Bike for Orphans

On Wednesday evening I met up with Emma and Justin, two New Zealanders currently on a world bike tour. They cycled from Spain through Europe to Istanbul and are stationed here for 6 months while Justin works on a computer project and Emma takes a language course, does some writing and prepares for the next stage of their journey. Their plan is to stay here until April and then head north into Bulgaria and Romania before crossing Russia and then heading into Mongolia with an eventual destination of New Zealand. Emma left early to meet up with another bicycle tourist they are hosting so Justin and I spent the evening with a few micro-brewed beers.

Istanbul has a lot of cats and dogs that roam freely. It is believed that the prophet Mohammed loved cats and legend has it that his cat was once sleeping on his robe and instead of disturbing it, cut his robe so as not to wake it. The cats seem to be healthy and well fed but roam freely. In the Muslim faith, dogs are considered ritually unclean and are not kept as pets. The Quran instructs its followers to treat animals with kindness and abusing them is forbidden. The dogs also roam freely and are often walking quietly in the background. Most also seem well fed but do not belong to anyone.

On Thursday morning I picked up my bike and the owner of the store did a great job getting it ready. There was nothing wrong with my wheels but I did get new and wider tires and new inner tubes to prepare for the rougher roads in Turkey. The owner said that the tubes I had were faulty and the problem was not related to my bike, which is good news. He replaced the chain and brake pads as both were worn. I also found a new stove and a fleece jacket and wool hat for the upcoming mountains and am very anxious to get going.

On Friday November 5th I am taking a 2-hour ferry ride to get out of Istanbul, something highly recommended by everyone as it is simply not safe to bike out of this City. My route in Turkey will be down the west coast to see the sites of Troy, Pergamon and Ephesus. The bike store owner strongly recommended the route and said it will be very scenic and peaceful at this time of year. I will have to cross the Taurus mountains in the south of Turkey as I head down into Syria but I now have the clothes so am prepared for the cold.

I do not have a visa for Syria and the rules are that you must have one in advance if you are from a country that has a Syrian embassy (Canada has an embassy). I could not get one because you have to start it within 2 months of receiving it and it was not possible by bike. I was also a resident of Bermuda (Bermuda does not have an embassy) and not Canada so am hoping I can cross without any trouble. If I am turned away, I'll have to re-think what is next but for now, my plan is to cycle down the west and south of Turkey, then through Syria and Jordan to Aqaba, in the southern part of the country. I would also like to go to Israel but will try to store my bike in Jordan instead of riding. It will be near Christmas and I just don't think it is a good idea to ride a fully loaded bike through Israel at that time of year particularly since some recent bombings have occurred with the use of bikes. We'll see how it all turns out.