Turkey
The trip was planned with Turkey as the primary destination. This was the exotic overland trek that fired our imagination and guided Shachagra’s design. The off road capability, solar electrical generation and huge water tanks were each added to allow access to, and extended living on Turkeys Southern beaches, parked as temporary residents, providing us the unique opportunity to be an inhabitant of a village or town too small to support tourism of any kind. On these extended breaks from travel on the road we were transformed in the eyes of the locals into those odd Americans in the big truck that visited the village daily to buy food and chat. Extended stays gave the residents the time necessary to become comfortable with these foreigners, enough time to become friends.
Dreams don’t always come true, but our fantasies of Turkey did, we lived those dreams and more. Turkey was my favorite part of the trip. Beautiful scenery, inexpensive food, hassle free truck camping wherever we went, a high concentration of undisturbed, lonely historical sites, some bustling with tourists, some lonely. The history of Turkey can be seen in its sites, Byzantine, Roman, Greek, and of course Turk. Best of all was the welcoming hospitality of the Turkish people. The only thing we thought we would find in Turkey, but didn’t was the remote isolation we had prepared for. Isolation was easy to find, but not everywhere. The self-sufficiency we thought we would need for fuel and water proved unnecessary. This wasn’t a trek across the desert; fuel, food and water were never far away,
We had planned to circumnavigate the country in a clockwise track beginning in the well visited, Roman and Greek influenced West, continuing along the rugged southern coast into the the distinctly Kurdish East. From there we planned a side trip into Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan before hopping a ferry out of Potti Georgia into Varna Bulgaria. Our lingering in the West and Southern coast led to our canceling the trip into Central Asia, there just wasn’t enough time. We made it as far East as Hasenkeyf which became the end of the road, the point from which we were headed home. I was determined to see Hasankeyf after reading about it in national geographic magazine. After our visit we turned Northeast toward England and home.
Dreams don’t always come true, but our fantasies of Turkey did, we lived those dreams and more. Turkey was my favorite part of the trip. Beautiful scenery, inexpensive food, hassle free truck camping wherever we went, a high concentration of undisturbed, lonely historical sites, some bustling with tourists, some lonely. The history of Turkey can be seen in its sites, Byzantine, Roman, Greek, and of course Turk. Best of all was the welcoming hospitality of the Turkish people. The only thing we thought we would find in Turkey, but didn’t was the remote isolation we had prepared for. Isolation was easy to find, but not everywhere. The self-sufficiency we thought we would need for fuel and water proved unnecessary. This wasn’t a trek across the desert; fuel, food and water were never far away,
We had planned to circumnavigate the country in a clockwise track beginning in the well visited, Roman and Greek influenced West, continuing along the rugged southern coast into the the distinctly Kurdish East. From there we planned a side trip into Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan before hopping a ferry out of Potti Georgia into Varna Bulgaria. Our lingering in the West and Southern coast led to our canceling the trip into Central Asia, there just wasn’t enough time. We made it as far East as Hasenkeyf which became the end of the road, the point from which we were headed home. I was determined to see Hasankeyf after reading about it in national geographic magazine. After our visit we turned Northeast toward England and home.
3 March
Arrival into Turkey
From the best roads (EU) to the worst (Turkey)
Spent the night in Eceabat Ferry Landing
Arrival into Turkey
From the best roads (EU) to the worst (Turkey)
Spent the night in Eceabat Ferry Landing
4 March
Gallipoli
Tour Gallipoli, Kilitbahir Castle, Museum
Spent the night in Eceabat Ferry Landing
"Culture shock.
We have been in Turkey for just over 24 hours now and despite a rough start I think we are really going to enjoy it here and may spend lots of time here. It took over an hour to cross the border, not because it was crowded, we were practically alone, but because they just didn't seem to know what to do with us. The officials were all very nice, and they eventually let us pass with no more than a look inside. Most cars and trucks had to empty everything for inspection. Its a good thing we have a border crossing routine that includes pulling over before the border, getting all of our paperwork ready and Stef gives the RV a complete cleaning, preparing for a visit by border officials. It does help when we are all looking spiffy, and the RV is clean and impressive. I think the biggest difficulty for the guards is figuring out what info to put on their forms. They have the hardest time understanding the International is the make of the truck, they want it to be a Ford or Chevy.
After the border we experienced the worst roads of the trip, at least for the first 20 miles or so. Greece may be populated by fat children, but it has some of the best roads anywhere (thank you EU) and after days of floating across Greece at 55 MPH, it was discouraging to have to crawl through a trashy landscape at 35. I was reconsidering trip plans when the roads flattened (I could make 45MPH) and the scenery became nice. Border areas are often worst than the rest of a country.
We are in Galipoli right now, where we spent last night, and will spend tonight before boarding the ferry in the morning for the trip across the Dardanelles into Asia.
When we arrived in the port town of Eceabat we parked in the ferry terminal parking lot and will do the same tonight. (we can get Internet) I walked around the town, impoverished by our standards, but still nice. The parking lot is on the water, surrounded by shops and restaurants. There is a calm, secure air about the place. Stef went out to find fruit for the girls and carrots for stew (so good!) She couldn't find carrots but later that night we went out to eat and got carrots from the restaurant owner. Stef was getting those carrots, despite there being none for sale in any of the food stalls. She asked a restaurant owner that spoke no English, actually she just pointed to the carrots in the case and indicated with 3 fingers that she wanted them.
My first trip was to the barber. It was easy letting him know I wanted a shave and haircut, just a rub of the chin and head was all he needed to understand what I was there for. He spent well over an hour and it was without exaggeration the best haircut, shave and shampoo I've ever had, including the Turkish method of hair removal with a flame, it works great doesn't hurt at all and it’s fascinating to hear the hairs in your ear burn. It was a bit more than I thought it would be, but at 15 Lira (about $9 ) it was well worth it. I had a moment of currency confusion and tried to pay him with 150 Lira which I thought was $9, but is $90. He and his friend just chuckled and corrected my mistake.
Today we went in search of the Gallipoli museum and a few of the landing sites, which was surprisingly difficult, they seem to move them often. On the 3rd place we checked we finally found it. It has been moved twice since our Lonely Planets guide was published. We all learned so much today, the causes for the war and the Turks entry into it, and the events on the peninsula. The Turks have a gift for wildly exaggerating what they did here. The Germans built the defenses, supplied the guns, even had German Generals in command, but you would think it took a race of super humans to do what they did. I shouldn't display a lack of respect for the Turks who fought against invaders, the country is very proud of them.,
I am reading the biography of Mustafa Kemel, Attaturk, the “Father of the Turks” and its hard to believe its the same guy who's likeness is plastered everywhere throughout Turkey. He definitely did great things, but the recognition the Turks pay him borders on worship.
Next stop is the site of another exciting battle in history, Troy. It is only about 20 miles south of here in Asia. Not much there but some ruins, a museum and a chance for another history lesson.
Good news, Grace is going to have an article in "American Girl" magazine in Sept. She wrote it and sent it off on her own and they E-mailed today that they want some more info and parents permission and will run it. She is very excited. I still haven't heard from "Motorhome" magazine, but won't lose any sleep over it."
Gallipoli
Tour Gallipoli, Kilitbahir Castle, Museum
Spent the night in Eceabat Ferry Landing
"Culture shock.
We have been in Turkey for just over 24 hours now and despite a rough start I think we are really going to enjoy it here and may spend lots of time here. It took over an hour to cross the border, not because it was crowded, we were practically alone, but because they just didn't seem to know what to do with us. The officials were all very nice, and they eventually let us pass with no more than a look inside. Most cars and trucks had to empty everything for inspection. Its a good thing we have a border crossing routine that includes pulling over before the border, getting all of our paperwork ready and Stef gives the RV a complete cleaning, preparing for a visit by border officials. It does help when we are all looking spiffy, and the RV is clean and impressive. I think the biggest difficulty for the guards is figuring out what info to put on their forms. They have the hardest time understanding the International is the make of the truck, they want it to be a Ford or Chevy.
After the border we experienced the worst roads of the trip, at least for the first 20 miles or so. Greece may be populated by fat children, but it has some of the best roads anywhere (thank you EU) and after days of floating across Greece at 55 MPH, it was discouraging to have to crawl through a trashy landscape at 35. I was reconsidering trip plans when the roads flattened (I could make 45MPH) and the scenery became nice. Border areas are often worst than the rest of a country.
We are in Galipoli right now, where we spent last night, and will spend tonight before boarding the ferry in the morning for the trip across the Dardanelles into Asia.
When we arrived in the port town of Eceabat we parked in the ferry terminal parking lot and will do the same tonight. (we can get Internet) I walked around the town, impoverished by our standards, but still nice. The parking lot is on the water, surrounded by shops and restaurants. There is a calm, secure air about the place. Stef went out to find fruit for the girls and carrots for stew (so good!) She couldn't find carrots but later that night we went out to eat and got carrots from the restaurant owner. Stef was getting those carrots, despite there being none for sale in any of the food stalls. She asked a restaurant owner that spoke no English, actually she just pointed to the carrots in the case and indicated with 3 fingers that she wanted them.
My first trip was to the barber. It was easy letting him know I wanted a shave and haircut, just a rub of the chin and head was all he needed to understand what I was there for. He spent well over an hour and it was without exaggeration the best haircut, shave and shampoo I've ever had, including the Turkish method of hair removal with a flame, it works great doesn't hurt at all and it’s fascinating to hear the hairs in your ear burn. It was a bit more than I thought it would be, but at 15 Lira (about $9 ) it was well worth it. I had a moment of currency confusion and tried to pay him with 150 Lira which I thought was $9, but is $90. He and his friend just chuckled and corrected my mistake.
Today we went in search of the Gallipoli museum and a few of the landing sites, which was surprisingly difficult, they seem to move them often. On the 3rd place we checked we finally found it. It has been moved twice since our Lonely Planets guide was published. We all learned so much today, the causes for the war and the Turks entry into it, and the events on the peninsula. The Turks have a gift for wildly exaggerating what they did here. The Germans built the defenses, supplied the guns, even had German Generals in command, but you would think it took a race of super humans to do what they did. I shouldn't display a lack of respect for the Turks who fought against invaders, the country is very proud of them.,
I am reading the biography of Mustafa Kemel, Attaturk, the “Father of the Turks” and its hard to believe its the same guy who's likeness is plastered everywhere throughout Turkey. He definitely did great things, but the recognition the Turks pay him borders on worship.
Next stop is the site of another exciting battle in history, Troy. It is only about 20 miles south of here in Asia. Not much there but some ruins, a museum and a chance for another history lesson.
Good news, Grace is going to have an article in "American Girl" magazine in Sept. She wrote it and sent it off on her own and they E-mailed today that they want some more info and parents permission and will run it. She is very excited. I still haven't heard from "Motorhome" magazine, but won't lose any sleep over it."
5 March
Troy
Eceabat to Troy, Ruins of Troy
Spent the night in just outside of the ruins
"We have crossed the Dardenelle into Asia.
Today was about as good a day as we can expect, ignoring the bad roads and cold, but I guess you wouldn't consider 48 degrees very cold. We spent the night in the city of Eceabat, had dinner at a good fish restaurant. This is the first time in Europe we have been able to afford fish other than what we prepare in the RV. The restaurant was a good 50 feet from where we spent the night. In the morning we woke up to an invasion of college students that bus in from all over Turkey on the weekends to experience the glory of Turkeys victory over the allies at Gallipoli in WWI. We were accosted by a really nice group of English students who wanted to speak English with us. They were very nice and want us to stop by their University in Bursa when we are departing Turkey. One was an English Professor and I think I will arrange with her for Shannon to give a talk to her English class, don't tell Shannon.
We then took the ferry across to Asia, it couldn't have been easier and cost 25 Lira ($15) for the truck and all five of us. We are finding that Turkey is inexpensive.
We needed to find a market on the Asian side of the strait and were having a hard time of it. We were starting to get a bit concerned about the lack of food markets, but saw one and stopped. It was a traditional market with large baskets of rice and spices, but had good produce and drinks. We couldn't believe how cheap it was, and then about 4 miles down the road saw what looked like a Super K-mart, and it was, just by a different name "Kipo" We stopped and really stocked up, again it was super cheap. The items are about what they would be here in dollars, but obviously in Lira, so 25% off what we would pay. So now we know there are good stores in Turkey. Also we have found that they have water available on the sides of the road about every 5 miles, no water problems in would seem.
After a few hours parked in the Kipo parking lot with wind blasting by relentlessly, after shopping and eating in the RV we continued on to Troy, which isn't much of a site as there are only minor ruins left, but that doesn't stop the tourists from Germany, Japan and Italy from swarming the place.
It seems ironic that in far off Turkey we find the first crowds of tourists we’ve seen on the trip."
Troy
Eceabat to Troy, Ruins of Troy
Spent the night in just outside of the ruins
"We have crossed the Dardenelle into Asia.
Today was about as good a day as we can expect, ignoring the bad roads and cold, but I guess you wouldn't consider 48 degrees very cold. We spent the night in the city of Eceabat, had dinner at a good fish restaurant. This is the first time in Europe we have been able to afford fish other than what we prepare in the RV. The restaurant was a good 50 feet from where we spent the night. In the morning we woke up to an invasion of college students that bus in from all over Turkey on the weekends to experience the glory of Turkeys victory over the allies at Gallipoli in WWI. We were accosted by a really nice group of English students who wanted to speak English with us. They were very nice and want us to stop by their University in Bursa when we are departing Turkey. One was an English Professor and I think I will arrange with her for Shannon to give a talk to her English class, don't tell Shannon.
We then took the ferry across to Asia, it couldn't have been easier and cost 25 Lira ($15) for the truck and all five of us. We are finding that Turkey is inexpensive.
We needed to find a market on the Asian side of the strait and were having a hard time of it. We were starting to get a bit concerned about the lack of food markets, but saw one and stopped. It was a traditional market with large baskets of rice and spices, but had good produce and drinks. We couldn't believe how cheap it was, and then about 4 miles down the road saw what looked like a Super K-mart, and it was, just by a different name "Kipo" We stopped and really stocked up, again it was super cheap. The items are about what they would be here in dollars, but obviously in Lira, so 25% off what we would pay. So now we know there are good stores in Turkey. Also we have found that they have water available on the sides of the road about every 5 miles, no water problems in would seem.
After a few hours parked in the Kipo parking lot with wind blasting by relentlessly, after shopping and eating in the RV we continued on to Troy, which isn't much of a site as there are only minor ruins left, but that doesn't stop the tourists from Germany, Japan and Italy from swarming the place.
It seems ironic that in far off Turkey we find the first crowds of tourists we’ve seen on the trip."
6 March
Ruins of Assos
Drive from Troy to Ruins of Assos
Spent the night in Behramkale
7 March
Travel Day
Harrowing drive through city of Bergamma
Spent the night in a Bergamma "RV Park" (parking lot)
"I walk in the footsteps of Aristotle.
