Day 36: Wednesday, May 30th 1979
4,988 miles travelled from Delhi
Erzurum, to
Sivas (Turkey) 279 miles
Map here
We set out gaily, thinking this was to
be one of the easier days. In fact it was the worst! Nothing prepared us for the long,
long, terribly high mountain passes over very bad surfaces. We are now on the main T.I.R.
Route and see dozens of lumbering trucks going by, mainly from Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria etc.
First saw Turkish *Che Gui out on obvious summer games, but all very disciplined,
well-ordered convoys, well spaced out for overtaking vehicles to get by and going very
slowly and also very smart.
I was driving when we realised we had been climbing for a very long
while and the car was dangerously hot. Just over a real **Porlock slope, she expired in a
cloud of steam and smoke and the radiator which had given Tim so much trouble in India had
gone again. Fortunately there was a mountain stream down a steep slope which could provide
water. Tim did a smashing temporary repair with some patent sealer. Another local car also
came to grief. The T.I.R. trucks all asked if they could help, but there was nothing they
could do. After half an hour to allow the stuff to dry, we set off and managed to make it
to the top of the pass. Snow still around on the edges.
Coasted down and cooled off, but in the next village we found no
garage, no repairs and no petrol. There was a snow-covered range of mountains ahead and
Tim said "Wouldn’t it be funny if we have to go over that?"
We did and died again on a dreadful surface. The tar packed up before the mountains
and we also had a storm to really yuk the surface, or what passed as such. Same procedure
- more sealer and then off again over a really wicked new road, soft and treacherous. Very
thankful we had changed the tyres. Still climbing up and down, but mercifully the sealer
held for 120 miles to Sivas. We reached there at 6.30 p.m. Tim had slipped and hurt his
leg at one of the stops and had had more than enough. Fell into the really poor Hotel
Sultan without caring.
Beds clean, room small, basin leaking.
Squat pan loos but reasonably clean. No shower. Cooked chilli con carne ( I am beginning
to hate the stuff***) with 2 cold boiled eggs thrown in as a bit of exotica for the
day’s hero. Cup of coffee. Started a new camping gas stove successfully and so to
bed.
Sivas itself is uninspiring, although modern Turkey was conceived here
by Attaturk. Appalling pot-holed, mud streets, narrow alleys and none of it improved by
pouring rain. However, it did provide shelter and we can get the radiator repaired (we
hope) in the street of the radiator menders tomorrow. The hotelier is German speaking, but
our linguist**** is a little confused by the rapid change from Urdu and can only speak
Lunda from our African past!
* Where Che Gui is mentioned, it is a
secret reference to the militia, in case they ever asked to see what Betty was writing.
(Taken from Che Guivara - it seemed suitable at the time!!)
** There is a very steep incline at
Porlock in North Somerset, England, well known to Betty and Tim.
*** Tim and Betty had packed a case of
24 tins of chilli con carne with them to provide staple meals along the route!
**** Tim was the linguist and spoke
several languages including Urdu and German.
Day 37: Thursday, May 31st
5,267 miles travelled from Delhi
Sivas to Ankara (Turkey) 278 miles
Map here
Awake by 6 a.m. and up by 6.30. Room chaotic! We had breakfast in the
room - coffee, hard boiled eggs and rusks. Tim was off by 7.30 a.m. to negotiate car
repairs and possibly insurance, as we could not get this at the border and it’s not
nice to know you have no third party. The day was gloomy, although not actually raining.
The repairs were effected speedily and we were on the road by 10.30 a.m. Good going at
first and then hilly and bad surface.
 |
Had a pleasant picnic lunch, actually out of the
car. Then we managed to pick up our first petrol, sadly after first filling the tank
half full a little while previously with our own supplies. |
Then disaster struck a second time. A large stone
shattered our windscreen, which to our amazement went opaque. We had to stop and bash out
the glass. What a business. Fitted (with difficulty) the plastic spare, which was very
opaque. It was very windy and difficult to keep it in place. Very worrying, as the road
was awful, there was fairly heavy traffic and it looked like rain. We moved with the
greatest of difficulty as the visibility was awful, but Tim was superb. We had to keep
stopping to fix it. We could not have gone 120 miles without one as the wind and dust were
terrific. Passed an Australian family in a very heavily wired and protected Land Rover
travelling in the same direction.
Traffic very heavy into Ankara and just imagine entering a city in rush
hour with right hand drive and visibility nil! Again, a Guardian Angel came to our rescue.
An English speaking student guided us to a hotel with excellent directions. Roma Otel
Class1, but no hot water. Very irate about this.
 |
Good beds and a nice view over Roman Bath ruins.
The car was guarded outside.
