TÜRKİYE'YE HOŞGELDİNİZ!

Then ultimately – as the morning dawn is disappearing – we enter Turkey, our first official country partly belonging to tantalizing Asia.

We feel a little as orphaned cyclers as we are forced to take the highway between Ipsala and Tekirdağ, as there is less other option if we don’t make enormous detours. Luckily it’s not too busy and we enjoy our first adventures with the Turkish language at the different petrol stations.

Although taking the highway is surely not the most sociable way to learn to know Turkey, we meet already the Turkish hospitality the same evening when we are welcomed by our Warmshowers host Aysel.She is an English teacher and an astonishing open-minded person – we feel directly at home with her the first evening. The following days we will learn that her English is quite outstanding compared to other Turkish people we meet. Even in Istanbul it’s not always easy to find someone who speaks understandable English – although I’m quite sure their English is much better than our Turkish. Next goal: learning some basic Turkish! Where is our good memory? We just can’t manage to remember the words – I admit I really can’t blame the Turkish people for their English 😊.

Nevertheless, Aysel supposes this level of English is due to the rather passive way of teaching languages; with emphasis on grammar rather than interaction and without the teacher speaking continuously during the English classes.

She’s worried about the enormous inflation Turkey is facing and the expanding poverty that comes along.

We hug her and her cute doggie a goodbye after a fantastic breakfast of eggs, avocado and nuts with toast.

The road is getting quickly busier as we’re getting closer to Istanbul.

We decide to take the bus in Tekirdag for the last 120 kms – as we don’t really see the point in cycling smoggy, noisy motorways.

That night in Tekirdag, we ask for accommodation in an ögretmenevi, state-run guesthouses originally set up for teachers but free to other persons as well. Three other travelers who had been cycling in Turkey advised us this as an affordable option on the road. A friendly young Turk at the bus station helps us to call the ögretmenevi to ensure about availability and price. 30 minutes later, the receptionist seems surprised by our appearance and gazes at our hands.

We are quite dumbfounded when she asks for our marriage papers. We feel the more aghast when she immediately responds that there is no room free after hearing that we don’t possess any marriage papers. Are this real strict state-imposed rules or just bad luck? Or just the filthy looking biker’s that startled this neat receptionist?

Interesting finding, but not to be generalized, we will see how things are managed in another ögretmenevi.

Either I conquer Istanbul or Istanbul conquers me”, said Atatürk before taking the city.

Istanbul leaves many people speechless, but I can’t think of a city better imposed to be named the bridge between East and West. Each hill (oh yes, Istanbul is quite hilly for cycling!) has its own characteristics – little cities in a huge metropole.

Every fiber of this town contrasts and blends at the same time: traffic noise and mosque serenity, poor and rich neighborhoods, ultra-modern metro and ferry system, little fragile fishing baby boats overwhelmed by big ferries, traditional Turkish dancing by youngsters wearing baggy clothing,…

It’s a city of a thousand impressions – and it’s not easy not to overload your senses. Even at night the voice of the Muezzin, calling for the morning prayer, resonates from thousands of city mosques and might influence your deepest dreams.

In this human anthill, it’s a God’s gift to find locals who are keen to help you and host you.

On our first day Ekrem takes care of us, a civil engineer and keen cycler who has been working at different places over the African and Asian continent. We meet him at his working place, where he tries to combine his engineering experience with the outstanding mural art paintings of a friend to create a marvelous exposition space (more to find on mosulmuralpainting @instagram).

We sleep with Ekrem's cozy family living at the Asian side (oh yes, now we are officially in Asia!). Although we can’t communicate in English with Hande, his lovely wife, they offer us a Turkish breakfast (much appreciated after being woken up by a very cute but active playing kid at 5 am! Oops) prepared with great care.

Next day, we visit a very calm Bazar – away from the hustling and bustling of the big city it seems.

Afterwards, we go to the Grand Çamlıca mosque, the biggest mosque in Turkey, built on a hill looking out over Istanbul.

The day after, we dare to delve in the bustling streets in the hands of a thousand merchants Istanbul possesses. The spicy market is our place, as we can’t keep our eyes of the thousands sorts of tea (love tea, Ottoman tea, vitamin C tea, and of course… Viagra tea) and – as the name reveals – the millions of spices, next to thousands of sweets (baklava, Turkish delight, …).

I can’t catch my tea love for the enthusiastic vendors. The result? We try at least 6 teas – although I limit my buying cravings to one bag of apple tea.

We’ve been hosted now for 3 nights by an Australian biker who has been tied to Istanbul after meeting the Turkish love of his life on a cycling trip. A powerful personality which creates an atmosphere where we, together with 3 other cyclists, are (way too!) deeply philosophically talking until late at night about all kinds of topics. Intense philosophy in Istanbul? It just seems the right place and time!

Last but not least, we meet lovely Audrey and Eloy, two Dutch cyclists. Audrey also worked some time for ‘Geneeskunde voor het Volk’ in Deurne. We eagerly share cycling experiences and catch-up about the last 3 years beneath a sky ceiling made up of colourful umbrellas in the amable quarter of Karaköy.

The time has come once again to make up our minds; not our biggest talent though! What route are we going to take through Turkey? It seems much more unknown terrain we dive in.

In fact we’re still waiting for our Iranian border permit, but it might take 10 another days before we can pick this up here in Istanbul. Our cycling legs are getting a little fidgety though…