From the Dolomites to Anatolia via the Balkans: discovering Turkey

We have 20 days available, we'd like to travel by motorbike and stop for a few days at some seaside spot.

After quite a bit of wandering around online, we decide on Turkey, thinking we can combine culture, relaxation and sea... We consult the Touring Club Italiano and Lonely Planet guides, on the internet we find some interesting trips, particularly on the camper-van enthusiasts' sites, whom we must thank for the material they've made available.

Barbara (Simona's sister) and her boyfriend Nicola join us enthusiastically, we're very pleased, travelling in company, and sharing the long road that awaits us.

Initially we wanted to reach Turkey by sea, from Ancona to Igoumenitsa and through Greece to arrive in Istanbul....Later we opted for the "overland" itinerary through Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria. We live in the north-east, and the kilometres to Istanbul are 1800, versus 1500 for the route via Greece. We read the beautiful book by Emilio Rigatti: "The Road to Istanbul" which was an inspiration and guide for planning the trip.

We start with booking the ferries to move from Turkey to Greece, and from Greece back to Italy.

For the rest we'll improvise day by day, allowing ourselves a flexible trip.

Cavalese -Slavonsky Brod - km 680

Once the preparations are done, the luggage loaded onto the motorbike, we have compared to previous years the tank bag, which allows us to leave with more space. We leave at eight, towards Ponte nelle Alpi, Belluno, the meeting place with our travel companions, who are coming from Trento, we go over the S. Pellegrino pass (it's cold: 8 degrees).

Punctual as the Swiss... we set off again towards Trieste, we cross the Slovenian border, Zagreb, the Croatian border, on the motorway, little traffic, at 5 pm we're in Slavonski Brod, today's destination. We stay overnight at the "Garten Pension", not far from the toll booth.

Slavonsky Brod - Sofia Bulgaria km 606

We get back on the motorway, after about a hundred km we're at the border to enter Serbia, we were expecting checks and long waits.. fortunately, we get through in about ten minutes. Another 100 km and we're in Belgrade, the road passes near the city, the traffic is heavy.

We stop for lunch at a Serbian "service station", looking more like a rest area for convoys: outdoor restaurant, stalls with fruit and vegetables, little shops, but with an ultra-modern fuel station.

We set off again, and after a few km, we make the acquaintance of the Serbian Police, fortunately we were travelling slowly... they carefully check the motorbikes, the documents, they point out an irregularity on Nicola's licence (the A category for riding a motorbike isn't listed, only B). The situation seems critical.. police station, thousands of dinars in fines, confiscation of the vehicle, forced return by train...... After half an hour of negotiations, willing to offer a "tip", the policeman changes his mind... and sends us off wishing us a good trip.. even today we can't make sense of it...

The landscape is marvellous, hundreds of km of fields with corn and sunflowers scroll past us, a rainbow of colours and splendid scenery.

We leave Serbia to enter Bulgaria, in this case too we get through without problems and quickly, about half an hour for the various document checks etc..

At 8 pm we're in Sofia, we find excellent accommodation at the Hotel Amphora, on the road leading to the Rila Monastery, tomorrow's stop.

Sofia- Rila - Plovdiv Bulgaria km 395

We leave unhurriedly at 10, we're on the road linking Bulgaria to Greece, from Sofia to Thessaloniki. We cross abandoned industrial zones, an evident sign of the fall of the socialist system, the roads are travelled by carts pulled by donkeys and goats heading to the pastures. We reach the junction for the monastery, we enter the picturesque village of Rila with stone houses adorned with wooden balconies and porches. The road narrows, and begins to climb gradually, a real pleasure, after so much motorway, to lean into curves, accelerate, downshift....

The monastery stands out with surprise before us, after yet another bend... The impact is strong, immersed in greenery, we're in a valley descending from the Rhodope mountains, with peaks reaching even 3000m. The complex presents itself like a fortress... We park the motorbikes, pass through the first portal, and enter... a wide courtyard surrounded by four wings of 3 and 4 storeys, comprising 300 monks' cells, in the centre the Church with splendid frescoes and wood carvings, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin, and the clock tower. The contrast between the white of the plaster and the red, ochre and black colours of the bricks of the arcades heightens the suggestiveness of the place.

