Istanbul (Old Town), Turkey

Well I have had the opportunity to visit quite a bit of Istanbul.  I went way up north and the area is all brand new, architectural diversity abounds.  Neighborhoods are clean, modern, and look like a nice place to live. This City changes personalities every couple of miles.

The only complaint I have against the Istanbul is the shear number of people (14.7 million), and worse, the number of cars on the roads.  The City is the fifth largest city in the world with regards to people living within the city borders, and to be honest, the infrastructure is ill equipped to deal with it all.  The roads are constantly gridlocked, and pedestrians are spilling off of the sidewalks.  Lane sharing is legal in Turkey, or at least not enforced if illegal, so motorcycles have a distinct advantage with regards to beating traffic.  Even with the advantage, getting from point A to B can be a hassle. I went on a five mile trip yesterday and it took almost 2 hours to get to where I was going, I am afraid to estimate how long it would take if I were in a car.  In response to the congestion, the government is building a state of the art Metro system, so at least the problem is being addressed. 

I was heading through old Istanbul earlier in the day and was pulled over by the Police.  It was just a spot check and I got sucked up with 5 other motorcycles.  As I pulled over, I started to attempt to talk to the police officer to see what he wanted and about two seconds later I feel a pat on my back, I look over and it was another police officer, apparently he saw my Florida plate, and with a big smile he wished me well, and let me go.  What makes this even more amazing is that that Turkey-USA relations are strained at the moment, but he could not of been kinder, as everyone has been.   

Sophia Hagia - Church on the Inside, Mosque on the Outside

Taxsim Square  - The Heart of Istanbul

Stage Distance: 0 mi (0 km) 
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 22.526 mi (36,333 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey

Trip Issues - Part 7

Looks like I have done it to myself.  I was rejected by the shipping company here in Turkey.  Apparently there is an issue with shipping personal items through commercial shippers, even if a freight forwarder or consolidator is being used.  This seems like a pretty innocuous issue at first, but I have pinned myself in pretty good.  My Turkish visa will run out in about a month, and I have no remaining days left on my EU visa, so I can not back track.  This leaves me one option, I will need to go through Western Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan then take a ferry to Kazakhstan and then ride into Kyrgyzstan.  Once there, I will have pinned myself in even further.

Istanbul, Turkey

After three days of very wet and very cold riding, I have arrived in the ancient city of Istanbul, once known as Constantinople, Lygos and Byzantium.  I must admit, the ride up was more interesting than I thought it was going to be.  The road ran along the coast and the views were just beautiful.  The west side of Turkey shares the Aegean sea and a bit of culture with Greece.  This sharing is primarily a result of this land changing hands between the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottoman empires a number of times over history.

It appears that the Turkish government has been spending allot of money on their bridges and roads since I last spent a significant amount of time kin Country (2001).  The infrastructure is quickly becoming first world, at least here on the west coast.  Business has been heavily intruded on by the west.  Starbucks, McDonald's, Burger King, Dominoes, Papa Johns, Remax, and Nike have all staked out their significant claims in the Country.

I have been in the Country for about a week now, and I will say that the Turks are a very polite and helpful group of people.  Always willing to assist if there is an issue, and I have been invited multiple times to lunch or to join someone for dinner.   I will be walking through a restaurant, and they will see that I am alone, and ask I would like to join them.  I usually decline, but that is because there are few English speakers here, and to have someone at the table that can not communicate makes everyone feel awkward. 

Europe Roue Map

Complete Trip 

Stage Distance: 277 mi (448 km) 
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 22.526 mi (36,333 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey

Ayvalik, Turkey

I finally received my Turkish visa and I am on the road.  It feels good to be riding again and leaving Athens in my rear view mirror.  I decided to cut my time and cost by taking a ferry from Athens to Chios, and then another ferry from Chios to Turkey.  The first ferry was huge, an overnighter decked out with sleeper cabins and capable of carrying 780 vehicles and almost 2,000 passengers.  The second ferry was ridiculously small, and only capable of carrying two cars, a motorcycle, and about 50 passengers.

I was in for a bit of surprise when arriving in Turkey. There is an insurance requirement in this country, which occurs about 60 percent of the time, but no place at the border crossing to buy insurance, In my travels, I have crossed 50 international borders by vehicle, and this has never happened before.  As such, I had to head off (on foot) into town, with another guy who was in the same bind that I was in, and find an insurance agency.  After about 2 hours, we had managed to secure some insurance, and then we were able to go back to customs and claim our vehicles.  The one silver lining, the insurance was about 45 percent cheaper than buying it online, which is a considerable savings considering insurance is very expensive here.  So, if you are coming to Europe with a motorcycle, just buy a single month online (so you can claim your vehicle from customs) and then go buy the remainder in town.

After customs, I headed up the very rainy and cold coast to a small town on the western shore of Turkey called Ayvalik.  It is a small year round fishing town and a beach escape for weary Turks in the summer.  Its quaint, but if not for the retired fishermen sitting around swapping stories of their lost youth, drinking tea and playing board games, there would be nobody here.  I am staying in a very nice, brand new, $33 a night, 4 star hotel and besides the guy at reception, I am literally the only guest in the facility. 

View From my Hotel Room Window

Ayvalik, Turkey

Ferry From Chios, Greece to Cesme, Turkey

Stage Distance: 216 mi (339 km), 73 miles (118km) by ferry. Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 22.249 mi (35,692 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey