Turkey - On the way to Ankara
The wind picks up, the English disappears and the animals appear. Welcome to rural Turkey.
The rest of my Turkish itinerary was influenced by two considerations. First, my original plan was to follow the Black Sea north, but a few cyclists (including my friend Yves the French) suggested that I head to the center of the country instead. This is to avoid the density of automobile traffic as well as immense mountains along the entire coast. Then, I decided to take a ferry from Istanbul to the south, also in order to avoid reliving the enormous traffic congestion experienced when I entered the city.
So I disembark at Yalova for a 450 km climb to Ankara, the capital, located on the Anatolian plateau.
The family SIM card
As my crossing of Turkey will take me practically a full month, and since my arrival in the country it has been impossible for me to find the internet, I decide to get a local SIM card, allowing me to use at leisure my phone.
At the aptly named Turkcell store, I meet the sisters Melek and Zehra. After the price of a monthly card, one of the first things Melek tells me is that she is divorced, therefore single, and available. Available or not, I still accept the tea and cookies offered to me.
We talk a bit about my trip, and I am eventually invited to dinner. So I go home by bike ... to find a family feast! It is a large residence with three levels, where four generations live together. But in addition, the brother of the sisters arrive with his family, as well as gradually some neighbors and other children of the village. I don't know how many there are anymore, but my Google Translate app has never been so useful.
Dinner with the whole family.
Jonathan, Sevim, Melek, Batu, Zehra, Ada and Efe.
It also happens to be the first day of Ramadan. For one month, practicing Muslims must fast throughout the day and can only eat or drink when the sun goes down. The period of Ramadan is based on a lunar calendar, and therefore varies from year to year. And this year it turns out that the month falls into the longest days.
That being said, I believe then that the first day of Ramadan is a kind of Shrove Tuesday where families come together to celebrate the start of this month of fasting. Apparently not.
- Did you organize this supper to celebrate the beginning of Ramadan?
- No why?
- Why are there so many people here then?
- But to meet you Jonathan!
So I spend the evening with them, sing to them I think accompanying me on the guitar, and sleep on it. The next morning, I am sitting on the porch next to my new boyfriend Efe, an ultra endearing 10 year old kid who keeps calling me brother looking at me with big admiring eyes. We talk to each other by texting on my phone which translates our sentences.
- Why are you leaving Jonathan?
- Well, I must, Efe, I must continue my journey.
- But why don't you stay here?
- Because I want to visit the world.
- Why?
- Because it's my dream.
- Ok brother, I understand.
My heart is melting.
The forest and the desert
A few minutes later, as I prepare to leave my foster family, Sevim, the mother of the sisters, tells me the latest news: the explosion of a new terrorist bomb in Istanbul, causing dozens of deaths and injuries. She seems to apologize for her country and is worried about me. I try to reassure them. I don't put everyone in the same basket, and still believe that there are millions of times more good people in this world than enlightened fanatics. New round of caresses.
Having this in mind, and my luck to have left Istanbul in time, I continue my journey. Over the days, and after the top of a climb, the coniferous vegetation soon gives way to an arid and desert climate. And the headwind begins.
Bird sanctuary in Beypazari.
The wind and the many 10% climbs continue. I fight for every mile and suddenly I am in a daze. For a moment, I look in front of me and it takes a few seconds for me to remember which country I am in. I have already driven in so many landscapes since my departure that they sometimes merge with each other before I put my ideas together. However, I quickly come back to reality under the sound of truck drivers' horns. Guys, I know you wanna say kudos to me, but could you honk your horn somewhere other than two feet from my head, please?
Ramadan also makes things a bit more difficult. All restaurants are closed during the day, so I have to plan to transport more food. Turkey is a fairly large country, particularly rural where I find myself, and sometimes I may not come across a grocery store for a few days. After almost running out of food for one day, I learned my lesson and am stocking up!
The Beast
The place where I was hovering in my tent.
I often show you pictures of my favorite camping spots. But the reality is that for the majority of nights, the place is less glamorous. Like that night when I settled in just outside Nallihan town, literally on the other side of a gas station.
Towards the middle of the night, I wake up and hear big, deep breaths very near, outside the tent. Still half asleep, and completely in the dark, I focus my listening on whether it's a human or a huge animal. This is where I hear a loud growl.
HOLY F ** K SHIT !!!
Ok, it's not a groundhog. Only once before - in France - have I heard an animal near my tent, but it was then quite a bit smaller. There, my brain is completely awake and I start to think about what it can be.
A dog? A big boar? Do they have wild boars here? A wolf? But no, we're too close to the city, that doesn't make sense. Crime, it sounded like an alligator. Well no, shut up Jo, it's certain that it's not an alligator. It has to be a dog. But a mega big wild dog. Ok, I have my knife in my food bag ... right here in my tent. Calique, why do I have my food in my tent. Yeah, I won't take my knife, the plastic grocery bag is going to make way too much noise ...
I decide for the status quo. And confident that my nylon tent walls are "protecting" me, I fall back to sleep.
Until I wake up in a sweat. I just dreamed that a wild boar has my arm in its mouth. I calm my breathing as I look around in the tent. Good, no boar.
And there ... I still hear the same breathing and the same growl.
MAN, HE IS SLEEPING NEXT TO MY TENT!?!
I'd like to end the story by telling you what it was. That I discovered it by having the courage to open my door to be clear about it, and that I even took a picture. But no. I stayed well seated in the middle of my tent while waiting for the night to end ...
In my opinion, it was an alligator.
Eventually, wanting to avoid a sixth night in a row in wild camping, and driven by the desire to take a shower, I drive 110 km and arrive in Ankara. I will stay there for two days, before setting off again for a new chapter of adventures!
