up to driving the next day but we probably should have taken a slightly tamer route. We went on a small road over the mountains to the coast. Later on in the day. the road we were wanting was vaguely closed but having tried and conquered such roads before we accepted the challenge, keeping our eyes peeled for the reason, so eloquently described in Turkish on the signs. They appeared to translate that it had merely not been ploughed but we had snow tires, four wheel drive and snow chains in reserve. We sailed onward easily as we hit the first snow, a good way up this road. The area we were passing through was very weird- large numbers of separate dwellings built from whatever people could find spotted the hill side. Many looked like they had been improved over successive seasons, some had bricks and motor and most included a layer of thick blue plastic. Stoves, solar water tanks and even more frequently TV satellites gave the strange dwellings a greater air of permanence than their building materials as well as more than one properly built mosque. There were no foot prints in the snow to any of them. I have decided they must be seasonal homes- some for tourist purposes but most for summer grazing. Either way, this snowy ghost town was a strange environment to dive through. We quickly passed beyond the tire tracks of the few people that had tried this road and proceded, almost without any problems over the summit and some way beyond. We were distracted, studying the tracks of a large mammel as we drove, (maybe the linx we had seen pictured on a sign further back down the track?), whose prints had been leading us through the shallowest patches of snow on the road when bumph! We hit a slightly bigger drift and can't go forwards or backwards anymore. It wasn't too serious- I got out the shovel and it took a few tries but I cleared it sufficiently for us to reverse in the end and we went back to the ghost village, parking in the snow shadow of a mosque to camp for the night.

Return to land of Baclava

Hello, hello. After my long online absence I have returned to a country where sanctions no longer restrict my Internet usage- I think the cafe in Tabriz may have had a sneaky proxy. SO three weeks of the most fantastic adventures in Iran to catch up on which I will do gradually but for now we are back in Turkey. The boarder crossing was a real pain, such a shame after such an amazing time in Iran but boarders are known for people out to make a buck. Annoyingly we got a bent person 'helping' us with our carnet this time- we managed to persuade him that we only had £20 on us which he considered until he found that we hadn't done all the paperwork we should have and he'd have to do extra and refused to do it for so little. Thankfully at this point, we tried the number of the super super nice and English speaking customs official that had made our way in so easy and he, luckily, was working that day and came and took charge and did it all for free, quickly and easily. At the Turkish boarder customs got us to empty the car so they could xray it and while the re-packing took some time there was never any question of bribes so that was fine if a little tedious.

By the time we were across (3 hours later) is was still early, especially as we had gained 1.5 hours on the clock moving into Turkish time so we took a look around a ruined palace nearby which, while not thrilling, was ok. We dithered about where to go next- there is an interesting complex of ruined Armenian churches to the north but I felt a bit done with places near boarders, (even closed ones) and Alex was feeling less into camping as the cold he had caught from me was beginning to set in properly today. We ended up driving over 300km to Erzurum, a town we hope to ski from and the first one with hotels in the guidebook. Looking around a smaller town for the possibility of a hotel just didn't appeal but it turned out to be a very long treck. About quarter of the road had packed snow and ice on it so we couldn't go faster

than 50kmph. Just like the Van road on the way out, it was scattered with queues of trucks in places stopping to put on their chains: one we saw had gone right over the edge, only half the load end visible, sticking almost straight up into the air. Alex was AMAZING, he not only did all the dealings at the boarder but drove this huge long way in ice and snow and dark and all while getting iller and iller. We found a nice hotel and then he crashed, having now developed a temperature. I dinned alone, bringing him back a take away and early this morning went through our kit, amazed to find neither of us had brought paracetamol. The hotel staff were really helpful at 7.30am, despite no common language, calling around to find a pharmacy open on a Sunday morning. One they sent me to was shut but had a helpful poster of open ones and they helped me get a taxi there. I'm glad to say the pills hit the spot and Alex now feels a lot better having spent the day in bed and will probably even ski tomorrow. I went and explored the town and it's cake shops. Not that exciting although some attractive Ottoman mosques and citadel, (and tasty cakes) and I got taken to tea by a nice, genuine old guy that runs hiking tours for foreigners.

