Day 1: Cross and sleep

Our journey through Türkiye started with an evening border crossing at Zakho (Ibrahim Khalil crossing). Well, it wasn’t evening, but by the time we got through, it was pretty dark. The crossing took about 4 hours but wasn’t too bad (definitely a bit more organized than entering Iran or Iraq). When we got through, we had to buy car insurance for ~50 USD. 

We had a little bit of food after the border crossing and headed to find a place to sleep. This turned out to be harder than we thought it would be since the parking nearby was only for trucks and looked a bit doggy. We ended up parking behind a gas station just a bit further down the road. 

Day 2: Beautiful landscapes of Eastern Türkiye

We got up early and set off since we didn’t want to attract any attention at the petrol station. We drove to Cizre and then continued north to Şırnak and further towards Tatvan. Along the way, we had a great opportunity to see a completely different landscape than we were used to seeing when we visited the western part of the country in 2021. 

We drove from bare mountains to ones covered with trees and then descended and followed a river in a valley. The whole day was dedicated to driving since Clare wasn’t feeling well, so we didn’t stop much, just to take the occasional break, but we really enjoyed it. Along the way, we had to stop at at least 10 police/army checkpoints and at one point we got stuck behind an armored vehicle in one of the hills.

From Tatvan, we followed the road along Lake Van to the city bearing the same name. This was our final destination for the day and we had a hotel room booked near the center. The parking was a bit difficult because of the small streets, but we did book a place with parking and they had a nice spot for us near the entrance and away enough so our car wouldn’t get smashed by someone.

It took us at least 7 hours to get to Van, so we used the rest of the day to chill. We had an easy dinner and went to sleep early.

Day 3: The Castle of Van

We spent the morning in the room and booked another night so Clare could get 100% better. We used the time to plan our next stops in Turkey and Georgia. 

The break definitely helped, so we went for a walk to explore the city. We walked through the streets of Van towards its main sight, which is the Van Kalesi (Castle). Before we got there, we stopped for an ice cream and discovered probably the best cone ice cream we have ever had!

When we arrived near the castle, we chose to walk around its south side, where we had to cross a field of other ruins that must have been the old town built around the castle that was towering above us on a hill. The entrance was on the lake side and when we finished the walk we saw a shortcut through a fence that some person just used before us. We then had to climb the steep hill to the castle walls.

The caste is massive and nicely preserved. There isn’t anything inside, but you can walk along the walls and see the lake on one side and the city on the other. We were there late and the castle was closing soon so we needed to leave. At that time, we met a guy who took us to see some hidden parts of the castle. We had to walk a different way where we had to climb a bit. He then told us that he would show us a shortcut to exit the castle grounds so we didn’t have to walk back. However, the part he wanted us to climb was a bit too much so we split there and we walked back the same way. On the way out, we passed a building at the entrance/exit that was most likely a ticket booth. Maybe we had to pay, or maybe it was free off-season, I guess we will never find out.

Later, I went for a walk around our place to buy some medicine for Clare and got us some dinner. The Lahmacun (Turkish flatbread) in this part of Turkey was so cheap! I think we paid like a dollar for 2 of them + salad. I also got two different types of dürüm kebab (wrap) and some chips.

Day 4: Castle Hoşap and a drive up north

We left our hotel at check-out and our plan was to move further north, closer to Georgia. But first, we went to visit the Castle Hoşap which was about an hour the opposite way from Van.

On the way back, we had to go through Van again and stopped for lunch. We got some Lahmachun, stopped to exchange a bit more money, and did some grocery shopping. We then set off for the 200 km journey to Doğubeyazıt. We chose this town for our stop because we wanted to visit the Ishak Pasha Palace the next day. 

The palace was just above the city and we drove there to find a camping spot. We asked at the parking but the fella wanted like 10 Euros for the night so we just drove a bit further, following a dirt path that finished by a cemetery and the Ahmed-i Hani Türbesi. The fella told us that people could come from the mountains and cause us trouble during the night but we were pretty sure he just wanted the money.

We parked and made dinner while a fox was lurking around waiting for some scraps. We also got a visit from the police/army (we don’t even know…they looked ready for World War 3). We thought they would send us away but they just checked our care, shook hands, asked a few questions, and wished us good travels. The rest of the night was quiet and no one came to bother us.

Day 5: Ishak Pasha Palace and the ruins of Ani

We were up with the first light and after coffee went to explore the Ahmed-i Hani Türbesi (mausoleum) and the cemetery around it. The place was closed and we didn’t even know whose mausoleum it was but found out that Ahmed-i Hani (Ehmedê Xanî in English) was a Kurdish intellectual, scholar, and poet who is viewed by some as the founder of Kurdish nationalism.

We waited until the Ishak Pasha Palace opened and visited it for 20 Turkish Lira. Ishak Pasha Palace is one of the few examples of surviving historical Turkish palaces. It was nicely decorated inside and well-maintained. It was built in a mixture of Anatolian, Iranian, and North Mesopotamian architectural traditions.

