Turkey - Bicycle Trip 2012

Visiting a Turkish "Date-Otel"

(ENGLISH)

Celebrating my arrival in Turkey!
Where: border crossing Bulgaria-Turkey

On the other side of the Danube, I entered Bulgaria. The bike was smiling and the we drove towards The Black Sea and a refreshing dip. The avenue to Varna was adorned with various fruit trees so I stopped all the time to enjoy the sun-ripened peaches, cherries and pears. So Yummi!Sunny Beach, Bulgaria's Las Vegas, suddenly appeared at the end of some large fields. A fuss and a bustle suddenly whizzed around me. I spotted no Mafia, but only drunken tourists behind the hotel's all-inclusive fences. Oh God, I wanted so badly to give them a ride on my bike. But they had probably chosen this type of holiday as I had chosen mine. Perhaps they also felt sorry to see a single cyclist and wanted to give me a day with five stars and a 100 m. long breakfast buffet. Who knows?You meet thousands of people all the time traveling like this and I could write pages about each of them. But the long-distance walker Nick, who I met on the border to Turkey, had such a twinkle in his eyes that I have to tell you about him ... Nick read a book as teenager dealing with a guy who went from Rotterdam to Istanbul by foot in 1930. Since Nick, who was now a 31-year-old journalist, red this book he had dreamed of following the author's footsteps and compare the ages and the countries in a new book. We had some long talks on a mountaintop in "no man's land", shared a chocolate bar and read "I love adventures" in each other's eyes before wesplit up.

My FEMALE CS-host is shaving.... Hahaha. So much fun!

One day I asked in a restaurant If i could work for them for a day. I wanted to learn how to cook turkish food, and they let me. Such an amazing experience!!! Check out my Gözleme Recipe HERE!

I tried a locals bike. Would have been so much more comfortable than the bicycle I thought...
Where: narrow streets of Çannakale, Turkey

Hitchhiking to a nearby beach with some locals. This is a car full of carpets!

I arrived in Turkey full of surplus after meeting Nick and furthermore I felt at home here. My parents took my sisters and I on a five-months long trip in Turkey in 95 'and the good memories came to me now. All of the former Soviet nations, I had visited on my way, paled compared to Turkey. The first Turk ran across the road to stop me, tore my cheeks, hit me in my ass and invited to drink tea. The national drink of Turkey. Other Turks joined with juice and bread. Hospitality. Smile. Love. It was paradise for a traveler. I still loved Turkey.

The bike is reached 3450 km. and I sailed from Europe to Asia in just 10 minutes. In Çanakkale, I visited Ceren. She described herself as a woman rights activist and anarchist in a country where the ladies still have to fight to be heard. Latest statement was the creation of a Facebook group where she posted pictures of kissing Turks in public. A rare thing to see in these parts of the world. We talked about the difficult conditions young people in Turkey has to deal with, "you can not just go home to your flirts respective family and kiss, only we can drink tea. And then there is still the risk of possible marriage, " Ceren tells me and continues smiling with her very deep male voice," that's why I have moved into this apartment". Around us two boys are sitting who obviously enjoy the relaxing atmosphere in Ceren's open home: here everything is possible and they have Internet access through Ceren's computer wıtch changes user eevery fifth minute. One of them shows me pictures of Turkish girls. The evening comes and we drink more tea of glasses with the shape of women's bodies. Her home serves as a "date-otel" and the morning a couple are lying together at the living room couch - "I could earn good money on renting out dating-rooms but mostly it's just my friends who come here ", she laughs and wipes off the sweat from her small mustache in a quick, decisive move - testifying that she possesses the necessary energy and anger for more future fights.When I pulled the bike out into the backyard to a smaller maintenance check I discovered that the tires were worn. I wonder if it was time to change my way of transportation? ...

