#pics 2052 - #2073

Monday January 29th - Red Spectral Dragon
This morning, it is my turn to cook breakfast, a porridge that we share with Alican's cousin, my host being already gone to work. At the time of leaving, I feel surprised of the natural hospitality that those young men offered me! In an unsuccesful hunt for a map of Turkey, I lose some time before taking the road East-South-East that lead to Istanbul. It is cold, the road is straight, slow and long ups and downs, same as in Greece. Desert landscape, isolated trees, some factories, small villages. The water freezes in my bottles. I stop to fill them in a cafe, there two old men invite me for a tea and some words in German, this language can be useful in eastern and central Europe. In Babaeski, I meet right on time with my host, Sevgın, near the biggest mosque. He found a guitar for me to play and introduces me to his friends on the way home. It is one of his friends named Yacin, who will actually host me. Friends and neighbor join for some snacks before we go out for a çorba (soup). This Turkish word has spread with the Ottoman Empire and is used in the Maghreb and the Balkans. I am like a rare animal that Sevgın is proud to present to everyone he knows.

           Edirne: Selimiye Camii

Tuesday January 30th - White Crystal Wind
As the weather stays cold, I canceled my last project of a detour before Istanbul: I wanted to see the Marmara sea and spend a pair of extra days cycling and camping. Today I take the straight road to Istanbul. Similar landscape, eventually a calmer wind compared to yesterday. Stopping to eat a late lunch on the square of a big village, I am a subject of interest for locals, who offer me a tea. When they understand that I come from France, they mention a infamous French name while showing to cut the throat. A play that I very likely join. This is due to a recent French law about the "Armenian genocide", which is a question to be solved between Turkish and Armenia, France has nothing to do with it. But a little man is craving for the French Armenian community votes in his desperate race for a second term.
By night, I reach Çorlu and look for a hotel. In a bakery-sweetery where I ask for help, the boss calls a friend of his managing a hotel. The latter will come by and pick me up, meanwhile I am offered tea, bürek, rice and beans. The word of the day is "sok": cold. People are always surprised that I cycle in the cold. Cycling is not a problem, because effort warms my body. Troubles start at night, when the sun disappears and it becomes really cold for camping. This winter is tough in the area: yesterday Istanbul reached a record of the coldest days in 30 years. I am arriving a a three star hotel -after a four stars in Borovets I only miss five stars! A comfortable bed to rest. For the people worrying about my knee, it is doing well. Pain is in control, and with he help of medicine, it diminishes.

           The long and windy road

Wednesday January 31st - Blue Cosmic Night
Such a high standing hotel always offers a great breakfast, nearly unlimited. I will not miss the opportunity to feed myself for the long step ahead: I want to be in Istanbul tonight. So I taste and devor bürek and Turkish cookies, frehs cheeses and vegetables, dried fruits, nuts and müesli. I could even make myself sandwiches for lunch but I prefer keeping a sort-of-educated attitude. On the road, it is the same weather with a serious wind that blows from North-East. It is slowing me down and pushing me out of the road. As the ride goes, housing become more frequent. I intend to take secondary roads a few times, but it is only for long detours.
Around 15h, snowfalls add to the ugly weather. It is about this time that the blue waters of the Marmara Sea appear. I am not in the mood to rejoice for seeing the sea after over eighteen month. At twilight, I cross a bridge over Büyükçekmece lake: this is the West end of Istanbul. I lose my way, and must lift my bicycle over a bridge to cross the highway. It is hard, here is a lot of snow, and people quietly wait for me to be done. I do not have choice but to ride on the fast lane, while my back-light has broken. Do not worry: the bags on the bike have big reflectors, that would be enough to stay safe. It is difficult to find people speaking English, but each time I ask, shop holders help me. Either they introduce me to an English speaking customer, or walk me to show me the way.
After a last stop in a restaurant to get my way, and being offered a tea, I arrive at my host Uğur, and meet with his Taiwanese guests. Everyone is pretty chilled here. In the evening we go to the city center by car: Taksim square and the Istiklal avenue, the party area of Istanbul. lt takes one hour to come back! The city is huge. If we add the population of each city and village that I stayed in from the beginning of my trip, we are still far from the fourteen millions inhabitants in Istanbul. So far the biggest cities I had been in were Budapest and Vienna, with some three millions. Here I am not surprised by the look of people: we are definitely in Europe, and this could be in Berlin or Madrid the same.
Again, I am in Istanbul in advance on my schedule, the tough weather forced me to take the direct road.

