ROASTING IN THE DESERT

Not long after leaving Tehran the countryside turned into semi-desert (much like the drier areas of the Karoo in SA). It became rather hot, and even the breeze felt like a hair-dryer in my face. Soon Leana began to suffer from the heat, and by the 3rd morning she was too ill to continue cycling, so she took a bus to Pakistan. She's obviously recovered now, because at the moment she is on a trekking adventure in the Northern mountains. It was also necessary for us to get a move-on towards the border due to the never-ending visa story (our Iranian visas were close to expiry). As I pushed on towards the South-East it became even hotter and more arid. In the Kerman region the production of pistacio nuts is big business, and the orchards are irrigated by pumping up ground water which flows in channels. In the heat these water channels were very welcome, and I made regular stops there to stock up on cool drinking water, and to soak my clothes. By the time I'd reached the oasis city of Bam (recently ravished by earthquake), I was well inside the proper desert. At one stage a truck driver informed me that the temperature was 55 degrees celcius, and the road ahead would be even hotter (my subsequent experience confired that he'd spoken the truth). At the time it was my opinion that only "Mad Dogs" and "Just-as-mad-Cyclists" wander around that area in the middle of summer. Drinking water quickly became hot enough to make tea, but "hot water" is better than "no water", so I made sure that I stayed properly hydrated. I was also able to do some "scientific experiments", and noticed that a 2 litre plastic bottle of solid ice turned to hot water in less than 30 minutes. The heat, however, was not my main problem. Apparently tourists are regularly abducted in the area (both Iranian and Pakistani sides of the border). So, for my "own safety" the Iranian police & army prevented me from cycling further than a certain point on my own. In the last 200 km to the border I had 10 police or army "escorts", mostly on the back of vehicles but sometimes I was allowed to follow them by bike. More than once my escorts dropped me off along the desert road without me having a clue regarding distances to the next place on my map. On one such occasion I was left without any drinking water, as my water bottles had fallen off the back of the truck (a result of the usual reckless driving). At one stage when I had been left to cycle on without an escort, I had a rather unpleasant encounter with a car-load of armed men in traditional dress (fortunately I survived unscathed, and with my meagre possessions still intact). Right now I'm in the city of Quetta, Pakistan. I was again forced to take a bus here from the border, which may not have been such a safe option as the bus ahead of us was robbed during the night (but that's a whole story on its own). Daily distances cycled since Tehran were:- Qom 124 km; Kashan 113 km; Ardestan 139 km; Aqda 165 km; Mehriz 197 km; Rafsanjan 161 km; Mahan 155 km; Desert Camp 95 km; Nosrat Abad 193 km; Taftan 25 km; and Quetta 23 km.

WE'RE IN IRAN

Well, the intention wasn't to cycle through Iran at all. We wanted to take the ferry across the Caspian from Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan, and carry on East from there. We spent a lot of time and effort in Baku to try and organise these things. But, the irregularity of the ferry, as well as visa headaches regarding the "-Stan" countries, made us suddenly change our route. For the first few days' cycling in Iran along the Caspian coast, we were quite surprised to find the area green (rice paddies), with many rivers and forested misty coastal mountains. The people here are also very friendly and helpful, and camping is permitted just about anywhere (we've camped on public beaches, Mosque gardens, and in village people's yards). A problem for us is the strict dress code - I have to wear long pants at all times, and Leana has to wear a head scarf, long pants with a long-sleeved top over it, and long sleeves. (This is not the ideal cycling outfit for hot weather). From the coast we had to cross a substantial mountain pass between Chaluse and Karaj, on our way inland to Tehran. We spent more than a day cycling the 80 k's up the pass to an altitude of 2700 m, and then we cruised down in the drier climate past the spectacular Karaj Dam. There were many tunnels on that road, as well as half-tunnels to protect the road agains rock falls and avalanches in winter. Even although it is mid-summer and very hot, there was still some ice up on the high mountains, and even a glacier near the top of the pass. Tehran is a large, hot (in summer), smoggy city. We've been here for more than a week now, and we've criss-crossed the city by Metro, Bus, and on foot. The traffic is crazy, and the most dangerous thing about the traffic is the thousands of small motorbikes (you're not even safe on the pavement). There is a lot of segregation between women and men, such as separate coaches on the metro for women only, and separate areas on buses. This is clearly a "man's country", with evidence of discrimination against women (i.e. the dress code, and restricted sporting activities, amongst other things). We've been trying to organise things like money and visa's (never-ending), which takes time and requires a lot of patience. Iran's financial system is rather isolated, and our credit cards (which we've used in every other country to obtain cash) are invalid here. Fortunately we had a few dollars with us which we could change, but that didn't last long. Money can also not be sent here from SA. We were lucky to have met a very kind tour operator who forwarded us some cash. This enabled us to settle the bill for our (cheap) hotel room, and to pay for our Pakistan visa's (which is where we'll be heading tomorrow). Between Tehran and the Pakistan border we'll be cycling through some very tough desert and mountainous stretches, and we will have our work cut out for us to get there in the 14 remaining days which we're allowed in Iran. Daily distances cycled since Baku were:- Shirvan 112 km; Celilabad 106 km; Astara 106 km; Jokandan (Iran) 82 km; Hashtpar 90 km; Rushar 125 km; Chaluse 109 km; Sayabishay 70 km; Karaj 92 km; and Tehran 55 km.

