From my last post, you know that we’ve arrived in Istanbul. This is a huge milestone for us, as it marks our entrance into Asia. We rode from the western most point in continental Europe in Portugal. The east side of Istanbul is officially in Asia, whereas the west side is in Europe. Although it was never an explicit goal to cross Europe 100% by bicycle, it feels great to be able to say that we’ve done this. We were open to taking trains and busses if needed, and we almost did in Spain but the train line was under construction, so we had to ride (on April Fool’s day, even!). Yes, we’ve taken side trips by bus, train, car, and even a flight, but if you connect the dots, it all connects, with the exception of a few ferry trips (hey, we can’t cycle on water!).
Our entrance into Turkey has been yet another big cultural adjustment, but we have really been enjoying this country. And not just for the food, which I described in detail in my last blog.
Our first day took us to Edirne, where we crashed on the floor of an apartment of a bike shop owner. We explored the town by foot with its historic mosque and introduced ourselves to Turkish cuisine, language, and culture. After Bulgaria where nearly everyone spoke English, it was difficult as we subjected random locals to our abysmal Turkish. This is the 12th language we’ve had to learn so far, and it’s not an easy one.
It’s too bad we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with the bike shop owner, but in the morning, he offered us some tea on our way out, and I noticed that somehow I’d broken a spoke! He fixed it for us and sent us on our way.
The cyclist we met in Bulgaria had given us an introduction to a CouchSurfing host in Kırklareli, so we looked him up, and he agreed to host us for two nights, even though he already had company. Murat was a perfect host, and we are forever grateful for his help and comfortable place to stay. He showed us the meaning of Turkish hospitality with his warm greetings, lots of amazing food, tips on where to visit and what to do in Turkey. We spent hours chatting with him and his friends and playing with his kitten.
After Kırklareli, we intended to cycle along the D020 but the road surface was so rough that we turned south to try to avoid it and ended up following the D100 into Istanbul. The D100 is a fairly busy highway but has a huge shoulder, so it’s very safe just a bit tedious.
When passing through Lüleburgaz, we ran into three Turkish cycle tourists. We stopped to say hi and wish them a good trip, and our language barrier caused a bit of confusion, with one of them thinking we needed a mechanic. He called his friend and cycled with us to the center of town to introduce us and show us where to get lunch, and we apologized to his friend about the misunderstanding. We felt bad but were taken aback at how quickly they had dropped what they were doing to help out a stranger.
After lunch, a man with his wife and son said hello to us and asked us where we are from. He said he’s an English teacher and whispered to his son to say something. “Welcome to Turkey!”, he said with a shy smile but perfect English. After we said good bye, his son came running after us and said, “wait! My father!” Seconds later, his dad appeared with two cold bottles of water, just the thing we needed! We couldn’t thank him enough.
But Turkey wasn’t done welcoming us! A kind man then walked up to us and shook our hands and said, “hoş geldiniz” or “welcome”. We felt like celebrities.
Turkey has been full of pleasant surprises like this, and you can tell the importance of hospitality runs deep. We are so humbled and grateful to everyone we have met so far who has helped us along the way.
In Çorlu, we met up with a really interesting guy who is just starting a bike shop and hopes to make touring bicycle frames. We chatted for an hour over çay and he helped us out with some spare parts and Steve bought a new helmet to match his bike.
We reached the coast of the Sea of Marmara and followed it into Istanbul. Close to the city, there were enough bike paths and side roads to keep us out of traffic, and it was pretty light anyway due to a national holiday.
We ended up spending five full rest days in Istanbul, and it was incredible to see this historic city as well as to put our feet up for a while and just relax. We stayed on the less-touristy Asian side, and it was in a bustling neighborhood with lots to do. On two days we ferried to the European side to do some sightseeing and celebrating, meeting up with Steve’s friend who has lived here from Ohio for a while.
On other days, we relaxed in our neighborhood with a beer and backgammon game, a traditional pastime of the locals.
There are street cats everywhere in Istanbul, and we bought some food to give to the hungry ones as we walked around. Most appreciated it, but a few were picky eaters and just walked away!
Photos from the Hağia Sofia.
I like the city symbol, which is on everything.
These eyes are everywhere, even embedded into the side walks and are considered good luck.
Random city reflections.
From the spice bazaar. The grand bazaar was closed due to the holiday.
Some of the old buildings had elaborate but decaying woodwork.
Today we are on a ferry across the Sea of Marmara to continue our cycling towards Izmir. Excited to see what other wonders Turkey has in store for us!