We then drove around the majestic Mount Ararat further north. We didn’t plan to climb the mountain as you need a guide, it’s not easy, and we were there off-season, but still wanted to go for a small hike around. We took a turn off the main road just by an army checkpoint and drove by it as it was abandoned and we couldn’t see anyone. In about a second, I could see a bunch of soldiers in a rearview mirror shouting at us to come back. We turned around and drove back. We were very quickly informed that the area where we wanted to go was restricted and that we could possibly get harmed or our car would get torched as terrorists were living in the mountains along the road. We were then told that we had to wait for the Secret Service to come to check our car. 

The soldiers were very friendly and even treated us to tea while we were sitting by their armored vehicle. We only stayed for about 10-15 minutes when they let us know that we could leave. As we were driving away, we realized that the fella last night was maybe not lying when he told us that sleeping by the mountain is dangerous!

We then had about 150 km to drive ahead of us to the ruins of the town of Ani. We came kind of late but we still had enough time to walk around. The site is large so we had to be fast to see it all. The most preserved is the main gate and the surrounding walls but there are a few more structures in the grounds like the St. Gregory Church or the Ani Cathedral. We could also see fortifications along the river below and some remain on the other side of the valley. There we could also spot the army posts and the Armenian flags since the river is the official border between Turkey and Armenia.

The ruined medieval city of Ani used to be the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom in the 10th century. Later, it was sacked by the Mongols and damaged by an earthquake. It was abandoned by the 17th century. Since 2016, Ani has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ani is another example of disputes between Armenia and Türkiye as it’s one of the symbols of Armenian history but it’s located in Türkiye’s border zone.

The sun was setting and we had to leave the site and head to Kars which was about 50 km away. We reached the city when it was getting dark and found a place to park on the hill right behind the Kars Castle. We bought some chicken and potatoes and planned to fry them. In the end, we did but it was possibly the worst idea we could have had. The whole day was beautiful, sunny, and relatively warm but once the sun disappeared it started freezing. We were able to cook everything but it cost us a lot of effort and gas. The night in Kars was one of the coldest nights on our entire journey!

Day 6: Change of plans

The spot where we parked turned out to be a meeting place for Kars people looking to hang out with a nice view (and maybe indulge in other activities…) so we got woken up a few times but no one bothered us. When we woke up, even the inside of the car was covered with a thin layer of ice!

We left the car on the hill to defrost in the sun and walked down to the town. We wanted to visit the castle but it was closed at this time of the day and wasn’t opening anytime soon. We explored the square below the Castle and walked around the Hasan Harakani Tomb and the Kars Church. Our main goal was to find a coffee shop or someplace where we could connect to wifi. 

We originally planned to cross to Georgia two days from now but we moved faster than we anticipated and Clare was feeling good, so we decided to change our plan and cross the border right away. For this, we needed to change our car insurance booking which needed to be done online. Nothing was opened but eventually, we found a place called Antephan Künefe & Katmer Kars. They didn’t have wifi but the waiter gave us his hotspot, and since we were there we got a nice breakfast. They even treated us to some Katmer for free. 

After we got our insurance ready (we had to pay again but it was only about $10 and better than trying to come up with something to do in Turkey) we walked back to our car and headed towards the border. We got petrol before crossing the border and had to climb some mountains before we descended towards Georgia.

Day 7: Kaçkar Mountains

We crossed back to Turkey early in the morning and drove straight to Kaçkar Mountains National Park. We drove through one of the meadows with a lot of shops and people enjoying the sunny weather and continued up until the end of the paved road. We then went for a short hike along the forest road but we didn’t have any spot to reach and after a while we went back to the car. On the way down, we stopped at the meadow (I believe the place was called Ayder), bought some presents, and got a coffee.

We still had time so we took a wee detour and stopped at the Zil Castle (Kale). We also spotted a few old Turkish bridges along the way.

We decided to stay at the edge of the park for the night and eventually found a spot tucked behind an old ruined building near the road. We made dinner and spent the night inside the car as it started raining in the evening.

Day 8: The costal towns Rize and Trabzon

In the morning, we returned to the coastal highway D010 and continued to Rize. We explored the city, starting with a walk in the park by the Black Sea. It was cloudy and we didn’t have much planned so we spent some time at the park and made coffee.

We stopped to get petrol, used the bathroom, and drove to the Rize Fortress. There wasn’t much to see but it was a nice quick stop overlooking the city. I noticed that I lost my ring and we had to get back to the gas station. Luckily, the cleaner found it and could see that it had no value and didn’t pocket it.

The next stop was Trabzon, about an hour’s drive west along the Black Sea. We had a hotel booked there and even found street parking so we didn’t have to pay extra. We relaxed a bit in the hotel but wanted to go see the city before it got too late.

We walked via the town square (Meydan) towards the Trabzon Castle. We walked the walls and looped down to the park below the castle. We continued to the Trabzon Hagia Sophia Mosque. On the way, we tried to visit every BIM grocery store and find the same amazing ice cream as in Van but failed miserably.

