Mavi
Guesthouse [website] Istanbul,
17-02-07
To the pearl of the Bosphorus
Alexandroupoli to Istanbul (4 cycle days)
(a ride in the back of a truck;
*259km; *1962+m)
Alexandroupoli - Greece to Kesan - Turkey (69km; 433m)
Kesan to Inercik (70km; 889m)
nercik to Kinali (80km; 640m)
Kinali to Istanbul (*40km; *35km truck ride; *?m)
Lots of firsts
There's nothing but farmland after we maneuver ourselves
through the early morning traffic and out of Alexandroupoli.
The side wind blowing from the north east is pretty
strong and it is overcast. Every now and again the
sun teasingly breaks through the clouds promising a
beautiful day. There are roughly 45 kilometres to the border
and after a couple of hours of pedalling, we can see the
bridge over the River Evros, marking the boundary between
Greece and Turkey. This is our first official border
and from now on we know there's going to be a barrage
of documents and control posts to contend with. At the
same time the thought of absorbing new cultures, with customs far from what we are used to...
Tip of the month: how to
handle the barrage of hassling salesmen!
Sometimes, just walking away or ignoring touts doesn't work. In Istanbul, Ali devised this
come-back line, that worked well on several occasions and
saved us a lot of annoying banter.
Salesmen all over the world quite often use the line:
You come from Australia? - or whichever
country they think of at the time - to start
up a conversation with you. Turn around
and say:
You come from Turkey? Since they don't expect this answer, they are often
stopped in their tracks, which is enough time to walk out of hearing distance.
You can also beat them at their own game, when they point at their shop and say "carpet" or "shoes" or whatever it is they are selling. Retaliate by pointing at a taxi, saying the obvious: "taxi"; at a supermarket, exclaiming "supermarket" and so on. More often than not, it gets you a laugh and then they don't tend to hassle you after that.
Aleandroupoli (Greece) - Istanbul (Turkey)
Kilometres: 258 kilometers and 470 meters
(approx.)
Riding days: 4 only
Alti meters: 1962 meters
Weather: snow, cold, sleet
Best accommodation: Mavi
Guesthouse Istanbul:
one big family !
Special thanks to:
Bill for the energy packed halva • The farmer who seemed genuinely grateful that we chose his field near Kesan to camp wild on • Recep & Ali for letting us stay in the café
at Istanbul Kent Sitesi • Pierre Yves & Simon for more fun times • Petra Jung from Cycle
Parts GMBH for immediately popping a new VDO bicycle computer
transmitter in the post; no questions asked. That is what
we call great customer service
Breakdowns:
02: spoke + flat (Son)
03: back derailler cable (Son)
05: transmitter VDO speedometre (Ali)
26: Son's ankle...
