The perils of Turkey
It's been a rough few days but great nights in Turkey, with temperatures reaching 43 degrees. Driving through Istanbul almost led us all to mental breakdowns, after hours driving around the capital we arrived at the best hotel we could have imagined.
Due to waking up late, there was not much time to reach our next destination. This forced us to pick a town on the map and get before it got too late. Night had fallen an hour before the town we aimed for, Şereflikoçhisar. This led us to pick spot to park that looked safe. We headed toward the famous salt lake, Lake Tuz. The roads turned for the worse, so we parked outside a mosque. During the night we were awoken but hordes of garbage trucks seeming to be dumping rubbish into the night. It has been widely reported that serious heavy metals are being dumped into the lake affecting the largest colony of flamingoes on the planet. Due to the celebration of Eid, men in the mosque would sing which would be project around the town via speakers.
We woke up in a scolding hot car severely dehydrated, so the immediate plan was to find water. Most shops were closed but it wasn't long until we found petrol station that allowed us to stock up on vital supplies. Next stop was the cave city of Cappadocia. We booked a hotel and went in search of a proper sleep. The city was incredible. We were greeted friendly by staff and driven in 1975 Mercedes up to the top of the hill to see the view. We were offered free baklava, a tasty sweet. Unfortunately this punched sam in the face and he had quite a serious allergic reaction. We were close to calling emergency services, but his condition started improving after a few hours.
So we are currently chilling in a cave, relaxing and drinking rum and coke. This type of living, is unfortunately, not going to last. Georgia and our epic distance through Russia and Mongolia will push us to the limit. We're ready for brides (cigarettes and cards) and the car still seems to functioning. The trip has been unimaginably difficult so far and the most challenging times are yet to come.
Hope you're all well back in the UK,
Ollie