Insight into Turkish Driving

The previous night the stove had been giving me problems and when Alex checked in the morning he concluded that a part which occasioally needs replacing due to a build up of grime had reached the end of it's life. Our first priority therefore was to get a new stove. This we achived quickly and easily, (with ALex's excellent mastery of charades), in a pleasant small town. We've ended up with a small gas bottle with a ring attachment which is rather larger than we'd like but a lot easier to use and more stable than our petrol one. We got some other bits and pieces includig tasty savory bites and proceded to try and leave the town. We to hit a big and complex snarl of traffic- mainly the minibusses they use as busses here. We experiened a fair bit of frustration with everyone's need to direct the stupid foreigners, making something as simple as turning complicated as they felt the need to direct our every turn of the wheel with hand signals that are different to British ones. It was an interesting insight into the TUrkish driving mentality. Once we were out the landscape continued to captivate me- undulating plains, deep river gorges, rolling hills. We stopped for gearbox oil and Alex got another set of guys admiriing his car- absolutely every where we go 'boys' of every age come over to admire it. A couple of older guys asked for a hitch as we were leaving the garage but when they opened the backdoor to find a platform rather than seats they indicated thay'd rather wait for the bus! We moved on up into the snowline- everytime the car gets a bit cleaner from a rainstorm we seem to end up wading through mud or mucky slush shortly after. We picnied by a mosque and three middle aged guys asked if we could give them a lift. The most bombastic of the three experimented with trying to squeeze into the front seat with me but I decided to give it up and crawl into the back with the other two, much to his disappointment! One of the guys in the back was very quiet, one spoke a tiny bit of English and greatly enjoyed leaning more from the phrase section of the guide book and teaching us some Turkish. The fun, cheakey guy in the front was intent on teaching Alex to drive the proper Turkish way. It was a huge further insight into the minds of Turkish drivers for example if you slow down for anything like roadworks or turning unexpectedly you shoulod put on your hazards and when you go past any one or they are not going fast enough or if you just like their car you should hoot. We had just discoverd today that the horn was only working intermittantly which the Turk deeply disapproved of. Just before they joined us we had got a text that our house sitter had locked himself out. Luckily Alex rememered that our landlord would have the key and then with all the hullabaloo of these guys it slipped our mind completely. We were relieved, when we remembered later that is had all gone ok despite us missing a double checking call from the landlord. We dropped the guys off along the north side of Lake Van and found a place to park up for the night shortly after. The lake was incredibly beautiful but there was snow lying thickly on the ground and my heart went out to those caught at the heart of the recent earthquakes the other side of the huge lake now shivering in tents whether their houses were still standing or not. It was generally felt you were safer outdoors just now. It was all the more heart breaking to read about the emerging and busy tourist industry Van had recently created for it's self iin the guide book. I realise I've left out the pre boarder part of the next day so will fill that in soon

Monument to self doubt, (not mine!)

