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Sunday 14th November We were awoken the next morning to the screaming of a chicken being chased and caught by 3 hungry stray dogs in the front yard. At least it forced us to make an early start and by 2 o'clock we were in the outskirts of Konya. Konya is a massive city; seven and a half times the size of Sheffield, and so reaching the city's edge still meant we had 20km to the centre. About half way in, we stopped for some sustenance at a mini market at the side of the road. After Paul had selected some cake and Fanta, the shop owner beckoned in Kate, who was slumped on the floor outside, to sit with him in the shop. He poured out the Fanta into glasses for us, cut the cake into slices and gave us each a banana, and wished us Happy Bayram (the festival after Ramadan). Feeling very full after our food, we went to pay before leaving only to have him refuse our money, and send us on our way feeling very grateful. Despite it being a Sunday and the traffic being relatively calm, we still found it fairly difficult negotiating the busy main roads towards the Mevlana Museum, close to which we knew would be some hotels. (Again camping is not really possible in such a big city as this, plus we were in need of a shower and to check out Paul's wounds). Once we arrived at the museum, Kate approached one of the policemen stationed there. His first question was 'Where do you come from?', followed by 'Parlez-vous français'. Of course this connection made complete sense.....not, but Kate was pleased to use her French again. Lutvi was a very pleasant and helpful man who took us to a local hotel where we are now resting in our room, making the most of the showers and the warm blankets (although they should put the heating on...not wanting to be too cheeky!). Last night we went for a meal in a very friendly local locanta (small restaurant) and had some delicious lentil and mint soup and tandir kebab (a traditional Konyan lamb dish). We got chatting to another traveller, Ozgar, who is actually Turkish but has been studying in America for a number of years. We found it quite amusing that a Turk was travelling around his own country using a Lonely Planet book for guidance! We spent the next couple of hours discussing the relative merits of cycle touring and about each other's travel experience before saying good night. We climbed into a clean dry bed fully satisfied and ready for a long night's sleep. Monday 15th November 2831.5 miles, Konya, Turkey We've had a leisurely morning, lying in, before venturing out for a Turkish pizza brekkie and çay. Interspersed with a number of other cups of çay (for some reason because we are tourists we would much rather drink out of china cups than Turkish tulip shaped glasses??!!! This incenses Kate a little). We have done a little food shopping (the road to Cappadocya looks sparsely populated), stocked up on Ibuprofen, bought a headscarf for Kate and visited the beautiful if very busy Mevlana Museum. This museum is a place of pilgrimage and so Kate felt much happier covering her head (despite many young Turks not doing so) in respect for their culture. It was obvious that this gesture was met with approval by some people. Kate had to ask a Turkish lady how to put on the scarf, which was met with surprise and also respect. So here we are relaxing a little in our hotel room before going out to stock up on some more calories. Who said we would come back slimmer? In 2 or 3 days time, Paul's leg willing, we should arrive in the heart of Cappadocya. Tuesday 16th November 2899.4 miles, Sultanhani, Turkey Well, what can we say! Turkish hospitality never ceases to amaze us. We've just left the family home of Adem Temel, his wife Nasibe and their 3 sons, Cajer, Batuhan and Metehan. We're now settling into a room, in a lovely pension owned by one of Adem's friends since the camping grounds were closed. It was when we were about 10km away from our final destination of the day, Sultanhani, that we were joined, somewhat dangerously, by a guy on a motorbike (Adem). At first we were a little concerned as he was being a hazard to himself as well as us, causing a number of near misses with passing traffic. Even so he persisted in accompanying us all the way into the centre whilst holding a discussion on our trip and English football over the whine of his bike's engine and the constant drizzle of rain. As soon as we got into the town, we were invited into the local men's tearoom for some well needed çay. Once again we were the main topic of conversation as Adem explained our trip to everyone else in the cafe. We of course just sat there smiling and sipping our hot sweet tea. As Paul went to pay the cafe owner said it was on him, but Adem stepped in and insisted on paying anyway. Before taking us to the local pension he insisted on inviting us back to his home to have some tea and meet his family. We rode with him a short way out of town, along dirt roads to his house. As we got nearer to the house his bubbly cheeky grinning children ran to the road to greet us. It was a lovely little house and the living room was cosy and warm, heated by the stove in the corner. We met his wife, the grandmother, the sister in law and her children and settled into the comfy cushions on the floor around the room. The children were especially delighted to see us and were very cheeky, and could not stop giggling. The especially cheeky Metehan had taken a liking to Paul and pestered him to tickle him. They even got out their school English book for Paul to read and he spent the evening being prompted on his Turkish numbers. Bless him. Being taught by the best teachers - his little sons! Within 10minutes a massive metal tray was brought out laden with traditional Turkish dishes. There were dishes of potato, cabbage, salad, different types of bread, yoghurt, helva, syrup berries, and pastry - all of which were homemade. We all tucked in, the children and us, with Adem prompting us to try everything. We ate until we were completely satisfied (stuffed!) and washed it all down with a few glasses of hot çay. It was wonderful and totally unexpected since we thought the invite was only for tea and bread. The cheerful family atmosphere continued although Paul was told off for not giving Kate an expensive wedding present as Adem had done for his wife. Sorry guys we should explain. For the benefit of most Turkish people we meet, and to avoid unnecessary harassment for Kate, and pure ease, we are now 'married'. We have been married for one year and have no children. They want us to have them, but we said in 4 years time. Kate has a small band on her wedding finger which helps to keep the wolves at bay and explain things without words. Everyone we meet thinks Paul has done well. What can I say? This 'wedded bliss' will probably continue until we reach Ethiopia. Sorry everyone if you missed the wedding...?!! Anyway, so where were we? The family then gave us presents each. Kate got a pair of knitted woollen slippers for which she is extremely grateful on those cold nights in the tent, and Paul is now jealous. Paul was given a hand-embroidered towel; both these gifts were made by Nasibe and were beautiful. In return, we took numerous photos of the family which we have promised to post prints of. They have also been included in our 2006 itinerary! So many people to see and so little time....and so little money! Anyhoo! Leading up to our meeting with Adem, we had a fairly long tiring day. The cycling was relatively flat which would normally allow good mileage however since we left the main Konya - Ankara road and headed out towards Aksaray, the tarmac surface of the hard shoulder was extremely poor. We had also got used to the rhythm of rolling hills, which give us short-term goals, and rests on the descents and we actually preferred the mountainous climbs. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers! After about 25 miles the pain in Paul's knee had started to settle and we pulled into a petrol station hoping to find some tea (this was proving difficult as this was the 3rd day of Bayram and there were hardly any villages on the road to Aksaray). As we rode onto the petrol station forecourt we were greeted by the two shop owners who gave us each a hug, a kiss and a handshake. They quickly sat us down with hot tea, and fed us with bread, cheese, börek and olives which were all delicious. They couldn't believe the size of our expedition, but as we were leaving on our bikes, we overheard them recounting our trip to a coach load of Turkish travellers. The overcast and misty morning had now given way to a sunny midday spell as we climbed the only real hill of the day. Unfortunately, the sunshine didn't last long though, and we suddenly found ourselves being chased by huge banks of rain clouds from all directions. Not long before meeting Adem, we pulled into a petrol station for Kate to use the toilet (they leave a lot to be desired!) and there we met a man who spoke very good English. He asked us how the road was as he and his wife had chickened out of using their motorbikes for their trip and were using their car to get to Cappadocya instead! He was really excited about what we were doing and had to tell his wife how far we were riding on Turkish roads. If even the Turks find their roads terrifying, what chance have we got?! Wednesday 17th November We left Sultanhani bright and early after enjoying tea with the guesthouse owners and writing an entry into his guest book. The weather, although cold and cloudy, stayed reasonable for us all the way past our tea stop near Aksaray. Seeing the coach load of anonymous tourists file into the expensive hotel on the main road made us appreciate our mode of transport, which allows us to break down barriers and to meet the locals more easily. From here the level road quickly climbed very steeply on a freshly laid gravel surface which made riding even more miserable. On reaching the higher ground we were confronted by increasingly strong winds and so we readily accepted an invitation to have tea at one of the petrol stations we passed. This was to be the first of three that day as we sought shelter from the continually bad weather. As we pushed on towards Nevsehir and Cappadocia, the ground continually rose and fell on the poor quality road. Due to the weather and the terrain our progress was slow and we began to realise that our proposed destination of Goreme that day was slightly optimistic. We were told that Acigol, 20miles before Goreme had pensions and would be a suitable place to stop. About 15 miles before this final stop Kate was riding down the hill behind Paul when suddenly the wind caught her bike and she lost control in the gravel. She slipped and landed awkwardly banging her knee and elbow. A car drove past and honked at Paul so as to alert him of Kate's fall but Paul blissfully unaware of what had happened smiled and waved back. Kate didn't cry, just picked her bike up and rode very carefully down the road to the next petrol station. It was only there when Paul realised what had happened and Kate found a big lump on her knee. OK, so it wasn't as dramatic as a bus but it still hurt! After this petrol station, with the wind came the rain, which soon became torrential. Of course we were ecstatic about this. It was all we could do, cold and soaking wet, to keep pedalling in the failing light to Acigol. When we finally arrived we approached the first people we saw to find out where the pension was. Alas, no pension, no hotel and no camping! The men who were mechanics, automatically as Turkish do, invited us inside out of the rain. They sat us in front of the oil burning stove (which to Kate's dismay somehow spluttered alarmingly) and fed us continual cups of hot sweet