We just spent last night in the village of Behramkale, on the Aegean Sea. When I say in the Village, we are right in the village center, an old Roman Road that opens up to a larger area at the base of the hill the village sits on. We had to pay 20 TL to park here ($15) and the guy told us to stay as long as we want. Turns out we could have parked in some beautiful spots by the sea for free, but we don't explore small roads in this behemoth RV if we don't have to. Plus the RV was again about 500 feet from a restaurant we ate at last night. Good but nothing to put in a guidebook.
We came here not for the village, but for the Greek and Roman Ruins it sits on. The village takes up a small part of the hill, the Great city covered the entire hill, down to the sea. There are ruins everywhere that are nicely complete. We've seen enough now that we can figure out what is what, the Greek cities were all planned basically the same. We spent the entire day exploring. Walking the Necroplois, city of the dead, outside the massive city walls, the theater, Agora and the temple to Athena on top. Unlike Troy, this was interesting. It also has a beautiful backdrop, the Aegean Sea and the Greek Island of Lesbos right off the coast.
The people are fascinating. They are peasant Muslims who herd sheep and cattle, just like people have been doing on the same spot for about 7000 years.
We stopped for fuel yesterday and both American Express and USAA put security holds on our cards. I guess they might think a $500 fuel charge in Turkey looks suspicious. The same thing happened in England on our first fill of the trip. The gas station was very nice and new and the attendants acted as if it was their fault my cards wouldn't go through, got me a table and some tea. We paid with cash, most Turkish, but some US from our depleted stash, got he USAA card cleared already ($18 phone call) and hope to settle the AMEX matter via E-mail. Easy lesson learned, we will always have enough cash to pay for the fuel, even if we are using the card. Fuel is really expensive here. Almost $9 a gallon! But we budgeted for $1 a mile and I'm not going to get squeamish now. To have our home with us at all times is worth the cost of this rig and the fuel it feeds on, the children are very comfortable. Wake up, eat study and go out to see the new sights.
The drive yesterday was beautiful but challenging, small road, nicely paved, but winding through mountains. In Europe where mountain roads are tamed, flattened with bridges and tunnels, you cover that hour of driving up and down steep hills and around tight bends in about about 4 minutes. Distances are long here and the country is big. We'll be lucky to cover 100 miles a day (at $1 a mile)
Today we will head 105 miles south to the city of Bergama once everyone is up. It was supposed to be a nice sunny day today, but it really looks crappy. We will explore the city of Pergamum. In our DVD course on world history the Pergamum Empire is often mentioned, settled by one of Alexander the Greats Generals after he died. The Empire was bequeathed to Rome by the last emperor in 129 BC. The children are becoming amazingly smart on this stuff, they talk about it amongst themselves like some families talk about the latest episode of Family Guy. The weather remains foul, but the solar panels and driving keep up the power. Water has been surprisingly easy. I don't think most Turkish homes have indoor plumbing so the government puts water faucets along the roads pretty regularly; we are full now and showers are unregulated. There are no waste disposal stations in Turkey, so we find a nice large bush by the side of the road that we can fertilize. There are families in southeast Turkey who get their heating fuel from the crap of two cows. Our stuff must be worth something here.
On the road, need to find a barber so I can get another shave."
Experienced a horrible drive through the city of Bergamma. The main road kept getting smaller and smaller, the traffic heavier and heavier, and we were so afraid we would get stuck. We stopped to ask someone if we could make it through town and he said yes, no problem. We began to think he was playing a joke on us. Just as we thought we could go no farther we saw a sign for a Caravan park, really nothing more than a parking lot, but it was the most welcome thing I had seen in a long time. In we pulled. Turns out that the caravan park was at exactly the worst spot for traffic in the city, it opened up again right after that spot.
8 March
Tour Bergamma
Pergamon Museum, Asclepion, Red Basilica
Spent the night in the market next to the Red Basilica
"In Bergama Turkey. I love this town! Not beautiful but exotic and the people are amazingly friendly and honest. We have decided to spend a few days here, food is great and inexpensive, lots to see and a barber on every corner. I have developed a love for getting a close Turkish shave, complete with fire stick!"
Tour Bergamma
Pergamon Museum, Asclepion, Red Basilica
Spent the night in the market next to the Red Basilica
"In Bergama Turkey. I love this town! Not beautiful but exotic and the people are amazingly friendly and honest. We have decided to spend a few days here, food is great and inexpensive, lots to see and a barber on every corner. I have developed a love for getting a close Turkish shave, complete with fire stick!"
9 March
More touring Bergama
Acroplolis, carpets, Hamam
Spent the night in the farmers market
"Spent a miserable morning yesterday touring a freezing city. It was snowing and the wind was whipping but we braved the weather to look at a few sites. We started in the Bergama museum which doesn't hold much, Germans took all the good stuff back to Berlin. I saw the Pergamum museum when I was in Berlin, and though it was pretty cool, it didn't spark the same interest as when you have traveled to the location, but I must admit, the large museums like one in Berlin and the British museum take much better care of the artifacts and they allow more people to see them. Pergamum is the old name for the city. We then walked, briskly, the "Aslepion" a huge heath spa complete with amphitheater. Most of it was outside in the wind and snow so we didn't dawdle. Back to the RV for lunch and a bit of relaxing and a hot bath before we crossed the street to explore the "Red Basilica"
I loved this place though there's not much left of it, mainly two large rotundas that in 200 AD formed the corners of a massive timber roofed complex that housed a 30 foot tall statue that a priest could enter and make talk like the great Oz. One of the rotundas is used today as a Mosque. The rest of the huge complex has been swallowed up by the city but can still be distinguished by the huge bridge/landfill across the river that they built the temple on that still runs beneath the city for about 500 feet. The Lonely planets guide claimed that it was one of the 7 churches mention in the Bible, Revelation, and had the distinction of being "Satan's throne." I read revelations and sure enough the church at Per'gamum is described, and Satan's throne is mentioned. but Revelations was written in about 95 AD, and the original Temple wasn't built until 200 AD by Emperor Hadrian. What John was describing isn't an actual church, and certainly not the one we visited, I think it is the city and the congregation. Not sure what "Satan's throne" is but we'll look for it today.
The visit got me looking through the Bible and I see there are many places in the bible that we have been to, or plan to go to. Just north of the Syrian border in the city of Harran that we may go to if we can afford the fuel. Abraham lived there in 1900 BC and it has been continuously inhabited since then. It may be a long way to drive to say we've been there, but the guidebooks suggest it, as it is still much the same as it was 3000 years ago with people living in conehead like mud huts. I think we'll make it. I'm not sure I want the children reading the bible, it should come with a warning. What a page turner, Abraham marries his beautiful half sister and becomes her pimp, prostituting her in off in every city he enters to for convenience and profit. He gets rich, the mark receives the wrath of God. "Genesis Revealed," latest thriller by Daniel Steele.
I tried to get a good picture of the Red Basilica and it just wasn't happening, its too big, ruined and the weather too crappy. As I was slipping into the tub as the sun was setting (for the second time that cold day) I saw that the sun setting behind the church really looked beautiful- so I had to pull myself out to take the shot. You can see the two Rotundas.
Bergamans spend a lot of time push starting cars. We have great seats to watch the goings on of everyday life from up high behind tinted windows. We are parked in a large dirt lot that is used on mondays for the market and is the local push start spot. Charles and I helped a guy push start his truck early this morning when no one else was around, trying to build/replenish our Karma, we've been helped so many times on this trip. Subsequent starts we haven't had to help, there seems to be a routine here. The guy this morning must have been leaving before push start times started.
We just toured the Acroplolis at the top of the hill, pretty cool but I can't get over the fact that we took the cable car to the top, payed to enter which came to 100 lira, over $60 and then walked back down to the RV through no gates or fences, we could have just walked up for free. Tight on a our budget but in a massive RV. We really do need to support local economies, and we do.
Back home smelling spaghetti sauce cooking. It will always remind us of this trip, so good, and easy to make on a stovetop. We stocked up on Italian sausage at the commissary, froze loads of it. It may last us until our next commissary run in Incirlick in a few weeks."
10 March
Ephesus
Carpet factory, Ephesus
Tried to sleep in Ephesus parking lot, told to move to Pamucak near the beach
"Dad, Had to tell you, we are having stew tonight, one of our favorite dishes on the trip and the standard is "Grandpa's stew." It has yet to be matched, but Shannon lets Stef know that she gets close on occasion and it may not be Mom's cooking, but the quality of the bread makes up the difference. Also Charles dreams of the Conley house and its everlasting, bottomless ice cream supply. He actually did have a dream about it."
Ephesus
Carpet factory, Ephesus
Tried to sleep in Ephesus parking lot, told to move to Pamucak near the beach
"Dad, Had to tell you, we are having stew tonight, one of our favorite dishes on the trip and the standard is "Grandpa's stew." It has yet to be matched, but Shannon lets Stef know that she gets close on occasion and it may not be Mom's cooking, but the quality of the bread makes up the difference. Also Charles dreams of the Conley house and its everlasting, bottomless ice cream supply. He actually did have a dream about it."
11 March
Chill day on beach
Told to move, spent night next to cemetery in Selcuk
"Well we have been asked to move 4 times in the entire trip, twice in the last two days. I'm not sure why the sensitivity but I think its a combination of two things. First is that this area is Turkey's top attraction outside Istanbul, and they have a constant flow of tourists year round that ride hedonistic cruise ships into the port of Kusadsi and bus to the site in the area. This is a huge cash cow for Turkey that they aren't going to risk, so they have roaming "Jardarms," police, all very young, that don't know exactly what they are looking for and don't want to get in trouble so they ask us (very nicely) if we can move out of their area. The first night we were going to stay in the Ephesus parking lot, a huge place that we paid to enter, but about 1900 there was a knock on the door (which we never open, we open a window, look down and talk) which leads to a nice chat, tour of the RV and us driving away. The second shoo'ing was a bit more underhanded. The first night the Jandarm told us of of a great parking spot near the beach of Pamucak, so there we went in the dark. We woke in the morning to a beautiful estuary filled with birds, flowing into the Aegean Sea. The guidebook told us it was one of the top beaches in Turkey and the estuary hosts Pink Flamingos in Mar and Apr. The icing on the cake was that we got Internet in the RV. We canceled our plans to move on and decided to spend the night. There was an RV park on the beach but we had no reason to use it, our batteries and tanks were full and why crowd in with 20 other RVs when you have the estuary to yourself
About 1600 a Jandarm van pulled into the RV park, spent a few minutes, then pulled out and drove right over to us, telling us we couldn't spend the night but could use the RV park. It was obvious that the park owners called them. So we decided to stay there, there was an RV in the park that I wanted to discuss with the owner, nicely custom built, almost as big as Shachagra (but butt ugly) and we could spend the day and wash sheets and chill, until I found they wanted $45 a night to stay, and they claimed to be giving us a deal. We backed right out, drove to the city of Selcuk which was our next destination. That's a lot of money in Turkey.
We parked off the road, outside of town,within sight of a Jandarm station. We'll keep the truck here and explore the city by foot.
I did get a look in one of the parked RVs and experienced travel planning envy. They had a map posted that would rival anything Ike had for the invasion of France, it had routes, colored dots, marked labels, detailing all aspects of their travels. We have a line on a map with our general direction and we find out about the top beaches by the police telling us to move there. We're a bit better than that, but we stay flexible, and as I've always said, "Indecision is the key to flexibility."
The trip to Ephesus was interesting. It was a return trip for Stef and the children, they cruised there one of those Hedonistic ships a few years back. We were waylaid by a carpet salesmen who took us to a huge carpet store that was my highlight of the day. They demonstrated how they extract silk thread from a silkworm cocoon, very simple, but who would think of it. We then saw them tying carpets before the big room filled with carpets and men throwing them down for us to see. We came close to buying one but held off. There was two that we really liked, but they were $5700, and $4500, both small carpets. I'm sure we could have gotten them for much lower, but the moment you make an offer you have committed to buy.
12 March
Toured Selcuk
Museum of Ephesus, Temple of Artemis, Ayasoluk Castle, Church of St Johns, Drive through Meander Valley "
Spent night in BP parking lot
"Parked in a huge BP parking lot off the road that winds through the Menderes valley. We get the word "meander" from this river valley that winds back and forth. Turkey is nothing like what I thought it would be, this valley is lush, with 4 harvests a year. The produce here is impressive. This could be the breadbasket of the world if they had any transport capability. Lots of farm gear, Massey ferguson Tractors on every corner. In Greece there was a John Deere every mile. I don't think we'll have anyone tell us to move tonight, Charles was just outside kicking the soccer ball around with the attendant. He makes friends very easily.
We had some memorable touring today, we went from one of the seven ancients wonders of the world, to a great museum, to a 6th century hilltop citadel, 12th century Mosque, 6th century Basilica dedicated to St John and on to a 21st century Turkish market to replenish our stores. All this on one large hill, Ayasuluk, the spot where John wrote "In the beginning there was the word" The Ancient wonder was the Temple of Artemis, in its day the largest temple in the world, not much remains except one lone column topped by a storks nest. The Basilica was also in ruins, not much desire for preservation of a Byzantine church in the Muslim Ottoman empire.
One thing we missed because of time and the rest have already seen, is the house claimed to have been lived in by the Virgin Mary. I was very skeptical, they claim a nun in France had a dream and it matched a house found in the hills by Ephesus. I think they say that because there are people who would be more convinced by that account then by analysis and history, and in this case those are the ones who count. But reading more about it, I think it likely, but there was a 400 year gap in history that precludes proof positive. Mary lived in Ephesus at the end of her life with John, the ruins of the house were revered by early christians but the exact reason was lost until the 19th century. It is both a Muslim (they revere Mary too) and Catholic holy site, every Pope visits to pay homage, but the Vatican will not declare that it is her house, gun shy of being proven wrong too many times. You can only be dead wrong so many times before people begin to lose faith you know what you are talking about. In this case modern dating techniques support the Mary theory. But I would have gone had I known the Vatican gives some form of Indulgence to pilgrims. I could have used a "get out of hell free" The pilgrims drink the holy water there. What if you distilled whiskey with holy water?"
Toured Selcuk
Museum of Ephesus, Temple of Artemis, Ayasoluk Castle, Church of St Johns, Drive through Meander Valley "
Spent night in BP parking lot
"Parked in a huge BP parking lot off the road that winds through the Menderes valley. We get the word "meander" from this river valley that winds back and forth. Turkey is nothing like what I thought it would be, this valley is lush, with 4 harvests a year. The produce here is impressive. This could be the breadbasket of the world if they had any transport capability. Lots of farm gear, Massey ferguson Tractors on every corner. In Greece there was a John Deere every mile. I don't think we'll have anyone tell us to move tonight, Charles was just outside kicking the soccer ball around with the attendant. He makes friends very easily.
