Day 29. Isparta - Konya
Another fabulous mornings ride through a beautiful basin surrounded by hills, some of which still have remnants of the winter snow.
Only pulled over once today!
This is the orchard region with mile after mile of apple and pear trees. The road is excellent and after passing by an absolutely beautiful lake we began to climb and the orchards gave way to crops which gave way to forest trees.
Into another fertile valley, we were in need of a break and in the distance saw the sun glinting off what looked like a chrome capped mosque. We turned off down a gravel lane which came out into a village square.
We hopped off and had a drink of water and then came the call Chai Chai. So we had a repeat of yesterdays experience, this time with more confidence, we exchanged family photos and I found a new Facebook friend in Nuh.
Back on the road we motored on to Konya which is a modern (and old) city. First impressions are positive, very clean and friendly.
We had a nice wander around the town.
Visited the Mevlana museum which was very nice. There were mainly domestic tourists some in tears as they passed by the tomb of the founder of the Mevlana order. There was the odd bus tour but we didn’t see any western tourists outside of this complex.
Later in we visited the cultural centre to see the Whirling Dervish or Sema ceremony. It is a religious ceremony where they twirl around so much they are in a trance like state. We really enjoyed it. It wasn’t busy and we got great seats. The Dervishes ranged in ages from 70+ down to a boy of about 10 I’d say. How the hell they don’t fall over dizzy is beyond me.
After the show we had to find our way back to the hotel quickly as there was thunder and lightning- made it back dry.
I have not been happy with way the bike has been handling and the ride is a bit hard. 6 clicks of the compression damping knob and it is transformed into the best bike for this job.
This is not the real thing! They have these pretend police cars on the side of the road, with solar panels on top to make the lights flash.
This is the orchard region with mile after mile of apple and pear trees. The road is excellent and after passing by an absolutely beautiful lake we began to climb and the orchards gave way to crops which gave way to forest trees.
Into another fertile valley, we were in need of a break and in the distance saw the sun glinting off what looked like a chrome capped mosque. We turned off down a gravel lane which came out into a village square.
We hopped off and had a drink of water and then came the call Chai Chai. So we had a repeat of yesterdays experience, this time with more confidence, we exchanged family photos and I found a new Facebook friend in Nuh.
Back on the road we motored on to Konya which is a modern (and old) city. First impressions are positive, very clean and friendly.
We had a nice wander around the town.
Visited the Mevlana museum which was very nice. There were mainly domestic tourists some in tears as they passed by the tomb of the founder of the Mevlana order. There was the odd bus tour but we didn’t see any western tourists outside of this complex.
Later in we visited the cultural centre to see the Whirling Dervish or Sema ceremony. It is a religious ceremony where they twirl around so much they are in a trance like state. We really enjoyed it. It wasn’t busy and we got great seats. The Dervishes ranged in ages from 70+ down to a boy of about 10 I’d say. How the hell they don’t fall over dizzy is beyond me.
After the show we had to find our way back to the hotel quickly as there was thunder and lightning- made it back dry.
I have not been happy with way the bike has been handling and the ride is a bit hard. 6 clicks of the compression damping knob and it is transformed into the best bike for this job.
( Made a huge difference thanks!!!! Just Saying. ) Robyn
Loved the Mevlana Museum too, the whirling dervishes an forgettable experience.
ReplyDeleteGlad that seat is better Robyn!
Awesome! Love the photos
ReplyDelete