21 June, Sultanhani to Aksaray, 52km
Mevlana Otel 70TL (breakfast included)

After breakfast we circled the caravanserai on our bikes trying to conjure visions of what it must have been like nearly 800 years ago. It would have stood in splendid isolation on the plain; perhaps it shimmered mirage-like, a warm welcome awaiting weary silk route traders and their camels. Another 45km of flat plain carried us to Aksaray where the plain comes to an abrupt end. Along the route we saw sheep, almost unreal in the distance, perhaps near the large salt pan that lies north of the road. On the outskirts of Aksaray was a tent community. We have seen farm workers housed in tents near cultivated fields, but this community looked different with a vehicle or two and sheep of their own. Modern day nomads, perhaps. As usual, in search of accommodation, we followed the signs to the şehir merkezi (town centre), but in Aksaray’s case these led us first astray and then a merry dance, adding several kms onto our day’s distance. In the late afternoon we sat in the town square like locals, enjoying the cooling evening breeze and the imam calling the faithful to prayer.

Sultanhani caravanserai

Between Sultanhani and Aksaray

Between Sultanhani and Aksaray

Between Sultanhani and Aksaray

Aksaray