18 May, Levfikiye to Ayvacik, 49km @ 8.8kph
Öğretmenevi Otel 76TL (breakfast included)
We began our morning earlier than planned due to a miscommunication
with Charl’s new Samsung! After breakfast, we cycled the 1km to the gates of
Troy, a less dramatic approach than that depicted in the 2004 movie. We climbed
the stairs into the tourist association’s “Trojan horse” for an obligatory
photo, then strolled the walkways trying to make at least some sense of the
various cities built and rebuilt here in the past 3,000-plus years. Then back
to route 550 via 4km of country road, turning south there toward Ayvacik. Being
off the main road, albeit briefly, was a pleasure. Quiet except for the
occasional tour bus, wheat glowing in the sunshine, the rich smells of turned
soil, cobwebs blown across my face by a bucolic breeze. At the first garage we
came to we stopped for çay, tea served black and sweet in small glasses. There
we met a saxophone player from Istanbul, taking a brief holiday with his brother and friend
in an old VW camper van. We conquered the first long hill, but paid the price
in aching knees on all the hills that followed.
Charl at Troy
Troy
Troy
Between Levfikiye and Ayvacik
Between Levfikiye and Ayvacik