Turkey (2026)

Overnight stops (in date order): Silivri (x2); Rumelifeneri (x3); Lake Poyrazlar; Sağırlar; Ömerli; Lake Boraboy; Koçyatağı; Gökçeyamaç; Sarp

After a lengthy border crossing (chaotic on the Bulgarian side and a thorough search of the vehicle by the Turks),

we were happy to head straight for the coast of the Sea of Marmara (with its offshore gas drilling rigs)

for a relaxing day on the beach.

Our next stop was on the north coast of the neck of Turkey, where the Bosphorus opens into the Black Sea.

This is the site of the mythological ‘clashing rocks’ that would crush any ship that tried to pass.  The reality

is not quite as terrifying as the scene depicted in the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts (https://youtu.be/bz9OcRHumAg?si=HJ8if3ZFJuBYcx1e).

Istanbul was a bus and Metro ride away.

The Hagia Sophia was smothered in scaffolding outside

and in.

The conversion of the building fully into a mosque has been completed since we last visited.  The wonderful marble floor is now covered in carpet and Christian images that might be visible to worshippers in the body of the mosque are screened from view.

Furthermore, non-Muslim/Turks are now only permitted to visit the upper gallery.

Conversely, the Blue Mosque

is open to all and free to visit.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the extraordinary history of the wider region, Istanbul has one of the World’s greatest archaeological museums.

Our personal highlights among the many wonders are: the glazed brick reliefs from Nebuchadnezzar’s palace and Processional Way of Babylon (they outshine those in Berlin);

the ‘Alexander Sarcophagus’ (unearthed in Sidon, Lebanon)

and, top of the list, the treaty that followed the battle of Kadesh between the Hittites and Egyptians, written in 1258 BC, in cuneiform on a clay tablet.

This was found in Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Kingdon (which we visited on our previous visit to Turkey).  It proves that, despite the lavish claims of total victory adorning the walls of the Egyptian temple at Abu Simbel, Pharaoh Ramesses II did not win the battle of Kadesh.  Rather, it ended in a strategic stalemate (think Trump and Iran!).

We continued east, crossing the Bosphorus via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge –

making seven overnight stops on the 1600km drive to Georgia.

We ate fried fish at Lake Poyrazlar,

spent a night beside a cemetery,

joined the local holidaymakers at Lake Boraboy,

and slept within the remains of a hilltop fort used during the Russo-Turkish War of the 1870s.

At this time of year (mid-July), Anatolia is hot and dry.

The fields are golden where wheat has been harvested

and farmers are cropping tea

 

and tobacco.

There are patches of green where there is water

and the higher mountains are still flecked with snow.

Our final day’s driving in Turkey was spectacular as we descended 2000 metres to the coast at Hopa.  We passed through more than 50 tunnels, with a combined length of 70 km, as we navigated the canyons

submerged by the damming of the Coruh River;

with a stop for lunch.

We spent our last night in Turkey with the other trucks waiting to cross into Georgia.

Danielle’s reflection on what fascinated her above all in Turkey in the medium she enjoys most.

Turks and their Love of Work