Cappadocia

Cappadocia has one of the most incredibly unique landscapes we have seen. Created by three big volcanoes spewing lava onto the planes below, over time the various materials in the lava have eroded leaving a strange mix of different heights and colours. Added to this is the labyrinth of dwellings and monasteries that date back to ancient civilisation which are riddled through the soft rock like ant farms. It looks a bit like Tatooine (Luke Skywalkers home planet for all you non sci-fi nerds) and I had heard it was the location for filming but have since found out it was filmed in Tunisia. Nonetheless it felt like another planet.

lovely calm wild dog watching the sun set.

We had a limited time before our flight home so we booked a guided tour of the area instead of having to sort it all out ourselves and feel stressed about missing stuff. It worked out pretty well and probably not that much dearer. We also got a free day at the end to do our own thing. The tour guide was quite fun and had a good knowledge of the history surrounding the area. Most of the sites had an early Christian history featuring churches and monasteries cut into rock with well-preserved frescoes. Often the eyes were erased from the religious figures on the walls to conform to ideas against figural representation for icons. Apart from this, considering they were from the 9th to 11th centuries they were very well preserved.  Patterns associated with Muslim art were also mixed in with the more typical figural Christian shtick of saints and angles. Also some church frescoes show drawings hinting at pagan beliefs with animals and natural cycles being represented.

Most of the sites are completely open to wander around which is really fun if you like to explore. We didnt have a torch on our first day so couldn't have a good look around but on our day off we went for a walk through a place called pigeon valley and explored the tunnels and old pigeon roosts dotting the valley walls. The pigeons were kept for their droppings which were collected to fertilize the fields while the whites from their eggs was used to glaze the frescos. 

the lovely colors at dusk

The variety of eroded shapes
 are like clouds for daydreamers

sampling the super sticky goat milk ice cream.

a walk through pigeon valley. Very quiet and a little eerie.

Cramped passage in underground city

fairy chimney houses.

ventilation shaft  in underground city.

underground city

One of the most fascinating spots we visited was the underground city. The tunnels were created initially by the ancient Hittites people and later expanded by Christian communities to use to hide during times of danger from invading armies. They are surprisingly extensive and deep. We went seven storeys down but we have heard some are up to twenty. We peered down one poky tunnel that  we were told joined up to another underground city 9km away. Hunched over and crawling in the smaller tunnels it reminded me of the descriptions of warren life in Watership Down. Like the rabbit warrens in the book these were also built to be defended with sneaky traps and heavy rolling rock doors.

This rock showed evidence of being used by the

 early Christians for punishment.

 Me getting in the spirit of things.

cover image on our new self help book

We stayed in a hostel that is really worth recommending . It has just been taken over by a new owner who is changing its name to the "White Horse" hostel and plans to commission his sculpture friend to create a giant horse from rock to stand over the entrance gate. Its rooms are in caves with carpet and power and are quite comfy. Being dug in the rock we were told the temperature inside remains fairly constant all year round. There is a common part with a pillow area where the owner and his friends are often about and are good to chat with. They can offer good advice of things to do in the area and often can organise good deals through people they know. On our last night there the owner brought out his shisha (They call it a Nargile)  and offered us to try his special blend of fruit tobacco. Nice and smooth for our non smoking wuss-burger lungs. Orange blossom flavour.





On our free day after two days of racing about to different sites we took it easy and went for a hike north of the town to an area called Pigeon valley. It was very still and quite as we left the town. At midday we heard the call to pray echo down the silent canyon. Very pretty.
It was great to be able to explore the different tunnels and caves that dot the valley. We found some wild grapes and just enjoyed relaxing    

Apple tea break.

Istanbul

It felt good to be ending our trip in Istanbul. Making it to the point where Europe merges with Asia felt like a tidy spot to stop. We met a Kiwi couple, Emma and Justin, who had cycled a similar route to us across Europe and were now living in Istanbul. They had also met Amin and his friends who run the bike rental shop in Sarajevo and stayed with Amin while they were there. They had loved Sarajevo too. Emma and Justin are keeping busy with work and study until it gets warm enough to continue on through Asia and back home to NZ. They are still planning a route but it sounded like it would be a lot more challenging than what we had justdone. They are keeping a blog and we are looking forward to following their progress at Rolling Tales. Good luck guys!

As for us, the only planning we had in mind was how to sample as many varieties of Turkish delight as possible!

We stayed in a Hostel on the less touristy side of the Golden horn in a area called Beyoğlu that includes the Galata tower. We were following advice from other travellers who found the tourist district a bit busy to be based  in all the time. It's sound advice if you're spending longer than a few days in Istanbul as you still have close access to the sights but avoid the hard sells and higher prices of the Sultanahmet area. Beyoğlu is also a bustling art and cafe/bar area of Istanbul with the super busy shopping street İstiklal Avenue at the top of the steep hill. Our hostel (Neverland) was great for us, being relaxed and with a cafe down below that was a good place to drink tea and meet locals and other travellers.

