Cappadocia

Sinan Pasa, Bayazid and their attacks against the Romanian medieval countries: that’s – pretty much – what we learn in schools about the Turkish people and their country. But such wonders as Cappadocia are not even mentioned!

This place is one of the most unusual we ever found. The soft rock allowed inhabitants to excavate numerous houses, churches and storage areas. While some are above ground, many are underground, forming huge cities (8 levels deep), usually mirroring the city above ground. It resembles Kandovan and Vinh Moc, but on a much bigger scale. Probably because of the soft soil, the rooms are not as large and decorated as the ones at Ellora Caves.

Unexpected was also the super exciting and very scenic off road track available. At some point the track went even inside a series of caves! 3 hours of punishing Palomina came at the cost of one rear view mirror and one turning signal indicator.

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Nemrut Mountain

On top of the Nemrut Mountain there is a group of statues and other archaeological artifacts dating from I century BC. Apart from that, the view was very spectacular (at 2134m elevation).

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Eastern Anatolia

Fortunately, the road condition improved significantly and the landscape continued to be beautiful: high plateaus, snow covered peaks, lakes and tunnels.
Probably because it is closer to Europe, Turkey is a very popular destination among bikers. We met here more overlanders than in all other countries combined.
Turkish breakfast at the fuel station, together with some bus drivers.
One morning we had an unexpected guest in the tent: a 1.2 meter long snake.

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Good bye Iran! Hello Turkey!

We could not move forward with blogging without expressing our deepest consideration towards all Iranians who did everything within their means so we can have the best time in their country. Ordinary people on the street who sacrificed their time to take us around town making sure we won’t miss any important sights; warm hosts that welcomed us in their houses; skilled chefs who delighted us with their home made dishes.

For us, there is no doubt Iran is the country where we received the warmest welcome ever and we had the chance to meet some of the kindest and most hospitable persons so far. We will forever remember all of you!

With that in mind we proceeded through the border checkpoint near Sero, just 20km North of Iraq. That’s where we found the first car registered in Romania, a Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG. It was stored in the confiscated contraband area. Business as usual!

The fist few hundred km in Turkey weren’t that pleasant. The road condition was very bad. We collected more dust there than during the 3000km in Iran. The cities seemed crowded and disorderly, reminding us about India. Same kind of bystanders were gathering around the bike. The main difference was the bystanders in India were barefoot, while the ones in Turkey were wearing black leather jackets.

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Tabriz

Tabriz was our last scheduled stop in Iran. We spent the night with some Azeri students in their dormitory. They cooked some food for us and we brought roasted chicken and sweets.
The next day the students took us for a short city tour. First we saw Ark-e-Alishah, a piece of a former fortress.
Azerbaijan museum is mainly focused on history and archaeology, but there is also an art gallery.
This is one of the parks. In the background there is the Blue Mosque, built in 1465, collapsed after an earthquake in 1778 and rebuilt 40 years ago.
Outside of Tabriz there is an unusual village named Kandovan. Cone shaped rock formations were excavated and transformed into houses. Unfortunately, metal doors, advertisements and banners have taken a toll on authenticity.

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