Yimpas Hotel Askisehir Eskisehir

We have to leave our paradise and we are getting off towards Istanbul. Marco is blessing us with water when we leave and the group (4 bikes again) is heading outside the Cappadocia area. We have a good road ahead that allows a constant travel speed of 90km/h. In Turkey the official speed limit for motorcycles is 70 km/h which is a joke, but on the other hand the police is letting people away when the stay below 90.

The land ...

The final day before Damien's arrival was spent at weird little campsite on the sea of Marmara. We checked it out on foot and it just seemed to be scruffy little carpark, but when we tried to drive in, they tried to charge us 5 lira to get in. We only had 3, so they accepted that. An ice cream van pulled up next to us and ...

... Bath, so,
surprisingly, the guys agreed to join us! It is one of those
experiences you should have when the opportunity presents itself.
Ours was in an old, original building with tiled floors and walls,
and a domed ceiling with round vent holes. The men were in one side,
and women in the other. A tiny, cute, old woman in traditional dress
guided us women down the stairs into a dark, tiled, barrel-roofed
area, indicating we should remove our ...

... by Ahmet, the friend of a friend of a friend of mine from Istanbul. He showed me to the Forestry Commission hotel where I found a room for 7TL. Thank you so much. Anyone want to buy a tent? We drank tea together and he recommended a route that will take me to Sinop and then Samsun passing Safranbolu and Kastamonu. Later I met Abdurrahim, the friend of the friend from Istanbul and we drank coffee ...

... Outside the bus station is the terminal tram stop. I went to the turnstile to find I needed an electronic ticket card. The attendant pointed to a kiosk a few yards away. I got back to the turnstile just as a tram was pulling up. I write such quotidian detail because I keep being amazed at the blessings of the Turkish Travel Pixies in the timings--at least in my case--that makes travel in Turkey such a wonder.

And, while I am at it, the tram in Eskişehir is ...

... a joke, and what was just a comment. Also, I complained enough after the first hour that they threw in just enough English to keep me satisfied. We managed to stop four times during that 6 hour drive so that the bus driver and teem could smoke cigarettes. This I found most amusing. A bus full of athletes that could not go more than 2 hours without a nicotine fix. We arrived in the city of Eskishier around 2 ...

... vely (no other programmıng). I guess thıs should not have been so surprısıng sınce turks seem to really enjoy dıscussıng polıtıcs. but ıt was also a remınder just how much the rest of the world watches US polıtıcs. However turkısh news coverage tends towards dıscussıon and commentary. Lots and lots of ıt. Very few graphs or fıgures or even the occasıonal number to dıstract the vıewer. In contrast US news LOVES ...

Deb, the boys and I decided to head out of the city for the day... so we picked a destination about an hours drive... Gordius... the famed capital city of the ancient Phrygian kingdom.  Only in Turkey can one head out to spend the day taking in ancient remains that are steeped in more history than can initially be fathomed... Gordius is the site of King Midas of the Golden Touch... the tale that many children around the world are told... as to the dangers of greed...  It ...

... somewhat circumscribed by the festival coinciding with the religious holiday of Ramazan. I had a choice of days, and chose the first day in order to see the "program," and if it would be worth returning subsequently.

As it turned out, it was worth returning (somewhat), but I was not about to expect Z. and her husband to make a second trip. He was barely on board for the first trip, anyway. And besides, it illustrates some of the travel efficiencies of being a loner, as ...

... contra l ultima llum del cel molt net, i molts quilometres de turcs; fugaços per nosaltres, pobles, granges, fıgures, tractors... els anatolis que omplen l estomac turc duren ben poc en el paisatge; queden llıgats a la dalla i al gra, a les cases precaries i a les mesquites en construccio, escampats per una geografia massa vasta per connectar se, com quı volgues traçar linies a les restes de la sopa de Nadal el dia de St Esteve.