Turkey
Sami, the fixer at the border with Syria
14 / Apr / 2010
The sun is shining during the drive to South Cappadocia, through the Soganli valley, with a visit of Keslik monastery, hidden in the rocky mountains of this beautiful area. You see many signs on the road for sites you can visit and it really pays off to do so once in a while. In the south of Turkey, on our way to the border with Syria, we sleep on a car park at a gas station. To be sure we inform the guard and the shop keepers who look at us a bit astonished but say it is not a problem at all, welcome! And indeed, we slept very fine and freshen-up in the morning before getting hot water from the restaurant to make our traditional morning coffee.
The drive to the border crossing of Antakya / Bab al Hawa is easy, even though we get a bit lost in Antakya, the last city before the border because of missing signs during roadwork. At the border, we meet Sami from the tourist office, unexpectedly he becomes our 'fixer'. He helps us to not get checked by customs like everybody else: all other vehicles are turned inside out. It seems that customs look for all electric equipment for which you'd have to pay an import duty. All cars are opened and all luggage is checked. We jump the queue, our back door opens, closes and we are off in no time. No thorough check and that "for a small token of our appreciation". The other good surprise is that getting a visa for Syria at the border is possible, against most information you'll find on travel or official embassy websites. It is a smooth process and all well outlined on a board on the wall in the main building at the border.
We drive off into Syria and are surprised for about 2 hours that it was so easy to get into the country; it took only two and a half hours when we were actually expecting to have to wait for hours to get our visas. We find a camp sign on the main road to Aleppo, and camp in a little village 35km before the city. The camping Kaddour has rudimentary facilities but it's not a problem for us since we have no wish of driving to a big city to find a hotel. The roads are pretty good by the way.
The drive to the border crossing of Antakya / Bab al Hawa is easy, even though we get a bit lost in Antakya, the last city before the border because of missing signs during roadwork. At the border, we meet Sami from the tourist office, unexpectedly he becomes our 'fixer'. He helps us to not get checked by customs like everybody else: all other vehicles are turned inside out. It seems that customs look for all electric equipment for which you'd have to pay an import duty. All cars are opened and all luggage is checked. We jump the queue, our back door opens, closes and we are off in no time. No thorough check and that "for a small token of our appreciation". The other good surprise is that getting a visa for Syria at the border is possible, against most information you'll find on travel or official embassy websites. It is a smooth process and all well outlined on a board on the wall in the main building at the border.
We drive off into Syria and are surprised for about 2 hours that it was so easy to get into the country; it took only two and a half hours when we were actually expecting to have to wait for hours to get our visas. We find a camp sign on the main road to Aleppo, and camp in a little village 35km before the city. The camping Kaddour has rudimentary facilities but it's not a problem for us since we have no wish of driving to a big city to find a hotel. The roads are pretty good by the way.
Cappadocia, Turkey
12 / Apr / 2010
10 hours of driving via Ankara to cover 750km of perfect roads but with less good weather. The last 100km, before we reach Göreme, we drive at night, in the rain and fog. The last turn before Göreme is a special one: sharp downhill turn and all of a sudden in the dark there it is. It is amazing at night, even in the fog, we can only imagine what it looks like arriving here during the day. The city is small and a spaghetti of narrow roads going up and down. We look for a place run by a Dutch lady but instead of finding her place we bump into Kelebek, also mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Valerie manages to get us a room. At 20:30 we get our luggage and climb into our Cave Hotel. Assan, the manager of Kelebek, shows an authentic and warm hospitality. He truly loves and knows well his country, giving us precious advises on what to see in the region. No way we could have found our way around Cappadocia in such short time without his help! Cappadocia, in Central Anatolia, is a land of fairy chimneys and underground cities.