We had some memorable touring today, we went from one of the seven ancients wonders of the world, to a great museum, to a 6th century hilltop citadel, 12th century Mosque, 6th century Basilica dedicated to St John and on to a 21st century Turkish market to replenish our stores. All this on one large hill, Ayasuluk, the spot where John wrote "In the beginning there was the word" The Ancient wonder was the Temple of Artemis, in its day the largest temple in the world, not much remains except one lone column topped by a storks nest. The Basilica was also in ruins, not much desire for preservation of a Byzantine church in the Muslim Ottoman empire.
One thing we missed because of time and the rest have already seen, is the house claimed to have been lived in by the Virgin Mary. I was very skeptical, they claim a nun in France had a dream and it matched a house found in the hills by Ephesus. I think they say that because there are people who would be more convinced by that account then by analysis and history, and in this case those are the ones who count. But reading more about it, I think it likely, but there was a 400 year gap in history that precludes proof positive. Mary lived in Ephesus at the end of her life with John, the ruins of the house were revered by early christians but the exact reason was lost until the 19th century. It is both a Muslim (they revere Mary too) and Catholic holy site, every Pope visits to pay homage, but the Vatican will not declare that it is her house, gun shy of being proven wrong too many times. You can only be dead wrong so many times before people begin to lose faith you know what you are talking about. In this case modern dating techniques support the Mary theory. But I would have gone had I known the Vatican gives some form of Indulgence to pilgrims. I could have used a "get out of hell free" The pilgrims drink the holy water there. What if you distilled whiskey with holy water?"
13 March
RV Park Day in Pamukkale
Wash Day, Walks, Dinner out for Mom and Dad
Spent the night in an RV park, city center right across from Thermal pools
'Back on the road where we saw an interesting and surprising sight, women at a truck stop selling their "goods." We see them all the time in Italy, we call them campfire girls, but in Turkey?
Back in Casal Di Principe Italy we would see prostitutes along one stretch of road that was once the Apian way to Rome. They were mostly Eastern european and African women. I'll bet the Apian way has seen prostitutes for thousands of years, sitting in front of small fires to keep warm.
Thinking of shortening the route and cutting out part of Romania, going through Serbia. The one detail of this trip that I got completely wrong was the distances. We are not 1/2 way and we've gone 11,000 miles. I didn't think we would go that far on the entire trip. We are also so lucky to have interstates, a good road really cuts down the time, and thus the travel distance. We've crossed 10 miles of mountains that is the same think as 100 miles of good road. The roads in Turkey have turned out to be really good. After an initial jarring they cleared up, I don't think they repair roads leading into Greece.
We just arrived in Pamukkale, an amazing natural wonder of which we will send pictures. We are in an RV park complete with internet for 20TL a night ($12) not $45! Stef and I are going to have dinner at a restaurant that is next to the RV park.'
RV Park Day in Pamukkale
Wash Day, Walks, Dinner out for Mom and Dad
Spent the night in an RV park, city center right across from Thermal pools
'Back on the road where we saw an interesting and surprising sight, women at a truck stop selling their "goods." We see them all the time in Italy, we call them campfire girls, but in Turkey?
Back in Casal Di Principe Italy we would see prostitutes along one stretch of road that was once the Apian way to Rome. They were mostly Eastern european and African women. I'll bet the Apian way has seen prostitutes for thousands of years, sitting in front of small fires to keep warm.
Thinking of shortening the route and cutting out part of Romania, going through Serbia. The one detail of this trip that I got completely wrong was the distances. We are not 1/2 way and we've gone 11,000 miles. I didn't think we would go that far on the entire trip. We are also so lucky to have interstates, a good road really cuts down the time, and thus the travel distance. We've crossed 10 miles of mountains that is the same think as 100 miles of good road. The roads in Turkey have turned out to be really good. After an initial jarring they cleared up, I don't think they repair roads leading into Greece.
We just arrived in Pamukkale, an amazing natural wonder of which we will send pictures. We are in an RV park complete with internet for 20TL a night ($12) not $45! Stef and I are going to have dinner at a restaurant that is next to the RV park.'
14 March
Touring Pamukkale
Travertines, Roman Bath, Hiereoplois
Spent the night in the RV park
Touring Pamukkale
Travertines, Roman Bath, Hiereoplois
Spent the night in the RV park
15 March
Travel Day
Drive from Pamukkale, Night in the river valley
Spent the night camped next to a river north of Fethye
"We are about to hit the road and head south to the coast. We spent the last two days 120 miles inland in a town called Pamukkale, famous for an ancient health spa, still usable today, and these unique calcium formed "travertines" cascading down the hillside from the Spa. We were pulling into town and saw a sign for "Ottopark, Caravans" car parking and RV park. The owner was on the road in front of his store and motioned us in, but after the last rip-off place we negotiated a price of $12 a night (20TL) without bathroom or electrical. Since we were the only ones in there they wouldn't have to open the bathroom and showers, we find that our shower and toilet is far nicer than anything in RV parks, and we know we'll have hot showers. The advantage of the park is that it is center parking, right across the street from the site we came to see, its secure, we don't the possibility of being asked to move, and we can splurge on water because we will fill before we leave. Also to top it off, free wireless internet.We spent over an hour this morning filling the tanks, Stef ran them dry washing clothes.
The Greek city up on the hill, Hieropolis, is one of the best we have seen, going on for about a mile, but the highlights of the day and the trip so far were the travertines and the spa pool. We were alone here in 70 degree weather (it had snowed two days earlier) and in every picture I've seen of this place there are crowds of people, we were in thermal the pool alone. The water was hot and sparkly, like champagne, forming bubbles all over your skin. The pool is in an area of ruins so you are bathing amongst Greek columns. Very cool. The high calcium content of the hot water comes out of solution as it runs down the hill, cools and forms pools that are bizarre looking. After spending 4 hours in the same bath used by Emperors Nero and Hadrian, we explored some ruins, including a huge theater that is very intact, and a "Martyrium" to St Phillipe, it was an odd octagonal church. We met some American students there from Minnesota traveling in the footsteps of St Paul. The guy I was talking to kept saying they were studying the "Book of X"
I told him I wasn't familiar with it and asked him to explain. Turns out he said "The books of Acts" but it took a while for us to get on the same page. He complained that they would travel in a bus 6 hours for every hour they had at a sight. Out, pictures, and back on the bus. We are so lucky, we have driven 320 hours for 6868 miles in the past 6 months. About 1.75 hours a day, which is more than it seems because of the sprint across Italy that we did. That's pretty slow travel, just over 20mph, but that time does include some engine idle time to charge batteries.
One of the highlights of the city was my shave. The Turks always surprise me with the care with which they remove hair, but this was shocking. Given the quantity of hair in my ears he decided to use wax. He could have just as easily pulled out my wisdom teeth. I thought I was going to get a neck injury with the force he exerted on my head."
Travel Day
Drive from Pamukkale, Night in the river valley
Spent the night camped next to a river north of Fethye
"We are about to hit the road and head south to the coast. We spent the last two days 120 miles inland in a town called Pamukkale, famous for an ancient health spa, still usable today, and these unique calcium formed "travertines" cascading down the hillside from the Spa. We were pulling into town and saw a sign for "Ottopark, Caravans" car parking and RV park. The owner was on the road in front of his store and motioned us in, but after the last rip-off place we negotiated a price of $12 a night (20TL) without bathroom or electrical. Since we were the only ones in there they wouldn't have to open the bathroom and showers, we find that our shower and toilet is far nicer than anything in RV parks, and we know we'll have hot showers. The advantage of the park is that it is center parking, right across the street from the site we came to see, its secure, we don't the possibility of being asked to move, and we can splurge on water because we will fill before we leave. Also to top it off, free wireless internet.We spent over an hour this morning filling the tanks, Stef ran them dry washing clothes.
The Greek city up on the hill, Hieropolis, is one of the best we have seen, going on for about a mile, but the highlights of the day and the trip so far were the travertines and the spa pool. We were alone here in 70 degree weather (it had snowed two days earlier) and in every picture I've seen of this place there are crowds of people, we were in thermal the pool alone. The water was hot and sparkly, like champagne, forming bubbles all over your skin. The pool is in an area of ruins so you are bathing amongst Greek columns. Very cool. The high calcium content of the hot water comes out of solution as it runs down the hill, cools and forms pools that are bizarre looking. After spending 4 hours in the same bath used by Emperors Nero and Hadrian, we explored some ruins, including a huge theater that is very intact, and a "Martyrium" to St Phillipe, it was an odd octagonal church. We met some American students there from Minnesota traveling in the footsteps of St Paul. The guy I was talking to kept saying they were studying the "Book of X"
I told him I wasn't familiar with it and asked him to explain. Turns out he said "The books of Acts" but it took a while for us to get on the same page. He complained that they would travel in a bus 6 hours for every hour they had at a sight. Out, pictures, and back on the bus. We are so lucky, we have driven 320 hours for 6868 miles in the past 6 months. About 1.75 hours a day, which is more than it seems because of the sprint across Italy that we did. That's pretty slow travel, just over 20mph, but that time does include some engine idle time to charge batteries.
One of the highlights of the city was my shave. The Turks always surprise me with the care with which they remove hair, but this was shocking. Given the quantity of hair in my ears he decided to use wax. He could have just as easily pulled out my wisdom teeth. I thought I was going to get a neck injury with the force he exerted on my head."
16 March
Explore the Lyceum Trail
Explored Lyceum Tombs, Walk through Fethiye, Hike of Lyceum trail, Drive to Patara Beach
Stealth camp in Gelemis village center, near Patara
After we left Pamukkale yesterday we drove for about 3 hours and parked just off the road next to a river, started a fire and relaxed and spent the night away from the blaring call to prayer that is hard to escape in Turkey. They blare from the minarets 5 times a day, starting at 0530. I would find it annoying if I lived here. I just realized that I didn't hear it this morning, our beach retreat is out of range of the Muslims. We were planning to go to a city along the coast, Fetheye, to try and get a boat ride along the coast and see some Lycian tombs that they carved into the cliff faces, like the famous carvings in Petra Syria. We found a great place to park, a stadium parking lot, and explored. The tombs were great but we are too early in the season for the boat ride. Where normally people trying to get your business would hawk you, we walked past boats that were just getting ready for the season. When the boats leave on schedule with groups, it costs about $15 a person for a day cruise. We found one guy who would have taken us out but he wanted $400. We didn't even barter, it was just too much money. We may still have a chance to do it down the coast a bit.
Being on the road doesn't mean we don't still watch a bit of TV. We download movies when we have internet, and we have a steady stream. Last night we watched "Ghost", the night before that "No Way Out" and tonight we have "An Officer and a Gentleman." In the middle of Turkey and we can rent movies, easier than if we had to drive down to Blockbuster.
17 March
Beach Day
Chill, Walk through Patara City Center
Camping on Patara beach
"We made it to the southern coast yesterday for a week down time on the beach. The weather is beautiful, 70 degrees, great for relaxing in the sand but we couldn't get to the beach! Patara beach, rated as the #1 beach in the world by the London Sunday Times, is much more than clean sand and crystal clear water, it is also an ancient ruin, currently under renovation. In order to avoid a fee to park at the ruins, and as overnight parking was prohibited, we found a nice spot near the village to park. It is a dirt parking lot, just off the main road and surrounded by tall grass and wetlands. We are the only ones here and the village is nearly deserted. Nice, but a long walk from the beach, not what I had planned, so I sent Charles out on the Vespa to scout a spot that would put sand under our tires. He returned after an hour and led us to a perfect 10. Down a long dirt road, past an aging resort that ended high above the beach hidden in the trees and right on the very edge of the sandy beach. The sand may have started at our doorstep but the water was still ½ a mile away down a steep, sandy 200 foot slope. The view of the Mediterranean was spectacular. Mountains fall into the sea. This spectacular panorama hadn’t changed at all since the days of the Lycians. Up the beach to the East we overlook what was a harbor in Christ’s day, still distinguishable by the marshland that remains. Ruins of the city circle the marsh, sitting on the hills that used to define the waters edge. The bible tells us that Paul and Luke changed ships in that long ago harbor carrying the word of Christ. Now it is an unbroken sandy beach 6 miles long. We planned to explore the ruins today, but it is drizzling and everyone is occupied, Shannon and Stef working French, Grace doing math and Charles is reading the works of Marcus Aurelius. The only sound other than really bad French is sheep bleating outside. Don't touch a thing.
We met two interesting groups of folk. The first couple was expat from London that have lived in Turkey for 6 months. They were worried that the local spot had been compromised in some tour book, and were relieved to hear Charles just stumbled on it. We had a nice chat and they told us an interesting fact, that Patara was mentioned in our declaration of Independence. Later, reading the document easily disproves their claim, but with further study I found the connection with not the Declaration of Independence, but our Constitution.
In the ruins below our mobile home a major restoration project was underway, the Bouleuterion, falling into ruin since it was first used in 167 BC was being rebuilt. The Bouleuterion was a meeting place of semi-circular configuration seats that housed the Lycian League, the first Federal Republic consisting of 23 variously sized city-states that formed a governing body that provided weighted representation by the size of the city-state, just as our Congress does today. Also interesting is the design of our House of Representatives, a semi-circular arrangement of seats just like the Bouleuterion. The similarity isn’t coincidence. Our founding fathers struggled with the contentious issue of fair represent for each of our 13 States. A delegate from Connecticut, Oliver Ellsworth, had just finished arguing for the Articles of Confederation’s principle that every state should be equal in the national arena. He specifically asked, “Where is or was a confederation ever formed, where equality of voices was not a fundamental principle?”
James Madison replied that the Lycian League provided representation in reflection of actual size. His Virginia plan provided for a bicameral legislature, with both houses’ representation based on states’ population. He eventually had to accept a compromise, with a people’s house of proportional representation, our House of Representatives, in tandem with a Senate of equal state representation. History comes alive.
The second couple (there were 4 groups of people that wandered up here) had seen the RV a few days back in Pamukkale when we were there- they had a local guide taking them on a tour. They must think we really know the area well.
Grace and Charles are out playing soccer, Shannon is in the shower and Stef is grading Graces work. We can shower about as much as we want, there is water everywhere in Turkey. Just down this dirt road about 1/2 mile is a faucet on the side of the road.
Beach Day
Chill, Walk through Patara City Center
Camping on Patara beach
"We made it to the southern coast yesterday for a week down time on the beach. The weather is beautiful, 70 degrees, great for relaxing in the sand but we couldn't get to the beach! Patara beach, rated as the #1 beach in the world by the London Sunday Times, is much more than clean sand and crystal clear water, it is also an ancient ruin, currently under renovation. In order to avoid a fee to park at the ruins, and as overnight parking was prohibited, we found a nice spot near the village to park. It is a dirt parking lot, just off the main road and surrounded by tall grass and wetlands. We are the only ones here and the village is nearly deserted. Nice, but a long walk from the beach, not what I had planned, so I sent Charles out on the Vespa to scout a spot that would put sand under our tires. He returned after an hour and led us to a perfect 10. Down a long dirt road, past an aging resort that ended high above the beach hidden in the trees and right on the very edge of the sandy beach. The sand may have started at our doorstep but the water was still ½ a mile away down a steep, sandy 200 foot slope. The view of the Mediterranean was spectacular. Mountains fall into the sea. This spectacular panorama hadn’t changed at all since the days of the Lycians. Up the beach to the East we overlook what was a harbor in Christ’s day, still distinguishable by the marshland that remains. Ruins of the city circle the marsh, sitting on the hills that used to define the waters edge. The bible tells us that Paul and Luke changed ships in that long ago harbor carrying the word of Christ. Now it is an unbroken sandy beach 6 miles long. We planned to explore the ruins today, but it is drizzling and everyone is occupied, Shannon and Stef working French, Grace doing math and Charles is reading the works of Marcus Aurelius. The only sound other than really bad French is sheep bleating outside. Don't touch a thing.