We were touched the next morning to find that the meal we had recieved was gratus and headed off to the post office, banfk and bread shops much cheered by the hospitable people. The post office took quite sometime because not only did I have a dozen postcards with slightly too limited space for the stamps but also Aaron's parcel. The guy that delt with stamps also seemed to be remarakbly busy- required to sign dozens of chits for various other people before he could deal with the complication of stamps for England. He took the letters onto his desk then gestured for me to rest in one of the many seats. I ended uptexting Alex to suggest he went on ahead to the shops rather than waiting in the car for me and when they brought me a glass of tea I know I had made the right decision! When thay got around to me there was some confusion and another customer thankfully came to my rescue with some excellent translation. It still took a long time and I was very appreciative of the guy who lived in Austria but has family in Turkey for hanging about with me for so long. Outside he absolutely refused my profered bar of tasty Greek chocolate in thanks but strongly suggestest I learn some basic Turkish pleasantries to get by and I felt justifiably repremanded. Finally we got on the road up to these ruins. It is the tomb of Antiochus I Epiphanes, founder of the Commangene Kingdom in around 40BC. It is the highest artifical mound in the world, (60m) with large statues of the king himself alongside various gods and guardian animals on both the east and west sides of the mound and a sacraficial alter. As warned, it was pretty snowy when we got up there and a taxi driver wating for his sightseers about 3KM from the top pointed out how it was quite icy from here and warned us agsinst it. We pressed on a little way to a flatter bit and then got out and walked. We decided we probably could have made it up to the car park but it would have been a little challenging and we could do with the walk. It was hard work indeed and there was a bitter wind blowing but we were well equiped and pressed on. As the taxi driver had warned, the snow clouds closed in a bit but luckerly for us no more than a few flakes fell while we were up there. It was a weird place- what sort of personality would insist on building a huge monument to their ife in so lonly a spot loking out over mountains and demand people bring offerings all the way up to it once a year. It smacked to me of a huge and deeply rooted insecurity and a two year old's temper with much ranting and foot stamping. I found it hard to appreciate the creation for it's artistic value, so tied up with his disfuntional personality as it was but it was an experinece to see. We went back down the mountain and crossed a lake by ferry- trying not to stare at the typically Turkish baggy trousers one guy with a donkey was wearing. I'd seen these in the town yesterday and while they seemed a sensible garment in themselves- a skirt all the way down to the ankles at which point they become trousers- it seemed so odd to see people wearing them with smart shirt waistcoast and jacket. We felt incresinglt cautious about the area we next headed into- the guide book described it as a very poor area with high unemployment and many kurdish refugees. The biggest town, Diyarbakir has black basalt walls and that is said to reflect the 'dark hearts' of the people which didn't make us keen to leave a car parked outside a hotel over night so we found a quiet spot by a lake some way before it to camp. We decided the next day though that actually the area was fine and the people were as friendly as they had been anywhere.

The delight of Turkish Meze

We awoke to be able to view a beautiful sunrise over the lake out of the back window as we lay in our cosy bed. Shortly after we had got up a paraglider flew over our heads down to the lake shore, and then another. It was remenicant of the ballons in Cappadocia. We decided to take a wee drive down to the lake shore on our way out, just to take a look but met the 'gliders walking back up the very steep track, (four wheel drive only) with their parachutes in HUGE heavy looking rucksacs on ther back so decided to give them a lift up insteed. They were very greatful- I had forgotten just how long the track we came down last night was. When we took them up onto the small hill above where the track began we found that there were lots of people and cars all here to paraglide. The guys told us they were here every Sunday, (which was helpul as we had COMPLETELY lost track of wht day it was.

That done, we got back on the motorway and I spent an enjoyable few hours writing postcards and catching up on my blog. I also read the guidebook and decided that there was an unmissable recomendation for a resturant at Gaziantep which was basically on our way to the ruins at Nemrit Dagi we were headed towards. I had neglected to notice that it was a fairly big town which ment that it was difficult and chotic to navigate the traffic, people and one way systems and potentially traumatising to find a parking space. Before we had even found one however I was bubbling over with excitement seeing all the shops selling exoitc things and all of the hussle and bussle about the pace. I hadn't realised that this is what I'd been lacking from our, so far, mainly scenic tour of Turkey and I drank it all it. It was a little struggle to find the reccomended resturant on foot but this just ment that we passed more shop fronts and stores which suited me! Once we found it, it was rather more up maket than we expected but we brushed the mud off our clothes from yesterday's adventures and headed in. We ordered a kebab each, (kebabs are actually a delicious sausage served in a wide variety of ways rather than the 'donner' meat in a pitta which is what I usually think of) and a salad and a small Armenian

