From Barcelona to Tehran: Day 39

Day 39: Yet another piece of Advice; From Selcuk to Nazili in Turkey

June 8, 2012; Distance covered today: 103 Km; Total: 2808 Km

Although there were three  dogs, it was quiet and I slept well. I woke up at 5:30, packed and got ready to leave. I then decided to have breakfast there. I had usual Turkish breakfast (cucumber, tomato, olive, feta cheese, jam, and chai). I biked for five Km when I got to Ephisis. It is an ancient Roman city. I got the ticket which was rather pricy compared to other historical places I had been to: 25 L. The city was AMAZING. First of all, it was huge, a lot bigger than Pompeii. Second, the stones and statues were very well preserved considering the major earthquakes it had suffered from. I never thought of ancient cities to be so organized and beautiful. I thought of them as a bunch of houses and houses and houses in a place with no system. I was completely wrong. 

Dawn from my Tent

The Theater; it was Huge

And there were LOTS of cats in the ancient city; They knew very well that they should be charming to win people's heart.

After two hours or so in the ancient city, I was on the road again.  Like yesterday, it was hot and very difficult to bike uphill. I had a little bit of climbing and then downhill, and flat afterwards. I stopped at a roadside vendor to see what is there to eat. I saw some kind of grill, something which I was not going to eat at all. I was thinking of something like tomato, yoghourt, and bread. I told the vendor that it had been very hot and I hadn’t wanted to eat meat. He was very friendly and gave me an apricot. I then decided to stay and have what he had to offer because he had a kind of job that I wanted to know about.

Again, like other people I met in Turkey, he too asked me to stay there and get married a “guzal” (meaning beautiful) girl there! Mmmmm. His body language when he tried to say that was very interesting, like assuring me something.

I rode through Aidin, a city where I was thinking of reaching and staying last night. And at about 5, I was tired and hot. The wind was now against me. I was keeping myself motivated by thinking of going to a hotel in Nazili. The last 20 Km was really tiring. 

The first hotel was rather pricy; 45 L; the second, was the same: 45 L. I suggested 40, and they accepted.  This would be the first time on my trip to check into a hotel. It was…OK. I still like my tent better. Although I was in a hotel, I had to wear my earplugs to sleep. The people next door were noisy. 

After taking a shower and washing my clothes, I went out to eat something and meeting some people. I tried some Kufta; I expected to see meatballs, but it was by no means like meat balls. There was some Peta bread on which there was some kind of jell like food was spread which I think it was from beans. 

Then I bought some Baklava, yumm, and then I found what I wanted: a family-run Turkish pizzeria. The father was the cook, the mother was the cashier and waitress, the son was also running around and helping with everything. They were very friendly.  The pizza was very delicious.