AZERBAIJAN

We eventually got away from Tbilisi after waiting a few days for our Azerbaijan visas. The Georgians has elections during that time, and election day was a public holiday. Due to our extended stay in Tbilisi we moved from our hotel to the less expensive Nasi's Home-Stay, which is popular amongst backpackers. Nasi is a retired Georgian school teacher (photo), who has turned every conceivable space in her house into some sort of sleeping arrangement. She's very strict about cleanliness (leave shoes outside), so our filthy bicycle bags were a major nightmare for her. We met some interesting travellers there, including Claudio and Patrizia who had cycled from Beijing via SE Asia and the Sub-Continent, and were now on their way home to Italy. Later in the week we met Yuka from Japan (cycling on her own from Nepal to Europe), and Lee from China (photo). Lee has been cycling the world for 11 years, and amongst his less memorable experiences are having his bicycle stolen in Brazil, bags ripped apart by Afghan police, and (surprise-surprise) being robbed in South Africa. The day we left Tbilisi we crossed the border into Azerbaijan, and noticed a distinct change in the climate compared to Georgia. The countryside was more arid, with thousands of cattle and sheep being herded by horesemen (often along the main road - blocking traffic for miles). Agriculture mostly involved the use of ancient rusting tractors and hand-held implements. The major fashion accessory in the villages is gold - in the mouth (it's not unusual to see someone with a complete set of golden teeth). By the time we'd cycled East to the Caspian coast the landscape had become almost barren, and most things there seem to revolve around the oil industry (riggs in the sea, and pipelines and oil trains on land). The capital city, Baku, is very different from the rest of Azerbaijan. Although there is an ancient section with various historical sights, the city is becoming rather modern and cosmopolitan. Currently we are in the process of trying to organise our passage to the East (a major headache which will probably take a few weeks - if we're successful). In the mean time we'll probably leave Baku and cycle around the Nortern area of the country before returning. Distances since Tbilisi have been: Qazax 101 km; Ganca 99 km; Yevlax 120 km; Qarasu 120 km; Alat 87 km; and Baku 66 km.

GEORGIA ON MY BIKE

No, not Georgia USA. This Georgia is the former Soviet state on the East coast of the Black Sea, and the Caucusus Mountains form the Northern border with Russia. After leaving Sinop we made good time along the North coast of Turkey, as the road was good and quite flat. The new highway follows the coast, cutting out the steep hills and cliffs with a series of tunnels and land reclaimed from the sea. However, many of the tunnels are not yet lit, making it somewhat hair-raising on a bicycle. The Turkish border police looked at our expired visa's with some concern, and explained to us how we'd sinned (as if we didn't know). In the usual Turkish fashion they were not particularly unfriendly, and we were even given a seat and tea while they calculated the extent of our punishment. We were offered a choice of a fine and 5 year ban from Turkey, or a much larger fine and only a 3 month ban. We opted for the former, holding thumbs that we would be able to enter Georgia (until recently visa's were not available at that border). There didn't seem to be any long-term camping space in no-man's land, so we were extremely relieved to be able to buy a 3 month visa there for Georgia (if only we'd had 3 months for Turkey). We found Georgia to be pretty and green (lots of rain), but the rural people are poor and seem to be struggling to recover from the Soviet era. Once again, after learning to speak a bit of Turkish, we are now in a country with a strange language (Georgian), and their alphabet makes no sense to us at all. The Georgian people are also a lot more reserved than the extroverted Turks which we'd become accustomed to. Currently we are in the capital, Tbilisi, which is a fairly large and interesting historic city on the banks of the Mtkvari river. Most of the other towns seemed a bit run down, with dilapidated disused factories and schools dating from Soviet times. In the countryside we came across many neglected monuments and parks, also from the previous era. One of the towns which we passed through was Gori, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, where he also spent his childhood (there is a large statue of Stalin on the main town square). Daily distances cycled since Sinop were:- Bafra 114 km; Terme 127 km; Bulancak 132 km; Trabzon 161 km; Pazar 122 km; Batumi (Georgia) 91 km; Samtredia 111 km; Zestaponi 81 km; Kareli 85 km; and Tbilisi 116 km.

