Ayana Guesthouse Bozcaada

... the atmosphere in the bar was not 100%, some post adolescent clients playing games on their telephones, and the TV on a Turkish channel, showing home made videos of near fatal disasters in families. The bar snack was nice, carrot sticks dipped in lime juice. The day before Robert ticked off the Syrian Woodpecker. Storks should be present later in the year, apparently a whole Byzantyne aquaduct full of nests. We did not see the aquaduct, but saw a few old nests.

... or Japanese, these days) occupied the front tables by the electrical outlet.

It being winter, with few visitors to the area, at the Varol Pansion I was given the full apartment. There are two additional bedrooms within the Varol's personal apartment. After the first day or two of chill, Ismael invited me to move into one of those rooms--and the warmth of their apartment. But, due to some ...

... 305;--lentil soup. You can practically snap your fingers in Turkey and get some lentil soup. Fortunately, I happen to like it quite well.

After, in a little park, I was dressing down in the unbelievable rising warmth of the new day, when I turned to see a mini-bus pass, heading for my first destination, Geyikli, on the coast. I missed it. So, after about a mile walk along, and just out of town, I was hitching and picked up by a ...

... Gallipoli Peninsula, Eceabat (e-JAY-a-bat) or Gelibolu most likely. There were several mini-buses awaiting at the far side. I neglected to look at the signage on the single bus pointing in the direction I was going, and so after walking along for a spell--just trying to clear the inhabited area--I neglected to see it approach and pass me by.

But, after a pleasant enough walk in the warming day, as the fog burned off, I was hitching and was ...

... I'd take a couple of vanity shots of the territory I was walking through, most of it nice and pastoral. But every so often in Turkey one comes across another reality, this in the form of an open-air garbage tip, seemingly associated with a near-by vacation home development.

(By the way. One of my pet peeves is of those folks who call themselves--and are called developers. To my mind there are few truly dedicated developers. Most ...

... Susan Heuck Allen. This is a book I was fortunate to come across in the Pandora Bookstore in Istanbul.

Most people believe--and certainly I came of age believing--that Heinrich Schliemann was the the founder of the archaeological site now credited with being the Troy of Homer's Iliad. And so Schliemann would have had eternity believe. Now we're into what I think is called "revisionist" history. Or, if that is really meant as the opposite, then ...

... of the citadel mound. In the path of this road I found the most articulated piece of ceramic that I have come across in Turkey. I laid it aside to photograph. Later, in the site museum I read this passage in a statement:

Troiya VII (ca. 1250-ca. 1000 B.C.
=Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, "Troia/Ilios"
(Phases VIIb1 and VIIb2)
It is unclear how Troy VIIb1 came to an end, but since it was not through destruction, some foreign takeover may ...

... useful to watch the windows of the passing buses to see if they were goýng the same way. We stopped and grabbed some fresh bread - Turkish Bread is amazing. After about an hour we were still feeling ok and had made good progress and weren`t yet lost. Then Cam got a flat tyre. Our speed severely reduced we found someone with a pump eventually - but the tyre was busted and we only got another 200m up the road before it went flat again. By ...

We spent this afternoon on the Gallipoli peninsula, site of the landings of the Anzac troops in 1915. Arguably the most significant battle in New Zealand's history. I think my time in New Zealand helped me appreciate Gallipoli a whole lot more, it was an experiance I won't forget. We started off at the museum, which didn't bode very well for the rest of the tour ...

A few problems getting out of Istanbul with bad weather delaying ferries but eventually I crossed the Bosphorous. From there it was 160kms to Cannakale, which is a good base for exploring Gallipoli. As I cycled I was beginning to develop a good rapport wýth the Turkish traffic and locals. Throughout the day roadworkers would put down there shovels and hollar and give me a 'push the roof off' type action. Truck drivers regularly give me a honk and a wave. A group of ...