Paradise on Ikaria

Isa and I found our way to the unspoiled island of Ikaria.

After a few days of camping on a beach in the south, we drove to the other side of the island and found paradise.

Welcome to Nas

At the beach we met Daniel, a German artist, who has been living in a cave along the Chalares River for the past month.

He gave us the tour of the area, including this beautiful waterfall.

We also briefly met this friendly old man who was one of the many communists exiled to this island.

After a few days, Isa continued west while Daniel and I hung out with some friends, waiting for a paniyiri.

The afternoon brought music, dancing, food and wine.

And everything was plentiful.

An old man dancing on the table.

The quality of this photo corresponded to the drunkeness.

And the aftermath...

On our way to Greece

Isa was on her way home to Bruxelles.
And I had to find my way back west to Istanbul to catch my return flight home.
So I ended up securing my bike to the top of her car and traveling with her.



Isa is filming her own artistic style of L'Odyssée based on Homer's epic poem.
She has a Super 8 camera with a box of film and a handheld audio recorder.
At random times while driving she would stop to capture a scene for her film.



During the days that we rode across Turkey we found some vastly beautiful camping spots.



Sometimes the grass is greener, a portrait of happiness.





These are our fishermen friends that we met one morning.
They made us breakfast and çay.



When we reached the west coast, I still had a few weeks before I had to be in Istanbul for my flight.
So, after reading a bit about the Greek islands, I decided to continue along.



Relaxing while waiting for a ferry.



On our way to Greece

A dirty old man, a beautiful young woman, and a mountain top finish in Nemrut Park

Nemrut Park is filled with mountains, rivers, valleys, wildflowers, grazing animals and everything else that makes picturesque scenery.
















I stopped at this improvised tent and asked the old man inside if there was a place for me to camp. He invited me to sleep in the tent. We drank çay, ate dinner, and tried to make a conversation out of two very different languages.


Then as I was about to fall asleep, I felt a hand caressing my leg and his foot getting a bit too friendly with me. So I got up to take a piss and when I returned, I took my sleeping bag to the opposite corner of the tent.


The next morning as I was preparing to leave, the old man was not smiling as he was yesterday nor did he offer me any çay. And as I pedaling away, he was started belligerently yelling at me.

Anyway, I continued cycling through Nemrut Park, with that negative experience overshadowed by the natural beauty of this area. The road up to Nemrut Mountain was crazy steep, and the weather changed with the altitude from warm and calm to blustery frigid winds and even snow.





Reaching the mountain top was probably the most physically exerting time of my life.





And at the top I met Isa, a belgian cinematographer, and Antone, a devout typist who is also from Belgium.




They were the only 'tourists' at the top and immediately I could sense something special about these two.

Caves, Castles, and Abandoned Tour Buses

From Konya to the Coast

Sean went his own way towards Ankara as Jonas and I continued to Konya.
One of my main reasons for revisiting Konya was to try etlietmek, something closely resembling an elongated thin crusted pizza.

Large produce market and bicycle repair alley in Konya

Covered heads and covered bicycle parking

After a second visit to Konya, Jonas and I took a bus south to the Mediterranean coastal town of Side.

Side is a tourist trap.

The warning signs are as follows:

-The prices listed change from Turkish Lira to Euros

-Everyone speaks German

-Shops are lining the streets selling knockoff clothes and kitsch items

This is the jewel adorning Side's beach.

If I showed the foundation of these remains, you would only see pale skinned, flabby tourists taking pictures of one another.

We found a rare patch of forest to camp for the night.

Tomorrow Jonas will head west to catch his flight back to Germany as I cycle east along the coast.

Caravansarai on our way back through Konya

Behold the architecture of the Sultanhani Caravanserai.

Trekking in the Ihlara Valley

My guess is that the Ihlara Valley is a place that was relatively unknown before Lonely Planet highlighted it.



The majority of the frescoes in the Byzantine churches were vandalized.


Most of the people depicted had iconoclastic facelifts.


This particular scene had a written narrative added to the story.







And this is Jesus Christ

Friends in Cappadocia

This blog has been neglected for too long.

I now present to you, Cappadocia.

















And here are my new travel companions, Sean and Jonas.


















So I am now traveling in Turkey




with an Aussie and a German




Yet I feel at home in Milwaukee when I see this:











An empty bottle of Miller Genuine Draft alongside the road.