Who is the fool who said me Turkey is a hot country !?! If I catch him, he will be hurt. Really hurt. There are some lost snow balls !
I had snow before Ankara, and I have again after Yozgat. I arrived under the sun in Sorgun, but the day after, I notice it snowed during the night : white coat on all the country ! And one hour after my start, the snow fall again. There is a lot of wind but I have got the good technique with my umbrella : I put it on my shoulder and the wind pin it against. I can walk with the hands in the pockets. Quiet. And there is snow and wind all the day. When I arrive in Akdağmadeni, there is 20 cm and -2 degrees on the signpost. But we are at the end of marsh !
Turkish people says they didn't see that for 10 years... I'm not surprised, I 'm suscribed to the phenomenon. I pass in Ardèche (mountains in France) and there is a lot of snow in April. I go in Corse ısland and I have snow in June month. I go in Austria for the end of May : snow again in the Tyrol. And each time the same local reaction : "we have never seen that since a long time !". Suscribed. I guess I offended a godess of the cold one day... Skadi, Ceridwen, I will offer you a crips packet if you leave me ! Or maybe it's the spring which run away from me : Persephone, Freyia, Cybel, and all the others, I promise, I will sacrifie for you a second packet of crisps if you come back ! I left Akdağmadeni with -3 degrees and will spend the day in the white mountains. Finally, if there is no wind, it's nice and beautifull. Like some ski holidays... But the road go down at the end of the day and the day after, it's the big sun arriving in Sivas.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Monday, 30 March 2009
Ankara, and after...
I confirmed what I heard about Ankara : nothing to see, move out. So I move. I 've just stayed one day. The good thing is I have tested "Couchsurfing.com" and it work : it wasn't sure because I asked for a couch just the day for the next night. It's a bit short, I should asked before. But , surprise, I had 3 positive answers, and I spend my time in the flat of a French girl, Adelaide, who get used with the couchsurfing web. For my first experience, it was pretty good and I have been really well received. I left the city with very good mood, fresh and ready for a long way under the sun of the spring's sun (it was the 22nd of marsh !) : next step, Erzurum. It seems that a main part of the turkish economy is growing up between Istanbul and Ankara : I needed 3 days to go out the first one, and 2 days to come in the second one. But I just needed 3 hours to go out of Ankara... No more inustry, or urban area, just the country. And no more highway, just a national road not too much busy, so I can walk quietly.
Well, I walked like this until Yozgat, at about 200 km from there. My bag is light, and if the rain let me quiet, I can move on to 50 km steps without too much problems. Anyway, the landscape is sade, even under the sun : just large plains completely cultivated with sometimes some bald hills... and no one tree, nothing. I am surprised, they have cut everything with there industrial culture, there is nothing about kilometers around ! As far I can see from the road, on the last 300 km I did, no forest, no wood, no one grove, nothing ! Sometimes, just 2 or 3 trunks when there is a house... In those conditions, the wind is king. In the back, it can be nice, but on the face, it's a bit impeding. Maybe it could be possible to cross the country on a landyacht ?
So, every thing is OK, I would be in Sivas about th 1st of april...
Well, I walked like this until Yozgat, at about 200 km from there. My bag is light, and if the rain let me quiet, I can move on to 50 km steps without too much problems. Anyway, the landscape is sade, even under the sun : just large plains completely cultivated with sometimes some bald hills... and no one tree, nothing. I am surprised, they have cut everything with there industrial culture, there is nothing about kilometers around ! As far I can see from the road, on the last 300 km I did, no forest, no wood, no one grove, nothing ! Sometimes, just 2 or 3 trunks when there is a house... In those conditions, the wind is king. In the back, it can be nice, but on the face, it's a bit impeding. Maybe it could be possible to cross the country on a landyacht ?
So, every thing is OK, I would be in Sivas about th 1st of april...
Saturday, 21 March 2009
The first days
It's done, I am in Ankara.
Little "flash back" on the last 11 days... it's hard, each step was really different from the previous one ! Istanbul seems to be so far, I've got the sensation to start many weeks ago.
Let's start by the beginning : the first day. It was really nice, after said goodbye to my golden flatemates, I crossed the Bosphorus and spend the day folowing the shore. not a lot of traffic, but a lot of green, the sea, the sun... perfect. The evening, I left the shore to find a first accomodation (I was in Pendik).
From there, it's turning sour.