Since 1961, the complex has been a national monument and UNESCO has included it in the list of world cultural heritage.

Fully satisfied with the detour made to reach this place, we set off again, after eating for a few euros in a restaurant on the bank of the stream, just below the monastery.

We don't return to Sofia, which would be the shortest route, but decide to go around the Rila massif. The road signs in Cyrillic aren't much help to us, we had the names of the villages we intend to pass through translated by the waitress of a little bar...

We pass through Dupnitsa, Razlog, from there, the road climbs steeply towards a plateau at 1800 metres, we pass through small farming villages, the locals try to sell wild berries along the road.. we're surrounded by fir trees, it feels like being at home..we see the first minarets, next to tiny mosques... We descend towards Velingrad in a narrow valley carved into the rock, down to the valley floor, where, skirting the motorway, we reach the city of Plovdiv, staying overnight at the Hotel Rodopi.

Istanbul - Goreme km 763

We leave Istanbul at 9, a long transfer awaits us, we'd like to reach Goreme in Cappadocia... We get out of the city traffic easily following the signs for the highway, fortunately on green-background signs as in the rest of Europe... we cross the long Ataturk Bridge, the suspension bridge that we admired yesterday while sailing. After about 400 km of highway we are near Ankara, the country's capital, we decide to take a secondary road, and not the most direct and busy route that passes through Kirikkale, we follow the signs for Adana and 15 km after Golbasi we turn off for Bala.

We will be rewarded by the detour with splendid landscapes, on a little road with no traffic, in the middle of the fields, we climb in elevation, passing tractors and very slow trucks overloaded with grain, the harvest is in full swing, which at these altitudes (1500 m) is late compared to the rest of the country. Here tourism is far away, our passing must be an event, everyone looks at us and greets us in a friendly way...

Near Kirsheir the traffic increases considerably, fortunately so do the dimensions of the road...

We're undecided whether to stop for the night...we've gone over our time... quick consultation.. we continue, we're in Goreme at 8 pm, the first taste of this renowned area opens up before us as we descend, shortly after Nevsehir just as the sun is setting... a spectacle.

We settle in at "Backpacker's cave pension"... the price is very low, the rooms are pretty, but we would gladly have spent a little more and had greater cleanliness... we're tired, and we camp out.

Goreme Cappadocia

Cappadocia: it's an absolutely fantastic place. More precisely, the triangle about ten kilometers on each side enclosed between Avanos, Urgup and Uchisar is a place, unique, where you truly feel outside of everything in a sort of fairy-tale land. Violent volcanic eruptions, which occurred three million years ago, covered the plateau around Nevsehir with lava, ash and mud. The wind and the rains, eroding these friable rocks, have created a suggestive landscape: rocks shaped like cones and chimneys, like pinnacles, with colors that range from red to gold, from green to gray.

Goreme is a pretty village, with dozens of dwellings (still in use) carved out of the rock, especially in the upper part of the village which, although enlarged to meet the demands of tourism, still preserves much of its original appearance and charm.

We set off on foot from our pension, and with a comfortable walk we reach the Goreme open-air museum, the pearl of the area, with dozens of rock churches carved into the tuff adorned with magnificent decorations and wall paintings largely made by the monks who lived in these places.

The Zelve valley is a short distance from Goreme, we see pinnacles eroded by time, tall columns of tuff that give the valley an almost fairy-tale appearance. These columns are called "fairy chimneys" since legend has it that the rounded boulders on top were placed there by celestial deities.

To conclude the day, we get on the motorcycles, which, unloaded of our luggage, seem to us to float on the asphalt, we treat ourselves to a pleasant outing in this unreal scenery: carved rocks, with stairs, windows, balconies, pinnacles, tufts of pink rock that seem created by a bizarre pastry chef. We pass by small cultivated fields, on narrow and deserted roads, the tour groups are far away, we discover places not "besieged" by souvenir stalls......

Goreme - Bozayazi km 487

We leave these enchanted places, after having visited, near Avanos, the Sari Hani caravanserai. The caravanserais, built in the 13th century as rest stations for caravans, in the past there was one every 30 km of road or so, that is, the distance that could be covered with camels in a day. We glimpse from the road the rock settlements of Cavusin, carved into a tuff wall up to 100 m high.

