A Journey between two Continents
Turkey is a unique country, located on two continents – Europe and Asia. It is a fascinating mix of a modern country, democratic and secular but also very traditional in some parts. The cultural heritage of the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Mongols and Ottomans of today`s Turkey have left interesting traces we want to explore with our motorbike.
Check out the video below
Arriving in Istanbul took a bit longer than expected because of the heavy traffic. Veysel, an awesome motorbiker invited us via couchsurfing to stay at his place. He greeted us from his window and went down to meet us. After sweating for hours in the slow-moving traffic of Istanbul we felt like in heaven when we entered the tastefully furnished flat and drank a cool drink together. In the evening he showed us around İstiklâl Caddesi, one of the most famous avenues in Istanbul and took us to a rooftop bar where we had a spectacular view over the beautiful old city center.
Great atmosphere in Istanbul at sunset
We visited the famous Galatatower, called Galata kulesi in Turkey. It was illuminated in different colors and looked amazing. After returning home we ordered some Turkish food and had lots of fun with Veysel and his friend, a motorcyclist who joined us later. On the next day the four of us went to a nice café for some delicious Turkish breakfast viewing the famous Bosphorus. The natural strait devides the European from the Asian part of the city and connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. As our friends had some other plans for the day, the two of us took off for some sightseeing in the old European part of the city. Apparently Istanbul is the only city worldwide spanning two continents. Another interesting fact is that “Turkey has more mosques per capita than any other country in the world.” (Hürriyet Daily News. March 5, 2013). We visited the Blue Mosque and the beautiful park full of palm trees of the Hagia Sophia. On the way we ate some baclava, a sticky sweet candy that tasted amazing. The day ended much too fast and on the way home we admired the nightly skyline glittering in the water of the Bosphorus.
Deciding to go to the beach we left southwards to Çeşme near Izmir and found a nice camping spot between pomegranate trees. We`ll remember the following day as one of the best from our journey so far because we met so many wonderful people in Turkey. In the morning after packing our tent a very small bike came around leaving a trail of dust and stopped at our sight.
Friendly invitation for tea
A guy with a red turban asked us if we wanted to have some tea with him. As he looked very friendly and we always liked to drink some tea in the morning we gladly accepted the invitation and rode behind him on the earthy road. The bike was heavily shaking under the unpaved and stony road as we followed him into the unknown. Where would he take us? On the way he stopped to pick up another guy and the four of us arrived at a small café. A few other men already sat there smoking and drinking tea. Everyone was really interested in the bike and our trip. We had a nice time sitting there trying to communicate. After exchanging many stories talking with our hands and drawing with an old pen in our tiny notebook Mehmet, the one who had invited us brought us back to the main street.
We continued our way towards Çeşme enjoying the nice scenery as a police car stopped us. The man told us that we`ve been a little too fast and we should pay 90 Euro converted from Turkish Lira. In our heads we already counted the amount of nights we could sleep in a nice place with that amount of money instead of paying a stupid penalty. It so happened that there was another car stopped by the police and the driver notices us being fined. We started talking and told them about our journey and how we mostly sleep in the tent to save money. At first they tried talking to the police to lower the price without success. Then they just gave us a bunch of money and told us to go to the bank with it.
Nice strangers pay our fine at police control
At first we didn`t really understand what was going on but then he told us he would pay the fine for us because he liked the idea of our trip. We were really stunned and didn`t know what to say so we just thanked him and left slowly realizing what had just happened. At that moment after the police had stopped us we had more money than before. It was a crazy feeling.
Soon afterwards we reached the beautiful seacoast and decided to drink some coffee in a nice restaurant to enjoy the picturesque view while surfing on the internet. After some time we got into a conversation with a friendly guy named Batıkan who invited us to stay at his place for the night. We accepted thankfully and wanted to pay for our coffee as the waiter told us that the guy had already done it before. Following his car we came to a nice house with a neat garden where his lovely wife Zeynep as well as two cute dogs greeted us. We happily agreed to their offer to go to the beach together.
Great time at Çeşme beach
The next few hours went away too fast for our liking as we were swimming in the glittering sea of a perfect sand beach with crystal clear water and enjoyed the company of our new friends. In the evening we grilled some fish in their garden and had a delicious dinner together.
