Today was quite a day which resulted in us breaking our climbing record. Our departure was delayed by a rather strange event. As we were leaving town we stopped to get petrol for our fuel bottle (for the camping stove). The petrol attendant looked wary and about 4 men managed to explain to us that we needed some sort of written permit from the police. We had not had problems before but the Jandarma were only a few hundred meters back so off we went.

The gate was opened by a gun wielding soldier who looked younger than any of our children. With the help of google translate and someone who could speak a little english we showed them the fuel bottle and explained it was for cooking. This they understood but for reasons we could not fathom we had to go top a petrol station 4km back the other side of town (except perhaps this was a state run petrol station). The police promised to ring the petrol station to authorise the fuel. We left the trailers under the watchful eye of the soldier with the gun and set off for the petrol station (remembering at the last minute to take the fuel bottle with us!). Needless to say it was the other side of a hill but eventually the fuel was brought without a problem and we were back hitching up the trailers. We were an hour on and had done 12km and 150m of climbing before we had even started!
  
The guide books had said that there was not a road between Divrigli and Erzincan but there was a road marked on the map and on google maps and a blog we found confirmed there was a paved road through so a few km out of town we turned off the main road and started golng up and up and up. After a few km the road degenerated into a gravel road as road widening was clearly going on. Going up slidy gravel climbing in bottom gear was a challenge to say the least but luckily it only lasted 6km until we were back on paved road. 

  
After a climb of about 400m we dipped down again into a beautiful green valley. We stopped for a break beside a small river and were joined by a friendly dog who flopped down beside us and look longingly as we ate some biscuits. the dog was out of luck as we needed all the energy we could get.

 We climbed gradually along the the river valley and then steeply at the end. Time somehow suspends doing a long bottom gear climb. Km crawl by and we creep up goal by goal – just get to that bend then have a rest, just get to that sign and we’ll have a drink. Eventually we made it to just over 1700m and sat at the top eating lunch looking out over rust coloured hills. A bit more up and down and then down down down on the descent into the next valley (4 hours up, 45 minutes down!).

  
We hadn’t done a vast number of km but we were tiring but still a few more ups and downs getting rather slower. Thunder echoed aroind at one point with black clouds around but we managed to avoid the thunder showers. At last the final (we thought) descent down to the main river valley – a early stages of the great river, the Euphrates.  We were directed to a new bridge and new road and quickly it was clear that this was due to the construction of a large hydroelectric dam. More up to get around the dam and along to the town of Ilic. 

The last few km seemed to take an age. We reached the turn up to the town and cogitated turning up to the town to see if there was a hotel as we were so knackered or whether to go straight on to see if we could find a camping spot. I flagged down a car to ask if there was a hotel, not wanting to do any more climbing unless necessary but got a negative and completely blank looks when asked if there was anywhere to camp. It looked as if we would have to press on…and it was up hill again.  I tried to stop my moral sinking but just as we set off I glanced to a track and could see it ran down to a stream with some (rare) flat land. We wheeled our bikes down and at the end of the track there was a group of men, women and children. We asked if we could camp there and of course the response was “no problem, have some tea”. A fire was already brewing the teapot. It looked like three families, one of whom must have owned the little shack that was there. 

   
One of the men could speak a little english- he was a supervisor in a gold mine. The women were shy and smiling, laughing every time we groaned with delight drinking the lovely tea (and groaning every time we moved). 

   Edit 
 We took photos, showed them photos of the children and couldn’t believe our luck when all turns out so well when we were on the point of exhaustion! Tore ourselves away after 3 glasses of tea with our profuse thanks to set up camp, cook and collapse.

So we have been on this jaunt for 3 weeks and I had my first day of feeling totally knackered at the end. But it was a stunning day’s ride with all the ingredients that make cycle touring unpredictable, frustrating and superb.   
We woke in the middle of the night to a wind and rainstorm and needed a few extra guy ropes to stop waking up in a different field. However that passed and there were blue skies in the morning, provided we looked westward. Looking eastward was still grey and threatening.

We packed up and got on the road by 8, which was not bad for a disturbed night. Then a slow climb out of the town on a deserted main road. We got to 1650m and felt we were making progress and then, somewhat to our surprise, started to descend. The next 20km were all downhill into a lovely valley as the road followed a river. Maps show roads following rivers but, without contours, it takes A level geography to work out which way they flow. I got this one wrong and enjoyed the road descending to 1400m. However nagging at the back of my mind was the concern that we had a 1950m pass to surmount and that every metre down was another one to climb.

Finally we reached a village where the river went one way (with a railway) and the road went another – and so we reacquainted ourselves with bottom chain ring. The next 20km were mostly a steady climb of varying levels of steepness. The landscape changed as we climbed, with a more mountainous feel. But there were cultivated fields on both sides of the road all the way up.