We head toward the sea.... We want to visit the western coastal part, which was recommended to us by Maurizio, a friend who spent a few days in these places, on his return from a trip to Iran.

The smooth road cuts across the Anatolian plateau toward the south, near Ulukizla we meet the Konya - Adana road, the traffic increases enormously, we drive cautiously. Fortunately after a few km the road becomes a highway, heavy traffic... descents that put the brakes of overloaded trucks to the test... in the final stretch in a verdant and wild rocky gorge.

The sea appears before us suddenly after a curve... We are in Icel (Mersin the old name in Turkish) a large industrial city, we continue along the coastal road, passing construction sites, started and never completed, we risk falling as we arrive at a stretch of road where they are laying Turkish asphalt (a strange mixture of gravel and tar). We pass through seaside resorts, where there are large tourist complexes, that's not what we're looking for, so we continue...

The road leaves the sea.. moving inland, overcoming and skirting in a continuous up-and-down of curves the roughness of the coast. It's getting late... we look for accommodation... but we don't see anything interesting, maybe at the next village. Silifke, Tascu, Aydincik.. village after village... curves, climbs and descents, now tired we arrive at Bozayasi. It's 9 pm, we've done many km, on beautiful roads, but at very reduced speed, under a blazing sun. We give in at the "Otel Zeysa" a family-run pension, simple but clean and inexpensive, frequented by young Turks.

Bozayazi - Side km 210

We resume the coastal road, which gives us continuous postcard landscapes, at times we are a few meters from the sea, we enter the woods, and come out into a fabulous view, it looks like a freshly painted picture, and we are on the picture... Today we don't want to cover much distance... we scan looking for a pleasant place to stop, we prefer small pensions to huge hotels and resorts, we pass Alanya, a nice and lively resort.

We travel through villages where there are massive, very large greenhouses in which lush plants laden with bananas grow.

We arrive at Side.

Side

Side is a concentration of the merits and flaws offered by Turkey: a beautiful beach, Greco-Roman ruins scattered throughout the town, pensions and restaurants in great number, a nice atmosphere, but also hordes of tourists (mostly Scandinavians and Germans) who, especially in the evening, leave the large tourist resorts, located at the two ends of the town, to invade the streets of the historic center.

We stayed excellently at the "Sevil" pension in a quiet area close to the sea, to the left of the central street, turning after the small mosque.

Side relax

The beautiful fine-sand beach can be reached in a 2-minute walk, through the ruins of the eastern area. We have fun splashing in the waves of this crystal-clear turquoise sea.... We spend two pleasant sunny days in this beautiful town.

Side - Oludeniz km 390

We decide to move west, also to gradually approach Cesme (the last stop of the trip). We pass Antalya without stopping, a renowned and crowded resort (thanks to the nearby airport) in the area.

After passing a hill, a spectacle opens up before us: a promontory of land pushing toward the sea, creating two bays, with a town in the center, set like a precious stone.

We are in Kas, we stop for lunch, near the evidently too-small mosque, which cannot contain all the faithful gathered for Friday prayer, indeed they pray facing Mecca, outside...

Kas appears to us as a tranquil resort, where tourism is not the main source of income, although there are several accommodation facilities, and quite a few shops and restaurants.

The smooth road allows us to travel fast, perhaps too fast.... the police radar is lurking hidden in the woods. Shortly after we are stopped by the patrol... we are in the wrong: 107 km per hour, the limit 70, 180 million Turkish lira (about 90 €) the fine that we pay.....

At 4 pm we arrive at Fethye, from here branches off the road that takes us to the very famous Oludeniz beach. The photo of this beach is on all the tourist brochures of Turkey. Indeed the place is scenically very beautiful, a white arched tongue of sand (pebbles), extends into the open sea, creating a bay of rare beauty.

We quickly tour the place, which immediately appears to us, not very Turkish, but built to the measure of tourists, bars, restaurants, shops and boutiques follow one another without interruption.... we decide nonetheless to stop.....

We visit various hotels, very beautiful from the outside, we can't say the same about the rooms, it's always worth evaluating carefully before stopping.