pizza thing each that was highly recomeneded. What came was dish after dish after dish that was all included in the price. In addition to what we had ordered were two more salads, a stack of large, fresh pittas, a round flat bread with sesame seeds on, baked aubergine pulp and our kebabs came with various trimmings as well. It was delicious, enormous but delicious and we managed it all. We could not however mange any baclava. Apparently this town was the home of baclava and this place rated as the best there was so we bought a mixed box to take away and indulge on out our leisure. We did however indulge in the complementay tea served after, I seem to be coping ok with tea which is great because I'd be in a very tricky situation politeness wise on a number of occasions. We had a great waiter who's English was pretty good- apparently he was the only one in here who spoke any English which shows what a refereshingly un touristy place this was. Reassured by this I looked on the shops with even more cultural excitement that these were shops for everyday people and that the mountains of spices, sticky sweats, metal work, marquetry boxes, jewellery and dried vegetables on strings were not just for show. We bought some tasty treats and some more realistic looking wedding rings than we had for our month in Iran. Back at the car Alex was feeling a ittle anxious abut how late it now was. We were hoping to get to a highly recomened wee pension in a small village just below Nemrit Dagi but we would be getting there nearly two hours after sunset. His reluctance to drive in the dark was perfectly demonstrated by encountering various hazards on the fast road we were on, the scariest of which was a tractor with no lights trundelling along on the slow lane, completey invisible to us until the last minute. We pulled over in the less recomended town of Kahta and headed to the not hightly recomended cheap place there. I found the place a lot more favourable than the review. The rooms were a bit basic I guess but it had a comfortable double bed, hating, hot water and as many blankets as we asked for. It wad rather chilly as most of the windows and doorways on the second floor were gaping holes, open to the elements- part of some serious refubushment that was underway. They insisted we come into the communal room where a stove was on and they were drinking tea, which they shared, and watch TV. There was a collection of around seven men there aged 30 to 60. They weren't guests but we never worked out if they were friends or family or a mix but it was all very compaionable. When they started setting a table on one side of the room they asked if we were hungry and we honestly said no, even Alex was planning to skip dinner after the huge lunch but then we realised that they had already served for us so went to join them anyway. Despite being so full, it was such tasty food that we manged to both eat a big plateful- bulgar wheat, a beany, meaty stew and various extras like bread, salad and other things. We really were stuffed after this and could do little more than slump on the sofas watching TV with the others and getting useful advice about routes to take and how snowy the road to the ruins may be. Later, when we were able to move again, we found that the showers were indeed hot and there was even wifi. A very pleasant eveing indeed.

Mud...

Today was a day of mud. It snowed in the night but we had stopped only been just below the snow line so weren't suprised and shared last nights washing up for the plessure of the warm water. With the snow fallen, the clouds and fog had cleared to leave us with awesomely beautiful views and throughout the whole day it just seemed to keep on getting even better. Every time I looked up the impressive sight took my breath away again, especially when other snowy mountains beyond the sunny plain below began to reveal themselves. We had managed to fall asleap at 8.30 last night so we were up by six with ease although we spent a lond time doing 'housekeeping' jobs to enable the ice to melt off both the inside and outside of the windows, (this was my passenger side window 'view'). Once ready we headed on up the track. It got snowier and snowier. Eventually we reached a steep uphill bit which we only just made it up and then it got more snowy so we stopped at an alternative track and we took a long walk up our origional one to choose which way to go. It got increasingly deep, drifting into static wave formations in places and we quickly decided that we would be going the other way but walked up to the crest to see what the track was like beyond this and see the view. I'm afraid, completely unfit as I currently am, I gave up about half way and left Alex to it- I was amazed at how tiring I was finding it and how stiff my legs were later, it wasn't that far. More exercise required I think. We started on the alternative route back that decended back into our original valley but chose a track of this that way a more exciting route. This turned out to be a bad idea. It was suddely very muddy again and then very steep. We decided to reverse the short way back again, and couldn't. It wasn't a cliff edge but it was a fairly steep and continuous hill down to the bottom of the valley on one side. I the end the 'waffle boards' came to the rescue, (apparently they aren't sand planks) and we got back up by me running around and wedging them under two of the wheels in the two places we were got truely stuck, Alex with his foot firmly on the foot brake to avoid decending again. We made a very good team, despite it being a bit hairy in places and me getting fair covered in the slippy mud. Glad of the adventure but a little crestfallen that we had been unable to crest these mountians via thi=e interesting route we headed back down and around to the motorway route. I suggested ALex come back with Thomas to these hills next summer as there were tonnes of tracks everywhere to sxplore but he point3d out that in the summer they would all be mud and snow free which wouldn't make them challenging at all! We didn't get too far along but we did enjoy more constantly stunning views and find a nice place to park up above the lake, (the result of a dammed river) just north of Adana. We took a half hearted very short walk down the track towards the lake in the moonlight but spotted the light from two cmpfires on the beach so decided not to disturb folk. We really MUST try and get a little fitter though... Appologies for typos, no time to check over today