Elevenses was a “DIY” cafe as we brewed coffee on the side of the road at 1700m. Just 250m climbing to go we thought and felt we were making progress. But then the upsi-downsi part started. Over the next 20 km we climbed a further 400m and made about 100m net progress – really frustrating. There were little villages throughout the route – even though this must be seriously harsh conditions in winter with snow on the ground for more than half the year. The growing season must be short and, even in May, there were patches of snow on the hills above the villages.

The top was a classic pass between peaks, and had farms and cultivated fields – even at over 6000 feet above sea level! Then we descended – and boy did we descend. The road dropped from 1950m to 1000m over the next 15km.

    
Divrigi is a pleasant little town of some wealth, sitting in the mountains around it and serving the local area. It has a C12th mosque and hospital which has spectacular porticos and is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List – and was part of the reason we included this on our route. The UNESCO listing may explain the considerable funding which has been provided for restoration works and so explain why it was closed when we attempted to visit. There was a sign which said something about the mosque being open until 6pm but, at 5.30pm when we went, it was very clearly in lock down. However we looked at the outside and saw how splendid it was and will become once re-opened.
A meal of kebaps (we were the only diners since others must have found out about the closed mosque), tea at a teashop and baklava from a baklava shop ended off the evening.

We woke to the sun streaming into the tent and packed up from our riverside camp and were on our way by 7.30. These early starts are often my favourite with an hour or two of fresh air and fresh light. We gradually climbed, the road undulating but taking us a bit higher each time.Although we were still on the main road it was very quiet and there was no sign of life apart from a few far distant villages. We finally hit just over 1800m – our highest elevation so far – and we found ourselves on a massive high altitude plain.
 

  
We turned off the main road and it immediately felt much more remote. There was a small village a few km on but very little sign of life. There was a school but no sign of any children. No shop but there was a small petrol garage. The man there invited us to sit down which we did for a few minutes while he smoked but no offer of tea – it obviously wasn’t brewing (it takes about 20 minutes to brew turkish tea). We turned on to an even more minor road with the road stretching into the distance. Some of the land was cultivated even at that elevation but in winter it must be bitter. Aziz said there was snow on the ground for 2/3 months a year at 1100m – so it must be much harsher at 1800m.

    
There were post markers along the road, we presumed to show the way when there was snow. We passed a couple of other tiny villages that huddled into an occasional dip, giving some shelter – just a few shacks/houses and a minaret but very little sign of life (but serious smells of cow slurry). At a village after about 20km the tarmac ran out and we found ourselves on a dirt track. We bumped and rattled along, our speed markedly reduced as we concentrated on finding the best line along the ruts. Luckily the track was dry and compact so not as bad as it might have been. We had no idea how long this would go on for – it was 30km to the junction of the main road but fortunately after 12km at the next village some tarmac of sorts returned (at least in patches around the pot holes) and then improved to a reasonable surface and we were able to cover some km again at a reasonable speed. We had dropped into more of a wide valley then finally followed a stream gently down hill. As always there was climb out of the valley to the main road over hills stripped horizontally white and pink. 
We had covered over 80km by now and were beginning to tire but there were more valleys to cross and more undulating hills which seemed to go up for ever, but at least it was not steep.  

  
We finally reached the small town of Kangal. It was market day and the town was bustling. We did some shopping and stopped at a tiny cafe for some tea, several glasses in fact having been deprived all day. They also sold fresh laid eggs so we brought some for a few lira and with the usual Turkish kindness they refused to accept anything for the tea. Although we had covered out longest distance yet it was still on 4pm as we had left so early so we pedalled out of town to where we could see a minor road crossing a river and found ourselves a camping spot. 

  
As we left town a car passed and the cafe owner emerged with David’s headband – which he must have left at the cafe. He knew which way we were going as he was seeking to persuade us to go to a Fish Spa, 15km away. However nice a fish spa may have been, we did not have another 15km in our legs! In fact our camping spot is great and probably better than a fish spa – apart from croaking frogs (something of a perennial there) and mossies. We were so grateful to the cafe owner for his kindness – but it is typical of Turkey. 

As it was still warm and the river was easily accessible, we were able to have a wash and ‘bucket’ shower. Not quite steaming hot water but fresh and blissful after a long day. After we had been in the field for a few hours, the farmer turned up to see what we were doing in his field! He was wonderful, showing us all his fields and having a conversation about farming in England and Turkey – all via googletranslate.  He kept saying that us camping was no problem for him but he would have preferred to take us to the fish spa and get us into a decent bed.  We declined which he took graciously even if without comprehension.

 A really interesting cycle across some high, challenging countryside, even if we ended up at the same elevation as we started.

(David) I had never been to student Robot Competition until this morning (or indeed any other type of Robot competition come to that). So it was a no-brainer for us to accept Aziz’s kind offer to see him and his student at work.  
   
 He teaches at a Gifted and Talented school – and the children between the ages of 8 and 16 who made, coded and created the robots certainly lived up to the billing. The competition was in a basketball tournament stadium, with children cheering on their friends as the robots attempted to navigate a labyrinth or defeat each other on the Sumo mat. Technical skill was on display in abundance and then the enthusiasm of the victor and the gutted looks on the faces of the losers. It was a privilege to be there.

