After travelling the length and breadth of Europe, last winter we joined a group to go to Libya; we were very happy and delighted with this country with its deserts, salt lakes, towns and villages; we had already visited Morocco on African soil, but the Libyans, with their kindness and hospitality, won us over. This preamble is to explain our thirst for adventure beyond Europe's borders, in countries not yet reached by mass tourism. Through the internet I set about looking for other motorhomers for a trip to these unknown countries; among the first I found a group that was going to Iran in the spring, but after initial contact we ruled it out: it was too close to the previous trip to Libya and, what's more, it was very expensive as it was organised by an agency-magazine in the motorhome sector.
Then, through the Traiano Camper Club of Benevento, I heard about a group who, after visiting Iran last year, wanted to extend the trip as far as Samarkand in Uzbekistan; I contacted the group leader, who sent me the rough itinerary, the cost for the organisation, including visas, the guides for the various countries, parking at the various hotels with electrical hook-up and the supply of electricity (Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), quoted at 1,850.00 euros per crew; we agreed to meet at Porto Recanati at the Bellamare campsite on 2 June, and in the meantime I sent confirmation with 50% of the total. MEETING: The Bellamare campsite is very nice and welcoming; we arrived the day before, the crew from Aosta got there before us and we soon make friends. At departure a welcome surprise: the stay at the campsite was paid for by the crew from Osimo.
CREWS: There are 12 of us in motorhomes from 9 different regions, the average age is 64, the oldest crew is the one we already knew: they are both 76, there are two crews from Piedmont who were with us in Libya, and the last crew was added even though it took us over the agreed number (10+1) because they are doctors, very useful for the group. LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS: The group leader lists the various problems for us: logistics, borders, water and fuel supplies. DOCUMENTS: he lists the various documents needed to obtain the visas: passports, 8 passport photos (the women will need to have 3 photos taken with a veil on their heads), filling in various forms and a photocopy of the vehicle registration document with the full list of accessories (radio-CB-stereo-PC), tyre make and size, engine number.
All of this is fairly complicated because the embassies are not all in Italy: for Iran in Rome, for Turkmenistan in Paris and for Uzbekistan in Vienna. CARNET de PASSAGE en DOUANE: Each crew will have to arrange a bank guarantee for two or three times the commercial value depending on the age of the vehicle, and through the ACI have issued the document we'll need to cross the Iranian border. My vehicle was valued, on a friendly basis, at 10,000.00 euros, a figure doubled because the vehicle is 6 years old; at the ACI I paid 180.00 euros and at the bank (Friuladria) 60.00 euros of fixed charge plus 359.01 euros for the one-year guarantee (interest at 1.80%); on my return, presenting the documents duly signed by the various customs offices on entry and exit, I will be refunded the unused months.
LICENCE: In these countries an international driving permit is compulsory; to get one at an agency I paid 50.00 euros. SPARE PARTS: The group leader advises us to equip ourselves with various spare parts, filters, various belts, top-up oil, mounted wheels in addition to the spare, inner tubes and an extra gas cylinder; I also provided myself with a reconditioned starter motor (120.00 euros). MEDICINES: The two doctors will send us a list of medicines that may be useful, and they will obtain drugs for extreme cases, to be available to everyone. CLOTHING: Besides the headscarf, the women will have to wear long, loose clothes with long sleeves, so as to cover their figures; Tina, my wife, got two outfits at a Moroccan shop in Udine.
Men will not be able to wear shorts; the group leader advises wearing long-sleeved shirts, though on tv I've seen them wearing short-sleeved shirts and polo shirts instead. All of this only for Iran; in the other two countries you dress however you like. MAPS and GUIDES: through the internet I found some Lonely Planet guides ( Guide to Iran at 23.50 euros Guide to Central Asia at 28.00 euros and some Freytag & Berndt maps ( - Central Asia scale 1:1,750,000 at 9.80 euros - Iran and neighbouring countries scale 1:2,000,000 at 9.80 euros bought the lot in a bookshop in Udine. FERRIES: Ventourisi Line company, all motorhomes will be accepted from 5 to 7 m. (some, including mine, are over 7 m.) at the price of 156 euros (Bari-Igoumenitsa and return), boarding on 4 September at 20.00. 30% to be paid to the company at once for the booking.