Ate in the hotel. Poor, expensive meal, but good lamb - we were absolutely ravenous.
Roman Bath ruins, Ankara |
Very thankfully to bed for a total
repack tomorrow and we are to spend two nights here for general maintenance.
Day 38: Friday, June 1st
At Ankara (NO miles!)
Out in the morning after breakfast in the room. I had to be taken to
the bank to cash traveller's cheques. Tim is absolutely dreadful at crossing the street. I
fear for him. He thinks it is like Ceylon and nobody will wilfully run you over. After Tim
went off to get the windscreen fixed and insurance cover, I did a mammoth wash, washed my
hair and set it with an ivory letter opener (have lost my tail comb). Sorted out all the
food and clothes as we are now out of the madly Muslim area and can hope to wear something
more Western style.
Friday is a working day here, very emancipated. Had lunch in the room -
very bready toasted sandwiches bought from a stall. Wrote masses of letters and postcards
and finished sorting. Very hard working day, but badly needed. To bed late.
Day 39: Saturday, June 2nd
5,545 miles travelled from Delhi
Ankara to Istanbul
(Turkey) 280 miles
Map here
Packed early, then everything went wrong! Tim disappeared in a rage
after breakfast, as the hotel announced it did not accept American Express after all.
Infuriating. He was gone two and a half hours and I was in a perfect frenzy imagining him
run over, as he is extra bad road-wise when searching for things.
I had just decided if he did not turn up by 12 midday, I would get in
touch with the Embassy, when he arrived with an incredible story of all the banks being
shut and how he had therefore been told to go on a bus to the Air Force base where they
could easily cash a cheque. However, he got on the wrong bus, with highly helpful
passengers who gave good advice and paid his bus fare!
 |
He came back to Ulus Square (where there was a
very fine statue of Attaturk on a horse in bronze). He then set off in the car to a flash
hotel, spent £4 on taxis and finally got the cash. I was so relieved to see him I did
not do my usual nagging act.
Bronze Statue of Ataturk in Ulus Square,
Ankara. |
Left at 12 midday with a brand new
windscreen which they had very cleverly cut, as they did not have the right size. Got out
with little difficulty, but there were long, aggressive queues for petrol everywhere. We
eventually managed to get two lots of 10 litres in country pumps, which should get us to
the border with luck. We were very lucky to get it. We only managed by seeing when they
were actually filling up a local’s car and they then did not like to refuse us.
Fair drive. Lunch in a mountain pass. Flowers
pretty. Finally reached Izmit and saw signs for Istanbul. As the road had become very
congested along the coast, we did the wrong thing and followed it through very narrow back
streets of town and finally up into mountains into incredibly beautiful forest and
Devon-like countryside. Good, winding road and one or two villages. No traffic at all.
Followed it for about 30 miles - quite lovely, bracken and wild flowers and real summer
smells. A lovely evening, but a bit fraught about arriving in Istanbul late and it was now
7.30. Finally got back onto the main road at Gebse and then dual carriageway into
Istanbul. Stopped by the military. Heard later, the country was under martial law!
Arrived in Istanbul on the autostrada which took us
over the Bosphorus suspension bridge. A great moment. Splendid view from the bridge and a
great achievement felt as we passed from Asia into Europe under our own steam.
With many an error in narrow streets and many
misdirections, we finally arrived at Hotel Etap which had a car park. Very, very nice and
civilized. Good dinner and we resolved to celebrate and stay for two nights instead of the
one we had planned. Had a bottle of wine for dinner and toasted each other in Turkish
(rather vinegary white wine). Arranged an all day tour of mosques and Harem for tomorrow.
The view over the Golden Horn from the
bedroom is spectacular. All the mosques are floodlit at night and it looks straight out of
the Arabian Nights. The city, intersected by so much water, is itself very
beautiful.
A marvellous bathroom and loads of hot water and so
to bed and what a comfortable one too!
Day 40: Sunday, June 3rd
5,825 miles travelled from Delhi
In Istanbul (No miles)
Up early to arrange the tour and get ready. Breakfast in the coffee
bar, then away with the guide in a taxi, plus a New Zealand man, Charles, with his
Romanian wife Trina. (They were bussing and training through Europe.) Exciting, but hard
day.
 |
We saw the Topkapi
Palace and Blue Mosque, St Sophia’s Mosque, Suleiman’s Mosque and St
Saviour’s, as well as the underground Roman Cisterns for storing water - three still
in use.