The next day is rainy again so we skip hiking and take the car to drive around the area. We visit Zelve Valley, Pigeon Valley, Rose Valley and the underground city (does not rain there!) of Kaymakli that is 8 floors deep. These underground cities were built by the Hittites around 1800 BC to protect them from the Persians. At the Roman period the Christians also hided here. By visiting these underground cities and seeing how clever it was all built you get a complete picture of the valleys and what was hidden so well for many years. In these underground cities you will find a real city with churches, communication system between the levels of the town, water well (100 meters deep) that is also used for getting oxygen into the city, kitchens that were used by several families at the same time to share food, stables for cattle, wineries, tunnels connecting the cities; a complete city system but underground.
Tomorrow morning (April 13) we will explore the area some more, hopefully with better weather, and head south towards Gaziantep and after that we hope to cross the border with Syria.
The next day is rainy again so we skip hiking and take the car to drive around the area. We visit Zelve Valley, Pigeon Valley, Rose Valley and the underground city (does not rain there!) of Kaymakli that is 8 floors deep. These underground cities were built by the Hittites around 1800 BC to protect them from the Persians. At the Roman period the Christians also hided here. By visiting these underground cities and seeing how clever it was all built you get a complete picture of the valleys and what was hidden so well for many years. In these underground cities you will find a real city with churches, communication system between the levels of the town, water well (100 meters deep) that is also used for getting oxygen into the city, kitchens that were used by several families at the same time to share food, stables for cattle, wineries, tunnels connecting the cities; a complete city system but underground.
Tomorrow morning (April 13) we will explore the area some more, hopefully with better weather, and head south towards Gaziantep and after that we hope to cross the border with Syria.
Istanbul welcomes us with traffic jams
10 / Apr / 2010
The drive from Sofia to the border with Turkey is a long and tiring one. The road conditions are getting worse the closer we get to Turkey. How will the road be over there we wonder? The price of fuel being so expensive in Turkey makes us decide to fill up both tanks at the last gas station in Bulgaria. This will take us almost to the border with Syria.
Crossing the border with Turkey is only 40 minutes including Barry's visa application on the spot (15 euro). We check if we need to have the Carnet de Passage stamped but also this is not necessary. Of we go, heading for Istanbul with perfect roads again, and skipping the camping on the beach. You can almost guess it: it is simply too cold and too wet.
When we get closer to Istanbul in the dark we end up in a traffic jam and Turkish driving habits: 3 lanes of highway will fit 6 lanes of cars! Changing lanes you do without using direction lights. We feel safe in our Toyota and soon nobody tries to get in front of us. Once in Istanbul we head to the old part of town (Sultanahmet) where the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia are. Our hotel, Mublis Bey, is 200 meter away from both. The roof terrace gives you a magnificent view of the city and the Bosphorus. An early night and sightseeing the next day: Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia and the old city itself.
The day we leave Istanbul, April 11, it is almost impossible to get out of Sultanahmet: all roads are blocked by the police because of the "presidential cycling tour" that takes place in this area. After negotiation with the police we finally find a way to cross the blocked road and get out of town via small roads leading to the highway. We plan to drive to Cappadocia and while driving decide where to sleep since we no longer follow our planned route, smart us.
Crossing the border with Turkey is only 40 minutes including Barry's visa application on the spot (15 euro). We check if we need to have the Carnet de Passage stamped but also this is not necessary. Of we go, heading for Istanbul with perfect roads again, and skipping the camping on the beach. You can almost guess it: it is simply too cold and too wet.
When we get closer to Istanbul in the dark we end up in a traffic jam and Turkish driving habits: 3 lanes of highway will fit 6 lanes of cars! Changing lanes you do without using direction lights. We feel safe in our Toyota and soon nobody tries to get in front of us. Once in Istanbul we head to the old part of town (Sultanahmet) where the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia are. Our hotel, Mublis Bey, is 200 meter away from both. The roof terrace gives you a magnificent view of the city and the Bosphorus. An early night and sightseeing the next day: Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia and the old city itself.
The day we leave Istanbul, April 11, it is almost impossible to get out of Sultanahmet: all roads are blocked by the police because of the "presidential cycling tour" that takes place in this area. After negotiation with the police we finally find a way to cross the blocked road and get out of town via small roads leading to the highway. We plan to drive to Cappadocia and while driving decide where to sleep since we no longer follow our planned route, smart us.