4046 km hello from Safranbolu

Hi everyone,

Last message we wrote we were still waiting for our Visa in stanbul. Luckily we finally got the visa the next morning. Around noon we were all ready to go and continue our trip. After 2 weeks of continues sunshine, Allah/God had picked this day for a serious shower. We managed to get moving for exactly 1,3 km when we suddenly smacked on the asphalt trying to break for a taksi on a slippery road in a steep decent. t was the end of our fourth tubeless tire but no serious harm was done and we could continue without to much trouble. We went straight for the ferry that took us up around 15km north over the Bosporus. A much safer option to get out of stanbul than cycling we figured.

Our plan worked out nicely since it was a lot more quit up north the river. We managed to cycle around 60km before we called it a night. We stayed in a Turkish camping place. Very basic but we had a good spot on a beach with a stunning view on the Kara Deniz (black see). The next days we continued to cycle on or near the coast. Quite a lot of climbing to do but usually only about 200 meters up before we could go down again. fantastic views of the sea and the mountains made it some really nice cycling days. We even saw dolphins swimming in the see as if they were welcoming us into Turkey and wishing us a very nice trip ;)

After a few days we arrived at Eregli and it was time to move more land inwards, since we really wanted to have a look at Safranbolu. Moving land inwards meant we had some more climbing to do. The worst pass so far was about 700 meters but no asphalt and only very loose stones on the road so not that easy. Luckily after a long climb you are always rewarded with a nice and easy decent. We ended up in a place called Devrek where we met Hussein and Özden. They invited us over for the best Kebab in town and we had some Turkish Raki with them until the early hours. They invited us to stay with them the next day and we decided it was a nice plan and a good opportunity to see the surroundings. Hussein and Özden took us out for a nice daytrip to the North near the Kara Deniz. The views on the place they took us were amazing and it was topped of with a great meal of fresh fish caught the same day in the sea. t still amazes us how friendly and open the Turks are.

The next morning we tried to leave early from Özdens place but off course they could not let us leave until we had a great breakfast and truckloads of cay (tea). Luckily Safranbolu was not to far anymore and we had a nice wind in the back for a change so we arrived on our destination a lot earlier then expected at 4 pm. We listened to the "bible for every traveller" for a change and went for a nice hotel which was very well described in the lonely planet. We were not disappointed. The room is mostly build of wood and entirely in its authentic Ottoman style. Furthermore the room is filled with lots of beautiful Ottoman details its a great place to be. We'd almost forgot there is a town to see ;)

Safranbolu is a truly amazing village. All buildings are preserved in their original Ottoman style (or restored in some cases probably). t feels like walking in ancient Turkey. There's a very good feel and vibe to the place. ts a bonus that the tourist season seems to be over now and its nice and quite. We can imagine this being quite a crowdy place during summers since also lots of Turkish tourists come here to have a look. Now we are sitting an internetcafe on the way back from some very nice caves here in the area. All in all its a very nice day of sightseeing here. ts also good we have a day of from "work" ;) so we can get some rest for tomorrow. Then we have some serious climbing to do and go over a pass of 1590 meters on our way to Amasra. The highest climb so far (we are now at 450m).

So wish us luck and we'll let you all know how it went in our next briefing

Take care all and goodbye for now

Erik and Tjeerd


http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/04%20Istanbul%20-%20Safranbolu/