On the following day we wanted to go to Chios by ferry but upon arrival they didn`t let us enter with the bike so we changed our plan and decided to visit Ephesos, an ancient Greek city. On our way on the highway another big motorcycle with high speed passed us. On the next gas station we saw the same Honda Varadero again with its driver. Originally from Tunisia, he was living in Switzerland and was on his way to Mekka in Saudi Arabia with his motorcycle. We told him our plan to visit Ephesos and he spontaneously decided to accompany us.
On the road with the “King”
Together we went on the highway where we experienced how fast a motorcycle could possibly go as he passed us from time to time to go zigzag and stopped abruptly a few times. Finally reaching Ephesos we exchanged contacts as he took our phone to write the name “King” over his number explaining to us that there are only two kinds of people in the world: kings and slaves. As he took a leave he predicted that we will read in the newspapers about him later. Sadly it became true as a few weeks later he sent us a message that he didn`t reach Mekka, because he had an accident. On our way back we met a friendly Spanish couple with a big travel motorcycle parked next to ours with the same Heidenau tires.
Our next destination was Pamukkale, literally “cotton castle” in Turkish, a hot spring with brilliantly white calcium-coated cliffs and pools. To avoid groups of tourists we decided to visit in the early morning. It was the right decision as we could enjoy the beautiful white terraces with glittering water nearly alone.
Enjoying beautiful Pamukkale
To find some traditional Turkish food wasn`t that easy as we thought. There were quite a few restaurants only serving Chinese dishes. Back at our motorcycle we were delighted to see the exact same Spanish motorcyclists from the day before.
Cappadocia with its unique rock formations, valleys and canyons it is a place everyone should visit when being in Turkey. We arrived around midnight in Göreme and pitched our tent on a hill with an amazing view over the city. Our sleep only lasted until three in the morning, because we had booked one of the famous air balloon flights over the region. Arriving on the meeting point a tiny bus took us to a hotel where already a group of mostly Asian tourist was waiting. After wild camping, we did not quite fit into the crowd of fancy hotel guests. Drinking a cup of coffee and eating some cookies lifted our spirits when another bus came and took us to the starting point of the air balloons. It was an impressive spectacle to watch the balloons being lightened up by fire. Soon after we entered the basket we got off into the still dark sky. Around us was the noise of hundreds of other hot air balloons in the air. The landscape with its characteristically fairy chimney rocks was spectacular, especially when the sun rose and the scenery was covered in the warm morning light.
Amazing hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia
A rough landing due to windy weather conditions was rewarded with a glass of champagne. Afterwards we hiked through one of the beautiful valleys and visited an old Christian church built inside the rocks. We also visited an over a thousand-year-old underground city used by early Christians as hideouts in Cappadocia. The tunnels of the impressive cave-city contained bedrooms, living rooms, stables, cellars, storage-rooms, churches and wineries. Particularly interesting was the ventilation shaft that was also used as a well to protect the citizens from poisoning during raids.
After a few days we left Cappadocia during a sand storm to drive north towards the Black Sea. The curvy road through the mountains next to rivers with crystal blue water was a wonderful motorcycle riding experience.
Crystal clear water at the Black Sea coast
We were really surprised that instead of beautiful beaches there was a big highway located directly at the coast of the Black Sea that stretches for about 1650 km. After two nights in the tent at the coast we said goodbye to a country that really impressed us due to its friendly people and stunning nature. Vibrant cities like Istanbul, picturesque beaches like in Çeşme, unique nature like in Cappadocia or idyllic mountainous regions near Black Sea – Turkey has it all.
Route
Info Box
Duration of stay
02 Jun 2018 – 12 Jun 2018
Flag
Border Crossings
Entry from Bulgaria (Balkan) at Kapitan Andreewo (BG)-Kapikule (TR)
Exit to Georgia at Sarp (TR)-Sarpi (GE)
Visa
obligatory for Austrian citizens, easy to obtain, e-Visa takes 5 minutes to fill out online, paid 20 USD per person, valid for 90 days within 180 days
Weather
between 25°C and 35°C, once rain in Cappadocia, all in all perfect weather conditions
Best experience
completely strange people paid our police penalty for driving too fast
Worst experience
we were stopped by the police for driving too fast 😉
Must See
– Istanbul
– beach
– Pamukkale
– Cappadocia
Population
about 80,800,000 people
Religion
secular state with no official state religion, Islam is major religion in Turkey
Interesting fact
Turkey has more mosques per capita than any other country in the world.
Travel tip
Take enough time, there are so many interesting places to visit.
