Hagia Sophia
Taksim Square was nice
Galata Tower
Like I said before, not a fan of big cities, some exceptions are Boston and London. So I only like the big cities whose names rhyme with my last name :-)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Istanbul
I don't particularly like big cities. Still the European part of Istanbul is nice. The Asian part not so much, it is not unlike other big cities in the Third World Developing Countries. Hagia Sophia and Blue mosque are okay, although I did not like the 25TL entrance for Hagia Sophia, it is essentially a mosque after all, although now a museum. The other parts of the Golden Horn are less charming, a bit like Chandni Chowk in Delhi, which I also don't like.
Hagia Sophia
Blue mosque
Taksim Square was nice
Galata Tower
Istanbul's take on Mona Lisa
Like I said before, not a fan of big cities, some exceptions are Boston and London. So I only like the big cities whose names rhyme with my last name :-)
Hagia Sophia
Taksim Square was nice
Galata Tower
Like I said before, not a fan of big cities, some exceptions are Boston and London. So I only like the big cities whose names rhyme with my last name :-)
Riding in to Istanbul
"We should call a third rider (Mert) to accompany us. We will ride in close formation. Blah blah".
If this was an organized tour I would demand a refund on this dull ride. Riding in to the city was no more challenging than riding in to SF in the rush hour, actually a bit easier I think. There were no cars flying at 160-200 mph (yes MPH!) as claimed on a certain blog... No suicidal drivers, people cutting us off etc. GPS worked flawlessly and lead to the right address the first time. EZ PZ.
Getting out of Istanbul was even easier for me the next morning, around 9:30 am on a Friday. Granted this is going against the traffic, but still. In fact the most exciting part of the last day of my ride was getting chased TWICE by 2 different pairs of dogs near Luke's house in Sofia.
Now I am not the one to question someone else's experience, so I will say only this much. Istanbul traffic MAY NOT be bad, but than it may be bad, depends upon your luck :-)
If this was an organized tour I would demand a refund on this dull ride. Riding in to the city was no more challenging than riding in to SF in the rush hour, actually a bit easier I think. There were no cars flying at 160-200 mph (yes MPH!) as claimed on a certain blog... No suicidal drivers, people cutting us off etc. GPS worked flawlessly and lead to the right address the first time. EZ PZ.
Getting out of Istanbul was even easier for me the next morning, around 9:30 am on a Friday. Granted this is going against the traffic, but still. In fact the most exciting part of the last day of my ride was getting chased TWICE by 2 different pairs of dogs near Luke's house in Sofia.
Now I am not the one to question someone else's experience, so I will say only this much. Istanbul traffic MAY NOT be bad, but than it may be bad, depends upon your luck :-)
Ankara pedestrians
"These religious folks have not grasped the laws of Newtonian physics that 2 bodies cannot be at the same place at the same time! You cannot explain evolution to them." This profound thought was expressed by Ilterish, our very generous and funny host in Ankara, seated on the far right here
Ilterish also has wants to convert the nearby mosque into a nightclub which will be named Xanadu. Watch out fundamentalists!
The stay in Ankara was fun, all due to the excellent company of Ozge, Ilterish and other locals. All this fun led to much drinking for everyone except me (I quit in '93) and I was made the designated driver after this round
in a car full of drunk people, including one with open container, who else but the Good Muslim Ilterish!
BTW, McDonalds delivers in Turkey
Ilterish also has wants to convert the nearby mosque into a nightclub which will be named Xanadu. Watch out fundamentalists!
The stay in Ankara was fun, all due to the excellent company of Ozge, Ilterish and other locals. All this fun led to much drinking for everyone except me (I quit in '93) and I was made the designated driver after this round
in a car full of drunk people, including one with open container, who else but the Good Muslim Ilterish!
BTW, McDonalds delivers in Turkey
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Accountants are not good with math, explained
At various food/rest stops when it was time to divide the bill, I heard that it is a misconception that accountants are good with math. Okay. Sometime in the ride, Nancy's saddlebags got lose, hardly any overlap between the velcro straps from the 2 sides. After looking at them, I decided to add some long zip ties to better secure them to the bike. So she made me this offer, "I will trade you one small one for 2 big ones". Now folks I didn't need the zip ties, I had short ones, long ones, even Stainless Steel ones. She needed the 2 long ones from me and I am getting one 10" in exchange. If this does not prove that accountants are not good with math, I don't know what will.