We met two interesting groups of folk. The first couple was expat from London that have lived in Turkey for 6 months. They were worried that the local spot had been compromised in some tour book, and were relieved to hear Charles just stumbled on it. We had a nice chat and they told us an interesting fact, that Patara was mentioned in our declaration of Independence. Later, reading the document easily disproves their claim, but with further study I found the connection with not the Declaration of Independence, but our Constitution.
In the ruins below our mobile home a major restoration project was underway, the Bouleuterion, falling into ruin since it was first used in 167 BC was being rebuilt. The Bouleuterion was a meeting place of semi-circular configuration seats that housed the Lycian League, the first Federal Republic consisting of 23 variously sized city-states that formed a governing body that provided weighted representation by the size of the city-state, just as our Congress does today. Also interesting is the design of our House of Representatives, a semi-circular arrangement of seats just like the Bouleuterion. The similarity isn’t coincidence. Our founding fathers struggled with the contentious issue of fair represent for each of our 13 States. A delegate from Connecticut, Oliver Ellsworth, had just finished arguing for the Articles of Confederation’s principle that every state should be equal in the national arena. He specifically asked, “Where is or was a confederation ever formed, where equality of voices was not a fundamental principle?”
James Madison replied that the Lycian League provided representation in reflection of actual size. His Virginia plan provided for a bicameral legislature, with both houses’ representation based on states’ population. He eventually had to accept a compromise, with a people’s house of proportional representation, our House of Representatives, in tandem with a Senate of equal state representation. History comes alive.
The second couple (there were 4 groups of people that wandered up here) had seen the RV a few days back in Pamukkale when we were there- they had a local guide taking them on a tour. They must think we really know the area well.
Grace and Charles are out playing soccer, Shannon is in the shower and Stef is grading Graces work. We can shower about as much as we want, there is water everywhere in Turkey. Just down this dirt road about 1/2 mile is a faucet on the side of the road.
18 March
Another Day at Patara Beach
Lazy day, overcast and drizzly, great day for hanging out and reading Stephen King’s "The Gunslinger." King is the best for a rainy day. Stef and Shannon spent most of the day curled up in the over-cab practicing French, but did ventured to the beach to "hang out" together, this trip is a really a good opportunity for them to bond before Shannon ships off to college. We spent some time in front of the computer, watching college courses on history and rewarding our good habit with some Agatha Christie’s Hercule Peoroit mysteries. We had some more visitors, an older set of couples in a really nice RVs that braved the long rough road here to just walk down to the beach then pack up and depart. They leave one of the most beautiful spots in the world for an RV park. Sacrificing paradise for electricity and water. (Arn’t we just the coolest..) Our solar panels still keep the batteries full in overcast weather. I hope it will be sunny tomorrow so we can explore the ruins
Another Day at Patara Beach
Lazy day, overcast and drizzly, great day for hanging out and reading Stephen King’s "The Gunslinger." King is the best for a rainy day. Stef and Shannon spent most of the day curled up in the over-cab practicing French, but did ventured to the beach to "hang out" together, this trip is a really a good opportunity for them to bond before Shannon ships off to college. We spent some time in front of the computer, watching college courses on history and rewarding our good habit with some Agatha Christie’s Hercule Peoroit mysteries. We had some more visitors, an older set of couples in a really nice RVs that braved the long rough road here to just walk down to the beach then pack up and depart. They leave one of the most beautiful spots in the world for an RV park. Sacrificing paradise for electricity and water. (Arn’t we just the coolest..) Our solar panels still keep the batteries full in overcast weather. I hope it will be sunny tomorrow so we can explore the ruins
19 March-20 March
Living on Patara Beach
Exploring the Beach and ruins of Patara
"We explored the ruins. I am beginning to suspect that I am an eternal optimist, because each day seems to be the best. Today we experienced what few can, because it take the time to settle into a place that those without a beast RV just can't do it. We hiked across the wetlands that used to be the harbor of Patara, past the ruins of a tower that I guess was a lighthouse marking the western shore, across to the remains of the city and the theater. The theater was buried by sand until recently and is remarkably well preserved. We hung out there for about an hour, watched the Turks working on a the Bou, renovation. We then we went down to the beach thinking there might be someone selling food there. No such luck, the beach was empty, apocalyptic, so we had to hoof it back to Shachagra (long trip) for lunch. Stef and I took the Vespa into the village for food in the afternoon, bread, bananas, apples, tomatoes, milk, sunflower seeds (best in the world) pickled cabbage, Turk beer and a salted yogurt drink the Turks love called Airan (sounds like Iran) This area is so fertile, there are hothouses on every square foot each packed with produce plants. They produce much of Russia’s food right here in this area. This makes the two struggling former empires uneasy trading partners. Russian oil and Turk produce.
I posted on Facebook a note about the book I read on Ataturk and I mentioned the Turks "worship" of him. I think this offended a Turkish woman who is a friend by using the term worship. The Turks are torn between the nationalism and pride in a "modern Turkey" that they feel and the Koran. They are in direct conflict. Though they are not allowed by the Koran to make images of men, so that they will not worship anyone other than Allah, they have statues of Ataturk everywhere. When people are unsure of themselves they tend to offend easily, and this whole country offends easily. They feel they are totally modern, yet the world looks at them as medieval because they are Muslim. Call a spade a spade, fundamentalist Islam and modern civilization just don't go together, there is no example to the contrary, including Turkey. Turkey has no historical claim on the land they own other than the Ottoman conquest of it 800 years ago.
Back to our shopping. We need to get to the base at Incirlik soon, we are getting dangerously low on some staples like ice cream, Spam, garlic shrimp and worst of all, Peanut Butter. You can't find Peanut butter anywhere east of Bulgaria, weird.
We plan to spend one more day hanging out reading at the beach, tour two nearby UNESCO world heritage sites tomorrow and park down the road at a "Mopark” or RV park our Italian friends told us about. We hope that there is Internet so we can check our mail. I expect a reply from the companies we may use to ship back to the states. We need to find out if we can ship out of Bergan Norway, so we end the trip there, if not we will go back to South Hampton and fly out of London. I can't believe we already have to plan the end of the trip. Time to do some reading and designing. I am working on the plans for our boat, a 70 foot kayak- actually it will look like a normal boat, but very slender with very little draft, designed for and built on the St Johns river in Fla."
Living on Patara Beach
Exploring the Beach and ruins of Patara
"We explored the ruins. I am beginning to suspect that I am an eternal optimist, because each day seems to be the best. Today we experienced what few can, because it take the time to settle into a place that those without a beast RV just can't do it. We hiked across the wetlands that used to be the harbor of Patara, past the ruins of a tower that I guess was a lighthouse marking the western shore, across to the remains of the city and the theater. The theater was buried by sand until recently and is remarkably well preserved. We hung out there for about an hour, watched the Turks working on a the Bou, renovation. We then we went down to the beach thinking there might be someone selling food there. No such luck, the beach was empty, apocalyptic, so we had to hoof it back to Shachagra (long trip) for lunch. Stef and I took the Vespa into the village for food in the afternoon, bread, bananas, apples, tomatoes, milk, sunflower seeds (best in the world) pickled cabbage, Turk beer and a salted yogurt drink the Turks love called Airan (sounds like Iran) This area is so fertile, there are hothouses on every square foot each packed with produce plants. They produce much of Russia’s food right here in this area. This makes the two struggling former empires uneasy trading partners. Russian oil and Turk produce.
I posted on Facebook a note about the book I read on Ataturk and I mentioned the Turks "worship" of him. I think this offended a Turkish woman who is a friend by using the term worship. The Turks are torn between the nationalism and pride in a "modern Turkey" that they feel and the Koran. They are in direct conflict. Though they are not allowed by the Koran to make images of men, so that they will not worship anyone other than Allah, they have statues of Ataturk everywhere. When people are unsure of themselves they tend to offend easily, and this whole country offends easily. They feel they are totally modern, yet the world looks at them as medieval because they are Muslim. Call a spade a spade, fundamentalist Islam and modern civilization just don't go together, there is no example to the contrary, including Turkey. Turkey has no historical claim on the land they own other than the Ottoman conquest of it 800 years ago.
Back to our shopping. We need to get to the base at Incirlik soon, we are getting dangerously low on some staples like ice cream, Spam, garlic shrimp and worst of all, Peanut Butter. You can't find Peanut butter anywhere east of Bulgaria, weird.
We plan to spend one more day hanging out reading at the beach, tour two nearby UNESCO world heritage sites tomorrow and park down the road at a "Mopark” or RV park our Italian friends told us about. We hope that there is Internet so we can check our mail. I expect a reply from the companies we may use to ship back to the states. We need to find out if we can ship out of Bergan Norway, so we end the trip there, if not we will go back to South Hampton and fly out of London. I can't believe we already have to plan the end of the trip. Time to do some reading and designing. I am working on the plans for our boat, a 70 foot kayak- actually it will look like a normal boat, but very slender with very little draft, designed for and built on the St Johns river in Fla."
20 March
Exploring Lycian Cities
Xanthos, Letoon, Drive to KAS
Olympos Mocamp, Kas
"We left the beach this morning, grudgingly. We filled up our water and explored some UNESCO Heritage sites before hitting the road East for Kas, a small harbor city. We had heard great things about Kas from our Italian friends ( )
Xanthos was our first stop of the day, and a very relaxing visit. Originally a Lycian city, Xanthos was later settled by the usual cast , Persians, Greeks, Roman, Byzantine and finally Turkish in the 15th century. The site is undergoing renovation, but without any sense that it will ever be completed. Xanthos overlooks the river of the same name, and the modern city of Kinik.
Just a spell down the river we found Letoon, a similar Lycian ruin. Letoon was never a city, but a religious center, and has a very nice Helenistic temple and an amphitheater. The theater is a puzzle as to its use, must have attracted Lycians from Xanthos and Patara for events. Letoon was very difficult to find, tucked in amongst small farms, far back along small roads. There were two other large RVs parked out in front, taking up 125% of the available parking, so we had to get creative with Shachagra.
On the road, we covered the short 20 miles along the coast to an RV park, Olympos Mocamp, where we spent the night in order to get Internet access. We were the only visitors to the camp, and none of the facilities we open, but it is nice to have a place to park while we explore for a good parking spot and we found a perfect one."
Exploring Lycian Cities
Xanthos, Letoon, Drive to KAS
Olympos Mocamp, Kas
"We left the beach this morning, grudgingly. We filled up our water and explored some UNESCO Heritage sites before hitting the road East for Kas, a small harbor city. We had heard great things about Kas from our Italian friends ( )
Xanthos was our first stop of the day, and a very relaxing visit. Originally a Lycian city, Xanthos was later settled by the usual cast , Persians, Greeks, Roman, Byzantine and finally Turkish in the 15th century. The site is undergoing renovation, but without any sense that it will ever be completed. Xanthos overlooks the river of the same name, and the modern city of Kinik.
Just a spell down the river we found Letoon, a similar Lycian ruin. Letoon was never a city, but a religious center, and has a very nice Helenistic temple and an amphitheater. The theater is a puzzle as to its use, must have attracted Lycians from Xanthos and Patara for events. Letoon was very difficult to find, tucked in amongst small farms, far back along small roads. There were two other large RVs parked out in front, taking up 125% of the available parking, so we had to get creative with Shachagra.
On the road, we covered the short 20 miles along the coast to an RV park, Olympos Mocamp, where we spent the night in order to get Internet access. We were the only visitors to the camp, and none of the facilities we open, but it is nice to have a place to park while we explore for a good parking spot and we found a perfect one."
21-24 March
Paradise in Kas
Chilling, Wash, Boat tour of Coast
Spit of Land, water on two sides next to a beach bar
25 March
On the Road to Olympos
Cerali Beach
26-29 March
Cerali Beach
Exploring Ruins of Olympos, Kayaking, eating out in the village
Cerali Beach
"Came to a beach we saw on Google Earth to spend one night on our way to the Air Force base in Adana Turkey and I think we will be spending the week. It wasn't easy getting here, no problems and not stressful, but only because we are getting good at this. We parked the RV on the main road above the town, (way above the town, in the mountains) and took the Vespa down to make sure we could make the switchbacks in the truck. Single lane, but no problem. We got into the town, more a village where hippies hang out, and crossed a small river, right up to the beach and parked. The views are beautiful. I will post a video on facebook. We decided to spend a few days here and delay our visit to the base- have to get there soon, the peanut butter is almost gone. First night here we hiked up a mountain to a spot called Chimera, the eternal flame. Methane gas has been spewing flames from the rocks for longer than recorded history. It was a pretty hike- we Vespa'ed to the base of the mountain then hiked up. Flames were coming out all over the side of the mountain. Photos just don't do it justice. Yesterday we rented kayaks and paddle down the coast, today we hiked to the Greek ruins of the city of Olympos, settled in 200BC. It is like a set of Indiana Jones, fragmented ruins spread over a large area, completely covered by growth. You can still make out what some of the buildings were. From our spot we are also close to the ruins of a Genoa fortress from the 13th century. I crawled around it yesterday and we'll go back as a family tomorrow. Most of the time is spend laying on the beach and reading, or taking pictures."
30 March
Travel Day with Sights
Antalya Museum, Ruins of Perge,
Road camped just short of Aspendos Ruins
"We reluctantly left our home on the beach this morning to press on with the trip. It was like being in a warm cozy bed on a day that you don't have any specific reason to get out of bed, but you know you should get up and do something. Our something was to drive 45 miles to the city of Antalya to visit the museum there. So at 0900 we crossed the river, hoisted the Vespa (we left it out on the other side) wave goodbye to the grocers at "our" market and got on the road. We arrived at the museum and caused a bit of a sensation. It was early and the place was slow, so everyone came out to see the RV. Two lookers that were real lookers (Tugce and Ecem and t..) came up and asked if they could see the inside- so I had Grace give them a tour. I didn't want to look lecherous. They were really nice and asked us to tea, which we accepted. I don't want to sound mean, but to my tastes, a beautiful Turkish woman is a rarity. Possibly, when you go thousands of generations with women wearing head scarfs, good looks plays no role in natural selection and you breed ugly women. The opposite end of the spectrum are the Ukrainian women, reputed to be the most beautiful in the world, and I agree. Another whacky theory of mine is that during the war, the Ukrainian men were nearly wiped out. With many women and few men, only the best looking caught a men and had pretty little girls that are the beauties of legend today. Don't quote me on any of that stuff, I'd have to deny it! We had an interesting discussion about the contracting of the museums in Turkey. These girls were just recently hired after they tossed out the old staff and had a contractor take over museum operations. They explained that this great museum was losing money because the staff was corrupt and no one took entry fees for friends etc. Now they are under surveillance and will lose the job if they allow entry without pay. They said it was initially very hard to make folks pay and they would get mad. I thought it was odd the way they apologized to us for having to make us pay. As an American it would strikes me as odd if they don't make us pay. There is some hope for the Turkish tourist industry, they just need to change the culture of corruption.