Sleeping with th Faries

One month on the road today and we still seem to be getting on well! We awoke to find our crater looking more like the moon than ever, and chilly after our warm beaches. I pondered a walk around it but it was quite a long way and I' so unfit now. On reflection I should have taken the exercise but instead we packed up and got on the road to Cappadocia. Most of our route seemed to take us across more vast plains, punctuated by such isolated and steep hills that they have to be extinct volcanoes. One range of hillos we went through had snow on the tops and we decided to explore some of the tracks on it. It took us to small collections of huts in variable states of repair- it looked like shepherd accomodation for summer grazing to my eyes. One fork we went up was a snowey dead end and we found we had to turn on a slightly nail bitingly narrow bit. As we were in the process of this Alex noticed three figures on the tip of the crest above us looking down althought once we started our manovers they vanished. We came across them shortly after on our road down, they were heading down too, presumably to the car we had seen parked before the track got really bumpy. It was rather intimedating to come across them- there were two lads and a man and they all had big hunting rofles, I was very relived to see their reassuring smiles and waves as we passed but it made me think for a moment how vulnerable we could be.

The area of Cappadocia is world famous so full of coach loads of tourists so we went to the repotredly quieter Ihiara Valley- a river gorge with near vertical cliffs into which many churches have carved, some with multiple floors and columns, all with frescos. We were suprised to find it rather more controlled than when our guide was written with entry and exit ticket gates to the most built in section offeing a taxi collection the other end of the three km walk. Despite needing more exercise we are very time limited so instead drove to the other end and looked at a couple of churches outwith the barrier. They were small but impressive with detailsed and straight shapes carved out of the soft rock to create them. They had strategically cut windows to let in atmospheric light and perfectly cut alcoves and corners, all squared off.

We drove through the nearby village, (which had appealing cafes on floating platforms on the river for all the walkers) and over to the Goreme area where the majority of sight seeing is to be had. The towns around there all had vast numbers of houses, garges, churches and more carved into the rocks behind and around them. Many were abandoned but some were encoperated into the modern buldings and I even saw glass windows in some. We were looking for the 'fairy chimney' landforms- areas where the hard baslt capping the soft volcanic ash which protects it from weathering has been patchy and thus lots of pointy landforms have resulted. May of these also have dwellings carved into them. We found a whole valley full and a signposted 'panoramic' spot, with gift shos from which to view it. It was very impressive and I also thrilled a having a good old rummage in the numerous tourist stalls that had grown up in the area. I got Turkish folk and Turkish pop cds. We drove about and have managed to find a discrete little valley filled with these formations in which to park up for the night. The fully full moon shining on these weird landforms is an amazing sight and I'm tempted by a walk around but na small explore earlier showed there may be hidden holes so I think we're still best to wait for the full light of day.

Hot Showers!

Alex's birthday but not a present or whiff of a card in sight- for once, I wasn't that organised. We had a rather rapid awakening this morning too. Last night, not too late, a fisherman turned his van a little way down from us and ended up getting caught in the sinking soft sand of the retreating tide. We drove over and attempted to pull him out, (prepared with tow lines as we were) but there was just no shifting him, despite much digging and even utilising our sand planks, his front wheels were buried up to the axels. He called a friend for a tractor and two hours later, after we'd dropped off to sleep we were awoken to a knocking as he asked to borrow the tow rope again. We gladly lent it and agonised about going to help but we were sooooo warm and sleepy and the clutch was still smelling a bit from the previous bout. We didn't go in the end and were vaugely aware that they had abandoned the truck for the night sometime later. Hence, when we saw them return this morning with two tractors this time, we hoisted ourselves into action- throwing on clothes and stowing all the bedding and curtains in super quick time. By the time we got over, the bigger tractor had got the van out- it turns out last nights one was a weedy little thing with two wheel drive, no wander they'd had no luck although thay had managed to snap the tow rope. They had brought back a chain with them this morning. That being all well and good and we being up we decided, after a bite, to head straight off to Pemmukkale for the combined package of weird geology, more ruins (though we'd already agreed we were a bit 'ruined' out) and thermal baths sited among the ruins. It took a long time to get there, (Turkey really is big), by which point it was lunch so we ate, by which point the rest of the world had arrived too. It turned out that you had to pay once to get into the whole complex and more than that again to bathe in the pool. I just wanted a nice hot bath and Alex wasn't that bothered. We agreed that for the same money we'd prefer a night in a nice hotel with hot water so we pushed off again, unwashed. We headed towards a town, commended in the guide for it's calm tranquility and beauty, set beside a large lake. We drove through a landscape of bold rocky hills surrounding dry flat plains, the orange of the rocks, gold of the crops and blue of the sky contasting strikingly.