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is so nice it deserves an entry all for itself. You can point the camera in any direction and get a postcard shot. We stayed for 3 nights at Panorama Camping. I hooked up with Andy (621andy), a hot air balloon pilot, and that made the stay in Goreme even more enjoyable!
Dinner with Andy and his wife
Andy's balloon over our campsite
Action picture thanks to Andy, near “Time and Space,” the Turkish leg of Andrew Rogers’ intercontinental “Rhythms of Life” art project in Cappadocia
Fairy Chimneys rock formation
Impersonating Ataturk
I found covered parking at Uçhisar Hill near Goreme!
Met these Slovenian riders (Katarina, Marco and Uros) at the campsite. They were on a marathon ride covering Romania, Turkey, Georgia and Russia in 3 weeks!
Inside the Kaymaklı Underground City
Video from the underground city
Be careful with the Turkish Herbal remadies
or you may end up with an offspring like this
Dinner with Andy and his wife
Andy's balloon over our campsite
Action picture thanks to Andy, near “Time and Space,” the Turkish leg of Andrew Rogers’ intercontinental “Rhythms of Life” art project in Cappadocia
Fairy Chimneys rock formation
Impersonating Ataturk
I found covered parking at Uçhisar Hill near Goreme!
Met these Slovenian riders (Katarina, Marco and Uros) at the campsite. They were on a marathon ride covering Romania, Turkey, Georgia and Russia in 3 weeks!
Inside the Kaymaklı Underground City
Video from the underground city
Be careful with the Turkish Herbal remadies
or you may end up with an offspring like this
Ride to Anamur and Konya
E90 / D400 is a bit like the Pacific Coast Highway. So I shot a video of the ride after the ticket, on the scenic part. I was riding slower than usual but still enjoyed this part of the ride.
Mamure Castle near Anamur
Anamur was hot and very humid. At 7am, after taking a shower, I was drenched in sweat within 15 minutes.
The ride from Anamur to Konya turned out to be fantastic! We took the local roads (33 and 705), lots of twisties through the mountains and no traffic
Konya was nice and we found the Konya Pizza after walking around for over an hour looking for it. It must be more readily available outside of Konya!
From Konya, it was a boring ride to Capadocia. The only interesting place on the way was Sultanhanı, Aksaray
Mamure Castle near Anamur
Anamur was hot and very humid. At 7am, after taking a shower, I was drenched in sweat within 15 minutes.
The ride from Anamur to Konya turned out to be fantastic! We took the local roads (33 and 705), lots of twisties through the mountains and no traffic
Konya was nice and we found the Konya Pizza after walking around for over an hour looking for it. It must be more readily available outside of Konya!
From Konya, it was a boring ride to Capadocia. The only interesting place on the way was Sultanhanı, Aksaray
Caught on the radar!
I will confess up front that I am a SLOW rider. I have big chicken strips on all my tires to prove this!
Still this one time, on the way from Olimpos to Anamur, I got carried away in a corner and found some Turkish cops waiting for me at the end. Now cops in Europe and even Turkey are different from those in the US. There is generally no display of authority. Violations are handled in a much relaxed manner and some argumentation/debate is usually involved. Most importantly, there is no rush to resolve the matter or issue a citation.
They said I was going 112 in a 98 zone. I called BS. There were signs for 90, 100, 110, etc. but never 98kmph. Some say that motorcycles are allowed only 90% of the displayed speed as the limit. As far as I remember, the last sign said 100. Where did 98kmph came from? Also I remember about 105 on the speedo and this is a BMW speedo which is always a bit optimistic. So we argued for a while but neither side budged. Finally after my asking for it several times, a citation was issued for 140TL
but I have been told that this paper is as good as toilet paper, well except that it is not very soft or absorbent :-)
Previous offenders, who shall not be named, have also not paid their tickets from the past and have not had any issue with entry/exit to/from Turkey.
So this wasted a good 1 hour at the traffic stop in the heat but that is the extent of the damage.
Still this one time, on the way from Olimpos to Anamur, I got carried away in a corner and found some Turkish cops waiting for me at the end. Now cops in Europe and even Turkey are different from those in the US. There is generally no display of authority. Violations are handled in a much relaxed manner and some argumentation/debate is usually involved. Most importantly, there is no rush to resolve the matter or issue a citation.
