Gallipoli peninsula and Çanakkale
The end of the bike ride is approaching. I only have a few kilometers left – about 230. It’s not a lot but it’s enough to experience many more adventures. Here I am ready to discover the Gallipoli peninsula. This forms the northern part of the Dardanelles Strait, which depends on the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. The wind calmed down that morning by the sea. My plan today: start early to arrive early in Çanakkale and have time to visit the city this afternoon. Like many of my plans, this one quickly falls through. 6:30 a.m., I pack up and take off to have breakfast in the village which is 2 km away. At the top of the hill, flat tire! One day, one puncture! I want to cry. Well the advantage is that this time I’m not alone in the blazing sun. Quickly, some bikers on vacation here come to help me. And the case turns into a real headache! Because they can’t fix my inner tube either. My tire is so fucked that even when you think it’s good, it’s not! Two, then five, then a dozen men crowd around my tire. Time is ticking, 9:30, I’m starting to get really hungry. The manager of the little restaurant where I stopped to ask for help offers me mushroom soup (Turkish breakfast) and his mother some doughnuts! They don’t want me to pay… That’s how a flat tire leads to great moments of mutual aid and sharing. No one speaks English but we manage to understand each other. After a false start, “Turkish” patches, several disassemblies/reassemblies, I manage to leave, it’s 11 a.m…. Never make plans, the unexpected is great too. Well, I understand that once in Çanakkale I will have to find a bike shop and change my rear tire. In the meantime, I still have about sixty kilometers to go.
60 km that go by quickly, wind at my back, I have to go to Eceabat to take the ferry. There is indeed a bridge that connects the two continents but it is forbidden to bikes. I am overtaken by many fire trucks with sirens blaring, there is a huge forest fire on the other side of the peninsula. Arriving in Eceabat, I jump on the ferry that is at the dock. No waiting. 30 minutes of ferry to cross the Dardanelles Strait and here I am on the Asian continent! A little excitement that quickly fades: my rear tire is flat again! Demotivated, I don’t even bother to inflate it anymore. Since I don’t have internet and therefore no Google to find a bike shop, I go to ask at the tourist office. And there I come across a super nice guide who has finished his day, he takes the time to take me on foot to the shop! New rear tire and a stock of new inner tubes, given my last three days of misery… 5 p.m., unfortunately impossible to stay and visit the city. No campsite around here, I have to go further along the coast to (finally) find one that really exists (don’t always trust Google maps…). It’s 7 p.m. and after a day full of twists and turns I’m exhausted. I can enjoy the sunset over the sea through the campsite’s pine trees. I even refuse the kind offer of the managers who invite me to eat with them. But I did well because they eat dinner at the time I go to bed! They still offer me grilled sardines for dessert…
So, of course the next day I am the first up… with the horse from the campsite wandering around, normal. I have nothing for breakfast, I had asked to take it to the campsite. But for that, I have to wait for everyone to get up… that gives me time to make a decision. Keep moving or take a day to visit Çanakkale. After a hearty breakfast of cheese pancakes, I meet my campsite neighbours. A lovely little family who offer me a taste of their breakfast!! I eat everything twice in Turkey… And after a very interesting discussion, the husband convinces me to take the time to visit the city. It is noon, so I go back, leaving my things at the campsite for a second night. Unfortunately the museum that interests me is on the other side of the sea, where I took the ferry the day before. There is the museum on the history of the Battle of the Dardanelles. Having lived in New Zealand, I am super interested in this place full of history. Indeed, during the First World War, a conflict broke out between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied forces (France, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand). The latter commemorate ANZAC Day every year on April 25, the day of the landing on the Gallipoli peninsula where many Australians/New Zealanders lost their lives. So I stay in Çanakkale this afternoon and fall back on the Naval Navy Museum. Also super interesting, they tell the story of the Dardanelles War. I stay at least 2 hours and I can even visit a submarine with a small private tour in French. The museum is run by soldiers and I have the opportunity to chat a little with some of them. Great historical moment. Time for a moment of relaxation while sipping an iced coffee before returning to the campsite to finish the evening.