I don't think I'd ventured into a mosque before coming to Istanbul and was a little worried that my lack of knowledge of the customs would make for a bit of an uncomfortable experience. The mosques in the tourist areas are expecting sightseers however and when prayers are not on will guide you through so to avoid making a faux pas. It felt pretty relaxed inside anyway with kids running around and people chatting. The huge blue mosque in particular had a lovely interior that felt light and serene. The fact that mosques only use patterns to decorate their interiors gives them a different feel to Christian churches. Most Christian churches tend to be rich in figures of angels and saints looking out from the walls and stained glass which gives a strong sense of history. The feeling we felt in the mosques we visited felt more meditative and lighter. Perhaps someone brought up in the culture would have a different reaction being more familiar with the symbolism of the intricate patterns but to us it felt a lot less heavy than the old churches we had visited so far on our trip.     

The call to prayer varied a lot across the city. The locals don't appear to notice it as it starts up but we never really got used to it enough not to stop and listen for a while. In some areas the singers were amazing and it echoed around the buildings or trees and was haunting and beautiful. In other areas (like just outside our hostel room) the speakers on the mosques are turned up too high and have blown so what you hear sounds more like a Dalek singing. Still pretty cool sounding but a bit jarring to hear at sunrise.

Underground inside the ancient Basilica Cistern - once a water filtration system for the main palace of Constantinople.

An upside down Medusa head at the base of a pillar inside the cistern. 

Turkey drawings

Above - The very friendly cat that lived at our hostel, here sleeping on the heater. 

Rabbit of Fortune

We weren't wandering around Istanbul long before we spotted a roadside fortune rabbit. We were drawn to the sight of a man standing next to a tall platform with a rabbit perched patiently on top. We were used to seeing vendors selling animals on the side of the road in other places we had visited but it seemed a bit odd to be selling a single rabbit displayed on such an extravagant platform. We suspected there was something else going on. We saw a few variations with small bunnies and a rooster accompany the main rabbit but it wasn't until we noticed a small draw with little squares of paper in the cabinet that we started to understand what was going on . The next day I noticed one of the platform drawers was marked "English" and the other "Turkish" as we passed and saw our chance.

The man called his young friend over who was selling socks and he instructed me in English what I was to do.

First I was to give the bunny a pat.
"He is very patient" I commented.
"Also very smart" my instructor added seriously.
The rabbit did appear to be concentrating quite hard at this point.

Then the man opened the drawer and placed the rabbit in front of the small folded squares of paper.
The rabbit looked at them for a while sagely. Then he picked one out nimbly with his teeth and the man handed me my fortune.

My fortune seemed a bit obscure to me.....

 Not so keen on that end part,  but all round well worth the three lira.

We talked to a Turkish girl later about the fortune rabbits and she told us its an old Turkish tradition and features in many Turkish films. Will have to watch some when we get home. Who knows perhaps we could start our own fortune rabbit business if we are stuck for work once we are back in Melbourne.

Eating on cycle tour

Lots of places will have wild fruit for the picking. A yummy Serbian apple.

We were mostly cooking for ourselves during our cycle trip - it was cheaper but also a lot easier for our picky diets. I am allergic to gluten and Jenny's vegie which can be hard to figure out how to avoid when eating out without an English menu (even with an English menu can be difficult when it comes to gluten). It was a bit of  a shame in that we didnt get to sample a lot of local dishes but it did mean we stayed healthy on the road and didn't get frustrated ordering things we couldnt eat. 

When we were planning the trip we had no idea what would be available in the countries we were passing through in terms of our diets. We were a bit nervous about finding nutritious food that we could eat. We also didnt  have any experience of cooking with our new mini gas cooker and saucepan. Short camping trips back home consisted of bake beans, bbq's and beer which didnt seem like an appealing staple for months on end. We did a few experiments with different meals and narrowed down some good staples to keep on the bikes. We could find most of these "staples" in every country we travelled through, although replacing spices (we carried lots of Indian ones) was sometimes difficult.
                                                                 Before our main trip we had a few smaller excursions in Scotland where we conducted experiments cooking different dishes.  A lot of our home cooking was quite easy to pull off on the little cooker but sometimes we would have to simplify a bit.

Capsicum season in Serbia. Stuffed peppers galore!