The underground Roman Cisterns, Istanbul. |
Suleiman’s Mosque had a
magnificent carpet and was huge with elephant support pillars. St Sophia’s is one of
the seven wonders of the world, for it was supported not by pillars, but by carefully
graded half domes. St Saviour’s had beautiful frescoes inlaid with gold, !4th
Century.
 |
The Harem at Topkapi
was fascinating. There was a pool for concubines - they never saw the light of day once
they were inside. Black Eunuch’s quarters. There were also White Eunuchs, who were
the Sultan’s slaves. He had four proper wives and 400 concubines. The Harem was
enclosed.
Saw the bedrooms of the Queen Mother and the Sultan and the heir’s study.
Beautiful view from the balcony over the Golden Horn and Sea of Marmara.
Outside the Harem, there was the execution block where
people who had lost favour (and that included the Sultan himself) were executed by being
beheaded by the Janissaries.
Then we saw the Treasure House. The Topkapi Dagger -
fabulous, as seen in the film and riches beyond belief. The Spoon Diamond and opals and
emeralds as big as chicken eggs. It makes you wonder why they don’t flog some of it
to buy petrol! |
There were also museums of
Chinese porcelain in every day use in 14th Century. Now you could not price it - displayed
in the old Palace kitchens. There used to be 10,000 people, including an army of
Janissaries. The Grand Vizier was also a frequent candidate for the execution block!
Back to the hotel and lunch in the cafe as part of the tour and then a
visit to a fur shop. Early dinner and so to bed for early start. Grand views from the flat
roof of the hotel, but cold and strong wind blowing. Took lots of photographs from the
roof.
Day 41: Monday, June 4th
5,825 miles travelled from Delhi
Istanbul (Turkey) to Kavala
(Greece) 280 miles
Map here
Got away by 8 a.m. - too late, rush hour started. Got lost, but
eventually got over Golata Bridge and onto the motorway out of the city, heading for
Alexandropolis, sign posted Edirne. Long queues for petrol everywhere, but we have enough.
Stopped for a break after Tekirdag and tried to heat water in a howling gale near the
sea. Very bad tempered. Tim caught butterflies. Filled the tank with the last of the
Iranian petrol, then headed for the border.
Finally got there and negotiated both with maximum of ease
and then into Greece. Stopped immediately for our first fill of petrol - Super at £1.60 a
gallon. It would not have mattered if it had been £2.60 - we were so pleased to have a
full tank again.
Had fried egg in a cafe at the border for lunch and then on into lovely
sunny countryside, really high summer meadows. Stopped for a butterfly session. Road good
and not heavily used.
Decided to stay the night at Kavala.
Gorgeous drive in full view of the sea, which was deep blue. Decided we must come back and
camp at one of the many camp sites.
 |
Finally into Kavala. Did terrible things at a
roundabout, but were saved by a policeman who recommended the Galaxy Hotel. This was
good.
Right on the seafront. |
Nice town. Real holiday centre. It is very
reminiscent of Kyrenia, with a Crusader castle on the hill.
Hotel room and bathroom superb. A lovely view over the harbour and a
small balcony. Had a bath and did the washing.
Out for a fish dinner and huge shrimps at a pavement cafe. Salad and
whole grilled fish - very expensive though. Walked along the sea front. Many people on
holiday and many fishing boats. As usual, in the fish restaurant we fed a tribe of cats -
very wild.
On our balcony we have Swifts nesting, just tails showing. And so to
bed.
Day 42: Tuesday, June 5th
6,105 miles travelled from Delhi
Kavala (Greece) to
Negotino (then Yugoslavia, now Macedonia) 180 miles
Map here
Left Kavala after arranging third party and doing some picnic shopping.
Very well signposted.
The run to Thessaloniki was very pretty, many camping sites, mountains and sea.
Expensive country, but it would be cheaper camping.
High summer. Hedges ablaze with flowers and
fields with poppies. Large unusual maroon lily. Pretty red and white villages. June is the
best month in South Europe.
Finally, Thessaloniki, the old Salonika of First World War fame. Passed
war cemetery, then fought our way through the surprisingly badly signposted town onto the
autobahn which had many lay-bys. It is obviously the main route from Yugoslavia to Athens.
Had lunch. It is only single carriage for ten miles and then dual carriage to the border.
Tim in a bad way as he had completely missed all the butterflies seen. Had bought peaches
and cherries in Thessaloniki, which we ate - very good. The motorway was 56 km and must be
the loneliest motorway in the world except for the season when the campers are going down
to Greece.
Clean, efficient Greek and Yugoslavian customs and we were at last able to buy
Yugoslavian third party insurance at the border. Tim still manic and muttering over
butterflies. Went off for an hour soon after the border leaving me in a lay by. Resulted
in a break down of relations on his return. Pulled into Park Hotel off the motorway. Very
good. Smart, modern, nice room. Good dinner, but again no hot water. Good beds. The clock
went back two hours, so we are all at sea with the timing. And so to bed. |