BLACK SEA BEAUTY

We left Istanbul on a Sunday, thınkıng that we could avoıd the usual cıty traffıc. Leana's frıend (Esther, from Scotland) had joıned us for a cyclıng holıday, and she stıll had to get used to her new bıke wıth the luggage. It was a nıce day, and ıt seemed that the whole of Istanbul was out to enjoy the sunshıne at the shores of the Bosphorus along our route. It must have been a bıt of a nıghtmare for Esther, and she even ran over someone's suıtcase at a bus stop. The nıghtmare dıdn't end there, as the route was very hılly for the whole week whıch she spent wıth us (there ıs apparently no flat land ın Turkey). We even had to sneak over one of the 2 large suspensıon brıdges spannıng the Bosphorus Straıts, lınkıng the European and Asıan sıdes of Istanbul. It was, however, very enjoyable to have Esther wıth us for that tıme. Along the road we also met up wıth Mayo and Julıe, two cyclısts from Amsterdam on theır way to Beıjıng. Yesterday we parted ways wıth them, but hope to meet up agaın somewhere towards the East. Although the extremely hılly terraın makes the goıng rather slow, one can't help but apprecıate the beauty of thıs Black Sea coastal area (the Garden of Turkey). Today we are restıng ın the pıcturesque town of Sınop, doıng laundry and whatever else ıt ıs we have to do on the ınternet. Daıly dıstances cycled sınce Istanbul were:- Polonezköy 45 km; Şıle 51 km; Ağva 37 km; Kefken 69 km; Kocaalı 90 km; Akçakoca 18 km; Erığlı 56 km; Zonguldak 34 km; Bartın 67 km; Kurucaçıle 74 km; Döganyürt 87 km; Abana 75 km; Ayançıc 74 km; and Sınop 55 km.

EVENTUALLY IN ISTANBUL

From the Med Coast to Istanbul has taken a while longer than expected. Firstly the cold and mountains of the interior highlands held us back, and later we followed the longer scenic route and admired the beauty of the area around the Marmaris Sea. In the few days we've been in Istanbul we've found this city of 15 million to be a wonderful, vibrant place with friendly inhabitants (as is the rest of Turkey). There is lots to do and see, involving the surrounding waterways, bridges, ferries, trains, trams, and busses. There are many ancient landmarks, and the Ayasofya, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace are all within about 5 minutes' walk from our room. We've also been able to stock up on necessities and repair equipment. All this has taken up time, and as a result we only have a few days of visa left. We attempted to get an extention at the local immigration office, but with the language problem and throngs of people we couldn't even figure out which que to join. At some stage I found myself standing with an application form for permanent residence (surprising, as I don't think my present looks would encourage anyone to want me as a permanent resident). We decided to try another option: The following day we would take a train to the Bulgarian border, and without really entering Bulgaria we would see if we could buy another Turkish visa on the way back into Turkey. Somewhere down the line the train took a different route, and we ended up not really going to Greece instead. Actually, we really ended up inside Greece, but the Greeks promptly returned us on the same train without stamping our passports. Without that stamp our exit was cancelled, leaving us with only 4 days of visa. However, the train ride was interesting, and after leaving Istanbul at 8 am we were back in our room again before 11 pm - quite a day! We've since decided not to pursue the visa thing any further, and to cross that bridge when we get to it (as long as they don't deport us back to SA!). In 2 days' time Leana's friend from Scotland (Esther) will join us for a 2-week cycling holiday (hopefully she doesn't need another holiday to recover). Distances cycled since Sandikli were:- Altintas 108 km; Inonu 82 km; Inegol 112 km; Gemlik 88 km; Cinarcik 70 km; and Istanbul 21 km.

COOKING COLD TURKEY

By lookıng at the stoves we've accumulated one could hardly ımagıne that we should be feelıng cold at all. My MSR ıs ıdeal for all weather condıtıons, and the varıety of fuel ıt uses ıs readıly avaılable (petrol, dıesel, paraffın, etc.). However, Leana's gas stove ıs more practıcal ın a small crowded room, and for makıng a quıck cup of coffee or soup. But, the avaılabılıty of suıtable gas has been a problem, and today we've added a 5th stove to our collectıon to match the avaılable gas. (Some people have shoe-fetıshes, so what ıf we lıke stoves!). The weather along the Med coast of Turkey was fıne, but at Antalya we left the coast and headed North towards Istanbul. Before long we were up ınto the hıghlands, dealıng wıth cold wınd and freezıng raın (even some haıl on one of the many mountaın passes). Three days ago we booked ınto a room ın the town of Sandıklı, whıch ıs surrounded by snow-covered mountaıns (even although ıt ıs already Sprıng tıme). The past 2 mornıngs we've packed up and prepared to leave, only to be drıven back ınsıde by the weather. We're a bıt nervous of beıng snowed ın on the mountaın passes, but the weather seems to be clearıng and hopefully we can leave tomorrow. I can hardly belıeve that ıt's already more than a year sınce we left Cape Town to start thıs trıp. Both of us are celebratıng our 2nd bırthday on the bıkes (Leana's was on the 3rd, and mıne ıs tomorrow). Dıstances cycled sınce Alanya were:- Sıde 64 km; Antalya 94 km; Bucak 92 km; Keçıborlu 85 km; and Sandıklı 67 km.