TRAVEL FEATURE - TURKEY GUILLERMO MAC LEAN
... AND THEY WERE
TURKISH !
After an inconvenience crossing the border in Ipsala , Turkey I took the road to Istanbul where I arrived late at night , rainy and very tired due to the intense traffic of this wonderful city . It was so bad that I got lost and after wandering for two hours on the European side , I had to call my friend Ugur to meet me at a coffee shop near the Besitikas soccer stadium and guide me to his house on the Asian side . I spent a week relaxing and enjoying the wonderful Turkish food , my friend ' s Sunday breakfasts , family-life and long conversations with Ugur and Zeynep on the balcony of the house drinking Scottish single malt . I pampered La Más by checking the brakes , and checking everything to find any flaws , but everything was fine .
It was there where I planned with Ugur the trip along the Turkish coast of the Black Sea , the border with Georgia , Armenia , Iraq , Iran , and
Syria to Antakya , and then along the entire coast of the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea . The idea was to arrive at a paradise called Çakmakli , in the peninsula of Aliaga , near a beautiful village called Kozbeyli . A journey of approximately 4,300 kilometres .
When I finished putting together the itinerary and checking the maps , I left on a Monday morning for Safranbulo , a wonderful city formerly called Theodoroupolis . Surroundings are famous for having cultivated saffron in ancient times and achieving considerable prosperity with trade ( 3rd century B . C .). The name of the city comes etymologically from the cultivation of these spices .
Upon arrival I went to the workshop of a biker friend , Celil Özdemir , who welcomed me in the way only the Turkish people know how , with open arms and with the solidarity that can occur between
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