We will keep in contact with our new "friends" on Facebook. Facebook is an amazing medium, everybody is on it, and you just need their name to keep in touch. We gain "friends" wherever we go.
After the museum we went into the town for lunch and a look-see. It was pretty crowded but we enjoyed it. We have done such a good job avoiding crowds that we like a change of pace (and face) every now and then. Next it was on the road to a ruin nearby called Perge. Spent about an hour there checking out the stadium, and the German tourist checking out the RV, and moved on. We were headed to a spot to spend the night off the road near our next destination of Aspendos.
The fuel prices here vary widely, from 3.18- 3.65 Turkish Lira, for a liter of diesel. That's $7.48 to $8.62 a gallon. I don't understand a $1.14 difference for the same gas, and the cheap stuff is hard to find. We've bought fuel for 3.33 and 3.25 and rarely see it below 3.60. Stef saw a station at 3.22 so we stopped and used all our cash to fill up ($625) requiring us to find an ATM for more cash. We normally get cash in the cities, outside the cities ATMs can be hard to find. The navigation system took us to the what it thought was the nearest ATM, which was on small roads so we parked the truck and Stef started on dinner while I went for a walk. The Tom Tom (nav system) ATM did not exist, as I was directed to to a run down residential area with chickens running all over. I asked a man and woman using my card to indicate what I wanted, where I could find an ATM. It is sometimes comical trying to communicate in two different languages. I was saved by another man in a nice car, wearing banker attire, who pulled up and drove me to an ATM. It was a good 3 miles away.
So here we sit, off the road about 1 mile from our next destination, Aspendos. Tour at 0830 and hit the road for the long 400 mile drive to the AFB at Incirlik."
Travel Day with Sights
Antalya Museum, Ruins of Perge,
Road camped just short of Aspendos Ruins
"We reluctantly left our home on the beach this morning to press on with the trip. It was like being in a warm cozy bed on a day that you don't have any specific reason to get out of bed, but you know you should get up and do something. Our something was to drive 45 miles to the city of Antalya to visit the museum there. So at 0900 we crossed the river, hoisted the Vespa (we left it out on the other side) wave goodbye to the grocers at "our" market and got on the road. We arrived at the museum and caused a bit of a sensation. It was early and the place was slow, so everyone came out to see the RV. Two lookers that were real lookers (Tugce and Ecem and t..) came up and asked if they could see the inside- so I had Grace give them a tour. I didn't want to look lecherous. They were really nice and asked us to tea, which we accepted. I don't want to sound mean, but to my tastes, a beautiful Turkish woman is a rarity. Possibly, when you go thousands of generations with women wearing head scarfs, good looks plays no role in natural selection and you breed ugly women. The opposite end of the spectrum are the Ukrainian women, reputed to be the most beautiful in the world, and I agree. Another whacky theory of mine is that during the war, the Ukrainian men were nearly wiped out. With many women and few men, only the best looking caught a men and had pretty little girls that are the beauties of legend today. Don't quote me on any of that stuff, I'd have to deny it! We had an interesting discussion about the contracting of the museums in Turkey. These girls were just recently hired after they tossed out the old staff and had a contractor take over museum operations. They explained that this great museum was losing money because the staff was corrupt and no one took entry fees for friends etc. Now they are under surveillance and will lose the job if they allow entry without pay. They said it was initially very hard to make folks pay and they would get mad. I thought it was odd the way they apologized to us for having to make us pay. As an American it would strikes me as odd if they don't make us pay. There is some hope for the Turkish tourist industry, they just need to change the culture of corruption.
We will keep in contact with our new "friends" on Facebook. Facebook is an amazing medium, everybody is on it, and you just need their name to keep in touch. We gain "friends" wherever we go.
After the museum we went into the town for lunch and a look-see. It was pretty crowded but we enjoyed it. We have done such a good job avoiding crowds that we like a change of pace (and face) every now and then. Next it was on the road to a ruin nearby called Perge. Spent about an hour there checking out the stadium, and the German tourist checking out the RV, and moved on. We were headed to a spot to spend the night off the road near our next destination of Aspendos.
The fuel prices here vary widely, from 3.18- 3.65 Turkish Lira, for a liter of diesel. That's $7.48 to $8.62 a gallon. I don't understand a $1.14 difference for the same gas, and the cheap stuff is hard to find. We've bought fuel for 3.33 and 3.25 and rarely see it below 3.60. Stef saw a station at 3.22 so we stopped and used all our cash to fill up ($625) requiring us to find an ATM for more cash. We normally get cash in the cities, outside the cities ATMs can be hard to find. The navigation system took us to the what it thought was the nearest ATM, which was on small roads so we parked the truck and Stef started on dinner while I went for a walk. The Tom Tom (nav system) ATM did not exist, as I was directed to to a run down residential area with chickens running all over. I asked a man and woman using my card to indicate what I wanted, where I could find an ATM. It is sometimes comical trying to communicate in two different languages. I was saved by another man in a nice car, wearing banker attire, who pulled up and drove me to an ATM. It was a good 3 miles away.
So here we sit, off the road about 1 mile from our next destination, Aspendos. Tour at 0830 and hit the road for the long 400 mile drive to the AFB at Incirlik."
31 March
Aspendos, Travel along the Coast
Ruins of Aspendos Amphitheater
Spent he night in Anamure, across from Mamure Castle
1 April
Exploring Mamure Castle, Cennet and Cehennem Caves
Spent the night in the caves parking lot
Exploring Mamure Castle, Cennet and Cehennem Caves
Spent the night in the caves parking lot
2 April
Transit to Incirlick Air Force Base
Transit to Incirlick Air Force Base
3-5 April
Taking advantage of a US base in Turkey
"I again sit in the Starbucks on base Incirlik in Adana Turkey. We have come a long way, we passed through the town Tarsus where the Apostle Paul was born on the way. In a few days we will be in the city where Abraham was born, a stone throw from the border of Syria, but today we are in the bosom of the US military. We went to the doctor this morning and I had my blood pressure prescription filled, Grace got a dental and doctor appointment, and Shannon will see a doctor about her knee on Wedn, so we have to stay around one extra day. I am ready to leave, especially since the exchange discovered we were retirees and retirees are not allowed to use the military stores in Turkey so we have been banned. We can use the food court and restaurants, but not exchange or commissary. Good thing Stef bought $700 worth of food yesterday. We could also just get someone to buy for us. I am making great use of the library, copying movies and documentaries, and downloading movies from the internet. No reason we can't watch the latest episodes of the Office just because we are in the far reaches of Turkey!
I need to recap some of our recent events.
The 400 miles to Adana were brutal. The coast road may look like a thick red line on a map, indicating a truck route, but it was bumpy, tight and full of curves and switchbacks. Slow going, so we only travel about 120 miles a day. Aspendos, the Roman theater was a good site, nice walk through miles of ruins, and a very intact theater. We love to sit in a seat and guess the nationality of the tourists as they pile off the tour busses and trudge in. Lots of French in Aspendos. We did meet a couple in another RV that came over to introduce themselves to the family in the monstrous RV. They were from Belgium, had been traveling in their RV for 2.5 years and had 6 months left on their trip. They aspire to build an off road RV like Shachagra, so they had many questions and were excited about a tour, which I love to give to the intelligent and well informed. We are "friends" on facebook already. They traveled all the way through Syria and into Jordan. No Syria for us, we will get about 10 miles from the border when we visit the city of Harran, where Abraham lived. After leaving Aspendos and the theater we drove a few more brutal hours to a huge castle right on the water that is not visited by many due to its remote location. We were looking for a place to park for the night when a guy flagged us down into a grass area next to a restaurant, a sign said free parking. We have had great luck being "guided" by folks with something to sell. in this case it was dinner and a place to spend the night. We were his only customers the whole night and he treated us like kings. He set up a table outside next to the RV, nice table cloth with flowers sprinkled on it. We weren't ready to eat so we just sat at the table looking across the road at the castle and the Mediterranean Sea beyond. I had Stef and I had a cold beer and read until it was time to order. When Stef ordered her beer he had to run out to the market to get it, he was the only one working there. 3 of us had fish, Charles and Grace had Kebobs. He came out and cut stuff from his garden and then brought out an amazing salad. Then bread and the meals. It was an amazing meal until we got the bill. 165 Turkish Lira, or about $100. That doesn't sound like much for 5, but it Turkey it was about 3 times what we had ever spent before on dinner. We hadn't even looked at a menu so we couldn't argue the price. Looking back, it was worth every penny, the fish was just amazing, but at the time we felt ripped off.
Next morning we woke and went to tour the castle. I went before everyone and there was no one there, no gates, barriers or anything, so I just started to explore. Had to go back for a flashlight because you could explore inside and there were no lights. Later a caretaker showed up, collected the $1.50 for admission and showed us all around the castle. He was so nice and so proud of the castle and the distances people came to see it. We were his 2nd Americans, the others had come from Alaska. He showed us his photo album and gave us his address to send pictures to add to it. Great morning followed by another brutal 120 miles. Next stop was the city of Narlikuyu where they had a mosaic museum (one room but free) and some amazing caves set at the bottom of a huge hole in the ground that the referred to as heaven (the bottom of the lush "hole") and "hell, the cave at the base of it. There was a 3rd century church at the bottom- overall very cool. We spent the night right at that site, Shannon went off to read amongst Greek ruins, Charles took the Vespa out to find internet ( I needed to get a letter that would let us on the base)
Our problem was that we didn't have permission to get on the base. Unlike the other European bases, this one is a Turk base that the US uses, so you have to get access by the Turks. I had our embassy, a friend who is the Naval Attache, request to the Turkish General Staff permission for entry to use to use the hospital. Pete wrote a letter in Turkish to the staff but hadn’t yet received a response. It was Saturday, no permission but we decided to give it a shot. I parked the RV away from the base and took our paperwork to the gate, after much consultation and discussions on the phone they told me to bring the entire family to the gate, and to leave our passports. I think they were a bit intimidated by the letter from the embassy, and kept repeating "CDR Catalano" over and over into the phone ( my friend at the embassy) The only glitch was that the letter said I was a Colonel, and they were confused by my rank of Captain (AF base and Capt is like a Navy LT) but once that was resolved they let us pass, despite my bending their gate with the truck. Charles took the chance of being on base to sand and paint all the scratches and scraps I get on Shachagra. I have figured out the rest of our route, 6000 more miles to go before we ship out of Bremerhaven Germany. It is a lot more expensive then shipping it over this way, by $2000."
6 April
Entering Kurdish Turkey
Explored Gaziantep
Spent the night in a truck parking area in the city center
120 miles east of the base, we are getting into the old Turkey, land of the caravans, Gaziantep. We stopped here to see a mosaics museum with an interesting story. In 2000 they were building a dam on the Euphrates river, but it was going to submerge some villages and ruins. This forced the government to "rescue" the areas of the ruins that would be below water. From this effort they filled a museum with ancient mosaics that is becoming famous. Unfortunately for us, they have taken most of the small museums in the city and combined them in one huge world class museum that doesn't open until May 1st. Pretty bad timing. Without much to see we left a day early, but not before tasting some world famous Baklava, expensive and disappointing but one of those things you have to try. We are finding the communication gap is the worst here it has ever been, no one speaks a word of English. Charles was trying to buy some pastry and when the vendor looked up to indicate "is that enough?" Charles would give a thumbs up, meaning its OK to us, the number one to them, so he would add another and look up, thumbs up, add another, until we realized the miscommunication and said no more. The biggest problem is with their eagerness to please, they jump to do whatever it was they incorrectly interpreted as what you wanted.
Entering Kurdish Turkey
Explored Gaziantep
Spent the night in a truck parking area in the city center
120 miles east of the base, we are getting into the old Turkey, land of the caravans, Gaziantep. We stopped here to see a mosaics museum with an interesting story. In 2000 they were building a dam on the Euphrates river, but it was going to submerge some villages and ruins. This forced the government to "rescue" the areas of the ruins that would be below water. From this effort they filled a museum with ancient mosaics that is becoming famous. Unfortunately for us, they have taken most of the small museums in the city and combined them in one huge world class museum that doesn't open until May 1st. Pretty bad timing. Without much to see we left a day early, but not before tasting some world famous Baklava, expensive and disappointing but one of those things you have to try. We are finding the communication gap is the worst here it has ever been, no one speaks a word of English. Charles was trying to buy some pastry and when the vendor looked up to indicate "is that enough?" Charles would give a thumbs up, meaning its OK to us, the number one to them, so he would add another and look up, thumbs up, add another, until we realized the miscommunication and said no more. The biggest problem is with their eagerness to please, they jump to do whatever it was they incorrectly interpreted as what you wanted.
7-9 April
Halfeti
Boat rides exploring the Euphrates, Submerged mosque
Parked right in the village square
"We are entering a part of Turkey that is exceptionally poor, and even into this century, most lived in caves carved into the mountains (more on those later.)
We took one detour on the route to Sanliurfa, a small village of Halfeti. Planned as a one night stop, we stayed 3. This village is quite the find. I looked it up on Google Earth, saw some great pictures and decided to go 18 miles out of our way to check it out. I had no idea it was a step off for ancient cliff dwelling, a massive 11th century castle or eerie sunken cities, but we saw them all. The first day we took two boats trips on the Euphrates River, one an hour North, and one two hours South. Picture the Euphrates as the Missouri winding through the white cliffs. We had a long descent into the village from the high ground surrounding it, so we stopped at the top and I was about to drop the Vepsa to reconnoiter the route when a truck pulled up and despite zero language in common we managed to figure out that the driver, Haliff, was a boat captain and wanted to take us on a tour of the river. We agreed on a price ($30 for two hours) and he agreed to lead us into a parking spot in the village, I need not get the Vespa. The parking spot was perfect, right in the center and overlooking the beautiful Euphrates. We met Haliff's father Mehmet and his brothers, all "Captains" and Mehmet showed me around. It caused quite a sensation to have Americans show up in their village, I do believe we are the first they have met. Next morning we left by boat expecting nothing more than a relaxing cruise down the river, but it was much more. We hadn't "putt putt'ed" 3/4 of a mile before we rounded a bend and saw a massive castle rise up out of the river. Rumkale Castle, with a history back to the Assyrians, but built up in the 11th century by the Byzantines is situated on a branch in the river that leaves a long peninsula surrounded and protected on 3 sides by water. The 4th side was unique, instead of a wall, they cut a 70 foot notch in the earth, making a barrier an intruder would have to scale down into, and them climb out of in the face of defenders. Grace and I got some great pictures of the castle reflected off the water. We stopped and explored on the way back, the highlight, other than the massive size, was the well, 24 feet wide and 225 feet deep. There were steps that went all the way down to the water that we almost didn't descend because the stairs were ancient and dark, but once around the first bend you could see light and we pressed on. These sites are unlike anything in the states, they are completely open and without any barriers. There was a church and monastery that were in pretty bad shape, but still recognizable.
