Van Lake, Mt Ararat and Ani

We often get lost in the back roads of small villages because of the massive road construction

This is the typical crap we ride through, we had not planned on so much "off road".

Luke was worried about finding restaurants that would serve food, not a problem so far...this kind man opened his restaurant and cooked us lunch.

Kebab of course...

Finally made it over the pass and found Lake Van (large salt water lake)

Luke then took us to an ancient military fortress that was built 800BC with a nice view of the city of Van

And this nice man Murat kept me company in the shade while Luke hiked in the heat

Then on to this old fortress near, shoot I have no freakin idea!

Found the toilet...

Was pelted with bugs...went through a cloud of them...check out the reflection on the right side of the mosque behind me.

We have passed near the Syrian border, then Iran then Armenia, everywhere there is a large military presence. 

We gorilla camped again but this time at a gas station and we shared it with a litter of puppies.

The homes here have these solar power looking things on the roof, probably to heat water and probably not much more effective than a radiator. 

Rode by Mt Ararat 5000+ meters high and off limits, snow year around.

It's said that every 3rd street in Turkey is called Ararat. :)

These roadside fruit and vegetable vendors are everywhere....fresh everything especially the tomatoes.

Stopped in some small town and had this bread stuffed with cheese...made Luke very ill, me well I had some stomach cramps. Everywhere I go, I drink the tap water, eat street food and that's the worst that ever happens.

Took a slight detour based on advice from a local and found this gorgeous lake.

Next Ani, another ancient city that was Armenian and in fact a home run baseball throw from the Armenian border.

They are "renovating/restoring" the outer walls....not sure how I feel about that.

One of the main gates into the city.

An Armenian church and a secondary church in the background that is said to have housed a fragment of the True Cross.

Inside the mosque overlooking the river.

The other side is Armenia...ancient bridge.

Toppled Minaret and the stairs that led to the top.

And in closing I'll just mention that the trash cans are TINY!

The danger signs...

-I stopped using my hair brush days ago and I am considering the same with my toothbrush

-I don’t care whether there is or is not toilet paper in the bathroom anymore

-I stopped using the pictures of animals to ask what kind of meat I am eating

-I had the happy realization that my gear weighs 20 lbs (without the helmet) 

Hotel lobbies have scales in them (???)

Decided to head for the highest pass in Turkey where we stopped in a village and everyone came out (AGAIN) and this kind person advised us to take the 3000 meter pass instead of the higher one.

Found one of the most GLORIOUS rides of my life thus far. 

Winding twisty, potholed roads and villages along the way.

The moon is getting fuller.

Rode along a stream for a while.

-I prefer gorilla camping in the middle of nowhere 

and taking a bath in an irrigation stream rather than a “Grand” hotel. (in fact I’ll just stay the hell away from anything with the word “Grand” in it.

The next morning we had a breakfast of figs, well fig jam now...

-Large bugs don’t scare me anymore but stray dogs still do

-However there is more to fear from boys in small villages than stray dogs…they either wave hello or heft a large brick or stone and throw it

Now this one will make many people laugh out loud;

-I am a magnet for Turkish boys.

How hot is Turkey in August?

The pavement melts. In the U.S. usually a bike will ride in the tire track but here it’s the opposite, it’s safer to ride in the middle where the oil drips from cars. Why? Because in the tire track the pavement melts and it’s the consistency of crunchy peanut butter but a lot less fun. (the black track on the right is melted)

Riding through 107 degree weather is like having 50 hair dryers on hot blowing at you and passing a fully loaded truck belching black smoke trying to go uphill is like a blow torch. Your nose and eyes are always dry and lips chapped....MJ even you would use chapstick and M&M's melt.

Lots of fresh water ponds where we cool off.

Went from 104 to 54 degrees from the Eastern plains to the Black Sea region. 

Had some fun with my Spot. Took a dirt road and hit enough bumps to finally wear out the industrial strength Velcro…I had a feeling of where it flew off and I also suggested to Luke that some boys we passed had it. Sure enough they hit 911 and the local Jardarma, border patrol (we were on the Armenian border) AND the police all used my GPS to track me. It was impressive!

These guys are from one of the three units who found me...

We have visited so many archeological historical sights now I can't tell you the names anymore but here is another one, cave homes. 

And an ancient bridge

Heading towards another very high pass today....

Dam and Damn

So I woke up this morning earlier than Luke again to a cacophony of animal sounds; cows, goats, sheep, roosters and one donkey.

Being hungry with no one else up and all the coolers with food in them locked I decided to forage. The trees were full of green and black figs.

Mount Nemrut next. Luke offered that I ride with him, I accepted since it was full of hairpin turns with that oh so fun gravel. 2800 meters high, you could feel the sun cooking you.

A new kind of payphone, just connect your cell phone and place a call from here (no cell phone service from the peak)

Mount Nemrut. I forgot to bring my Teva's so I hiked up to this barefoot. Luke tried to comfort me by saying it was therapeutic since important nerve endings are in the feet, I can barely feel them anymore, they have cooked inside my boots.

Cool wall of stone, they cut out a grove in the bottom stone and place the tall wall stone in it but the earthquakes knocked them all down.

And this one is my favorite.

Sun just coming up over the man-made pyramid of gravel, the sonar/radar readings show an open cavity underneath so they are excavating to get to it.

Back to camp for a feast again *sigh*. Fresh figs, olives, this egg, tomato, chili dish called Menemen (sp?) and honey to die for oh and don't forget the fresh cheese.

Took a ferry across the vast lake created by the 4th largest Dam in the world, Ataturk Dam. 

I parked on the right side of this truck and as you can see the sides are very high, the truck was rocking back and forth a lot, come to find that it's full of cows.

Forgot the floaties at home for the munchkin...no problem, just tie a bunch of empty soda pop bottles together.

Controlled Chaos getting on the ferry.

So I thought of a little trick....wet my body armor and let the wind dry it, sort of a cooling vest so we stopped here at this gas station in the middle of nowhere and the kind attendants cut a watermelon for us and remember they can't eat or drink all day.  Turkish Hospitality.

Of course it could be that they felt bad for the poor girl who tumbled to the ground as soon as she got off her bike. :) 102 degrees

Tried to find the famous fortified walls in a city on the way to Mardin and everyone came out to help....

This was our primary destination...Mor Gabriel Monastary. Fortunately the guide book was wrong and we made the last tour...

I was not feeling like a Grecian Beauty but I could not resist posing in this alcove.

So this is the second Damn. Found a hotel that I was hoping would be nice and for the money $100 US, it should be but it's not much better than a Motel 6 and this is the pool we cannot swim in until all the Muslims finish gorging themselves on food, post sunset. I totally blew a fuse in the lobby...

But I'll end this blog on a funnier note. These door handles have built in anti theft systems....they are so squeeky and noisy that the neighbors can hear you going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.