18/1/25
It turned out to be a cold night, windy too. The guy who was fishing a few hundred metres when we went to sleep, stayed there all night. He obviously didn’t bother us, he seemed to be slouched over in a chair, cap over his eyes, sleeping when we passed by in the morning.
We tried to find coffee along the beach nearby but there was nothing. They would probably be bustling in Summer. The road we left on was continuously uphill and tiring but it was quiet. We were feeling quite exhausted for some reason, maybe the colder night meant we hadn’t slept as well. A van stopped in front of us and a guy jumped out, it happens more often than you expect, they don’t wait behind. He randomly offered us Ekmek and then went into his house as the van drove off.
There was a steep hill that we had to climb onto a plateau. Trucks seemed to be streaming out of nowhere now. They couldn’t go fast either, so they crept past, sometimes funnelling their exhaust fumes into our faces. It was unexpectedly steep and it was hitting at least 12% in places.
At the top we were blasted with the wind. No respite today it seemed. The landscape was odd, it felt like the moors of home. There were flooded areas and lots of small shrubs but few trees. The road kept undulating up and down steeply, every time we were hopeful it was the last little push before the downhill. Eventually a solar farm covering the side of a hill came into sight and then we were going down. But it wasn’t fast or as fun with the wind powering us back. At least we didn’t have to use our brakes as much!
It wasn’t long before we arrived in Seferihisar, we’d joined a dual carriageway just before we arrived. Knowing we could find coffee here, we headed into the centre. It was a busy street where we found a coffee shop that had nice outdoor seating. We drew a little attention but no one spoke to us. The coffees arrived soon, with a bottle of water and a little chocolate covered piece of coconut. We somewhat reluctantly ate them. They probably weren’t vegan. Why waste food though?
Opposite the coffee shop was a bakery, that also had piles of satsumas. Naturally we bought a kilo of satsumas and some more ekmek. Even if the bread looks different, most of it tastes the same anyway. The only exception being the round puffy bread, that was our favourite.
Bags stuffed with bread and oranges we headed back down the dual carriageway to our turning. It was nice to have an actual route again. The dual carriageways lose their novelty soon enough. They’re bleak places to spend your day. We were rolling through orange and olive groves. There were plenty of people out picking the fruit, so many oranges, so many. Crates and crates.
We were headed to Sığacık, a small town near the coast. As we arrived we not only found a bustling tourist spot, also cheaper satsumas, but also signs to the ancient city of Teos. It was only 2km off the route and with no hills. We had to check it out. The cycle route was signposted but it deteriorated quickly. It was just a rocky track and we had to get off a few times. The olive trees were gnarly here.
When we reached the city there were immediately signposts to the theatre and acropolis, so we started roaming. It was a bit of a ball ache to push the bikes on the cobbles. We decided to stop at a bench for some food first, just then a security guard started calling at us in Turkish. He was telling us to come to the entrance to buy a ticket. We didn’t feel like this was our fault, there were no signs or barriers to stop us coming in.
We went over to the friendly guard and ticket seller. The cars machine refused to work so we paid cash. We hadn’t much left so we hoped for another HSBC soon. Sitting on some benches eating we enjoyed the Sun starting to make the world that bit warmer and tried to decipher the movements of the goat shepherd in front of us. After scoffing bread, halva and oranges, but not in that order, we left our bikes at the gate. We took our passports and money just in case.
The city had the largest temple to Dionysus of any. It was huge. They obviously enjoyed grapes a lot here. They seemed to be rebuilding the temple, or part of it. There were new bits of marble around too. A reconstruction would be an immense task. Just downhill from the temple was the ‘monumental olive’. It was incredibly gnarly and large but also well pruned into shape. It was probably a 1000 years old.
We walked across to the theatre to finish our visit. We’d have liked to make it to the harbour too, but it was a mile away. It still had water and everything. The theatre was flooded by the stage but it did have some amazing curved ceiling remnants at the back. We soon pounded off back to the bikes.
To leave via the road would have meant climbing so we just went back down the rocky track. It was downhill so it was much easier. Back through the town and then started climbing out the other side. It was demoralising. The hill didn’t let up and the garmin was wrong again. It was steep. We were bottomed out in our gears and once again the top just meant headwind.
They’d built a new housing estate. It was all tower blocks. But not ugly. They fitted in. Much better than the moronic sprawling estates they keep building in the UK. This was high density. It was dusty and busy with cars and lorries again. We turned off soon and took a smaller road towards Amalak.
Amalak has nothing but a beach and a closed restaurant. We’d forgotten to get water, so despite thinking we could camp here at first, it was a non option. We were starting to feel overwhelmed by the hard won progress. We soon left and headed towards the busier areas. On the outskirts of Kuşçular we stopped at the A101 to get water and dinner. The next campsite we found would be our bed we decided.
Leaving the town we figured we would be going to the coast to find a place to camp, but there were some nice looking woods, not far out of town. We started surveying the different paths. Most of them led to piles of rubbish unfortunately. Still camp-able though. We looked a bit further down the road too. While Jonathan was riding down a muddy track looking for the best spot, a couple of moped riding locals were chatting to Frankie. They encouraged us to ride up the path about a kilometre. What they said translated literally as ‘breathing space’.
As we rode up the track one of the fancy new Peugeot’s with vertical daytime running lights was coming down. We stopped to wait before a corner, so did they. Eventually we went forward and they stopped us to chat. We are always forthcoming with our plan to camp. Locals are best to have on your side. The man spoke perfect English. His wife and child said much less but probably spoke good English too. He confirmed we could camp anywhere we liked in the woods. Excellent.
The man went on to ask if we would like to camp in his garden. He lived up the track and promptly turned the car around and said he would show us. We felt happy enough to camp in the woods somewhere, but we had to follow him now. It was a little way, he drove quickly up the hill and we had to cycle hard to keep up. It went downhill soon after and we had to be careful on the rocky path in such a hurry.
There was a big electric gate and a fancy new house that had just been built but not yet occupied. It was a big garden, with plenty of newly planted trees and a vegetable patch. There was also a wooden house that they stayed in, probably while they were building. He apologised that they had to leave, wishing they could stay so we could dine together. We couldn’t believe how generous they were being to strangers. We felt a little relieved they wouldn’t be trying to cater for us though.
After they’d left we sat down for our dinner. We had switched it up a notch by buying roasted chickpeas. We’d been saving one of the circular ekmek’s but it had started to go a little dry so we ate that first. The place was so sheltered from the wind that had plagued us all day that we could make some tea on the stove.
As it got dark, we set up the tent and went inside for some bread and halva. We sat in our sleeping bags to keep warm. It was going to be another cold night. It was a bit tricky to know how to use the toilet in someone’s garden, but we dug a hole. It was strange how we’d entered the woods and were expecting to be remote, but the road and other houses were actually really close. There were plenty of car noises and as the call to prayer went off, not that they needed the encouragement, the dogs went off like a chain reaction.
We felt safe in the garden. Safer than camping anywhere else. A fence and gate protected us. But mostly it was the permission to be there. It made us feel at ease. To talk and make noise. To have the light on in the tent. We appreciated the quiet. And the pretty night sky.
Surly They Won't Make It 