We go back to the end of the town, and find an excellent accommodation at the "Hotel Arlik" clinging to the mountain, with a beautiful view of the sea. Initially we had been offered a room that we refused, at which point the manager, made up for it with another one, of a completely different appearance, in the part recently added to the hotel.....

Oludeniz - Selcuk km 315

We continue in our approach to Cesme, while the days at our disposal dwindle, the ferry to Athens departs on Thursday.... We give up visiting the areas of Marmaris, and Bodrum.. it will be for next time... We get back on the road, heading to the ruins of Ephesus. Under a blazing sun, the thermometer nears 40 °, we arrive at the Sakar pass at 650 m, from which we enjoy a beautiful view of the Gokova bay.

We pass Mugla, and Cine, near Ovaymiri, the highway begins, but we decide to take the state road, at six we arrive at Selcuk, which we choose as our stopping place.

Very pleasant the "Hotel Bella" right in front of the basilica of St. John. We relax while waiting for dinner, on the panoramic terrace, equipped with a nice library with many travel guides and excellent books on Turkey, a pc with free internet access, and a view of the nest that the storks have built at the top of a telephone pole...

Selcuk - Ephesus - Cesme km 210

In the morning we visit the site of Ephesus, Of the thousand ancient cities found in Turkey, Ephesus is certainly the best preserved.

Inhabited since antiquity, in 129 the city became the capital of the Roman province of "Asia" Numerous emperors built monuments and public buildings there, many of which are still visible, albeit in ruins. We begin our visit starting from the upper entrance, We see the odeon, temples, and portals. We walk on the Arcadian Way, paved with marble, we pass in front of the mighty temple of Hadrian, a series of fountains, pools, brothels, libraries, public baths, the library of Celsus, a structure restored and brought back to its ancient splendor, we arrive at the great theater, to descend gently toward the eastern end, where we conclude the visit.

Although not particularly attracted by archaeological sites, we leave this ancient city very satisfied.

The transfer to Cesme awaits us... we resume the journey, not loving to travel on the highway, we choose the normal road, unfortunately the road crosses the entire city of Izmir, we lose quite a bit of time...

We arrive at Cesme around 6 pm, we visit and reject some hotels, we stop at the "Hotel Mert" two km from the center.

Cesme

Cesme turns out to be a surprise.. a lively and vital holiday resort, with shops, restaurants etc... we spend the last day at the sea on the beautiful beach of Altinkum, a short distance from the town.

Cesme

The return journey begins today.... We wait for the ferry in the company of two Indian motorcyclists aboard old Royal Enfield bikes, and a cheerful bunch of Turkish friends from Istanbul, headed for Mykonos, with their new and gleaming Harleys and BMWs. At 9 we board, the boat is truly small, uncomfortable and crowded, certainly not up to the price paid for the ticket: almost one hundred euros for a bike and two people. After an hour of crossing, with rough seas and a crosswind, we are on the Greek island of Chios. Customs formalities take us a good hour.... We're not in a hurry, the next ferry to Piraeus (Athens) leaves at 22:00....

We wander around the island..... at 21:00 the big ship that will be our passage to mainland Greece enters the port. The ship leaves on time at 22:00, we settle into the almost comfortable seats, to face the night...

Athens - Patras km 230

We disembark at 8, it takes us quite a while to get out of the port and onto the road to Patras. Athens has very heavy and chaotic traffic, we're also close to the Olympics... we travel the stretch of road we were missing to complete the full loop around the Peloponnese, done last year.

We realize we've reached our destination when we see the great suspension bridge "Harilaos Trikoupi" which from Rio to Antirio links the Peloponnese to mainland Greece.

At 18:00 we set off aboard the "Europa Palace" (Minoan).

Ancona - Cavalese km 500

We're in Ancona at 14:00, after a pleasant crossing; this year we traveled in a cabin, and the comfort is worth the ticket price. Near Rimini, big masses of black clouds promise nothing good, and indeed after a few km, the first drops....

We put on our rain gear, boots and gloves... At least we didn't carry them around for 5000 km for nothing, the rain will accompany us all the way home, where we arrive at 20:00. Putting an end to this wonderful trip

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