Sivas to the Border

November 30, 2022 to December 12, 2022

My first Hammam (Turkish bath) experience was an interesting and slightly awkward one with the language barrier. I was pointed to a dressing room to get changed and told to wait whilst an old hunchbacked man limped away with my shoes to clean. After waiting for a while with nobody coming I wandered timidly down in my shorts to the old hairy men wearing a small cloth around their waists, feeling very self-conscious that I was a tourist who had no clue where to go. I was led into the main room and shown several saunas and pools I can try out. Feeling relaxed and clean sat in main room I was approached by an attendant who mimed a scrubbing motion to me, I assured him I had cleaned myself already so he walked off. Later, another man who could speak English insisted heavily he scrubs me down so I accepted. A vigorous 10 minutes passed as he went to work with an exfoliating pad, scrubbing my whole body until it was red raw, leaving behind an impressive amount of dead skin accumulated after 4+ months on the road. Feeling very fresh, he then led me to another room where he would give me an incredible full body massage with hot oils, something I definitely think I need to get again. Sat drinking tea after with the other guests in the Hammam, I felt like a completely new man, moreover the whole experience only costs £7 (excluding tips).

Stole this from google but this is inside

I felt a bit ill for the first time on the trip so took it easy in Sivas. A couple of rest days easily past, eating great food for dirt cheap and staying in surprisingly cushy cheap hotel.

Feeling much better, I rode on through some beautiful valleys where the sun would later set, illuminating the landscape in a rich red light. Before dark I found a huge stack of scrap wood and packed it into a bag to take it with me along a track overlooking the mountains in the night. Just enough wood for a fire to sustain me during the evening, unfortunately also burning my socks in the process.

-5°C during the night but some hot çay with the sunrise gets me going. The campsite, illuminated by the golden sunrise was magical, especially with the frost covering the landscape. As beautiful as it was, the sun soon thawed the frozen mud and I found myself having to push my bike and scrape out the mud from the fenders every 5 minutes, totally worth it though with the view. Struggled to find any water with all the taps being frozen, but in the next town, Imranlı, I found a friendly mechanic who helped me clean off my now filthy bike and dry out my tent in the sun.

Determinedto have a big day, I stopped off to refuel in the town where I was soon invitedto join a group for some tea. 30 minutes later, I made it to a çig köfte restaurant where I spent about an hour chatting with the kidsworking there, warmed by the log burner and not really wanting to leave, Ithought I should get another portion. When an invite came to meet more peoplein the town in the tea house, I happily accepted. There i met Samet, Alperenand many others and absoutly loved the warm welcome into the town. I joinedSamet and Fırat For dinner at hishouse with his family. Tradition is that the women cook in the kitchen and dontjoin the men for dinner, I didnt feel too great about this and would have likedto talk to them more. The food was fantastic though, hearty bean stew with rice,along with a sort of köfte soupand soaked cherries for desert. Spent the night sleeping on a sofa bed in agoverment building with a log burner which took 6 people to get going, I feltwell looked after and slept like a baby as it was well below freezing againoutiside.

Learning 101 Okey and getting wasted on tea

Stocked up on more of my favourite çig köftes for the road I tackled Erzincan pass (2190m) before immediately getting hit by the cold on the way down. My fingers were incredibly painful and in all my layers I still felt the sharp hit of the cold wind. Felt blessed to find a tea stall mid way down and spent some time here trying to feel my fingers and toes again. The man suggested I shouldn't camp nearby as there are many bears in the area so reluctantly I carried on, later finding a small cabin on the other side of a cabin, its amazing how these things appear when you need them most. Prepped another fire to cook on in the fire pit and also warmed myself by the old stove after an incredibly chilly wash by the mountain stream. Baricaded the enterances and prayed for no visits from bears that night.

A similar situation the next day with another big pass and a perfectly placed teahouse which I didnt want to leave. Rolled into Torul late and ate tones of fasoule and pilaf in a restaurant, local students were flirting with me (which I obviously enjoyed) but felt a little strange when they left and told me I can come back to see them when I am a Muslim. Searching around the town for a hidden spot to camp that night I was stopped by police who questioned me a lot. I just wanted to get away and sleep in the hidden spot I saw earlier, but they insisted it was too dangerous with the threat of bears and rockfall from the steep valley walls. They made me follow them back to the station for further questioning and conversations, I could tell they were just trying to help me but I was exhausted and couldn't be bothered for their chattiness. I did enjoy meeting Oscar though, their huge police dog which would make any criminal want to obey the law, he was so lively and full of energy, bounding around with its giant weight. A happy conclusion was reached when they lead me to a teachers house (guesthouse) I could stay in for £4, avoiding the well below freezing temperatures.

This dog followed me up most of this pass, hoping I would give it more food

Zigana pass was very memorable for me, a long but peaceful climb through the mountain range, stopping along the way after a scary looking Kangal chases me down. After a pleasant interaction with the owner, the dog turned out to be the cutest and tamest dog I've met, still wouldn't like to mess with it though. At the top of the pass I was surprised to be approached by a German man, Osman, who invited me out of the cold into a cosy restaurant sat by a roaring fire, he quickly prepared for me a selection of grilled local meats, a speciality of this region. The food was mouth-watering and I just wanted to stay there all night by the fire. The restaurant soon had to close though and as tempted as I was to camp at the top with the incredible view below, I was put off when Osman told me about the overnight temperatures here. Regretted my unwillingness to leave the restaurant when the sun dipped below the horizon and I found myself speeding down a highway in the dark and cold with trucks overtaking me frequently. Much adrenaline later, I found a hidden grassy spot next to an abandoned building and warmed my hands by a fire made from parts of the old building

Never expected such a big climb up to Soumela monastery in the mountains above Trabzon. Was enjoying the relative heat near sea level but 1200m up I wish I didnt leave my coat at the bottom of the hill. Little jealous of the tourists speeding past me in minibuses, especially when the map told me I was there but it was actually still 200m above me. According to legend, two monks from Athens had the same dream; they saw an image of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her arms in these caves. Deciding soon after to build the monastery on the same spot circa 386 A.D.

Here I also met Stanislav, a Russian hitchhiker who has circumnavigated the world for 3 years with no electronics and barely spending any money. Really fascinating and inspiring guy with many stories and a lot of great advice for a still newbie traveller like me.

When the map told me I was next to the Monastery

No time to make it to Trabzon today so slept by the side of the road with a fire to cook some roasted vegetables and bean stew. Struggled to make it there the next day too with 4 invitations for tea over only 30km. The first 3 I accepted and had some great conversations with locals with my still terrible but slightly better Turkish (and a lot of google translate). Had to say no to the final offer though as it was soon getting dark.

Inspired by Stanislav and too lazy to cycle back into the mountains, I left my bike with a kind man called Yusuf at Danzi campsite and hitchhiked. I travelled further along the Black Sea coast from Ardeşen to the Kaçkar mountain range and 5 different men picked me up, 3 of which were also called Yusuf. It's great to meet so many kind people in such a short period but it took a lot longer than expected to find a lift. The climate here was so different to the rest of Turkey with very high humidity, perfect for growing the countries supply of tea. Yusuf told me that it's not so bad and only rains twice a week here normally, first for 3 days and then for 4... Back at the campsite, Yusef allowed me to stay in a tiny camping pod with an impressive sound system and we watched Better Call Saul together with his lively German shepherd dog

Caught a bus the rest of the way to the border to avoid the deadly motorway, next chapter, Georgia!...

Today's ride: 440 km (273 miles)
Total: 5,840 km (3,627 miles)

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