0
0
Finally we were on the way to leave Greece and cross the border into Turkey.. Fearing the Monday morning traffic and the miles long custom queues on the Greek/Turkish border we got on the road early.
After cycling along the Greek aegean coast through lovely landscapes and bird sanctuaries, we were dismayed to find that our road turned into the newly built motorway! Rather than turning back we decided to break the law and carry on the motorway regardless, bracing ourselves for the heavy good vehicles on the inside lane.
The motorway was brand new……and eerily quiet, in both directions! In fact it was so empty for a while we wondered if it was open yet!!! By the time we had finished the 6kms to the border crossing at Kipi, we had counted 7 cars in total, on both sides of the road. It was nice having our own private motorway, nice send-off by the Greeks! (something we would reflect on days later)
We proceeded to the head of the queue at the Greek border crossing (ok there was no queue!!) – and were through in seconds with no checks carried out. We cycled along the bridge that crosses the river Meric which forms the border between Greece and Turkey, patriotically painted in blue and white, towards the Turkish customs. Excited that we would be in our 6th country (where at least one of us could speak the language) we crossed the thick yellow borderline painted across the bridge…and miraculously the blue and white turned into red and white of the Turkish flag!
It took us an hour to pass through the Turkish custom booths (all 4 of them!). Not because they wanted to search our stuff but simply that each booth represents a different authority all of which need to see our passports and visas!
Finally on Turkish roads we headed to Kesan on another quiet road, however the road was built in true Roman style – dead straight, no matter what the terrain! After a series of high ramps we got to Kesan, where we saw our first Burger King for weeks! (oh how low our standards have fallen). We also got a nice room in a hotel – where Nic had his first bath since the start of our journey! :p (he was showering daily though).
