15 May – After breakfast in our very Turkish “Grand Sampiyon” Hotel in Kirklarelli - peeling paint in the bathrooms-we set off for the trip to Istanbul. A reasonably long day mostly running on major highways. We come into Istanbul along the southern coastal approach. The traffic becomes increasingly frantic as we get further in – Sean kicks a car door in an out of character incident of road rage.
My group (Graham, Warwick, Jim & myself) get a bit lost as we close in on Sultanamet where our hotel is – then we see the Blue Mosque in the distance and use it to close in. The streets of Sultanamet are surprisingly steep & narrow. A number of bikes struggle to get up to the hotel (? fear of burnt out clutches) and then we struggle to find a park.
Blue Mosque
The Daphne hotel is compact but has a great rooftop balcony with spectacular views over the Sea of Marmara. Martin, Catherine & Catherine's sister Margaret walk to the Daphne from the Crown Plaza and we have a late rooftop lunch. Martin ahs arrived in Istanbul 2 days earlier after a marathon ride from Bulgaria involving toll card scammers, kicking a car door or 2 and 3 hours of crawl through Istanbul traffic.
Sean & Myles Daphne Hotel Rooftop
Myles & Lee get in around 6.30-7.00pm after a late start (bike repairs in Kirkarelee) and are both pretty cheesed off. Lang is towed the whole distance by Bev in the white van.
I share a room with the unflappable Graham. A few partners have arrived for Istanbul – Jim Campbells wife and Jan, John Campbell's wife both meet the group.
16th May – a day of exploring Istanbul .A group of us hire a small bus and get a vague tour of the inner city. We get to cross the Bosphorus into Asia and back again. Dropped off at the Spice Market we start exploring – a fantastic mix of Turkish shops & stalls. I spend 20 minutes in the New Mosque soaking up it's cool calmness and wash my feet at the mosque water stalls.
We split up & I wander to Dokhapi Palace. The ticket queue is huge so I lie down on the beautiful grass area outside the palace until the crowds subside a bit. Pay my 20 Turkish lire and go inside to explore the treasures on display including an 86 carat diamond! To me the real beauty is the palace structure itself with it's amazing mosaics and it's setting with a spectacular view of the Bosphorus and across to Asian Turkey. Walk in to the Blue Mosque – impressive interior but I prefer the feel of the New Mosque.
Back to Daphne Hotel. We have rooftop briefing by Lang at 5pm and after this we're approached by Anne from an English radio drive time program (UKHDRadio.com). I volunteer to be interviewed and Susan also gives the female perspective on the the ride.
Most of the group have dinner at restaurant just up from hotel – Martin, Catherine & Margaret join Sean & myself at a table.
May 17th We all rise early for 0600hr start (call to prayer from local mosque has already woken Graham & I) to get to ferry and avoid Istanbul traffic.We all queue for the Bursa ferry and slowly advance up the line. A problem appears – although Bev showed a photo of the sidecar bikes when she booked the tickets, the ferry load master thinks there is not enough space!
Eventually we all manage to fit on. Easy cruise (about 1.5hr) across Sea of Marmara to ferry port at Madanya.
Unload from ferry and we start the 300 or so km ride to Cannakale.
Ride through beautiful Turkish coast with lots of climbing. About 15km into ride, my drive train is destroyed – the rubber “cush” drive that lost it's steel case in Bulgaria has self destructed. I want to push the bike over the cliff but Lang (still being towed) offers to give me the part from his bike.
Lang, Stu, Graham & I work for an hour or so to undo drive trains from both bikes & put new drive on my bike.
Eventually on road again – very long and testing ride to Cannakale and the Kanak Hotel. R side carby failure in small village - elderly Turkish gent lets us work on concrete in his shed while we fix carburettor. A group of 3 local young guys stroll by - I try to use sign language to get them to show me where we are on my map. Then one of them says in a broad Australian accent "what can I help you with mate?" - his name is Mattie and he is over from Melbourne to work on his family's olive grove. He gives us directions to the highway and we set off.
I arrive last around 7.30pm.
Martin & I have pizzas & beer on waterfront and then crash into bed. Martin comments that we could have been anywhere in Australia - Turkey is like that.
Turkey is a beautiful country and I think it's true that the people of Turkey have a special relationship & regard for Australians. Turkey is a bit like Asia & Europe put in a blender with a special taste coming ou tof the mix.
Tommorrow we head to Gallipoli.
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