The boat "Siyah Gul 2" (I think it means Black Rose) was impressive in its simplicity, a metal hull with a small diesel engine bolted to the floor that had a pull starter and no transmission. He would have to row into position, start it up and off she went. They need to be pretty to good to maneuver without a reverse gear, but then after he smacked the rock with no damage I realized what they lack in maneuverability, they make up in toughness.
Next we stopped at a village that was 1/2 submerged when they built a dam downstream on the river. The mosque was submerged with the minaret sticking up out of the water like a navigation marker. The entire village was abandoned save one old guy who served tea to visitors, and one family. I think the government relocated the families, like they did with all the people who lived in the caves in the area. I don't think Turkey wanted to be known as a country they still had people living in caves, so they just made them all move. They seem to be pretty good at relocating people in this part of the world. The abandoned houses were fascinating, they had started out as caves, then expanded out into stone buildings sticking out of the rock. It was very weird and a bit spooky, but the scenery was great. Later we explored some other caves on a walk and can see how they would have been pretty nice places to live, cool in the summer, great visibility, views, and breezes. They were set on ledges like small streets with terraced areas to plant crops on. Now those folks probably live in crumbly concrete houses in the city. Who's backwards? The caves even had water that was channeled through an aquaduct to a large cistern cut directly into the stone."
Halfeti
Boat rides exploring the Euphrates, Submerged mosque
Parked right in the village square
"We are entering a part of Turkey that is exceptionally poor, and even into this century, most lived in caves carved into the mountains (more on those later.)
We took one detour on the route to Sanliurfa, a small village of Halfeti. Planned as a one night stop, we stayed 3. This village is quite the find. I looked it up on Google Earth, saw some great pictures and decided to go 18 miles out of our way to check it out. I had no idea it was a step off for ancient cliff dwelling, a massive 11th century castle or eerie sunken cities, but we saw them all. The first day we took two boats trips on the Euphrates River, one an hour North, and one two hours South. Picture the Euphrates as the Missouri winding through the white cliffs. We had a long descent into the village from the high ground surrounding it, so we stopped at the top and I was about to drop the Vepsa to reconnoiter the route when a truck pulled up and despite zero language in common we managed to figure out that the driver, Haliff, was a boat captain and wanted to take us on a tour of the river. We agreed on a price ($30 for two hours) and he agreed to lead us into a parking spot in the village, I need not get the Vespa. The parking spot was perfect, right in the center and overlooking the beautiful Euphrates. We met Haliff's father Mehmet and his brothers, all "Captains" and Mehmet showed me around. It caused quite a sensation to have Americans show up in their village, I do believe we are the first they have met. Next morning we left by boat expecting nothing more than a relaxing cruise down the river, but it was much more. We hadn't "putt putt'ed" 3/4 of a mile before we rounded a bend and saw a massive castle rise up out of the river. Rumkale Castle, with a history back to the Assyrians, but built up in the 11th century by the Byzantines is situated on a branch in the river that leaves a long peninsula surrounded and protected on 3 sides by water. The 4th side was unique, instead of a wall, they cut a 70 foot notch in the earth, making a barrier an intruder would have to scale down into, and them climb out of in the face of defenders. Grace and I got some great pictures of the castle reflected off the water. We stopped and explored on the way back, the highlight, other than the massive size, was the well, 24 feet wide and 225 feet deep. There were steps that went all the way down to the water that we almost didn't descend because the stairs were ancient and dark, but once around the first bend you could see light and we pressed on. These sites are unlike anything in the states, they are completely open and without any barriers. There was a church and monastery that were in pretty bad shape, but still recognizable.
The boat "Siyah Gul 2" (I think it means Black Rose) was impressive in its simplicity, a metal hull with a small diesel engine bolted to the floor that had a pull starter and no transmission. He would have to row into position, start it up and off she went. They need to be pretty to good to maneuver without a reverse gear, but then after he smacked the rock with no damage I realized what they lack in maneuverability, they make up in toughness.
Next we stopped at a village that was 1/2 submerged when they built a dam downstream on the river. The mosque was submerged with the minaret sticking up out of the water like a navigation marker. The entire village was abandoned save one old guy who served tea to visitors, and one family. I think the government relocated the families, like they did with all the people who lived in the caves in the area. I don't think Turkey wanted to be known as a country they still had people living in caves, so they just made them all move. They seem to be pretty good at relocating people in this part of the world. The abandoned houses were fascinating, they had started out as caves, then expanded out into stone buildings sticking out of the rock. It was very weird and a bit spooky, but the scenery was great. Later we explored some other caves on a walk and can see how they would have been pretty nice places to live, cool in the summer, great visibility, views, and breezes. They were set on ledges like small streets with terraced areas to plant crops on. Now those folks probably live in crumbly concrete houses in the city. Who's backwards? The caves even had water that was channeled through an aquaduct to a large cistern cut directly into the stone."
10 April
Sanliurfa
Lunch, Celebration, Balikli Gol, Archeological Museum
The historic city of Urfa added the prefix Sanli (Glorious) to it name in 1984 in honor of the local resistance in the Turkish War of Independence. It can be confusing as some of the people still refer to it as simply Urfa. We visited on a day when the city was celebrating its military past and its veterans. We believe this was a local holiday.
"We are in Sanliurfa right now- we attract attention in or out of the RV now. Friendly attention though. The children joined in on a Turkish celebration dancing line today. We were the hit of the party. I was taking constant photos, the children love it. Our binoculars are like magic. We ate lunch at a nice place with a great view of the castle and I took out the binoculars (we have really good ones) to take a look and the waiter asked if he could see them, they took them to the balcony and fought over them laughing the entire time. Modern miracles. The celebration was a highlight and we heard it long before we saw it, just a beating of a drum and chanting. We walked past, minding out business but really very interested when Shannon said we were missing a great opportunity and walked back. A women asked her to join in, she accepted and we were part of the party. It wasn’t much of a dance, elevate on your toes, back down and baby step to the side- and repeat. The other two joined in, Stef managed the binoculars exhibition, and though I tried to document my children enjoying a “Rick Steve’s moment” I was attacked by picture hungry children. It’s the reverse paparazzi, the cameraman gets attack by throngs wanting their picture taken. They are “Izzarapap.” It was fun, but when faced with the potential of being invited to stay for something more we got underway, with a pack of tween boys in tow. We couldn’t lose them and didn’t want to lead them back to the RV, so we stopped in a park, and once they presenting each of the girls (including Stef) with a plastic ring and their undying love, they went on their way. We are the most anti-social travelers in the world. When an attempt is made to invite us to stay at someone’s house, we use the lack of common language to our advantage. The boat captains in Halifa wanted us to come over for dinner and Raki- “hard drinking” so we made it too hard an invite to make. Its nice of them, but too exhausting to socialize when you don’t speak the same language (even when you do.) "
Sanliurfa
Lunch, Celebration, Balikli Gol, Archeological Museum
The historic city of Urfa added the prefix Sanli (Glorious) to it name in 1984 in honor of the local resistance in the Turkish War of Independence. It can be confusing as some of the people still refer to it as simply Urfa. We visited on a day when the city was celebrating its military past and its veterans. We believe this was a local holiday.
"We are in Sanliurfa right now- we attract attention in or out of the RV now. Friendly attention though. The children joined in on a Turkish celebration dancing line today. We were the hit of the party. I was taking constant photos, the children love it. Our binoculars are like magic. We ate lunch at a nice place with a great view of the castle and I took out the binoculars (we have really good ones) to take a look and the waiter asked if he could see them, they took them to the balcony and fought over them laughing the entire time. Modern miracles. The celebration was a highlight and we heard it long before we saw it, just a beating of a drum and chanting. We walked past, minding out business but really very interested when Shannon said we were missing a great opportunity and walked back. A women asked her to join in, she accepted and we were part of the party. It wasn’t much of a dance, elevate on your toes, back down and baby step to the side- and repeat. The other two joined in, Stef managed the binoculars exhibition, and though I tried to document my children enjoying a “Rick Steve’s moment” I was attacked by picture hungry children. It’s the reverse paparazzi, the cameraman gets attack by throngs wanting their picture taken. They are “Izzarapap.” It was fun, but when faced with the potential of being invited to stay for something more we got underway, with a pack of tween boys in tow. We couldn’t lose them and didn’t want to lead them back to the RV, so we stopped in a park, and once they presenting each of the girls (including Stef) with a plastic ring and their undying love, they went on their way. We are the most anti-social travelers in the world. When an attempt is made to invite us to stay at someone’s house, we use the lack of common language to our advantage. The boat captains in Halifa wanted us to come over for dinner and Raki- “hard drinking” so we made it too hard an invite to make. Its nice of them, but too exhausting to socialize when you don’t speak the same language (even when you do.) "
11 April
Harran, Biblical Village of Abraham
Spent the night outside Beehive house
Speaking of accepting invitations to dinner, we did just that Harran, but we are paying for it, and it is just us in one of the old Mud houses. Harran is famous as one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The Univerisity of Harran, the oldest in the world, is over 5000 years ago. But the real claim to fame is that it is recorded in the bible that Abraham lived here and while here married his second wife Sarah. The mud houses the residents lived in until this generation may be unchanged since his time. The construction is simple, the roof consists of many cone shaped, brick stacked, mud covered roofs. There are only 3 places in the world that have structures like these, other two are Damascus Syria and Alberobella Italy, we stayed in one there. Unfortunately they don’t use them now, instead they live in ugly concrete block buildings, so the old mud “beehive” houses are used as stables or are falling down. It’s sad to think that a form of life that has survived for 5000 years is dying. Our guide Halill’s great grandfather lived in Harran a mud “beehouse” with his 9 wives and 40 children. They seem very proud of the great grandfather that came from Iraq into Turkey. The old man (Halill’s father) greets all the visitors with his only English phrase “I have 5 boys, 5 girls and only one wife!” comparing his virility to grandpa who would have needed 2.3 wives to make 10 children. Building with mud hasn’t died out completely, I watched a woman patch the roof of her concrete block building with mud and hay. There exists an inbred need to do things the old way. In Sanliurfa I saw, carved into the rock wall created by a newly cut road through a hill, a cave, complete with nice front door. Our guide Halill, nice guy, very interesting, was the second Turk to ripped us off, but I’d do it over again, so it can’t be much of a crime. He stopped our truck, offered to act as guide and when pressed for a price said “60-70 lira, more if you think, nothing if you think” His tour consisted of a visit to his families mud “store” where his sisters tried to sell us stuff. He then took us to see 3 nearby sights and back to the store. Total tour = 2 hours, one hour in the store. Not worth 50 lira, but I gave him 60. The following act, that is I’m sure well practiced, was worth the extra 20 we finally agreed on. We got the best look at an original mud house you can get, his mom made us dinner at good price, and we are sleeping parked outside their mudhouse. The dinner was interesting, fun, educational and at times uncomfortable. There is no restaurant in the city and they offered to make us a traditional dinner, which we hoped would to be served in the old house so that is where we reported at 1800 when they told us it would be ready. We played cards and chatted with one of the brothers wives. Finally they told us their father was ready and led us into the cement block house where we were eating with the family, brothers, sisters, wifes, children, everyone sitting around a clothe that they laid out on the floor. The women brought in handfuls of this thin pita bread and throw it in front of each person, throw a bunch of forks out, set two large platters of grub in the center and everyone attacked like animals. The food was actually really good and I enjoyed playing Conan, grabbing food, dipping rolls in the collective bowl and generally pigged out. It was fun. There were a few things that bothered me, first was the fathers constant chomping in my ear, second when he tried insistently to sell us a rug at dinner, baffled when we wouldn’t buy, then the sons attempts to get my sweater or Shannon’s hat, their constant inquiry as to how much the RV cost and the awkwardness of paying for a friendly family visit. I know they were making plans on how to get a bit more cash out of us the next morning so we left early like cowards. The women seem so nice, sensible, friendly and beaten down, and the men seem like they need a lot more nagging by a good woman. Stef showed the women the RV, they were awed, and when the small boy who was with them asked her how much the RV cost, the woman smacked him. The men could have used a bit of the same. A few more interesting notes. They speak Arabic first, Turk second with no Kurdish at all. They are surrounded by Turks who speak Kurdish first, Turkish second and Arabic not at all. They share language with the Syrians to the south. I guess that’s like many Mexican living in the US. The children here are like sharks. During the summer they attack tour busses. We saw it just once, they were begging at the door of a tour bus and once someone started to hand out food they swarmed like carp at pymatouming lake. I got a video and it’s scary. This is what you see anytime you get wealthy people that can provide a days wage with one small tip. I was uncomfortable with the way we were constantly scammed, but understand it and can appreciate how well it was done. Harran also has a large Hittites fortress, added onto by Romans. Great to explore but I miss the beach.
