Day 46
Sleeping location: Hotel Zeytin Bahcesi, Iznik, Turkey
Distance (km today/total): 111 / 4536
Estimated climb (m today/total): 800 / 37300
Types of fruit: 20ish
Day in three words: Turkey redeems itself
After rinsing the hotel breakfast for eggs and halva we set off out of Istanbul. This involved navigating the chaotic cobbled streets down to the docks, then taking the passenger ferry over to Asia. I did this the last time I was in Istanbul and it was just as fun this time, with great views over this beautiful city from every angle. On the way out on the Asian side we also stumbled across a bike shop that sold the specific chain that Maggie takes,* which most major UK online bike shops don’t even stock. Result. The way out of Istanbul then turned out to be a wonderful seafront cycle lane which went on for about 30km. It was glorious and it pains me to think that this might have existed on my way into Istanbul, when I took a dual carriageway into town instead. We then went on the D100 (the dual carriageway I took for 250km from the border into Istanbul) for another 10km, just to say goodbye, but it wasn’t so bad as it was quieter than last time and there was a big shoulder.
From the very edge of Istanbul we took a ferry across the Sea of Marmara to avoid the big motorway bridge. This was quite fun, mostly for the safety song that played when we docked that was just a woman singing “don’t go outside” repeatedly over a disco beat. After this we entered rural Turkey, and it was lovely. Lots of gently rolling hills and lots of growing things. The first section seemed to be some kind of giant outdoor garden centre, as they were growing thousands of trees and plants that looked like they would be dug up and sent to actual garden centres for sale.
We stopped for drinks at a shop and had a chat with a guy whose daughter had married an Italian and he was very proud of this. The whole conversation was conducted in our basic Turkish and with some pointing and saying place names; it’s amazing what you can communicate with a bit of creativity. After this we had a short climb and a fun short descent with great views of Lake Iznik. At the lakeshore we went for a “swim”, but it wasn’t very deep so it just turned into just lying down in the water and splashing around a bit.
This lakeside area was just wall to wall fruit farms, apples and figs and peaches and grapes and kiwis and pears and loads of other things. The smells from the fields with the ripe ones were fantastic. We bought a few types and found a bench for a little fruit feast whilst the sun set over the lake. Whilst we were here a local guy came up and gave us some of the pudding from the picnic he was having nearby, for no reason other than to be nice. I’ve heard great things about Turkish hospitality and if this is any guide the next week will be excellent. In general Turkey has really picked up after a bad first couple of days, and I’m excited to see more of it.
*9 speed, 116 link, for any bike geeks reading this
Distance (km today/total): 111 / 4536
Estimated climb (m today/total): 800 / 37300
Types of fruit: 20ish
Day in three words: Turkey redeems itself
After rinsing the hotel breakfast for eggs and halva we set off out of Istanbul. This involved navigating the chaotic cobbled streets down to the docks, then taking the passenger ferry over to Asia. I did this the last time I was in Istanbul and it was just as fun this time, with great views over this beautiful city from every angle. On the way out on the Asian side we also stumbled across a bike shop that sold the specific chain that Maggie takes,* which most major UK online bike shops don’t even stock. Result. The way out of Istanbul then turned out to be a wonderful seafront cycle lane which went on for about 30km. It was glorious and it pains me to think that this might have existed on my way into Istanbul, when I took a dual carriageway into town instead. We then went on the D100 (the dual carriageway I took for 250km from the border into Istanbul) for another 10km, just to say goodbye, but it wasn’t so bad as it was quieter than last time and there was a big shoulder.
From the very edge of Istanbul we took a ferry across the Sea of Marmara to avoid the big motorway bridge. This was quite fun, mostly for the safety song that played when we docked that was just a woman singing “don’t go outside” repeatedly over a disco beat. After this we entered rural Turkey, and it was lovely. Lots of gently rolling hills and lots of growing things. The first section seemed to be some kind of giant outdoor garden centre, as they were growing thousands of trees and plants that looked like they would be dug up and sent to actual garden centres for sale.
We stopped for drinks at a shop and had a chat with a guy whose daughter had married an Italian and he was very proud of this. The whole conversation was conducted in our basic Turkish and with some pointing and saying place names; it’s amazing what you can communicate with a bit of creativity. After this we had a short climb and a fun short descent with great views of Lake Iznik. At the lakeshore we went for a “swim”, but it wasn’t very deep so it just turned into just lying down in the water and splashing around a bit.
This lakeside area was just wall to wall fruit farms, apples and figs and peaches and grapes and kiwis and pears and loads of other things. The smells from the fields with the ripe ones were fantastic. We bought a few types and found a bench for a little fruit feast whilst the sun set over the lake. Whilst we were here a local guy came up and gave us some of the pudding from the picnic he was having nearby, for no reason other than to be nice. I’ve heard great things about Turkish hospitality and if this is any guide the next week will be excellent. In general Turkey has really picked up after a bad first couple of days, and I’m excited to see more of it.
*9 speed, 116 link, for any bike geeks reading this
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