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.