Harran, Biblical Village of Abraham
Spent the night outside Beehive house
Speaking of accepting invitations to dinner, we did just that Harran, but we are paying for it, and it is just us in one of the old Mud houses. Harran is famous as one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The Univerisity of Harran, the oldest in the world, is over 5000 years ago. But the real claim to fame is that it is recorded in the bible that Abraham lived here and while here married his second wife Sarah. The mud houses the residents lived in until this generation may be unchanged since his time. The construction is simple, the roof consists of many cone shaped, brick stacked, mud covered roofs. There are only 3 places in the world that have structures like these, other two are Damascus Syria and Alberobella Italy, we stayed in one there. Unfortunately they don’t use them now, instead they live in ugly concrete block buildings, so the old mud “beehive” houses are used as stables or are falling down. It’s sad to think that a form of life that has survived for 5000 years is dying. Our guide Halill’s great grandfather lived in Harran a mud “beehouse” with his 9 wives and 40 children. They seem very proud of the great grandfather that came from Iraq into Turkey. The old man (Halill’s father) greets all the visitors with his only English phrase “I have 5 boys, 5 girls and only one wife!” comparing his virility to grandpa who would have needed 2.3 wives to make 10 children. Building with mud hasn’t died out completely, I watched a woman patch the roof of her concrete block building with mud and hay. There exists an inbred need to do things the old way. In Sanliurfa I saw, carved into the rock wall created by a newly cut road through a hill, a cave, complete with nice front door. Our guide Halill, nice guy, very interesting, was the second Turk to ripped us off, but I’d do it over again, so it can’t be much of a crime. He stopped our truck, offered to act as guide and when pressed for a price said “60-70 lira, more if you think, nothing if you think” His tour consisted of a visit to his families mud “store” where his sisters tried to sell us stuff. He then took us to see 3 nearby sights and back to the store. Total tour = 2 hours, one hour in the store. Not worth 50 lira, but I gave him 60. The following act, that is I’m sure well practiced, was worth the extra 20 we finally agreed on. We got the best look at an original mud house you can get, his mom made us dinner at good price, and we are sleeping parked outside their mudhouse. The dinner was interesting, fun, educational and at times uncomfortable. There is no restaurant in the city and they offered to make us a traditional dinner, which we hoped would to be served in the old house so that is where we reported at 1800 when they told us it would be ready. We played cards and chatted with one of the brothers wives. Finally they told us their father was ready and led us into the cement block house where we were eating with the family, brothers, sisters, wifes, children, everyone sitting around a clothe that they laid out on the floor. The women brought in handfuls of this thin pita bread and throw it in front of each person, throw a bunch of forks out, set two large platters of grub in the center and everyone attacked like animals. The food was actually really good and I enjoyed playing Conan, grabbing food, dipping rolls in the collective bowl and generally pigged out. It was fun. There were a few things that bothered me, first was the fathers constant chomping in my ear, second when he tried insistently to sell us a rug at dinner, baffled when we wouldn’t buy, then the sons attempts to get my sweater or Shannon’s hat, their constant inquiry as to how much the RV cost and the awkwardness of paying for a friendly family visit. I know they were making plans on how to get a bit more cash out of us the next morning so we left early like cowards. The women seem so nice, sensible, friendly and beaten down, and the men seem like they need a lot more nagging by a good woman. Stef showed the women the RV, they were awed, and when the small boy who was with them asked her how much the RV cost, the woman smacked him. The men could have used a bit of the same. A few more interesting notes. They speak Arabic first, Turk second with no Kurdish at all. They are surrounded by Turks who speak Kurdish first, Turkish second and Arabic not at all. They share language with the Syrians to the south. I guess that’s like many Mexican living in the US. The children here are like sharks. During the summer they attack tour busses. We saw it just once, they were begging at the door of a tour bus and once someone started to hand out food they swarmed like carp at pymatouming lake. I got a video and it’s scary. This is what you see anytime you get wealthy people that can provide a days wage with one small tip. I was uncomfortable with the way we were constantly scammed, but understand it and can appreciate how well it was done. Harran also has a large Hittites fortress, added onto by Romans. Great to explore but I miss the beach.
12 April
Sanilurfa
Cave of Abraham's birth and Mosque, Castle of Urfa, food shopping
Off E90 just west of Dagyani
Most of the dribble I send is highlights of what we see, but little on our everyday life. I was sitting in the tub last night mentally reviewing what was a pretty typical day in the RV. I thought it would be nice to document a typical day. It turned out to have some extraordinary events later, but let me describe the day. I woke at 0600 parked next to the Beehive Mud Houses of Harran. Grace and Shannon were already hard at study and though I appreciated the history and beauty of what I could see out my window I wanted to hit the road before our hosts found a way to drain us of more money. We left for the return to Sanliurfa and a planned stopped for reasonably priced gas at a huge station we had seen on the way to Harran the day before. We were down to 40% on our water as well and wanted to top up. The station was closed so we filled up the tanks while it poured rain for the 3rd straight day. Our shoes were caked in mud so we washed them as well. The tanks filled very fast as the supply hose was huge, the only delay being the difficulty we had with a stuck tank access hatch. Once done with water we filled with diesel, 3.30 TL a liter and we took 371 liters, or 98 gallons for 1226 TL or $766, $7.80 a gallon. We stayed parked at the station to wait for better weather, our next adventure was outdoors. I was soaked and took a hot bath while everyone used the Internet which we could get from the gas station- Charles had to go in and get the password, but it is so nice when we can update from inside the RV. We had a great lunch of steak, mashed potatoes and corn and watch “the history man” a DVD course in western history. We have been very bad about our DVD courses since I downloaded two seasons of “Modern Family” while we were in Incirlik, we watch two episodes a day. The weather broke so we moved on into Sanliurfa, found a place to park, but it started to rain again so we waited out more rain before we walked to the castle and the birthcave of Abraham. It is always so hard to figure out what you should and should not do in the muslim cultures, there were women entrances, men entrances, mixed etc. We managed to get into the cave which is packed with muslim pilgrims, and then to a very nice mosque where we took some photos of Grace for American Girl magazine before heading off to the castle where legend has it Abraham was catapulted off the wall by the Assyrian King Nimrod, after his attempt to burn him was thwarted by God by turning fire into water. Maybe that’s where we get the phrase “He’s such a Nimrod.” These the legends are so clearly not true as to be funny, there is no historical basis for them and the columns they claim King Nimrod used sure look to be Roman (not built until thousands of years later) but Muslims travel from all over to see these “holy places.” On the way back to the RV we did a little produce shopping, bought our 20 pounds of carrots for $1.30 and then hit the road. We only drove an hour and then at 1700 parked a good 50 feet off the road opposite a small market and settled in for the night.
Shades go down with the sun and we could be anywhere and still be home. That’s when I decided to write this account of a “typical day” after I took my second bath of the day. That was 2 days ago and I still haven’t finished. The day wasn’t over and was about to become not typical, but extraordinary, when a truck ran down a small car on the road 50 feet from us. I heard the bang but didn’t even look out until later when I heard people. When we looked out, the quiet, dark night had become a buzz of activity as people were trying to get the passengers out of the mangled car and couldn’t. We didn’t leave the RV, there were plenty of people to help, in fact we moved off a ways as we were getting in the way of the diverted traffic. So we had front row seats to what looked like a TV drama. Amazingly, all 3 people in the car seemed OK when they were taken away in ambulances. In the morning when found that the excitement hadn’t ended when we went to sleep. One of the trucks that had been diverted around the wreck had tried to cross over too soon and had rolled onto its side. Not a good day for Turkish traffic. That is why we never drive at night.
Sanilurfa
Cave of Abraham's birth and Mosque, Castle of Urfa, food shopping
Off E90 just west of Dagyani
Most of the dribble I send is highlights of what we see, but little on our everyday life. I was sitting in the tub last night mentally reviewing what was a pretty typical day in the RV. I thought it would be nice to document a typical day. It turned out to have some extraordinary events later, but let me describe the day. I woke at 0600 parked next to the Beehive Mud Houses of Harran. Grace and Shannon were already hard at study and though I appreciated the history and beauty of what I could see out my window I wanted to hit the road before our hosts found a way to drain us of more money. We left for the return to Sanliurfa and a planned stopped for reasonably priced gas at a huge station we had seen on the way to Harran the day before. We were down to 40% on our water as well and wanted to top up. The station was closed so we filled up the tanks while it poured rain for the 3rd straight day. Our shoes were caked in mud so we washed them as well. The tanks filled very fast as the supply hose was huge, the only delay being the difficulty we had with a stuck tank access hatch. Once done with water we filled with diesel, 3.30 TL a liter and we took 371 liters, or 98 gallons for 1226 TL or $766, $7.80 a gallon. We stayed parked at the station to wait for better weather, our next adventure was outdoors. I was soaked and took a hot bath while everyone used the Internet which we could get from the gas station- Charles had to go in and get the password, but it is so nice when we can update from inside the RV. We had a great lunch of steak, mashed potatoes and corn and watch “the history man” a DVD course in western history. We have been very bad about our DVD courses since I downloaded two seasons of “Modern Family” while we were in Incirlik, we watch two episodes a day. The weather broke so we moved on into Sanliurfa, found a place to park, but it started to rain again so we waited out more rain before we walked to the castle and the birthcave of Abraham. It is always so hard to figure out what you should and should not do in the muslim cultures, there were women entrances, men entrances, mixed etc. We managed to get into the cave which is packed with muslim pilgrims, and then to a very nice mosque where we took some photos of Grace for American Girl magazine before heading off to the castle where legend has it Abraham was catapulted off the wall by the Assyrian King Nimrod, after his attempt to burn him was thwarted by God by turning fire into water. Maybe that’s where we get the phrase “He’s such a Nimrod.” These the legends are so clearly not true as to be funny, there is no historical basis for them and the columns they claim King Nimrod used sure look to be Roman (not built until thousands of years later) but Muslims travel from all over to see these “holy places.” On the way back to the RV we did a little produce shopping, bought our 20 pounds of carrots for $1.30 and then hit the road. We only drove an hour and then at 1700 parked a good 50 feet off the road opposite a small market and settled in for the night.
Shades go down with the sun and we could be anywhere and still be home. That’s when I decided to write this account of a “typical day” after I took my second bath of the day. That was 2 days ago and I still haven’t finished. The day wasn’t over and was about to become not typical, but extraordinary, when a truck ran down a small car on the road 50 feet from us. I heard the bang but didn’t even look out until later when I heard people. When we looked out, the quiet, dark night had become a buzz of activity as people were trying to get the passengers out of the mangled car and couldn’t. We didn’t leave the RV, there were plenty of people to help, in fact we moved off a ways as we were getting in the way of the diverted traffic. So we had front row seats to what looked like a TV drama. Amazingly, all 3 people in the car seemed OK when they were taken away in ambulances. In the morning when found that the excitement hadn’t ended when we went to sleep. One of the trucks that had been diverted around the wreck had tried to cross over too soon and had rolled onto its side. Not a good day for Turkish traffic. That is why we never drive at night.
13 April
Mardin, Beginning of our trials with Kurdish Punks
Drive to Merdin, City tour, Mardin Museum
Parked by city square but left due to harassment by punks, stopped outside of town.
The visit to Mardin began the most stressful part of our trip, bad roads and bands of young punks, 5-20 year olds that ran in packs like feral dogs. We had to move in Mardin, had rocks thrown at us right after our arrival in Hassenkef, the truck was sabotaged (fuel pump wires ripped out) sometime while we were along the Tigris, we were physically harassed by very young boys in Diyabakir, and finally run out of another parking spot by a pack of boys near Nemrut Dagi. It wasn't terrible, but a bit of a hassle and a worry. Our plan to head back West from Hassenkef seemed like a very good choice.
Mardin, Beginning of our trials with Kurdish Punks
Drive to Merdin, City tour, Mardin Museum
Parked by city square but left due to harassment by punks, stopped outside of town.
The visit to Mardin began the most stressful part of our trip, bad roads and bands of young punks, 5-20 year olds that ran in packs like feral dogs. We had to move in Mardin, had rocks thrown at us right after our arrival in Hassenkef, the truck was sabotaged (fuel pump wires ripped out) sometime while we were along the Tigris, we were physically harassed by very young boys in Diyabakir, and finally run out of another parking spot by a pack of boys near Nemrut Dagi. It wasn't terrible, but a bit of a hassle and a worry. Our plan to head back West from Hassenkef seemed like a very good choice.
14 - 16 April
The end of the road east.
Travel to Hassankef, 3 days exploring cave dwellings, the old town and the Tigris River.
Camping along the shore of the Tigris
We have been through Mardin- very modern town but with no beer and people who thought it OK to just open our door to say hi, and are now as far East as we will go, Hasankeyf on the Tigris river. A few years ago I saw an article in National Geographic on places to go see while you still can, and this was one of them. In 4 years it will be at the bottom of a lake formed by a dam along with 4000 years of manmade stuff. The thing I like the most are the remains of a bridge, just the uprights, but very impressive. I was surprised to find out that the Muslims believe that it wasn’t Isaac that Abraham almost sacrificed, it was his son Ishmael, by the Egyptian slave Hagar. It is Ishmael that the Arab world, and thus the Muslims, descended from. They have the same old testament, but interpret it differently. Someone out there might have it right, but I doubt it and don’t know who that might be. All I know is that anyone who says they have the definitive answers, doesn’t.
17 April
Travel Day
Spent night outside of Diyarbakir Turkey
We can’t expect all days to be perfect, and the last few days have been a trial. After 4 great days in Hasankeyf we got underway and found that the wiring to the fuel sensor on the drivers side had been yanked out. Probably some punk kid, and the same one who stole all but one of the straps and the bike lock holding our ladder onto the bumper. It would have been much harder on the thief if I had locked the lock, but I had used it for the Vespa and left it unlocked. The ladder was easily fixed by using rope and bringing it in at night until I get a new lock, but the gas gage is a hassle. We go so long between fill-ups that it isn’t a gage I need all the time, but it controls the transfer pump between the two tanks, so I was basically down to one tank, with not way to monitor it other than to open it up and look. I tried to fix the sensor, but the wires were ripped out, not cut and we couldn’t mend the connection. I couldn’t pull the sensor out because to do that you need to drop the fuel tank. All I could do was wire the transfer pump to a power source (cigarette lighter) and we’ll have to manually transfer every couple of days. It really puts me in a foul mood because it makes me feel vulnerable. Mean spirited people can really make life hard
We left Hasankeyf about 1300 and drove to another Eastern, Kurdish dominated city of Diyabakir. It was just too big a city, too late in the day for my foul mood so we drove past, out of the main part and parked on the outskirts. That is where we worked on the transfer pump and filled the water tanks, they were below 50%, which is unusual for us. We could have made it with smaller tanks but its nice to have the extra.
Got a first hand and close up look at Turkish police procedures from the comfort of our living room. While parked outside Diyabakir, in a nice quiet place, very little traffic we were awaken about 2200 by some commotion outside and light flashing into our windows. To my surprise and slight concern we were surrounded by Turkish police, cars parked in front of us and sharply dressed police, 20 strong all about. It didn’t seem that they had much interest in the RV, but I stepped out to make sure we weren’t doing anything wrong. They were very nice and indicated that there was no problem with us sleeping there, and I thought I understood one of them saying in broken English that we might want to close our windows. Odd thing to say on a warm night, but he was right. We soon found that the posse was a police checkpoint team that just happened to set up shop directly outside our galley window. It was very interesting, they would flag random cars and search them completely, including frisking the drivers. They must not have a strong ACLU here in Turkey. I found it easy to sleep, waking only once when for some reason they were loading some guy’s car onto a hauler, and he was not at all happy, yelling the whole time. The police were very patient and professional with him. We may not get TV but we have some interesting real life dramas to watch.
Back to our series of unfortunate events. The roads are very rough here and occasionally I can’t slow down in time for large unfilled, unmarked moon craters and we bounce hard. The casualties have been few but painful. Our rice cooker wasn’t stowed away and crashed to the floor and out of our lives. Then a few days later a cabinet pops open and a can of chili falls on the ceramic stovetop and shatters it. Lesson learned, lock the cabinets and don’t store hammers or cans of chili above a glass top. Luckily we had some exhaust pipe aluminum tape that we taped the top up with and it still works. That’s a $1600 stove!