Go back in the past : the archeological site of Troie
It’s time to get back on the road. This morning I have another appointment with History. But much more primitive. Direction Troy. So maybe you are like me, and discover that this legendary city is located here, near the Aegean Sea! This part of Turkey is so rich in History that I regret not lingering longer. Because I visit the archaeological site very quickly (well, it must be said that there is not much left to see, you can see the different layers from Troy I (3000-2550 BC) to Troy IX (85 BC- 500/600 AD). On the other hand, there is a great archaeological museum on 3 floors, which opened in 2018. Unfortunately I don’t have much time to visit it because I have to arrive this evening at the seaside to find campsites (another 70km and a bit of climbing). So I do a quick visit, more to say that I was there than to really reconstruct the History of Troy… 11:30 am it’s time to leave. I pedal a little before stopping to eat in a small town. I find a terrace in the shade, neighbors a little heavy but still friendly who offer me huge figs after already a copious meal. Ready to face the difference in altitude, I am already impatient to be at the seaside again, to find a superb view and especially flat ground. Except that after a nice descent, here I am facing the wind. I am furious! And in addition the seasides are all private, no view. But lots of campsites. I am spoiled for choice, but I decide to move forward to have less pedaling the next day. Finally after a first full, I go to a second which looks directly onto the sea. This evening is very special since it is the last of the journey! Strange feeling, both happy to have arrived at the destination, but already nostalgic for these two and a half months of cycling adventure and a little sad to have to put the bike down soon. But I also know that the journey is not over. So first I enjoy my last solo evening. A swim, a beer to wash down all these kilometers, and a slightly strange dinner. I just wanted to treat myself to a little Turkish dinner, I found myself in a “chic” restaurant, with a single menu and common for everyone!! No one speaks English well, I don’t understand what’s happening to me. The situation is quite funny, I find myself eating salads, mushroom soup, fish, and dessert!! I’m full, it’s time to enjoy my last night in my tent with the sound of the sea.
The last of the last
Because the next day, only 70km separate me from my destination, the village of Dereören where I will meet Cansu’s family. She invited me to her wedding which takes place in a week, I am right on time. But before that, I have to do these last hours of cycling. After a lie-in until 7am and a breakfast by the sea, I take my time and follow the sea to Edremit, the big town in the area. I quickly have the wind in my face, I become disillusioned. In the end it’s not so bad that I take a bike break!! A small local sandwich to boost me and finish my last kilometers. But once in Edremit, I know the road. Here I am in familiar territory. I am heading towards Havran, the small town that I know well for having spent time there with Cansu 2 years ago. While I have more than 4000km on the clock, it is these last ones that are the hardest! At the time, not having found a place to sleep in Havran, I had continued to cycle to the restaurant that Cansu’s family ran, just before their village. That’s how I met them, asking for a place to sleep one night. In the end, I stayed with them for about ten days before getting back on the road to Istanbul. So this time I know where I’m going. I pass Havran, find the little shops on the side of the road that sell local specialties: honey, olives, olive oil, dried figs. Besides, the figs are drying on the ground. But the last kilometers that separate me from Dereören seem endless to me. 17km that are not completely flat! In my memory it seemed much simpler and faster… But as always I get there (partly because I have no choice…). I recognize everything, and turn left towards Dereören, 3km. The small road, the dam, the fields, the gardens… and the village!! The emotion is great. The house of Nermin and Galip, Cansu’s parents, is not far from the entrance to the village, once the small bridge is crossed. It is 5 p.m., I put the bike against the gate, the bike adventure ends here…
But the trip is far from over! I’m going to leave the bike in the courtyard of their house to now enjoy Turkey, life in the village, Cansu, her family and their friends and especially, her wedding!!
So here it is, everything is happening. No time to take stock of my two and a half months of cycling, nor of all these kilometers traveled. I still don’t realize everything I’ve experienced in such a short time. But Komoot gives me the figures: 59 days of cycling, more than 4550 km traveled, 35230 m of positive elevation gain… Impossible to summarize. As always, the cycling adventure was enriching, exciting, trying. But it is with a little pride that I can say that I reached Turkey by bike from my small village in France (Lozanne) for the second time!!
See you in the next episode to tell you about the end of the adventure in Turkey and the wedding of Cansu and Emre.
