- ODO 5078km
- Location Up a mountain near Kasaplar
- Weather 11-26 gusty headwind
As I broke through the 5000km mark the mountains began. Just as they did with approaching Istanbul. Small undulations in the road. 20m up. 20m down. Then they grew to sweeping mountain climbs as the wind picked up to resist and buffer my already slow upward motion. The stand out images of the day were the birds. Giant eagles of which I’ve never seen. Swooping and soaring on the buoyant air. Dominating the telegraph poles they sit on. As the amount of humans I came across gradually reduced, the number of these giant birds increased.
The other aspect that stands out is the appearance of Jendarme armoured cars. Several of which passed me on the – surprisingly quiet – highway. It even made me stop to double check the UK Foreign Office website in case I’d stumbled into a no go area. But no. Another manifestation if military dominance in the country. As with each encounter with armed figures in Turkey – where I try to be as absent and neutral as possible – my act fails and I get beeps and waves from young men behind barred bulletproof glass.