Egiddir was everything it promised. I felt like I was in a pastal drawing as we watched the sunset stretch out over the lakes in a perfect array of gentle colours. We found a wonderful room in a small, family run place where we had hot showers, they served us some of their own delicious dinner in our room, (far too cold for the beautiful terace with grape vine), gave us their wifi pasword, unasked, and supplied both an effective heater and an electric blanket against the wintery night. We are both newly converted top the joys of getting into a hot bed on a cold night- if anyone is looking for Christmas present ideas, this is the one! We spent the evening showering, eating dinner, surfing the net, perusing maps and guides, (so nice to have space and sufficient light to spread out the map), having a peramulation of the town and reading our own books. I had forgotten how good it was to be properly clean (five days since our last hot sower) so not such a bad birthday for Alex after all. As a bonous, we found out that the exchange rate ws significantly better than we thought so we could finally be a bit more indulgent with ourselves now.

Blurb to come

To reconstruct or not, that is the question?

After a pleasant wash in the sea we headed down to the advisably unmissable ruins at Efes. We kept an eye out for a bakery the whole time as Alex was out of bread. We found one about lunchtime so made our purchases and ended up picnicing in the car out front. The owner came out and gestured to us to indicate the tables around the side and a urn of tea set up that folk appeared to be helping themselves to. We thanked him and enjoyed our Turkish biscuits with an Alex approved cup of tea, (sans milk). I think the biscuits were made from rice flour. They were very nice, like good quality shortbread but with less sugar.

We made it to Efes about one thirty and only just made it around by the kicking out time at five. It is ENOURMOUS! It just went on and on. It was the Roman capital of Asia Minor so it makes sense but it's impressive how much of it there still is to see. The Archeologists have taken a very differernt tac to those of Delphi and reconstructed quite a lot of bits. After my critisism of the former it was interesting to see the alternative. I think many would cringe at the ham-fisted way the theatre has been done- lots of concrete and random pieces of remains stuck together again in roughly the right shape. On the other hand, the almost complete facia of the librairy, with statues and intricate frills and carvings all over it recreated in plaster, all attached to a new wall to support it, is what makes the site so well known and popular and the colums erected along each of the main streets make the layout and pomp of the place emerge. The height and floor space of the buildings is so much grander than anything I had seen before, this would have been an incredibly impressive city, even by today's standards. Photos of the excavations have been included on each information board, showing the state in which each area was found. I supose this is a nod to those that do not agree with the reconstruction. I have been left in two minds- there are strong arguments for and against such reconstruction but I suppose there is room is this world for both, indeed the site is so large that there is room on the site alone for both with extensive areas excavated and but now overgrown with vegetation. Were they anywhere else they would be treasured as significant finds but against the main streets they are less special so left to nature.

As with everywhere we'd been in Europe, there were many cats and kittens all over the site but, while I still bend down to stroke a few of the healthier looking specimines, I no longer go goey eyed at the sight of them and have begn to regard them in a similar way to pigions. There are so many things I forget to mention in the blog, despite the epic quantity of words I am already compelled to write, there are so many more things, especially those that, once I have been suprised by them the first time, and written about in great detail I gradually become de-sensitised to them and never even mention it when it next crops up. I wander how I will be writing after a month in Iran or on they way back?!

Alex rememberd an excellent beach spot he'd seen on the way to Efes and we have settled down in our own spot- sharing the extensive stretch with fishermen and families and friends out from town for a barbecue, all spread so far apart that I do not think they will even hear my fiddle which I will shortly play.