I advise the mosque and ask to sleep in. The second of the Imam (Hamid) is OK to help me, but the decision is from this last one. And everything I have is a sermon about th unicity of God and heresy of the christian trinity... failure. However, Hamid drive me in a little hotel and speak with the leader to make me a normal price. OK, I will try again tomorrow...
The day after, the conditions start to go bad : there will be rain or snow every days until Ankara. I thought I would need just one day to go out of the Istanbul's agglomeration : I needed 3 days to find some green. 3 days on th border of the national road D100, my umbrella in the hand, trying to escape the big sprays of muddy water the trucks chucked at me (I had 2 or 3 in the face), asking me when I will finally going out of this continuation of industrial and urban areas.
It's like this until Izmit. The next town is Adapazarı : I notice I can follow from there an other road to go to Ankara. There is more km, but it's not a matter : let's go.
Actually, it change. For better ! Firstly, there is no one. A vehicle every ten minutes. I am in the countryside, and if I lose some security (frequency of food shops, hostels), I win quiet, and decorum. Passing by a little town (Akyazı), a man call me and offer me to have a tea in the next Çaihane (thea shop). There, I try to explain my story. I do sensation and make the gathering. A man is particulary enthusiastic, speaking highly with big moves. He want to know everything but don't speak english. He calls his uy wife (or his cousine, I didn't really understood) who speaks french, and arrive to the question : where will you go to sleep this night ? I don't know, I would look for in the next village : kuzuluk. I learn there is a big hotel with a lot of stars, because there is a famous thermel spring and people come here for some cures. From ther, it's good for me : I spare you the details, but at the end, the guy and one of his friend will negociate for me and friendly price that they will offer me at the end ! I am for one night the property of a 3 rooms flate with jaccuzie... Everything I have to do is to give back the key tomorrow at 9 a.m. o'clock... Top. First action : a good warm bath !
The day after, I start under the sun, with radiant humor. I take a long time to do 20 km, but I am surprised to arrived at about 14H30 to my dayly destination ! Another surprise : my map is wrong. But I can't stop so early. I will stop in the first village after 17H30... But the road change suddenly : she go up in the mountains turning everytime and lengthening the distance, and the clouds go down. At first, the rain, after, the hail, and then, the snow, with the fog. And no one more vollage. Before I found one every 5 km ! The night falls... After 3 hours of walk, I start to be tired, but I can't stop. There is no shelter, it's cold, and I have to arrive somewhere. So, I gonna walk until 20H (about 25 km). It's the dark night since a long time, and I see nothing except the white line on the road (no moon) and pass the village of Çavrısdere without see it. I realize I passed it watching the hour : I am too far. I notice some buildings and lights : let's go.
I knock : the door is open. "Iyı Akşamlar !" "Salam Aleikum !" (be polite). A head appears. He makes me sign to come in. I seems to be not surprised to see me in his place with my head of scarecrow in this hour : I suppose he saw me on the road during the day. I use my little paper to explain who I am, what I do, what I am looking for (Thanks for Anlame, my turkish flatemate, who wrote me that), but he don't take care about that. He seems to live alone in a "ready built" barrack with a TV, a couch, a stove and a scale model. Are you hungry ? Yes. He disappears 5 minutes and come back with a good big dinner. Tea ? Thanks. Sleep ? Yeees ! He prepared me a bed with a electric radiator. He just advise me he will wake me up about 6H a.m. tomorow. No matter, it's good for me. And I sleep like a log.
The day after, it's snowing. I notice leaving the place it was like a military camp with barreres and flag, and the guy should be the guardian... from there the ecessity to go early before they come back.
And I do my second march of 45 km : if I walk, I am not cold, but I can't stop more than 5 minutes to have a break. I am out of order ariving in Mudurnu (run out of energy : I shouldn't do 45 km with nothing in the stomac). The next day, the snow fall with big flakes : it is funny, but I still can't stop. Sometime, I meet a village, but it's just some hardscrabble houses surrounding a mosque (new) with nothing to offer or to sell. fortunately, the road goes finally down and the snow stop when I arrive in the evening to Nallıhan. The day after, the landscape change all the 10 km : no more mountains or snow, but arid plain following cultivated plain, hills with strange colors, red, white, or yellow, a really strange area with green and red hils (welcome on Mars !)... a lac, some storks, I don't know really where I am, I take a lot of pictures until Çayıhan.
