Turkey II – Spectacular Cappadocia and becoming a hawk hunter

Location: Arhavi
Km on the clock: 5,421
 
As I pedaled out of Ankara, I had to think about my mum and how sad she looked at Hamburg airport the previous day. Going home for one week for my brother's wedding was planned from the beginning. However, saying good bye again was more difficult than at the beginning of this journey because this time I didn't know when I'd see my family again.

Approximate scribble of my route

A guy on a motorcycle passed in the late afternoon and stopped about 200 meters in front of me on the side-strip. He gave me a sign to stop, lifted his visor and asked where I'd stay tonight. I pointed to the bag on the back of my bicycle and answered: "I've a tent and will most likely end up camping somewhere in the wild." Bulent, an elderly man, spoke only little English but with the help of Google Translate he let me know that I could pitch my tent in his garden. I gladly accepted his offer and followed him a couple of kilometers to his house in a quiet neighborhood where his wife and a neighbor welcomed me.

"So, you can pitch your tent wherever you want in the garden or even stay at our guest house tonight. It's up to you", Bulent said after showing me around.
I thought: "Did I really just hear guest house?"
"Guest house would be amazing!" I replied excitingly.
It was a cozy two room house which provided all amenities you can think of. This place was basically ready for someone to move in. Bulent brought me a set of bed sheets and made even sure that there were a few tins of beer in the fridge. Absolutely amazing!
After having dinner together we shared stories until late in the evening - mainly with the help of Google Translate. I started to realize that I was probably about to enter regions of the world in which communication will become a challenge. Luckily it wasn't an issue that night.

Both, Bulent and his wife, made sure that I was full and happy after dinner but also after breakfast. We spent the morning together, chatted and enjoyed the mountain range view from his patio until it was time for me to continue. Spending some time with them helped me to get the image of my mum's sad face out of my mind and not to look back anymore. Instead I looked forward to visit Cappadocia soon now. Thanks again for your incredible hospitality!

I spotted a remarkable looking fort on top of a hill as I flew down a road after a long right curve. Now I knew I was in the heart of Cappadocia, just outside of Goreme. I followed a dirt track and pitched my tent on the edge of Love Valley.

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I got up before sunrise and could observe the hot air balloon operators getting ready on the other side of the valley. As soon as the first sunbeams appeared over the mountains the first balloons set off. It didn't take long until was surrounded by countless colorful balloons. The ones maneuvering through the canyon were that close to me that I could almost touch them. The passengers waved at me and I waved back at them. At some point there were so many balloons in the air that I didn't even know where to look at. I kept rotating and tried to fill my mind with as many spectacular images as possible. Watching this symphony of hot-air balloons is probably one of the coolest things that I ever experienced for free!

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Okt 3, 2019 um 6:56 PDT

Originally I wanted to cycle straight into Iran after Turkey but it was a spontaneous decision during breakfast during my visit at home to make a detour via Georgia and Armenia.
Two weeks later I pedaled alongside the Black Sea coastline. Here I made my first Warmshowers experiences. One night I stayed in a room above Mustafa's cafe. He was a very kind guy, provided me breakfast the next morning and made sure that there was always some of his delicious Rize tea in my cup. I'm actually not a big fan of tea but this one I liked a lot. Thanks again for your hospitality!

Murat flagged me down the next day. He invited me stay with him in his small beach house just outside of Arhavi. He lives in this small one room house with his cat Nina and his bird Ratcho and created us a delicious dinner on the stove which was the center of the room. We talked about everything and nothing until late in the evening. Again, with the help of Google Translate.

Murat invited me to stay another day with him and to hunt atmacas (hawks). Now I had to find out that Ratcho wasn't just a pet he was the bait for the hawks.

Patience is needed to hunt an eagle. We sat in a tiny cabin aside of his beach house for a while, moved a stick diagonally through the air on which Ratcho was leashed and waited until a hawk would try to catch Ratcho but actually end up in a spanned fishing net.

Everything went so fast when a hawk was finally caught in the net. I didn't even know what to do. Murat sprung from the bench to the net, grabbed the hawk by its legs and handed it over to me like a trophy. It didn't even try to resist as I held it. Instead it was totally calm and stared at me. A few minutes later we set it free again and it winged back into the woods on the other side of the road.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Mai 7, 2020 um 9:03 PDT

I couldn't believe that we really caught one! So cool! I never even imagined to try to hunt a hawk. I think I can officially call myself a real hawk hunter now. Thank a lot again for this awesome experience!

After about six weeks of cycling across Turkey from West to East, I found myself on the coastal road again the next day, heading straight to Georgia!

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