18 April
Heading West
Tour of Diyarbakir, lunch out then travel to Nemrud Dagi, Ferry across the Euphrates
Campground at the base of Nemrut Dagi
Diyarbakir was one of my least favorite cities. I wanted to stop here for two reasons, one it is the largest city in the area, and two, I was assigned to take a helicopter detachment into Diyarbakir at the start of the Gulf war part two. We were going to fly Special operations support flights out of Turkey into Northern Iraq. After all our planning and preparation the detachment was canceled due to Turkeys protest of our involvement. I always wanted to see what it was like.
I wasn't impressed. True we were very tired, but the city didn't seem to hold much more than packs of ferrel youngsters that were bold enough to run up and pat the girls on the rear and taunt us. There were adults who tried to run them off but they would just follow us until we decided to just get back on the road.
19 April
Wash Day
Campground
We found a small campground very close to the base of the mountain that is the site of one of the most amazing tributes a megalomaniac has ever made for himself. The statues are thought to have been erected around the burial place of King Antiochus, 64 BC. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The campsite was little more than a family dwelling with a bathroom built in the large back yard. No external power but running water, so there was no problem washing and hanging the clothes out to dry. Like most of our time in Turkey, there were very few other tourists.
20 April
Nemrut Dagi
Roadside, next to a lake near Darende
Nemrut Dagi
Roadside, next to a lake near Darende
21 April
Another travel day
Spent the night just outside Kayseri
The good news is, the roads should get much better, we are out of the Wild Wild East. Once we were clear of the underdeveloped Eastern area and the roads began to improve I saw the Golden Arches for the first time in over two months. I can’t believe how excited it made me, and it may be my imagination but the road ahead suddenly turned perfectly smooth, just like in the good old USA.
22 April
Cave Dwellings of Zelve
Spent the night just outside the entrance to the park
Our return to civilization also brings with it tourists. We stopped at Zelve, an Ottoman Greek cave village to spend the night after we explored. I felt like we had entered the shire in Lord of the Rings, surrounded by these pillars of rock that had houses cut into them. Houses and churches and monasteries. Some have collapsed but some were intact and we could climb all through them. The Greeks were relocated in the 1920s when Turkey became a country with none of the tolerance the Ottoman empire had and they kicked out all the Greeks. Greece did the same and there was a huge population exchange. The children are getting a bit tired of exploring cave dwellings, but fortunately we have toured them from mediocre to best, so they are always a bit better than the last. We woke this morning surrounded by hot air balloons, a big activity here, but much too expensive for us to participate in. One landed right behind us to swap passengers and I went out to watch. It was comical, a Eastern European pilot with a mixed Japanese, French passenger list. He was in the middle trying to give directions to the 10 Japanese, 10 French in English and I think I was the only one to understand a word he said. They weren’t even listening to him as he tried to get their attention. It was interesting to watch him take off and sail over the mountains.
Cave Dwellings of Zelve
Spent the night just outside the entrance to the park
Our return to civilization also brings with it tourists. We stopped at Zelve, an Ottoman Greek cave village to spend the night after we explored. I felt like we had entered the shire in Lord of the Rings, surrounded by these pillars of rock that had houses cut into them. Houses and churches and monasteries. Some have collapsed but some were intact and we could climb all through them. The Greeks were relocated in the 1920s when Turkey became a country with none of the tolerance the Ottoman empire had and they kicked out all the Greeks. Greece did the same and there was a huge population exchange. The children are getting a bit tired of exploring cave dwellings, but fortunately we have toured them from mediocre to best, so they are always a bit better than the last. We woke this morning surrounded by hot air balloons, a big activity here, but much too expensive for us to participate in. One landed right behind us to swap passengers and I went out to watch. It was comical, a Eastern European pilot with a mixed Japanese, French passenger list. He was in the middle trying to give directions to the 10 Japanese, 10 French in English and I think I was the only one to understand a word he said. They weren’t even listening to him as he tried to get their attention. It was interesting to watch him take off and sail over the mountains.
23-27 April
Goreme and Camping the Wilds of Capadocia
Rock Churches, Exploring, Horseback riding
Camping just outside Goreme
Cappadocia has been awesome, the true meaning of the word. We planned to spend 5 days here and stayed 12. Flexibility. We have done so much walking and climbing the last 12 days, it feels like we have been in every cave church in Byzantium, but we have only gotten a feel for how many there were. Most of Turkey’s tourist sites are from early Christians, nothing from the Ottoman Empire or modern Turkey. The balloons are a modern attraction and we have certainly seen much of them. Every morning starting at about 0530 there was a 3 hour stream of balloons, all very pretty.
Goreme and Camping the Wilds of Capadocia
Rock Churches, Exploring, Horseback riding
Camping just outside Goreme
Cappadocia has been awesome, the true meaning of the word. We planned to spend 5 days here and stayed 12. Flexibility. We have done so much walking and climbing the last 12 days, it feels like we have been in every cave church in Byzantium, but we have only gotten a feel for how many there were. Most of Turkey’s tourist sites are from early Christians, nothing from the Ottoman Empire or modern Turkey. The balloons are a modern attraction and we have certainly seen much of them. Every morning starting at about 0530 there was a 3 hour stream of balloons, all very pretty.
28 April
Night In a Campground
Fill Water, Wash Clothes
Goreme Camping
Night In a Campground
Fill Water, Wash Clothes
Goreme Camping
29 April
Caravansary and Greek towns with no Greeks
On the road, Caravanseri, Mustapasha
Outside Mustapasha
The last day in Goreme we needed to get water but didn’t want to pay what I thought were high prices for one of the RV parks there. We pay too much at any park that charges by the person, we don’t use the toilet or showers, just fill with water. We drove to the stables where we had ridden horses a few days earlier and asked if we could use their water hose, they said yes. Just after we started filling I noticed the small trailer with 5 gallon jugs in it they use to haul water and stopped, we would use two trips of water. We went to the RV park, filled, washed clothes, filled again and left the following morning.
Caravansary and Greek towns with no Greeks
On the road, Caravanseri, Mustapasha
Outside Mustapasha
The last day in Goreme we needed to get water but didn’t want to pay what I thought were high prices for one of the RV parks there. We pay too much at any park that charges by the person, we don’t use the toilet or showers, just fill with water. We drove to the stables where we had ridden horses a few days earlier and asked if we could use their water hose, they said yes. Just after we started filling I noticed the small trailer with 5 gallon jugs in it they use to haul water and stopped, we would use two trips of water. We went to the RV park, filled, washed clothes, filled again and left the following morning.
30 April- 1 May
Underground hiding holes, Monastery valley
On the road, Derinkuvu Underground Dwelling
Monastery Valley near Gzelyurt
Underground hiding holes, Monastery valley
On the road, Derinkuvu Underground Dwelling
Monastery Valley near Gzelyurt
2-3 May
Ihlara Valley
RV Park (nothing more than a restaurant parking lot)
We are almost done with Turkey, two hours to Ankara where Shannon will finish paperwork for USNA (they had some more stuff we had them send to the embassy) we’ll see a Museum and then head for the border. It’ll probably take us two days and the roads should be good. This has been a great experience but the incessant call to prayer is driving us out. I am so glad there is a true separation of Church and State in the US.
We are in the Ihlara valley right now, having spent nights in tow towns that were once prosperous Greek cities under the Ottomans. The Greeks in the empire were the traders, Ottomans couldn’t lower themselves to be traders or bankers. In 1924 they shipped all the Greeks out and resettled the cities with Turks from Greece and the towns deteriorated. Beautiful old houses in ruins.
I have been reading about, and watching a course on Islam. It is interesting and enlightening. The violence in the Koran (it is OK with killing infidels) was “revealed” to Mohamed because they needed to fight to survive the aggressions from Mecca (of all places) Great for 650 AD, but since the Koran is the ultimate micromanagement book, it is still directing Muslims 1500 years later to kill the infidel. There is the dilemma, Islam is actually a religion of peace, in words, but if they hold the Koran as the word of Allah, they can’t discount parts of the text. Then Islam was spread completely by the sword. Not very peaceful. The Arabs at the time of Mohamed were pagan animals, and he did amazing things to civilize them, but at the same time it freezes them in 700 AD. Its not surprising they have not developed like the west.
Descended from the cast offs of the bible, taking back their rightful birthright from Ishmael, bastard son of Abraham. Once Mecca was subdued God revealed to Mohamed that he had been wrong when he told them to pray facing Jerusalem, they should do it facing Mecca where Abraham and Ishmael had built an alter to God that had been turned into a alter to the 300 Arab pagan gods and forgotten by history. Nice story, placates the Meccans and allows Arabs to pray at the same holy site they had been praying at for millennia, the same holy site they use today.
Skepticism aside, it’s a great means to force moral living on the masses.
Ihlara Valley
RV Park (nothing more than a restaurant parking lot)
We are almost done with Turkey, two hours to Ankara where Shannon will finish paperwork for USNA (they had some more stuff we had them send to the embassy) we’ll see a Museum and then head for the border. It’ll probably take us two days and the roads should be good. This has been a great experience but the incessant call to prayer is driving us out. I am so glad there is a true separation of Church and State in the US.
We are in the Ihlara valley right now, having spent nights in tow towns that were once prosperous Greek cities under the Ottomans. The Greeks in the empire were the traders, Ottomans couldn’t lower themselves to be traders or bankers. In 1924 they shipped all the Greeks out and resettled the cities with Turks from Greece and the towns deteriorated. Beautiful old houses in ruins.
I have been reading about, and watching a course on Islam. It is interesting and enlightening. The violence in the Koran (it is OK with killing infidels) was “revealed” to Mohamed because they needed to fight to survive the aggressions from Mecca (of all places) Great for 650 AD, but since the Koran is the ultimate micromanagement book, it is still directing Muslims 1500 years later to kill the infidel. There is the dilemma, Islam is actually a religion of peace, in words, but if they hold the Koran as the word of Allah, they can’t discount parts of the text. Then Islam was spread completely by the sword. Not very peaceful. The Arabs at the time of Mohamed were pagan animals, and he did amazing things to civilize them, but at the same time it freezes them in 700 AD. Its not surprising they have not developed like the west.
Descended from the cast offs of the bible, taking back their rightful birthright from Ishmael, bastard son of Abraham. Once Mecca was subdued God revealed to Mohamed that he had been wrong when he told them to pray facing Jerusalem, they should do it facing Mecca where Abraham and Ishmael had built an alter to God that had been turned into a alter to the 300 Arab pagan gods and forgotten by history. Nice story, placates the Meccans and allows Arabs to pray at the same holy site they had been praying at for millennia, the same holy site they use today.
Skepticism aside, it’s a great means to force moral living on the masses.
4-5 May
Ankara, Turkeys Capitol
Embassy to mail Shannon's USNA package
Parked in a truck lot we found on Google earth
I sit outside of a spiteful Starbucks in the cold waiting for them to open. I pulled out my laptop and started to use the Internet and the guy opening up the place apparently turned the router off so that the Internet disappeared. No tip for my Venti Cafe mocha today. The mocha here costs about the equivalent of a large meal for three at a Turkish Kebab place, but I still pay it. Money goes a long way in Turkey. It would actually be much cheaper for us to continue traveling rather than come back to the states. Our rental income really helps.
I don't think I told you that shipping the truck back is going to cost almost double what it did to ship it here. I would be pessimist and believe that they are just screwing me because we have to get it back home, but instead I'm a pessimist and think that it just costs less to transport in ships that are returning to Europe empty of goods. We just don't produce much these days, but that's OK, we own all the companies that produce elsewhere and make enough to hand out money to those who don't work.
We will start the drive out of Turkey just as soon as I get my mocha, it should take about 6 hours, driving slow on really good roads, what a pleasure it is going to be.
Shannon got all of her USNA stuff mailed out by the Embassy yesterday and then we spent the rest of the day touring. We left the Truck in a large lot by a mall (and the Starbucks) and took a taxi to the Archeological Museum, Museum of Science and technology and Attaturk's Masoleum. I'm glad I read the biography on him, it put things in perspective, I unlike most people who visit know that he wasn't a god, just a man. He did amazing things, but the way they revere him is weird. I noticed that the gift shop had shelves of books on him, but not the one I read. I think it was just a bit too well researched and truthful.
Next stop in the Buchovina Monastery in Bulgaria. We won't spend much time in Bulgaria or Serbia, I want to get back to normal Europe. We are headed for Frankfurt where we will spend a few days on the base, get Shannon her required PPD shot, get the stove fixed (although it works, its an eyesore) and then see Shannon off to USNA. We will then head north into Scandanavia, back to Germany to ship out the truck, then right back to Frankfort for our flight back to the states. We are flying direct to Annapolis for parents weekend, I'll get the van running after 4 years of sitting, and then we drive down to Jacksonville to start regular life again. I'd say life will be boring but there is so much to do.
Off for my Mocha
Ankara, Turkeys Capitol
Embassy to mail Shannon's USNA package
Parked in a truck lot we found on Google earth
I sit outside of a spiteful Starbucks in the cold waiting for them to open. I pulled out my laptop and started to use the Internet and the guy opening up the place apparently turned the router off so that the Internet disappeared. No tip for my Venti Cafe mocha today. The mocha here costs about the equivalent of a large meal for three at a Turkish Kebab place, but I still pay it. Money goes a long way in Turkey. It would actually be much cheaper for us to continue traveling rather than come back to the states. Our rental income really helps.
I don't think I told you that shipping the truck back is going to cost almost double what it did to ship it here. I would be pessimist and believe that they are just screwing me because we have to get it back home, but instead I'm a pessimist and think that it just costs less to transport in ships that are returning to Europe empty of goods. We just don't produce much these days, but that's OK, we own all the companies that produce elsewhere and make enough to hand out money to those who don't work.
We will start the drive out of Turkey just as soon as I get my mocha, it should take about 6 hours, driving slow on really good roads, what a pleasure it is going to be.
Shannon got all of her USNA stuff mailed out by the Embassy yesterday and then we spent the rest of the day touring. We left the Truck in a large lot by a mall (and the Starbucks) and took a taxi to the Archeological Museum, Museum of Science and technology and Attaturk's Masoleum. I'm glad I read the biography on him, it put things in perspective, I unlike most people who visit know that he wasn't a god, just a man. He did amazing things, but the way they revere him is weird. I noticed that the gift shop had shelves of books on him, but not the one I read. I think it was just a bit too well researched and truthful.
Next stop in the Buchovina Monastery in Bulgaria. We won't spend much time in Bulgaria or Serbia, I want to get back to normal Europe. We are headed for Frankfurt where we will spend a few days on the base, get Shannon her required PPD shot, get the stove fixed (although it works, its an eyesore) and then see Shannon off to USNA. We will then head north into Scandanavia, back to Germany to ship out the truck, then right back to Frankfort for our flight back to the states. We are flying direct to Annapolis for parents weekend, I'll get the van running after 4 years of sitting, and then we drive down to Jacksonville to start regular life again. I'd say life will be boring but there is so much to do.
Off for my Mocha
6 May 2011
Depart Ankara/Travel Day
Parked-Roadside just prior to the Bulgarian border
Depart Ankara/Travel Day
Parked-Roadside just prior to the Bulgarian border