They said I was going 112 in a 98 zone. I called BS. There were signs for 90, 100, 110, etc. but never 98kmph. Some say that motorcycles are allowed only 90% of the displayed speed as the limit. As far as I remember, the last sign said 100. Where did 98kmph came from? Also I remember about 105 on the speedo and this is a BMW speedo which is always a bit optimistic. So we argued for a while but neither side budged. Finally after my asking for it several times, a citation was issued for 140TL
but I have been told that this paper is as good as toilet paper, well except that it is not very soft or absorbent :-)
Previous offenders, who shall not be named, have also not paid their tickets from the past and have not had any issue with entry/exit to/from Turkey.
So this wasted a good 1 hour at the traffic stop in the heat but that is the extent of the damage.
Kas, Olimpos, etc.
In Fethiye I found an electrical shop, highly recommended!
Lycian tombs near Kaunos
The 2 days in Kas more than made up for the disappointment in Yenifoca and Bodrum. Step out of the tent and dive into clear, deep blue, warm water of the Mediterranean!
Kas campsite offers diving and has a pretty good restaurant. This is really a resort at a campsite price.
Nancy celebrated her birthday here with some diving and bike shopping!
Tree for rent in Kas :-)
An old bike in downtown Kas
Olimpos has several Tree House lodges (Kadir's Tree Houses being most popular) but they are really just cabins on stilts. The food was great though at Saban's. The fires of Yanar, aka Chimaera, near Olimpos
Riding on cobblestone streets
Lycian tombs near Kaunos
The 2 days in Kas more than made up for the disappointment in Yenifoca and Bodrum. Step out of the tent and dive into clear, deep blue, warm water of the Mediterranean!
Kas campsite offers diving and has a pretty good restaurant. This is really a resort at a campsite price.
Nancy celebrated her birthday here with some diving and bike shopping!
Tree for rent in Kas :-)
An old bike in downtown Kas
Olimpos has several Tree House lodges (Kadir's Tree Houses being most popular) but they are really just cabins on stilts. The food was great though at Saban's. The fires of Yanar, aka Chimaera, near Olimpos
Riding on cobblestone streets
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
How about some hot tea
When I was a kid, my grandfather told me that hot tea on a hot day cools you down. This view is also shared by the Turks as they drink hot tea all day, even in 95+ temp. Sometime they would flag us down just to offer some of this hot tea and to chit-chat. Now I drink my tea/coffee lukewarm even here so no way I am drinking hot tea in that weather.
So as we pulled into one of the rest stops, I asked Nancy, how about some hot tea and she said "how about I give you a hot tea shower". This reminded me of the exchange between Lady Astor (another Nancy!) and Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," she said, to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!"
Now I see a pattern here. Nancys (Nancies?) trying to kill men with tea!
One way to beat the heat, also at one of these rest stops, is to soak yourself at a Turkish car wash
So as we pulled into one of the rest stops, I asked Nancy, how about some hot tea and she said "how about I give you a hot tea shower". This reminded me of the exchange between Lady Astor (another Nancy!) and Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," she said, to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!"
Now I see a pattern here. Nancys (Nancies?) trying to kill men with tea!
One way to beat the heat, also at one of these rest stops, is to soak yourself at a Turkish car wash
ATF is the Fountain of Youth for the chain
yes ATF as in Automatic Transmission Fluid is the best lube for a motorcycle chain. It cleans the chain at the same time as it lubes it, it also removes wrinkles from the rider and as you can see right here, it oven improves my grammar and speeling. Well this is the gospel on ChainGang and SpecialAgentNancy subscribes to it. I shall not question that...
Now the 3 riders we met in Pamukale made fun of it. "All the dirt talks to each, go away, go away, ATF! ATF!" They all ride GS Adventures (well so do I back home), what do they know about lubricating a chain!
So folks, ATF is the new Teflon, use it liberally on your chain :-)
Now the 3 riders we met in Pamukale made fun of it. "All the dirt talks to each, go away, go away, ATF! ATF!" They all ride GS Adventures (well so do I back home), what do they know about lubricating a chain!
So folks, ATF is the new Teflon, use it liberally on your chain :-)
Yenifoca and Foca
We should have just left Yenifoca after all the trouble finding a campsite or hotel. Met a biker in downtown who took us to a few places looking for a room and eventually to a campsite that turned out to be the worst of this trip. There was even an episode of Nancy returning from the bathroom with "you won't believe this, there are goats in my bathroom"!