It was the best. The two last days, everything became sad before arriving in Ankara. But the cold is still there ! 3°C during the day, less in the night. And my feet protest against my big treks. A stop in Ankara is needed.
Little "flash back" on the last 11 days... it's hard, each step was really different from the previous one ! Istanbul seems to be so far, I've got the sensation to start many weeks ago.
Let's start by the beginning : the first day. It was really nice, after said goodbye to my golden flatemates, I crossed the Bosphorus and spend the day folowing the shore. not a lot of traffic, but a lot of green, the sea, the sun... perfect. The evening, I left the shore to find a first accomodation (I was in Pendik).
From there, it's turning sour.
I advise the mosque and ask to sleep in. The second of the Imam (Hamid) is OK to help me, but the decision is from this last one. And everything I have is a sermon about th unicity of God and heresy of the christian trinity... failure. However, Hamid drive me in a little hotel and speak with the leader to make me a normal price. OK, I will try again tomorrow...
The day after, the conditions start to go bad : there will be rain or snow every days until Ankara. I thought I would need just one day to go out of the Istanbul's agglomeration : I needed 3 days to find some green. 3 days on th border of the national road D100, my umbrella in the hand, trying to escape the big sprays of muddy water the trucks chucked at me (I had 2 or 3 in the face), asking me when I will finally going out of this continuation of industrial and urban areas.
It's like this until Izmit. The next town is Adapazarı : I notice I can follow from there an other road to go to Ankara. There is more km, but it's not a matter : let's go.
Actually, it change. For better ! Firstly, there is no one. A vehicle every ten minutes. I am in the countryside, and if I lose some security (frequency of food shops, hostels), I win quiet, and decorum. Passing by a little town (Akyazı), a man call me and offer me to have a tea in the next Çaihane (thea shop). There, I try to explain my story. I do sensation and make the gathering. A man is particulary enthusiastic, speaking highly with big moves. He want to know everything but don't speak english. He calls his uy wife (or his cousine, I didn't really understood) who speaks french, and arrive to the question : where will you go to sleep this night ? I don't know, I would look for in the next village : kuzuluk. I learn there is a big hotel with a lot of stars, because there is a famous thermel spring and people come here for some cures. From ther, it's good for me : I spare you the details, but at the end, the guy and one of his friend will negociate for me and friendly price that they will offer me at the end ! I am for one night the property of a 3 rooms flate with jaccuzie... Everything I have to do is to give back the key tomorrow at 9 a.m. o'clock... Top. First action : a good warm bath !
The day after, I start under the sun, with radiant humor. I take a long time to do 20 km, but I am surprised to arrived at about 14H30 to my dayly destination ! Another surprise : my map is wrong. But I can't stop so early. I will stop in the first village after 17H30... But the road change suddenly : she go up in the mountains turning everytime and lengthening the distance, and the clouds go down. At first, the rain, after, the hail, and then, the snow, with the fog. And no one more vollage. Before I found one every 5 km ! The night falls... After 3 hours of walk, I start to be tired, but I can't stop. There is no shelter, it's cold, and I have to arrive somewhere. So, I gonna walk until 20H (about 25 km). It's the dark night since a long time, and I see nothing except the white line on the road (no moon) and pass the village of Çavrısdere without see it. I realize I passed it watching the hour : I am too far. I notice some buildings and lights : let's go.
I knock : the door is open. "Iyı Akşamlar !" "Salam Aleikum !" (be polite). A head appears. He makes me sign to come in. I seems to be not surprised to see me in his place with my head of scarecrow in this hour : I suppose he saw me on the road during the day. I use my little paper to explain who I am, what I do, what I am looking for (Thanks for Anlame, my turkish flatemate, who wrote me that), but he don't take care about that. He seems to live alone in a "ready built" barrack with a TV, a couch, a stove and a scale model. Are you hungry ? Yes. He disappears 5 minutes and come back with a good big dinner. Tea ? Thanks. Sleep ? Yeees ! He prepared me a bed with a electric radiator. He just advise me he will wake me up about 6H a.m. tomorow. No matter, it's good for me. And I sleep like a log.
The day after, it's snowing. I notice leaving the place it was like a military camp with barreres and flag, and the guy should be the guardian... from there the ecessity to go early before they come back.
And I do my second march of 45 km : if I walk, I am not cold, but I can't stop more than 5 minutes to have a break. I am out of order ariving in Mudurnu (run out of energy : I shouldn't do 45 km with nothing in the stomac). The next day, the snow fall with big flakes : it is funny, but I still can't stop. Sometime, I meet a village, but it's just some hardscrabble houses surrounding a mosque (new) with nothing to offer or to sell. fortunately, the road goes finally down and the snow stop when I arrive in the evening to Nallıhan. The day after, the landscape change all the 10 km : no more mountains or snow, but arid plain following cultivated plain, hills with strange colors, red, white, or yellow, a really strange area with green and red hils (welcome on Mars !)... a lac, some storks, I don't know really where I am, I take a lot of pictures until Çayıhan.
It was the best. The two last days, everything became sad before arriving in Ankara. But the cold is still there ! 3°C during the day, less in the night. And my feet protest against my big treks. A stop in Ankara is needed.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Chapter II - Istanbul/New Delhi
Hello everybody.
After a few months in hibernation, time is come to leave again."On the road again" as said the other.
I start next Monday (9th of Marsh)
The last 4 months passed quickly, finaly, between the Yohanna's teach, the consulate library (I have read maybe about 50 books since november), the flatemates... No regret, it was super, but I can't wait to leave, now.
There is nothing to see with my start from France, where I was under stress. Today, I'm just happy to take the road again, no fear : I know where I go, I'm ready. I think...
So It's OK.
I send in France some materials : my dying tent (-3kg),my sleeping bag (-1,5kg), and some kilos of little useless things. I bought 2 bags to carry the rest : the total weight is not 10 kg, even with a full bottle of water. Other advantage : I will walk straight ! I was enough to walk bend down because of the weight of my big bagpack. Now, it should be right.
So, the question everybody ask to me : "How will you do if you have got nothing ?"
As I said before my start in France, I want to use the local hospitality to pass over the middle east. In this part of the world, it's always a religious deal.
And the fact I am (really)lighter should let me cover a bigger distance in the same time than before, or the same distance in a shorter time, and so, I should have more time to find a place to sleep each night. Anyway, I have no choice and it's not bad : I always have problems to go towards people, it's the occasion to change, and to learn.
And the night will be cold, which should delete my ultimate hesitations (faltering ?). In true, I learned Anatolia plateau is very cold in winter, with a lot of snow... But I take some precautions : stating now, I would arrive arrive in the coldest area (Erzurum-Tabriz) at the end of April. I hope the weather will be better. At all events, starting later would be dangerous in Himalaya mountains, and I prefer to be cold instead of in October...
About administrative questions, everything is OK until Tehran : my Iranian Visa wait for me in Erzurum, I made my turkish stamp longer...quiet.
I should write my next message from Ankara, the capital.
Let's go !
After a few months in hibernation, time is come to leave again."On the road again" as said the other.
I start next Monday (9th of Marsh)
The last 4 months passed quickly, finaly, between the Yohanna's teach, the consulate library (I have read maybe about 50 books since november), the flatemates... No regret, it was super, but I can't wait to leave, now.
There is nothing to see with my start from France, where I was under stress. Today, I'm just happy to take the road again, no fear : I know where I go, I'm ready. I think...
So It's OK.
I send in France some materials : my dying tent (-3kg),my sleeping bag (-1,5kg), and some kilos of little useless things. I bought 2 bags to carry the rest : the total weight is not 10 kg, even with a full bottle of water. Other advantage : I will walk straight ! I was enough to walk bend down because of the weight of my big bagpack. Now, it should be right.
So, the question everybody ask to me : "How will you do if you have got nothing ?"
As I said before my start in France, I want to use the local hospitality to pass over the middle east. In this part of the world, it's always a religious deal.
And the fact I am (really)lighter should let me cover a bigger distance in the same time than before, or the same distance in a shorter time, and so, I should have more time to find a place to sleep each night. Anyway, I have no choice and it's not bad : I always have problems to go towards people, it's the occasion to change, and to learn.
And the night will be cold, which should delete my ultimate hesitations (faltering ?). In true, I learned Anatolia plateau is very cold in winter, with a lot of snow... But I take some precautions : stating now, I would arrive arrive in the coldest area (Erzurum-Tabriz) at the end of April. I hope the weather will be better. At all events, starting later would be dangerous in Himalaya mountains, and I prefer to be cold instead of in October...
About administrative questions, everything is OK until Tehran : my Iranian Visa wait for me in Erzurum, I made my turkish stamp longer...quiet.
I should write my next message from Ankara, the capital.
Let's go !
Monday, 16 February 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