We thought it might be useful to give some details of the food we found handy to carry and a recipe we enjoyed  using a lot on the road. It's food to suit our taste but it may be good as a framework if you're planning a big trip on bicycles.
First here's a list of staples that we found you can get most places and are pretty versatile, filling and easy to prepare.
Rice = Easy to get everywhere and cheap.
Lentils = Find green or red varieties in most places. Cheap.  
Oats = Harder to get the further east we traveled in Europe. Great breakfast with any fruit going. We use water instead of milk, fine once you're used to it.
Oil = hard to get small quantities for carrying. We transferred to drink bottles as the oil lids would always spill.

Yogurt = Available everywhere and usually very cheap (especially in the east). Varies dramatically in thickness and fat. Quality from good to amazing. (France and Germany tight contenders for flavoured yogurt supremacy).

Veg = onion and garlic are always good for a meal base, then add whatever other veggies are available. We found carrots consistently good. Broccoli is wonderful to use but was often pretty sad looking during the summer heat. Seasonal fruit and veg is definitely worth using. Even if you are not of fan of a something back home, local varieties can be taste sensations. Giant sweet strawberries in Belguim that taste a bit like rockmelon, sweet rich Italian tomatoes, Croatian grapes like lollies, Serbian capsicum...

Bananas = Available everywhere and great for energy.

Nuts = Easy and cheap. We found peanuts the most versatile.

home grown taste tops!

Chocolate =  amazing variety. Good emergency energy.

GELATI!

cooking in our hotel room in paris. Classy.

So here it is, our favourite meal we made on our trip........

Lentil Curry 
serves two

Cooking oil

One diced onion

Half a bulb of garlic (diced)

Half a cup of lentils (red lentils will cook quickest) 

Ginger (diced)

One large carrot.

Yogurt

Optional = Broccoli, Zucchini, Spinach or Soy chunks

Spice = 

2 tsp of Cumin seeds or a bit less of powder.

1 tsp of Chili or more for kick.

2 tsp of Turmeric

1 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp of Garam Masala

Salt to taste.

 Heat oil in pan and add the spice as it warms. Add and brown onions then garlic. Add the rest of the vegies and cook for five minutes or so. Stir in Lentils and mix in a cup of water. Keep adding water as it simmers when it's looking dry. Add salt and ginger. Should take about ten minutes but test the lentils and it should have a porridge consistency.

Its good served with yogurt on the side and peanuts on top. The one pictured below also has soy chunks which just need soaking in water while you're preparing the rest and added with the veggies. They soak up the flavour and have a chicken like texture.

Lentil curry. It tastes better then it looks!

Happy cooking!

Veliko Tarnovo

From Sofia, we took the train to two other smaller cities in Bulgaria - first Plovdiv, then Veliko Tarnovo. Plovdiv has a lovely old town with Ottoman style architecture and windy cobbled streets, and we spent a relaxing two nights there before jumping on a train to Veliko Tarnovo. Hostel Mostel, the excellent hostel we stayed at in Sofia, also have a hostel in Veliko Tarnovo and I have to admit that was one of the things enticing us there. We were not let down, the hostel was excellent and we met some great characters there too including a man named Girard who we spent much of our time there talking to. Girard is from Newfoundland, Canada (his friends call him "Newfie") but has been travelling since the late 70s - he pauses now and then to work for six months, then he is off on the road for a few more years. As you can imagine, he is filled to the brim with thoughts and experiences. Even though he is getting older, Girard was so full of vitality and energy that he had the presence of a young man. He has a strict diet now due to a particularly grisly bout of intestinal worms that he was lucky to survive but it sounded like his past was quite reckless in terms of drinking and drugs. We both thought he kind of resembled Iggy Pop in looks and demeanor. He had recently travelled through Central Asia and his stories and impressions were fascinating. Girard travels without a bank card (he only recently acquired a bank account, but still doesn't have a card - so travels with mountains of cash on him), he has no email account, no cell phone, and carries only a small well-worn leather over-the-shoulder bag (he has been through three of these over his 30+ years on the road). We so enjoyed our time with Girard and part of me was sad I couldn't just add him to Facebook and keep track of what he is up to - but a bigger part of me was excited to have met someone travelling in this nomadic and free style, a dying breed!

Veliko Tarnovo was under Ottoman rule from the 14th century until a successful uprising in the late 19th century. In 1913, there was a big earthquake which caused much of the city to be rebuilt, thus most of the Ottoman style architecture was lost. One of the workers at our hostel told us that the story of the "huge earthquake flattening the town" was somewhat suspicious and quite possibly the people used an earthquake as an excuse to rid themselves of the Ottoman history surrounding them and rebuild anew.

After a relaxing three nights in Veliko Tarnovo, we boarded the night train to Istanbul, and spent the night pretending to be on the Orient Express.