At about 10.30 we dragged ourselves away and began the ride to Pinarbasi, which is 90km East of the city of Kayseri along the main road. Lots of climbing to begin as we went from 1100m to 1500m, but of course it was up and down, then more up and a bit down and then more up..

Half way along we stopped at a magnificent caravanserai, which had been done up inside for weddings but operated as a cafe between nuptials. Well kept albeit surly staff (who sold us a soft drink and then said it was closing in 5 minutes). They were far more interested in the glamorous couple who, we suspected, we sussing it out for their wedding.
   
 
50km more and a few ups and downs. The landscape got prettier and the mountains ahed looked bigger before we got to the village of Pinarbasi. We contemplated getting a hotel – until Bernie saw the room and, given its state of cleanliness, we opted to camp. A few km outside the town we found an idyllic spot next to avriver to camp and set up our tent. The farmers all saw us, waved in a friendly way and let us get on with using a corner of the field.

   
 No one appears to be proprietorial about land when we camp we just find a corner and make sure we leave it as we found it. The weather is much warmer and for the first time we weren’t rushing into warm clothes and could enjoy sitting out in the evening sun.

(Bernie’s turn) Tempting though it was to stay at the Melek Cave Hotel (my favourite so far), it was time to move on. The first 10km was a lovely cruise downhill to Avanos in the morning light with the last views of the rock formations before turning on to the main road to Kayseri. The road wasn’t too busy but was fast (we had a hard shoulder to ourselves) and the landscape nondescript rolling hills. It was clouding up and humid and I resigned myself to an A to B day (has to be done but nothing great to commend it). However, David had spotted an alternative side route on the map.  

We are never sure whether they will turn out to be dirt roads but it looked like an OK road (not much worse then the pretty awful surface on the main road) so we turned off and were immediately into rural Turkey again and with virtually no cars. The first village had very little other than cows by the roadside and certainly no shop (confused looks on face of local man and lots of waving arms into the distance). This was poor rural life, just 20km but also a million miles away from the tourist hotels of Cappadocia.
The next village, Kullu, was down by the Red River and we hoped may be able to find provisions for a picnic. As we entered the village, we asked a man if there was a shop. He waved his hands onwards but said come in for tea. One of the rules of travelling is (almost) always to accept offers of hospitality, so we we wheeled our bikes into his courtyard and experienced the delightful charming hospitality of rural Turkey. He and his wife plied us with endless cups of tea, slices of cake, baclava and walnuts.

  
 They had worked in Germany for about 25 years and retired back to Turkey and had a lovely house and garden. Five of their children – all sons (something that clearly gave him great pride) were working and settled in Germany. After about half an hour, his son Uryan arrived. He was visiting his parents on holiday and may have purchased a house in the village. He certainly felt part of the village community, despite driving a tram in Basel for a living.
   
 
Uryan could speak reasonably good English (up to then conversation had stretched David’s German to its limit). We were offered to stay as long as we liked but we had only done 35km and had a way to get to Kayseri so we reluctantly tore ourselves away to continue on. We hope they will see our blog and photos and understand our genuine gratitude.

  
It was about another 15km on the lovely quiet road before hitting the main road and an easy ride on the hard shoulder of the “Autobhan”, as our new friend had described it, to the outskirts of the major city of Kayseri. 

Kayseri is a city of over a million people and the suburbs went on for miles so it seemed to take forever to eventually reach the old city centre – a cluster of 13C buildings surrounded by the busy modern city. By the time we arrived there we both rather dusty and not in the mood for sightseeing and there wasn’t anywhere safe to leave our bikes and luggage. So we settled on having a cold drink in a cafe before setting off to find our warmshowers host for the night on the other side of the city. When we were sitting there a young woman from the next table approached us and asked if she could speak to us in English so we had a 10 minute conversation with her with her mother (who spoke no English) looking proudly on. It must have taken her lots of courage to ask if she could approach us to practice her English for a few minutes but she did and all credit to her. She was a shy but determined recently graduated biochemist, back in her home city and looking for a job. The challenges of succeeding in getting a degree and then having to start all over again in the world of work seemed so familiar from back home. We chatted, shared experiences and then wished her well as set off on another dual carriageway towards the Eastern suburbs. 
We then weaved our way through further urban areas for 7km to the college where Aziz worked. He was busy with the college children so we settled down to read until we met up and followed him back to his flat which he shared with his girlfriend Ece, dog Tesla, various cats and a litter of 3 kittens. Aziz and Ece are both astrophysicists doing masters degrees (Ece on black holes and Aziz on examining far away galaxies). Ece cooked a lovely meal – such a treat to have home cooked food – and we had a an enjoyable evening of conversation. Overall a day of average cycling but the very best in Turkish hospitality.