tea. They also sent one of the apprentices to fetch us bread and olives to keep us going. By now all hopes of finding a place to stay had vanished, and we sat there still shivering whilst they urged us to continue to Nevsehir, 20km further which would have accommodation. Although to them the 20km by car was nothing, to us the distance in the rain and in the dark seemed impossible. Even usually chirpy Kate always positive about everything was low and very quiet, as Paul tried desperately with the help of a dictionary to find somewhere, anywhere for us to sleep. At that point we would have paid anything for a warm dry bed that night. Sensing our desperation, the mechanics made a few phone calls and eventually a man came form the local authority to drive us to some council rooms where he left us with a dry bed and an electric heater. After popping out to get some supplies for the night (biscuits and cake) as we had to leave most of our baggage behind with the bikes in the garage, we settled in for what turned out to be one of the most restful nights sleep we'd had for a long time. Thursday 18th November At 8.15 the next morning the same man came by and transported us back to the garage before saying his goodbye and driving off. We again found ourselves sat around the stove but this time feeding on pide filled with cheese egg and parsley that they had bought for our breakfast. They refused any kind of money for their immense but typically Turkish hospitality so we insisted that they accept a small gift of a cake and a packet of biscuits as a sign of our gratitude. After the rain from the night before, it was a bright clear day but extremely cold. This didn't matter so much as it was a short day but the rain and the cold had seized up our joints and both of us started to pedal stiffly and slowly. Two old biddies on their pushbikes! It only took an hour and a half to get to Nevsehir (although it seemed much longer) and we quickly found a locanta to get some tea and hot food before cycling the final 9km into Goreme. Not due to the terrain but to the continual photo stops, this short distance took well over an hour! We were coming over the hills over the stunning Cappadocian valleys overshadowed by a lone snow capped mountain. With every turn came another breathtaking panorama and with that another photo opportunity. A coach load of Japanese tourists were so impressed with us cycling all the way that they had to have photos of themselves with Kate and her bike with the canyons in the background. When we finally freewheeled into the village we set about finding a pension for the next few days. After a couple of disappointments we came across the Keles Cave pension run by Yilmas and his family. Although perhaps a little more expensive than the others we had seen, they were so friendly and welcoming and the room so lovely that we instantly felt at home. After drinking tea on the terrace outside our room overlooking the village we were invited for dinner in their cosy living room. Sadly Yilmas' father had recently died and we spent the evening surrounded by friends and family who came to support him at this difficult time. It says a lot about the family atmosphere of the place that all the guests including us, Claudius (a Swiss guy travelling onto Iran) and a German couple, Roland and Barbara were invited to such an occasion. It was a pleasant evening although communication was still a little difficult (our chosen transport has forced us to learn far more Turkish than any other travellers we have met en route) but the food was excellent. We spent a couple hours after dinner chatting over cups of hot sweet tea. Friday 19th November On Friday we spent the day after a leisurely start wandering and climbing through the walnut and pigeon valleys, seeking out different tunnels and caves. Eventually we made our way through pigeon valley up to Uchisar with its rock fortress towering high above the surrounding landscape. After dodging the usual carpet sellers we managed to find a lovely cheap pide salonu where we ate delicious freshly baked Turkish pizzas tucked away inside from the freezing cold, which seems to have descended on us since we arrived in the area. Although there is plenty of sunshine in the shade the temperature can't be much above zero. We have been glad of almost every single item of clothing to try to stay warm. We were going to camp but unfortunately our decision on our 1 season sleeping bags have been slightly optimistic considering the time of year we are in Turkey. We are very close to buying a blanket and some extra long johns! Saturday 20th November 2980.7 miles, Goreme, Turkey
Cappadocia is perhaps one of the most incredible places on this planet. Over the centuries a thick layer of volcanic tufa has been eroded into fantastic eerie shapes dubbed 'fairy chimneys' by the locals. Into these chimneys and into the walls of these valleys the people have carved churches and homes. We ourselves are staying in a pension where our bedroom is a cave cut into the rock high above the valley floor. From our bedroom we have the most amazing views over a landscape that seems part of another world. Goreme is in the centre of a huge network of canyons and here you can explore them by foot or by bike' visiting all the different rock churches and houses. Saturday was our second day in Goreme and after sitting outside the men's' tearoom under a slightly overcast sky writing some diary we returned to our guest house and ended up sitting and drinking çay and eating more delicious food with the family and their little newly acquired kitten, Minette. Minette was especially affectionate and for such a small cat made the loudest purr we had ever heard. She was permanently glued to our laps. Paul and Kate x
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Challoner's, Fasiledes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire