Turkey - Part 2 - Down The East Coast

We spent a quiet night in the car park next to the ferry port to the island of Bozcaada, a small island in the Aegean Sea. We were relieved the weather forecast was as promised and the sun was out with a brilliant blue sky. The main town where the ferry docked looked idyllic with waterside restaurants, a castle and a maze of narrow cobbled streets with quirky buildings. We failed to find a good coffee shop open though. There was another cyclist on the ferry with his bike and he checked we knew where we were going, warned us the first half of our circular ride around the island was nothing special, but the second half would be lovely. He also told us where to get lunch - at his favorite restaurant on the island.

He was right about the route. There was not much of interest on the first section, although it was nice to be out cycling in the sunshine again. We had a bit of muddy off road section at the furthest tip of the island where there was a lighthouse and views of the turquoise sea. The route became a bit more undulating down the other side of the island, but the sea views were lovely. Having seen very few vehicles we were surprised to find how busy the restaurant was we'd been recommended. The cyclist was already in there having a beer and mezze, so we joined him and enjoyed some delicious food - probably our best of the trip yet. The Turkish cyclist lived near Istanbul and spoke excellent English. He works for a German engineering company and said he came to the island regularly to enjoy the cycling and pick up some wine that the island is famous for. We were also joined by his friend who had come along with him to enjoy the island off a bike.

The route had some nippy climbs after lunch, but we were soon back in the main town with a bit of time to kill before the ferry back to the mainland. We were a bit disappointed that there were no nice drinking spots in the sunshine around the harbour. I was keen to sample some of the local wine, and Colin spotted what looked like a wine bar. When we asked for a glass of wine we were told we had to buy a whole bottle which we weren't up for (I can't believe I'm saying this!) as we'd have a job getting an open bottle of wine back on the ferry. There were a few older men drinking in there, and one stepped forward and said we must have some of his wine. He turned out to be the owner of the vineyard (Talay), and we had a very enjoyable hour sipping red wine and chatting about life on the island and the world in general with him and some of his other customers. Our experience has been that whilst Turkish do not openly criticize their current government, their message is that 23 years under the same leader is too long and they would like to see change.

The weather reverted to wet and overcast the following day, and we decided to head inland to visit the historical site of Assos, a settlement founded in the 7th Century BC and where philosophers like Aristotle had passed through. The village attached to the ruins, Behramkale, sits atop a steep hill and is quite a sight as you approach. As always, the entrance fees to the archaeological site were even steeper, but they had been highly recommended and we were here now. Once inside we were glad we'd come. The structures were much more intact than Troy and the views out to sea were staggering. Lower down on the site was a well preserved amphitheatre.

We had a walk down to the ancient port area that sits below the city. It now has lots of fish restaurants around it, with narrow twisty streets and boutique hotels looking out onto the colourful small boats. We had a few mezze plates whilst enjoying the view.

After leaving here we headed further south down the East coast looking for a nice Park4Night spot. After all the rain of the past few days, several sites we tried were under water and we ended up pulling up at a park up spot just before the bridge onto Cunda island near the town of Ayvalik. There were two other motorhomes there already and the sun was setting as we parked up. We were very kindly asked over to join the others for some food, so we grabbed a bottle of our Serbian red wine and had the most lovely evening with them. One of the couples (Celine & Jose) were from France and are in the middle of a years break from work travelling around Europe with Felix, their black and white cat. They had been in Turkey for 2 months for winter.

The other couple were Turkish (Ersoy and Naruto) and have been living and remote working in their motorhome for 2 years. They had an enormous dog which has left it's mark on Colin. It was so nice to meet some other overlanders - we've seen surprisingly few others on our trip so far.

We left them the following morning to continue south towards Turkey's third city of Izmir. On route we deviated off to another ancient site - the Bergama Acropolis. We weren't sure we'd be able to get Lolly up the narrow steep lanes to the upper car park for the complex, so we took the ridiculously expensive cable car up to the site. It is another incredible site, but it's sad these sites aren't being well maintained. The information boards were poor, and the wooden footpaths were falling apart. The highlights here were definitely the columns remaining of the Temple of Trajan and the spectacular amphitheatre - said to be the steepest of the ancient world and had capacity for 10,000. The surrounding views from up here were also stunning.

The lower part of the town had some other historic complexes, but they were closed for restoration. We fought our way out of town. Turkish driving is a little crazy and we have to be on constant high alert for - vehicles pulling out without checking their route is clear, undertaking, overtaking on blind bends, double parking, parking on junctions (it seems to be fine if you've got your hazard warning lights on), making two lanes of traffic on a one lane slip road. But we never see anyone losing their temper or any fist waving - Turkish people are very friendly and calm. Petrol stations still have pump attendants, and we were brought out a cup of tea by the young chap who served us on the way out of town.

The expanse of Izmir eventually came into view - it always feels a bit daunting as we approach big cities in Lolly with traffic building up and narrow streets to contend with. We headed to a motorhome park on the outskirts of the city. The owners spoke good English and were very helpful and friendly. Most of the other vehicles there seemed to be permanent residents. There were good hot showers and a washing machine, and a metro station into the centre just a 10 minute walk away. There was also a large shopping centre 10 minutes walk away where we managed to purchase a Turkish sim card after our global eSim seemed to give up in Turkey. Of course once we'd purchased this, our eSim decided to work again....).

The forecast wasn't great for the next few days, but we did manage to visit central Izmir the following day and somehow avoided the rain, going in by the clean efficient Metro line. We had a wander around the Kemeralti Market area - a maze of streets selling everything from clothing, fabric, and colourful food and spice stalls.

We did some laundry when we returned and optimistically left it to dry in the cool utility room, but when we found it was still wet the following morning had to make lolly a drying room. There was a good cycle path that took us the whole way along the waterfront into Izmir not far from our campsite, so we cycled in to Izmir to get breakfast of Boyoz - these are pastries made from unleavened dough (a recipe from exiled Jews) with many different fillings (sweet and savoury). It was a pleasant, if not a bit cool, ride along the waterfront to reach the recommended place to sample these, which we enjoyed washed down with Turkish tea.

On the way back we cycled a bit further down the other direction to where there is a lagoon with flamingos - we read 10% of all flamingos worldwide live in this wetland, but only a few were there when we cycled past.

Back at Lolly, with clothes still drying, we followed the campsite owners recommendation of visiting a large shopping centre - he said it was the best in the area. We caught a bus to it and were surprised to see the familiar colours of B&Q opposite the bus stop.

The shopping centre had all the big names in (see below), but as people who don't like shopping it didn't excite us.

Our fix of city living has well and truly been done, and we're ready to hit the road the following day bound for some of Turkeys most popular tourist sites, still in search of some warm dry weather.