You have to remember why the toilets stink?
I have learned a great many things from Advrider.com over the years, one of them was in ShinyThings on why the toilets in Asia/Africa stink so much. Well because they don't have traps! This knowledge came in handy in Yenifoca where heritage style toilets are still in vogue. I knew immediately the reason behind the smell. Thank you Advrider.
I raise my 5 satellite dishes to your 4 satellite dishes
Another common sight in Turkey is satellite dishes on houses, sometimes many of them on one roof. I chalked it up to friendly neighborhood rivalry. While walking around in Yenifoca, I saw one house with 5 satellite dishes. So I commented that this must be to one-up his neighbor with 4. Well that must have been my Oracle moment as the neighbor indeed had 4 dishes! Unfortunately no picture.
Checked out early next morning from thisdump campsite and went to Foca, which is much nicer. We met a friendly BMW rider by the pier who took us to the downtown where we had a good breakfast
You have to remember why the toilets stink?
I have learned a great many things from Advrider.com over the years, one of them was in ShinyThings on why the toilets in Asia/Africa stink so much. Well because they don't have traps! This knowledge came in handy in Yenifoca where heritage style toilets are still in vogue. I knew immediately the reason behind the smell. Thank you Advrider.
I raise my 5 satellite dishes to your 4 satellite dishes
Another common sight in Turkey is satellite dishes on houses, sometimes many of them on one roof. I chalked it up to friendly neighborhood rivalry. While walking around in Yenifoca, I saw one house with 5 satellite dishes. So I commented that this must be to one-up his neighbor with 4. Well that must have been my Oracle moment as the neighbor indeed had 4 dishes! Unfortunately no picture.
Checked out early next morning from this
Monday, August 15, 2011
Bergama and Ephesus
I really liked these 2 places!
Bergama's Acropolis
An imposter in Bergama
Library of Celsus at Ephesus
Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus
Bergama's Acropolis
An imposter in Bergama
Library of Celsus at Ephesus
Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus
Saluting Vodafone and Turkkcell
Actually, this should be called "saluting Vodafone, saluting Turkcell, saluting Vodafone, saluting Turkcell, saluting Vodafone, saluting Turkcell", one finger salute that is!
Two businesses must make up 50% of the Turkish GDP. Restaurants and cell phone shops. Pick any store and there is a 50% chance that it is either a restaurant or a cell phone shop, sometime several of them together, as in Vodafone store, Turkcell store, Vodafone store, Turkcell store, Vodafone store, you get the picture. This is true in both big cities and small towns. Now Nancy was apparently sold the wrong charge/SIM card at the border, the phone was locked to Vodafone and the new SIM Turkcell, a common GSM problem. There was a small delay in identifying this real issue due to a certain blond moment involving putting the SIM backwards, but eventually the real problem surfaced. After that much hell was raised at a few cell phone store followed by one finger salute to many stores during the ride including this episode of 6 salutes in a row.
Two businesses must make up 50% of the Turkish GDP. Restaurants and cell phone shops. Pick any store and there is a 50% chance that it is either a restaurant or a cell phone shop, sometime several of them together, as in Vodafone store, Turkcell store, Vodafone store, Turkcell store, Vodafone store, you get the picture. This is true in both big cities and small towns. Now Nancy was apparently sold the wrong charge/SIM card at the border, the phone was locked to Vodafone and the new SIM Turkcell, a common GSM problem. There was a small delay in identifying this real issue due to a certain blond moment involving putting the SIM backwards, but eventually the real problem surfaced. After that much hell was raised at a few cell phone store followed by one finger salute to many stores during the ride including this episode of 6 salutes in a row.
First few days in Turkey
Stork nests are occupied in Bulgaria and Turkey
first camp in Turkey near Kurukoy
A bicycle/scooter shop in Gelibolu where I got replacement parts for the bike. 27TL (about US $18) for a set of rear view mirrors and one turn signal that look like stock!
Nice Mosque in a village on the way to Behramkale
first camp in Turkey near Kurukoy
A bicycle/scooter shop in Gelibolu where I got replacement parts for the bike. 27TL (about US $18) for a set of rear view mirrors and one turn signal that look like stock!
Nice Mosque in a village on the way to Behramkale
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