           Marmara Sea

           The long and windy road, and snow

Thursday February 1st to Saturday February 4th
Yellow Magnetic Seed to Blue Self-Existing Hand
These days, I relax, a bit of yoga here, meditation, playing guitar. Reading the adventures of Ella Maillart in Central Asie in 1935 is inspirinang and slightly torturing: I will probably follow her route in reverse from Kachgar to the Chinese East coast becasue... it is now impossible to have a VIsa Uoipn Arrival in Kunjerab pass in Pakistan. Now Pakistan visa can obly be obtained if asked from one's country of residents, and I don't even know which one it is: The Netherlands or France? I won't turn back before India! en Inde. So I still plan to reach Kashgar, a crossroad on the SIlk Road. BUt instead of going South to the Karakoram, I will go east through Takla Makan and the Gobi Desert. I will have to take a bus or a train, because visa for China are too short to make this distance. Then from South-East Asia, I would board on a ship to the Indian sub-continent and Kolkata. I dream a moment about beingone of the first persons to cross Burma that would open more to foreigners, but North East Indian provinces require special autorisations, for groups only. I will not see the jewel of Sikh devotion in Amritsar, neither share a barbecue of yack meat with HH the XIV Dalaï Lama in Dharmasala. Instead, I will follow in reverse the course of the Holy Ganga and pass through hot spots of the Buddha's life
On Saturday, back from a party in the city center, I drive my host's car: I stayed sober. Fortunately we are going out of the city, going in the busy center would be harder. Apart from those rides by car to the city, I do not move from my host's appartment. The long distance in public transport, the different language, the size of the city intimidate me.

Sunday February 5th - Yellow Overtone Star
Well today I am becoming 30! Quite a symbol to be in Istanbul, a city that I have been dreaming of visiting since I watched a video about it at school. I go for groceries in Metro, a store that sells in big quantities, olive oil by five litters, rice by ten kg. My plastic bags with vegetables are refused at the cash register. Then I learn from my host that this shop officially sells to shops and restaurants only. It is just in theory else that would make quite some family business doing their groceries on a Sunday morning!
I cook a good brunch and we go to a CSer's farewell party in the center. We bring a cake for the occasion. Nice and quiet home party where meeting with a Palestinian woman and a Lebanese guy reminds me that I am in between two continents. With a YounitedStatians and an Australian, it reminds me that it is a travelers' crossroad.

Monday February 6th - Red Rhythmic Moon
My last day at Uğur's, a day spent mostly in cooking diner and a chocolate cake. It comes on point, as my hostess for tomorrow has to cancel last minute and I will arrive at another host right for her b-day.

Wednesday February 7th - White Resonant Dog
Departure, ready to leave the city, heading North to go through a green area, and then go South in direction of the Haliç -the Golden Horn- and take a ferry boat to cross the Boğaziçi - the Bosphorus. Due to the covered weather and strong wind, this plan must be changed, once more in favor of the direct road along the coast. After having found a map of Istanbul, I mislead myself in the mud by Küyükcekmeçe lake. Fortunately it starts to rain soon, which will clean the bicycle. By the side of the Marmara sea is bicycle pad. The continuous drizzle reminds me of other cities at the extremity of Europe: Brest or Rotterdam. I pass the big walls of the Ottoman city of Istanbul or Byzantium or Constantinopolis. Plenty of boats are waiting to go through Bosphorus straight. In the ferry that crosses it, SMS to my host are not going through. On the other side, this is my first step in Asia!! While I am feeling cold because of the rain that got through a waterproof jacket, I ask for help from locals and two young guys kindly call my host, demonstrating their Turkish friendliness by guiding me to our meeting point. Wearing a red hat comes Aysun whom I follow home. She is preparing her birthday party. Guests are arriving while I am going through a machine that makes me a dry and clean man, a machine named "Bathroom". The evening goes on as it would have been in The Netherlands, with friends, wine, music and ...

           Wood, anyone? Fish, anyone? 

           Fortification of the old city

           Wet, cold, tired: smiling between Europe and Asia