DATE: Sometime in June 2008
Photos:
Turkey
My second stint on Hot Rock culminated in Turkey, a veritable climbing Mecca with a healthy and growing vertically-oriented community which welcomed us with open arms. Our first major stop was in a mountainous region called the Ala Dag. Hot Rock temporarily became Cold Rock and the group shivered along a beautiful gulley with numerous exciting and newly developed sport routes.
Landscape approaching the Ala Dag
Here my good friend David joined the group and was a much welcome addition for a few weeks, especially given his talent for cooking and generous willingness to throw in some extra Turkish Lira from his own pocket to make more elaborate meals. This made him quite popular with the half-starved young and growing Hot Rockers. :) The dollar-a-day cooking budget was a bit of a stretch for Turkey and the group was definitely feeling it.
David already tearing up his hands on his first day. Be hard or go home!
Other highlights in the Ala Dag included some gigantic sheep-herding dogs wearing huge spikes on their collars, incredibly hospitable locals who treated our entire group to tea, and some great new sport climbing in a remote region. Our camp was in an idyllic location, with resplendent mountains in view and fresh mountain spring water nearby. We happily stayed there many days, digging latrines and washing in icy water.
Camp in the Ala Dag
Tea Hosts
One of our hospitable Turkish tea hosts
Here I also took off for a solo hike up in the mountains for a wonderful evening involving a crazy mountain sunset and resplendent stars. Sometimes, Hot Rock could feel a bit claustrophobic for me. I am used to travelling alone, and having people around all the time made me feel a little squished now and then. It was nice to have a chance to walk into some open space and let my mind wander uninterrupted. I’m glad that I only later found out about the wild wolves roaming the area… (d'oh!) which is what the sheep herding dogs were for. It was good that I had chosen a very high camp. Anyway, I returned with my mood lifted by the fresh air and truly spectacular scenery, ready to climb and be social again.
Crazy light from the sunset in the mountains
My little solo camp in an amaaaazing place
Beautiful views of spires and cliffs all around
Daydreaming of climbs in sunshine, we traveled (rather slowly) toward warmer climes. Poor David had packed for Hot Rock, in reality, and was not expecting such a chilly holiday! In Cappadocia we explored underground cities and churches and admired disturbingly fallic “fairy chimneys.”
Inside an underground city
A "Fairy Chimney"
Hot Rockers having a "moment" in an underground city
David and I hired motorbikes and went on a rather epic journey through the Flinstones-style countryside, where at one point (around the same time as we deemed we were lost, daylight began to fade, and the temperature dropped significantly) David’s shifter fell off his bike and it was stuck in fourth gear! Me being lighter than he, we decided to swap. Think Little Miss Sunshine Meets Dirt Biking. I basically had to push the motorbike along with my feet until I was at a run and then kick it into gear. Luckily, we made it back to our rental shop with no problem, running a few red lights along the way and generally trying to brake as little as possible. Of course on returning the bike we had to explain to the guy that we were the ones to be rightfully unhappy to be forced into such an odd situation with a low quality rental rather than he in that we “lost his shifter.” Luckily he didn't make us "pay for the damage" and we rented from him again a day or two later, and broke off part of the brake handle this time. Oops. Decided to keep quiet on that one.
David on his motorbike when it was still warm and fun
David hanging out, probably where he shouldn't be...
Ancient frescoes inside a dug-out church
We spent a few days in the south at Olympos (more below) and then popped a bit off-route north to Eskeshehir, where a climbing festival was taking place. We had met some local Turkish climbers who invited us along. The festival was put on by a climbing club at a university, and thus was attended mainly by students at various climbing clubs from around the country. We had such a good time! In true Hot Rock style, the guys quickly cross-dressed after a few beers and had the macho Turkish boys doing the same in no time. It was enough to shock any conservative elder. ;) Here we adopted a Turk named “Dolphin” who stayed with the truck for a couple of weeks and even gave a few members of the expedition some sweet new tattoos. I decided to pass on the opportunity, but it was fun to watch the dare I say brave Hot Rockers under Dolphin’s steady hand and needle. Ouch!
Dolphin, David, and driver Henry in their best Hot-Rocktire
Turkish lads take part in the fun
Teresa and Hannah show off their new tatoos
Some of the best climbing in Turkey was at Olympos and Antalya in the south, where the limestone cliffs were near the Mediterranean beaches, the weather was warm, the walks short, and the climbing challenging. Here everyone really pushed their limits and had a lot of fun on overhanging tufas and other random formations.
George shows the kids how to do it
Adam on some beautiful rock in Antalya
Climbing in Olympos
In the middle of all this, Hot Rock had a rare excursion without the truck – how naked we felt – on a ferry to Kalymnos, Greece. We were completely out of our element, here... staying in a hotel with a roof-top pool, clean sheets, no dust, no truck, and lots of food. The shock! What could we do but take those nice clean white sheets and make togas out of them, with a roof-top wine-and-cheese toga party followed by an excursion into town. Our hotel manager actually laughed (thank goodness) as he saw us parade by him wearing his sheets. It really was a beautiful place; I’ll let the pictures do that talking here.
Kalymnos, Greece
Cliffs of Kalymnos
Sunset on Kalymnos
Climbing in Kalymnos
Climbing in Kalymnos
Pothia, Kalymnos
Kalymnos
Hot Rock Toga Party
Another beautiful sunset
Our four days of climbing and eating passed quickly and before we knew it, we were back in Turkey and back on the truck – back to life as usual.
Finally the day came to say goodbye to the truck. It was hard to see the happy waving people pull away as I was left on the curb near a bus station, knowing that the new crew was going to have a multitude of adventures ahead as they follow the Silk Route from Turkey to Singapore. It was another bittersweet closing of a chapter in this adventure of life.
I then headed north to Istanbul to relax in a friend’s lovely flat atop a hill overlooking the Bosphorus. It was the perfect place to ease back into “normal” society and get used to things like showering more than once every 4-7 days, etc. Istanbul is a truly beautiful city and I highly recommend visiting if you have not already. It is much lighter and airier than I had expected – it is surrounded by blue. The sea and sky wrap themselves around glittering buildings, with exotic scents rising from markets and the soft whir of boats buzzing along the waterways… it’s really a unique place. The perfect end to another wonderful trip.
Istanbul
Aya Sofya Silhouette
The Blue Mosque
Inside the Blue Mosque
Basilica Cistern
Inside the Aya Sofya
Mosaic inside the Aya Sofya
Istanbul Modern Art Museum
Istanbul at night