/T-spotter

Besøg på tyrkisk “date-otel”

 (DANISH)

På den anden side af Donau kørte jeg i land i Bulgarien. Cyklen spandt og kursen blev sat mod Sortehavet og en forfriskende dukkert. Landevejen mod Varna var prydet med forskellige frugttræer, og jeg stoppede hele tiden for at nyde solmodne ferskner, kirsebær eller pærer.
Sunny Beach, Bulgariens svar på Las Vegas, lå pludselig der for enden af en mark. Sikke et ståhej og en larm der pludselig susede omkring mig. Jeg spottede ingen mafiaer, men derimod fulde turister bag hotellets all-inclusive indhegning. Åh Gud, hvor havde jeg lyst til at give dem en tur på cyklen. Men de havde vel selv valgt denne ferieform, ligesom jeg havde valgt min. Måske havde de også ondt af at se en cyklist, og ønskede at kunne give mig en dag med fem stjerner og 100 m. morgenmadsbuffet. Hvem ved?

Man møder tusinde mennesker, hele tiden, og jeg kunne skrive mange sider om hver af dem. Dog trådte langdistance-vandreren Nick frem på grænsen til Tyrkiet med et sådan glimt i øjet, at jeg må fortælle jer... Nick læste en bog som 18-årig omhandlende en gut, der gik fra Rotterdam til Istanbul i 1930'erne. Siden havde denne, nu 31-årige journalist, drømt om at følge i forfattetens fodspor og sammenligne tiderne og landende i et værk. Vi fik nogle lange snakke på en bjergtop i ingenmandsland, delte en chokoladebar og læste "jeg elsker eventyr" i hinandens blikke, før vi skiltes.

Jeg ankom til Tyrkiet fuld af overskud efter mødet med Nick, og ydermere følte jeg mig hjemme her. Mine forældre tog mine søstre og jeg med på en fem måneders lang rejse i Tyrkiet i 95' og de gode minder sneg sig frem nu. Alle de tidligere sovjet-nationer, jeg havde besøgt på min vej, blegnede ved Tyrkiets side, hvor den første tyrker løb henover vejen for at stoppe mig, rev mig i kinderne, slog mig i røven og inviterede på te. Nationaldrikken. Andre stødte til med juice og brød. Gæstfrihed. Smil. Varme. Det var paradis for en rejsende. Jeg elskede stadig Tyrkiet.
Cyklen rundede 3450 km. og jeg sejlede fra Europa til Asien på blot 10 minutter. I Canakkale besøgte jeg Ceren. Hun beskrev sig selv som kvinderettighedsforkæmper og anarkist i et Tyrkiet, hvor damerne stadig må slås for at blive hørt. Seneste statement var oprettelsen af en Facebookgruppe, hvor hun postede billeder af kyssende tyrkere på åben gade. Et sjældent syn på disse kanter. Vi snakkede om de svære vilkår, unge i Tyrkiet lever under: "man kan ikke bare tage hjem til hinandens familier og f.eks. kysse, kun kan vi drikke te. Og så risikerer man endda stadig at skulle forholde sig til at lade sig gifte", fortæller Ceren og fortsætter smilende med sin meget dybe mandestemme, "det er derfor jeg er flyttet i lejlighed". Omkring os sidder to drenge, der tydeligvis nyder at slappe af i Ceren's frie hjem: her er alt muligt og de har internetforbindelse via Ceren’s computer, der går på omgang. En af dem viser mig billeder af tyrkiske piger. Det bliver aften og vi drikker mere te af glas med form som damekroppe. Hendes hjem fungerer som et mindre "date-otel" og om morgenen ligger et par og holder om hinanden på stuens sofa - "jeg kunne tjene gode penge på udlejning af date-værelser, men for det meste er det bare mine venner, som kommer her", griner hun og tørrer sveden af overskægget i en hurtig, beslutsom bevægelse - vidnende om, hun har den fornødne energi til flere fremtidige fights.
Da jeg trak cyklen ud i baghaven til et mindre vedligeholdelsestjek, opdagede jeg, dækkene efterhåndan var slidt ned. Mon det var tid til at sadle om? ...

(Jeg ved, fra min søsters og min stand på bagagerumsmarkedet, at flere tyrkere er bosat i Silkeborg - har i familie her i Tyrkiet, jeg må besøge? Det kunne være spændende).

/T-spotter