Eastward through Alanya

Side (Manavğat) to Alanya

Distance: 74  km
Time elapsed: 3:47:90 
Average speed:  22 km/ hr
Max speed:  48.7 km/ hr
Temp: 33  C
Weather: Hot with a lot of wind!

Shared a breakfast of olives, cheese, tomatoes, and the all important ekmek (bread) with Güler, Turan, Besral, and the girls. Today Feride was a lot less shy, even daring to come lay on the couch behind Chris and me while she watched her morning cartoons. I wonder how drastically different their urban youths-- with cartoons and internet inside their modern apartment-- compare to Turan and Güler's eastern Turkey childhood, sharing a village home with so many siblings (10 and 13 respectively!) in the 70's and 80's...


Turan's family photo, taken out near his home village of Ağri


Feride shyly waving goodbye

After Turan left for work we sat and talked with the women, this time a lot slower because we had no translator. We still got our messages across somehow. They both wished me children (when I tried to politely dismiss this with javaş javaş Güler laughed and yelled çabuk çabuk!! (quickly quickly!) and I promised that (god forbid) I ever end up with a child I would bring him or her to visit. In fact, if someday I do have a kid it's gonna have a lot of countries and people I've promised to introduce!


We made quite a scene for their neighbors

Chris and I left their apartment, waving to the girls out on the balcony, then took off for a long day's ride. Luckily the asphalt is still gloriously smooth (thank you road gods). We stopped at a few gas stations for oil and discovered that they all have self service free tea stations! OMG why didn't I know this before??


THIS is what a good road looks like....

As it turns out gas stations are one of the best places to meet locals who don't want to sell anything, and are always intrigued by our crazy bikes (and outfits I assume), especially when we can speak baby Turkish with them. If we take a long break Chris usually wows them with his portfolio of drawings, while I attempt translating and take photos.


Another gas station çay pitstop

Later we stopped at a large fruit and veggie village market off the main road, hoping to load up on peaches. This is Chris' obsession, and he's making a point of eating as many as possible before the season ends. A few days ago I refused to stop to buy any and he still hasn't forgiven me, so I'm trying to get back on his good side. :)


Where are the şeftali? (peaches)

At the end of the market we stumbled upon a small internet cafe, full of young boys playing video games. We tried for over two hours to burn our pics onto the DVDs but in the end our efforts were futile. However, the guy made us pay him (for both internet time and DVD burning) anyways. Sheesh.


Colorful patlican at the market

We did end up buying peaches. And tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and a honeydew that we chopped open immediately, squatting to eat it next to the overfilled melon truck. Thank goodness fruit coordinates with the season - there's nothing like a cool drippy karpuz or kavün on a hot day!


Domates anyone?

Then on and on along the highway, up into some hills and back along the waterfront. Enormous Las Vegas-style hotels have sprung up along the coast approaching Alanya, so over-the-top I started expecting casinos and mini Eiffel Towers to emerge. The hotels are completely characterless except for one, modeled after an enormous caravansaerai, the nearby Alara Han. We're still in the Czech and Ukrainian zone.

So here I am, cruising along and rocking out to some Misfits, when all of the sudden I glance just to the left and am surprised to find a man, fully decked out in bike racing gear, gliding next to me with a huge grin on his face. Honest to god I instantly thought two things at once, in a micro second:

1) Is this my guardian angel? Have I somehow been hit or fallen, killed without knowing it and he's here to sail with me off into oblivion?
And 2) If he's my guardian angle maybe I'm about to be hit and he's going to somhow guide me to safety?

As it turns out he's real! Zafer, we later learned his name, put his hand on my bak and started pushing me faster, effortlessly taxiing me along the coast and even over the hills. At one point we reached speeds of 37 km per hour! I must say biking is fun, but sailing along powered by a biking angel is even more fun!


Zafer, my Turkish bike angel

Once in Alanya, we stopped to rest in a park, waiting for Chris who did not get taxied. Zafer is a racing cyclist, Turkish, married to an English woman. He trains everyday on this road, today doing a 91 km circuit (I noticed on his fancy odometer). I made him take some bananas as a payment for ferrying me. :)

Alanya is another Euro tourist city, but to an atrociously disgusting degree. The beachfront is nice, mostly full of hotel clubs,but there are some public parks at the end. The generally habited area is comprised of two parallel roads packed with expensive restaurants and hotels along the 12 km stretch. I didn't take any pictures because I don't want to remember this place exists, hoping it's style of development will quickly fade from my mind...


Approaching Alanya's castle under a bright moon, before the city madness

After a quick tour of the city, Chris ate a chicken sandwich and wrapped another to go, we sat in a tiny park, next to a fountain and near the beach. I bought a bucket of yoğurt from a nearby market, but have a strict yogurt limit (I'm quite sure 750 grams would make me throw up) so I made Chris eat his 2/3. That was pretty tough after his two döners, but he's a trooper.

Later in the night we ended up backtracking a few small hills to an isolated cove where we set up the tent. In the morning we cycled back toward town, stopping at a public beach (read: locals out for a picnic a la Turkish style) to swim and shower.

Team Jassler really appreciates public showers, unfortunately this one was slighty ruined because somebody(s?) stuffed a bunch of garbage wrappers into one of the broken walls. Really? Why feel the need to stuff your garbage there? You are a real swine, whoever you are.


Clean and refreshed, ready to tackle the city!

Alanya actually has two coves. With an old town and hilltop castle jutting out on a peninsula separating them. We spent the day wandering uphill, catching the cool breezes and admiring views of the sea below. On the west side, below the ancient castle walls, sits the Kızılkule (Red Tower), and below that we spied a collection of party boats, blasting music such as Celine Dion and the Macarena. Really when will the Titantic song just die and go away?? Nonetheless a fabulous view.

View of Alanya's eastern cove from the old town


One of Alanya's restored Ottoman homes, now restaurant

Near the hilltop castle lie several forgotten scattered ruins, such as a 12th century masoleum and crumbles of brick homes. There is no real modern development up here, just a few Ottoman homes in the process of restoration, lots of old Muslim graveyards, and plenty of loose farm animals. It actually feels more like a quiet, isolated village far away from any city centers.

One of many, many quiet graveyards

Lone mosque with a few rugs for sale

As the day cooled down we hiked back down the hill, grabbed our bikes and took off to find a place to camp for the night. We ended up about 30 km outside the city when the sun set, then found a small cove with a few boats and a little cafe. Hoping they wouldn't mind if we pitched our tent nearby, we asked the guys at the cafe, explaining we just want to quietly sleep. They insisted it's not a problem, even taking us around the corner where they have a treehouse platform no longer in use.

The nice guys set us up with mats and showed us where to lock our bikes, explaining that we should sleep near our belongings in case anyone came by. Later, when a motorcycle pulled up nearby on the upper road, we were a little spooked, but it turned out to be the cafe owner, stopping to deliver us some fresh bananas.