August 13, 2023
Wildcamp at an abandoned Mescid north of Derebucak
Another five o'clock wake up and on the road by a quarter past six. We started climbing immediately into quite a strong headwind but the sun had yet to rise above the mountains and it was cool almost cold. It stayed like that until the top of the second, and slightly higher, of the two summits where the sun's rays found us for a few minutes. Then the sun hid behind the mountains again as we enjoyed a icy downhill into the valley that would take us to Derebucak.
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The sun remained hidden for the first few kilometers after reaching the valley floor and we were freezing cold because we were dressed for hot weather cycling. Nonetheless we were happy not to see the sun because the day would surely heat up later.
We reached Derebucak at about ten o'clock and, with a hot shower foremost in our minds, tried to find a hotel. Despite Derebucak not being a small town we were told that the closest accommodation was in Beysehir, another forty five kilometers away. We had no option but to carry on in the hope of finding a decent place to wildcamp somewhere along the way. We had taken a long break in some chairs outside a small grocery store and by was now it was after eleven o'clock and was getting too hot to cycle.
About three kilometers north of the town we spied an old water spigot near a small building alongside the old road a few hundred meters away. I could see people filling bottles at the tap so, in the knowledge that there was water there, I walked across to fill an empty bottle we had. It turns out that they were from Belarus and had spent the night in the building, an old Mescid or prayer room. Thinking that we could camp under the trees nearby, we cycled across to the Mescid. The Belarusians were moving on so once they had left we took their place at the Mescid, first outside where we ate our lunch but later moving into the coolth of the building.
The ladies side of the Mescid was open, and that is where the Belarusians spent the night, but the men's side was locked and the toilets haven't been operational for a long time. Nonetheless there was an ample supply of water and the ladies prayer room was wonderfully cool. It got hotter and hotter as the day wore on and it was a wise decision to stop.
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The abundance of water has meant we have been able to have a good cleanup, even washing our hair. It's the cleanest I can ever be after three nights of wildcamping.
Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 236 km (147 miles)
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