The "Little" Hagia Sophia Mosque in Trabzon was originally a church (Greek Orthodox) that was converted into a mosque, following the conquest of Trabzon by Mehmed II in 1461, similarly to the same-named (and more famous) mosque in Istanbul.

We visited the town square later in the evening to get dinner and to watch some football.

Day 9: Sümela Monastery

We took our time in the morning and didn’t leave until check-out. We couldn’t find any shop that would sell stickers with country flags, so we used our time to make them ourselves. We prepared some already in Van and finished here. Then we found a Xerox place near the square and got them printed. Before we left, we decorated Rambo with the flags of the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, and Turkey.

Our next stop was a bit of a detour. We headed south from Trabzon to Sümela Monastery. It’s only about an hour from the city but we had to go there and back since we needed to continue further west afterwards.

When we arrived, we had to pay for parking and since they won’t let you hike up the hill you have to pay for a small bus as well as the ticket to enter the monastery. It was in 2022 before the inflation in Turkey but we have written 250 for tickets, 36 for parking, and 20 for the bus/train up the hill.

The Sümela Monastery looks amazing in the photos but you can’t really see it yourself from the same angle. On top of that, the weather that morning was so bad and foggy that we didn’t see the monastery until we got all the way to it. However, I would say it’s worth the visit because it was still pretty cool and we have never seen anything like it.

After, we had a long drive ahead of us as we needed to start getting closer to Istanbul. We drove back to Trabzon and joined the coastal highway again. We passed the city of Ordu and only took small breaks until we reached Samsun. We found a petrol station with a big parking lot and we stayed there for the night. It was far enough from the station so we could cook our dinner and not blow the place up.

Day 10: The Turkish travers

We left our camping spot with the first light and headed to our last stop on the coast, the small town named Sinop. We stopped just above the town at a gas station and got some breakfast and coffee. They also had a self-operated car wash and Rambo needed a shower.

We parked in the town and went to walk in the marina. There were some old fortifications and a castle. We also did a bit of exercising but Clare racked her back (and they say it’s good for your health…).

We didn’t stay for too long and had to get back on the road. We needed to get closer to Istanbul and even though we already covered about 700 km since the border, we still had another 700 to go. We stopped just for some small breaks and coffee and the roads were nice and quiet. After a while, we joined the E80 and followed it towards Istanbul, but at some point, we accidentally joined the paid highway. We left it soon and headed towards Lake Sapanca on the outside of the town of Izmit.

We planned to find some place to stay around but by this time it was dark and it was hard to see where we could stop somewhere away from the road. Eventually, we noticed a large park nearby and found a large empty parking lot. We wanted to park there first but changed our mind and drove across the road and hid our car by the park’s fence. Later, we found out it was actually a Zoo called Ormanya.

Day 11: Başakşehir vs. Galatasaray 0:7

We wanted to avoid the traffic in Istanbul so we left early in the morning and headed across the whole town directly to Başakşehir football stadium where we parked our car by a grocery store. We then waited until they opened the ticket office and went to buy two tickets for the evening’s match against Galatasaray. The whole process was actually simple enough and we just needed to create an account on the football federation page (paid account) which we did already in Trabzon. While we waited, we stopped for coffee and heavenly sweat and cheese Borek.

We then took the blue metro line to Kirazlı İstasyonu station, changed to the red line, and left at Yenikapı. We walked by the Laleli Mosque and Istanbul University and made it then to the Grand Bazar and through it to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. We visited Istanbul a year ago so we hung around there for a bit but then went back to the market by the University and bought some presents for our families.

We were back on the metro around 5 pm and at 6 back at the stadium. We didn’t have a long wait and by 7 pm we were waiting at the gate. I got in but there was some issue with Clare’s ticket and she couldn’t get through the automatic gate. While I was waiting inside since I couldn’t leave she had to run back to the ticket office and get the ticket reprinted. She got inside before the match started.

The game was good. Well, not for the home team. Başakşehir got beaten 7:0 but since it looked like the majority of the fans were there to watch Galatasaray the atmosphere was good. A guy next to us told us about the business of reselling tickets for big teams like Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş. He told us that he wasn’t really interested in seeing this game but he still had over 20 tickets that he didn’t sell, so why not go.

We stopped for another Borek and tea after the game and when the crowds disappeared we jumped in the back of our car to sleep.

Day 12: Car maintenance before we hit the European prices

Our day started early by leaving Istanbul and trying to avoid any attention since we slept at a parking lot in front of a shop, and mostly, to avoid Istanbul traffic. We then headed West towards the border and the town of Edirne.

Here we spent some time trying to find a place to get an oil change since we calculated that in Türkiye it would be cheaper than anywhere in Europe. But our problem was that it was the weekend and with Dodge Ram, we had an issue finding someone who would have our filter. After a few failed attempts, we finally found a garage that would do it for us.

Our next stop was just before the border, where we got petrol and some snacks to use any leftover cash we had. The border crossing took some time but we got through without too much hassle.