The group leader will make a single payment; we will pay that sum along with the balance of the trip fee in July. THE CATS: One of our problems is the cats; we have two, they have always been with us on every trip, now they're getting old: Schizzo is 14 and Principessa 18, we don't feel up to putting them through a trip like this, we're thinking of putting them in a cattery in a nearby village; it will cost us about 800.00 euros, but there's no getting around it, especially as they warn us that at the borders they could refuse animals even for no reason, and that settles it for us. RENDEZVOUS: The starting point is Benevento; for various reasons we can't be there, we'll meet at the boarding in Bari. They inform us that two crews, for different reasons, are pulling out of the trip; I'm sorry for them, but on a long journey like this it's better to be a limited number
Day 16 Sep 2005
517/2078 – Motorway E80 – Autogrill
Continues from "Samarkand 2005" Part One
At the exit of the parking lot, by mistake we head in the opposite direction from the highway. At the Greek border no problem, at the Turkish one it took three hours: various formalities and endless waiting, luckily there wasn't much traffic, in August who knows!!!! Exchange rate 1 € = 1,665 Turkish Lira We set our watches forward by one hour. Once on the E80 we ran into rush hour on the Istanbul ring road, total chaos, a 4-lane road full of the most undisciplined and aggressive people. Tip of the day: Don't take the Istanbul ring road during rush hour, be careful to take the outer ring road, not the inner one. The group scattered, we found each other again only with the help of the CB. First diesel refuel, first surprise, it costs 2.30 Turkish Lira, much more than back home.
We stopped at a service station, with a parking spot: quiet, with water and a guard with a baton, therefore safe for the night.
Tourists in front of an Ottoman timber and white house in Sivas
Day 27 Sep 2005
628/2706 – Yozgat (Turkey) – P. at the sports field
We continue on the E80, the tolls begin, like in France with toll booths scattered along the route, every now and then the highway is interrupted and continues on the old road, then resumes further on. The route continues on the E88 for a short while, then we continue on the old road; the highway can be seen under construction on the sides. No. 1 (the leader) has problems with the generator pulley; at the first workshop they advise him to change the bearing, but they are unable to do it, it will be taken care of tomorrow at a Fiat workshop in Rivars. Now we are stopped next to the sports field of Yozgat, where a very kind old man let us park; the women immediately rushed to the still-open shops to do a bit of shopping. The muezzin sings his chant for the prayer to Allah…….. A small squabble among the crews: No.
2 and 4 (20-year-old campers) are accused of going too slowly, someone takes offense and would like to withdraw or go off on their own, but the good camper sense of everyone prevails and it is decided to go at their maximum speed. It's cold, we are at 1300 m.
Tourist group on a stone arch bridge in a tree-filled park, Sivas
Day 38 Sep 2005
232/2938 – Rivars – Petrol station
Last night it was very cold, early in the morning we turn on the heater. At 7 we leave, the E88 continues among rough roads because of the new highway under construction. Along the way, at a police checkpoint, No. 4 is stopped for speeding — the one that in recent days had been accused of going too slowly — a fine of 90 Turkish Lira, which all of us should have gotten since we were in a convoy and all going at the same speed, 98 km per hour, and it was impossible to do that on that stretch of undulating road full of curves; after the various checks and finding nothing to contest, it was their only solution to issue a report impossible to dispute. Tip of the day: watch out for the police. Having reached Sivars, we immediately look for the Fiat. The staff and managers, very kind, immediately set to work to find the fault on No.
1; it turns out it wasn't just the feeder bearing but also the water pump; the repair will take the whole day; the couple is invited to lunch at the branch's canteen — in our workshops, when does something like that ever happen!!! In the afternoon it is decided to visit the city; Fiat provides us with a minibus with a driver and a guide at a cost of € 20 per couple; a modern town but with a very interesting and characteristic centre. Meanwhile we settled at a service station in front of the Fiat; the very kind managers, after filling us up with diesel, offered us gadgets, water for the campers and in the afternoon tea.
Corn kiosk in Sivas, cobs hanging from the roof, people walking by
Day 49 Sep 2005
527/3465 – Horasan – Petrol station
Last night was very cold too, we turned the heater on right away yesterday evening. Departure at 7, the E88 which becomes E80 again is just one big construction site for many km. No. 2 has clutch problems; while we have lunch he goes to the next village accompanied by No. 4; we will catch up with them around 3 pm, with the vehicle already fixed — it was just the overheated disc. During the lunch stop I refuelled diesel at the service station where we had stopped; unfortunately the fuel was of poor quality and the camper smoked for several km, until I did a second fill-up to mix with what was left. Tip of the day: Don't refuel at a service station of an unknown brand.
This evening we are at a petrol station that is also an inn; almost everyone agreed to have dinner in this place: quite good, rice with various vegetables, grilled meat, yogurt and mineral water, all for 40 Turkish Lira (€ 12). At the end of dinner No. 5 brought out two small cakes and a bottle of Fragolino, well received by the company.
Dung cakes stacked to dry in front of village houses under poplars
Day 510 Sep 2005
203/3668 - Dogubayazit - Camping Murat
Departure at 7 am The old road continues alongside the construction of the new one, one continuous construction site, between dips and dirt stretches. No. 7 doesn't notice a big rock among the dirt and smashes the oil pan; initial panic, but solved by the skill and initiative of No. 9 and 10 who promptly remove the oil pan, and another camper goes back to Horasan where a mechanic welds the piece; once remounted, they set off again and catch up with us at the campsite where we had already settled in. Tip of the day: Among the spare parts, bring an oil pan.
