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August 7, 2007
African Leg Completed & Rowing the Bosphorus
LOCATION: Istanbul, Turkey
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:40deg.58'40.
Latitude: E:029deg.02'48s.
Kms from Djibouti: 6,893 kms
Shortly after 11 o'clock yesterday morning I found my feet firmly planted back on European soil after a 13-year absence with Expedition 360. I was now standing on the western side of the Bosphorus, the legendary strip of water dividing Europe from Asia and where the great city of Istanbul, the gateway between east and west, has stood for over two millenia.
For the expedition it is especially symbolic. In addition to marking the completion of the 6,893 km leg through Africa and the Middle East from Djibouti to Istanbul, it signifies the beginning of the 16th and final leg: 3,000 kms across Europe through Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Germany and Belgium to the circumnavigation completion at Greenwich in England. The plan is to reach Oostende in Belgium by the 23rd September, allowing at least a week to prepare Moksha for the final crossing of the Channel and passage up the River Thames.
But first - the past few days. Having a little extra time in hand I took the scenic route from Ankara to Istanbul through the rich agricultural region directly west of the capital: Beypazari to Nallihan, then gradually dropping down to sea level again at Sakarya. This non-highway route afforded me a brief but memorable glimpse into Turkish rural life: every square inch of ground is put to use growing something and there was never a problem finding food from the numerous fresh vegetable stands by the side of the road selling tomatoes, cucumbers, water melon and even hazelnuts harvested from the wild. Many of these kiosks are owned and operated by the seasonal labour force camped in makeshift tents throughout the growing area. Beautiful country, if a little harsh on the legs with all the hills to be negotiated. But after putting in so many miles on the main, at times rather boring, highway since southern Egypt, it was well worth the extra effort to go a little slower and get to smell the roses.
On the final section to Istanbul I met the first cyclist since northern Sudan! Rodrigo is Brazilian, having biked across Asia from Thailand to India, Pakistan and even Afghanistan, and finally Iran before Turkey. The stories he told of the hospitality of the Iranians especially were similar to ones I'd heard of before. I mentioned about how nice the Nubian people in northern Sudan were and we reflected how strange it was that the nicest people seemed to live in countries with the worst political leadership and international public image.
We cycled together and I think we both valued the company after so many thousands of kilometres traveling alone. Rodrigo has a twisted sense of humour which I miss tremendously, so it was good to have a few laughs, mostly at each other but also at some of the bizarre situations we'd both found ourselves in over the past 6 months. For example he has this stupid decorative wall plate that some girl from Azerbaijan gave him. It must weigh at last 10 kgs and is the ugliest thing I've seen in a long time. He complains bitterly about having carried it this far already, but he just can't bring himself to throw it off a cliff (he couldn't give it away). I guess she must be really worth it...
After sleeping in a Shell petrol station on the outskirts of Istanbul (the local mosque turfed us out of their garden when they found us about to roll out our sleeping mats), we rendezvoused the following morning with Cetin Ozturk from the Turkish Rowing Federation whom Erden from Around n Over had kindly put me in touch with.
A beautiful traditional Turkish 'kayik' was waiting for me at the water's edge, and after loading up the bike and pannier bags we pushed off across the Bosphorus - myself rowing and two support boats following. I am not a very good rower, plus the different style of the oars crossing in front of me combined with the uneven chop of the waves took quite a bit of handling. I'm sure all the guys from the Rowing Federation must have been rolling their eyes thinking what on earth one of their gorgeous boats was doing in the hands of a complete idiot. But for me it was the perfect solution to crossing a potentially tricky bit of water. Originally I was planning on swimming across and although not very far (perhaps 1km?) the current is quite strong, especially on the east (Asian) side, and the water very cold funneling out of the Black Sea. It's also a busy shipping lane with good size container vessels, oil tankers and bulk ore carriers steaming north and southwards towards the Black Sea and Mediterranean respectively, none of which would see a lone swimmer in their path or be able to stop even if they did.
On the other side Gursel Akay was waiting, another contact courtesy of Erden, who owns a local bike shop in Istanbul 'Yesil Bisiklet' (meaning literally 'Green Bicycle'). So at the time of writing I am in Gursel's back office catching up on email, writing this update and my bike is out front having a quick 6,000Km service for the final leg across Europe. So all in all I have well and truly landed on my feet here in Istanbul thanks to all these wonderful people. Arriving into a big city is often a real stresser; dealing with traffic, the noise and finding a bed, etc. But this time it has been a doddle.
A special mention also goes out to Erkan (Erden's brother) and wife Bengi who took me out for a proper feed in Ankara and who have been calling me almost daily to make sure I'm not lying face down in a ditch somewhere.
Jason
MORE IMAGES (click to enlarge)
Posted on August 7, 2007 3:31 PM