Wildcamp at Kargihan

August 11, 2023

Our week of being lazy tourists came to an end today. We left the comfort of our very nice hotel some time after eight o'clock this morning, about an hour later than I had hoped for and probably two hours later than we should have. Within three kilometers we were out of Side's clutches and on a quiet road undulating through small villages.

Quiet roads through the villages north of the D400.

We have seen a lot of prickly pears. The Afrikaans name for them is turksvye which means Turkish figs which is completely inaccurate because they come from the Americas.

After ten kilometers we left the last village and started a climb of over four hundred meters. It was a bit of a shock to our system and we soon stopped to catch our breath in the shade of a tree. A man on a motor cycle stopped and gave us four lovely ripe figs from a bucket that he was carrying. It was just what we needed to lift our spirits.

At this point we passed out of the farmland through which we had been cycling and from here we passed only one tree until we reached the top of the climb. It was hot and all we wanted was some shade. The slight breeze was from behind which meant it was nullified by the slow speed at which we were cycling. So we stopped often to allow the breeze to cool us a bit.

Eventually we came upon an old stone structure which had some shade and took a long rest there. About two kilometers from the summit we found a tree so we had another rest.

This stone structure provided some respite from the sun.

Eventually we found a tree under which we could take another break from the sun.

Google has no idea that this enormous dam exists.

Our water was running low but Leigh was convinced we would find somewhere to buy liquid once we joined the D687. A long downhill followed by a wicked climb and another downhill brought us to the D687 but Leigh's hopes were in vain.

While taking shelter from the sun behind a road sign we spotted another cycle tourist walking his bike towards us up what was to be the last climb of the day. Onder was doing a circumnavigation of Turkey and he kindly shared some icy cold water with us.

At the tiny settlement of Beydigin we hoped to find a shop but there was none. A kind resident gave us a few bottles of frozen water. Leaving the village we found Onder filling his water bottles at a dispenser outside the mosque. We had sonehow missed it as we cycled in.

From there is was about two kilometers to the Kargihan. The Seljuqs built hans or caravanserai every thirty kilometers or so on the trade route from the interior down to the coast. Some have been restored but the Kargihan is rather dilapidated although it has apparently been earmarked for renovation. However, it is open to the public and near a small stream so this is where we planned to spend the night. It's a nice shady spot to while away the hours until sunset.

There have been a few visitors to the han over the course of the afternoon, some of whom have been friendly. We also have two big dogs outside the han picking scraps from the dreadful amount of litter outside its entrance. Thank goodness the han itself is not too badly littered.

We set up our tent in the courtyard as the sun set.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 177 km (110 miles)

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