Excursion to the fortress of Ishak Pasa Sarayi which dominates the valley above the campsite. Dinner and dancing at the campsite restaurant: besides eating well and spending little, the evening was enlivened by a small band that sang in Kurdish with the characteristic dances of the area; some of us tried but with poor results.
Dry hills and scattered stones near Camping Murat
Day 611 Sep 2005
497/4165 – Miyane – Solmaz Hotel
Continues in "Samarkand 2005" Part Three
Tourist beneath the carved stone portal of Ishak Pasha Palace
Day 710 Oct 2005
506/11365 – Erzincan – Autogrill
CONTINUED FROM "Samarcanda 2005" Part Eight
At 7:00, final passport checks and we leave the customs perimeter; we're in Turkey. Clocks are set back half an hour. After the border, a stop to photograph Mount Ararat in its majestic beauty. We drive on to Agri, 120 km from the frontier, where No. 4 finds the right hose at the Fiat dealership; the others in the lot take a coffee break. We set off again; along the way an argument erupts into hell. No. 4 is accused of wasting time stopping to take photos and slowing down the whole convoy; while driving, harsh words fly over the CB. Meanwhile No. 1 stops in a lot for lunch and doesn't announce his decision over the radio. No. 2, who is ahead of me, and I don't see that he's stopped and we keep going. In the mirror I see that the rest of the convoy is stopping; I stop too and warn the one ahead of me. All this indifference from No.
1 toward the group gets on my nerves, and added to everything else — the nervousness in the group, the camper with its various noises after the accident, and the pain in my foot — it makes me decide, in agreement with my wife, to leave the group and proceed on my own. Unfortunately the group is made up of many people with ideas different from what a camper traveler is supposed to have: solidarity, tolerance, the desire to live and travel together. Many of these people had only one goal: to reach Samarkand, to be able to say "I've been to Samarkand," just grinding out kilometer after kilometer, without seeing or admiring the landscapes, visiting the cities, talking to and getting to know the people. No. 2 and No. 4 join this proposal. I go back and inform No. 1 of my decision, and after a small discussion I continue the journey together with the other two crews.
I didn't want it to come to this, but seeing people arguing and quarreling over stupid reasons disturbs me, and I prefer to avoid further quarrels by taking with me the cause of these discord. The road today was good; many construction sites no longer exist, the surface is gravel — they'll probably lay the asphalt after winter. In any case you can travel at a good pace; the spot where No. 7 broke the oil pan is perfectly asphalted and we struggled to recognize the place of the accident. The work is proceeding quickly; whoever retraces our route in the future will cross Turkey quickly. You have to acknowledge the skill of these people; it certainly can't be compared to our SA/RC!!!!!! You notice the change of season: on the way there, in the woods, green predominated; now red, brown and yellow, the colors of autumn. Now we're stopped at a service area for the night.
We'll meet up with all the others at the ferry in Igoumenitsa.
Motorhomes parked at Camping Murur, red building among arid hills
Day 811 Oct 2005
628/12263 – Kirikkale (Greece) – Gas station
After refueling at 7:20 we set off; it's all good road. There are still some stretches of dirt road, but no longer like on the way there with deep potholes. No. 4 occasionally stops to take photos, but there are only three of us and it doesn't bother us much. At Kirikkale, still heading toward Ankara, we stopped for the night at a small gas station, and after refueling we park in a corner of the lot. While I'm taking a shower, we hear a knock: it's the manager, who brings us a tray of small glasses with hot tea. Amazed by such kindness, we thank him and enjoy the tea all together. Off to bed early; tomorrow we'd like to cover a good number of kilometers.
Snow-capped Mount Ararat with lenticular cloud over summit, arid plain below
Day 912 Oct 2005
683/12946 – Tekirda – by the sea
Departure at 7:00, back on the highway. There are no construction sites; there's still the old road with asphalt to be fixed, with dips and cracks, but we travel quickly. The Istanbul bypass is flowing smoothly; it's not the rush hour we found on the way there. You pay at three points for a total of TL 6,500,000. Driving the Istanbul ring road, I realize it's not the one we took on the way there — so then the much-feared inner ring road that we absolutely were not supposed to take: we took it!!!!……. No. 1 has struck again. On the last stretch of highway, No. 2 exits at the wrong toll booth; we'll find him again at the town where we'd decided to stop. Now we're stopped for the night on a promontory with the camper fronts facing the sea; it's a splendid view. Tomorrow, 120 km away, is Ipsala, the Turkish/Greek border.
CONTINUED IN "Samarcanda 2005" Part Nine
Open-air market with melons and pumpkins piled under yellow canopies
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