To brıng you up to date...

Day 28 - Somewhere between Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey.

Got a new chaın for the bıke. An upgrade! D.I.D. should see me through to Indıa.
Unfortunately I dıdnt get ıt fıtted, I decided to save that for later. Decided to Wilderness camp found an alright spot by a wood a little damp, had a small camp fire.

Day 29 - Somewhere between Ankara and Konya, Turkey.

Woke up early in my tent. Still pitch black outside. Read for a little, couldn't sleep. Eventually got up and made a tea. As I was rumaging around finding my cup and a tea bag, heard a what must have been a wild dog howling like a wolf probably about 20 meters off. I'll be honest, i didn't like it. I grabbed my stick and shouted in the direction of the howl. Had my tea and decided to pack up. Heard the howl some way off. As i was almost finished it came again this time only 5 meters or so away. I completely just shivers down my spine, it was pretty scary. i grabbed the stick shouted and roared, turned the engine on the bike revered it up loadly. Stuffed everything on the bike and road off. Later I laughed at myself and rode down the road making howling noises at the passing traffic. That night i stayed in a motel to be on the safe side.

Day 30 - Konya, Turkey.

Got to Konya found a hotel and did the sites. I was advised to put the bike in secure parking which was a blessing really as it gave me space to fit the new chain.
The old one was really slack and had stretched so that it wanted to jump off the sprockets. So i got the tool kit out and started work. One of the parking attendents had a jack which helped and soon I had the back wheel off. This is when I realised, that it wasn't going to be that simple and I had to take the rear suspension and swing arm off, so off it came. Eventually after a couple hours of work the chain was on and the bike back to working condition. Tried to find a celebration beer but no luck!

Day 31 - Groeme, Turkey.

Next day lots of Turkisk Tea with the guys at the parking then off. Went to an undergorund city, those Christians must have been pretty scared of the invading armies to live down there! Then on to Groeme. What a crazy landscape that lave has. Maybe what you would expect on Mars. Stayed in a really nice dorm in Kose Pension. Was an English biker there too, on his way to Syria. Lots of bike talk, boring the other travellers.

Day 31 - Groeme, Turkey.

Went for a big walk, beautiful area, and nice town. Found a bar for evening drinks.

Day 32 - Groeme, Turkey.

Tony and I took the bikes out check out some other area's, my bike faired well in the sand as opposed to the big new heavy enduro bike Tony had. There is something to be said for a small one. Went to the same bar as the previous night, becoming accutely aware that we were all travellers hanging out together and not anything to do with our surrounding enviroment. I guess the place was set up perfectly for back packers.

Day 33 - Somewhere between Groeme and Nemrut, Turkey.

Ok so I should have left earlier and I could have made it to Nemrut. But I didn't.
Instead after riding all day and passing several hotels in the early evening I pressed on and it did what it always does and that is get dark. Now I try never to ride at night as you can't always see what is coming. Particularly if it doesn't have lights, like a cow. So just to compound matters just before it started to get dark I turned up a mountain road, this mountain road deteriated into a track. Bear in mind alos that in the back of my mind I am thinking PKK as I am now in the kurdish area. Not good. So I press on, no signs for Nemrut where I know there is a good Pension. I push on heading up the track as it gradually gets worse and worse. I stop, to consider if it is really possible that people use this route. I carry on passing diggers etc understanding that they are doing some road improvements my god it needs it. On I go and it gets worse. Until eventually squinting into the distance I can see the road disappears into a solid rock face. Its a new road in mid construction unfinished. i have just ridden 15 minutes up it in the dark thinking i was going the right way. I have to turn back! So back I go, eventually finding a turning on the right, with the first vechile I had seen in a while unsurprisingly. I ask for Nemrut he points up the correct road. On I go. The road keeps on going weaving through the mountains I pass a few dwelling with lights and decide the next one I will ask if I can camp by as it is getting silly. On I go and now there are no lights and no vehicles. Great! For 20 minutes I ride in the pitch dark, on a horrendous road in the mountains. All that safety advise seemed to have goon out the window. Eventually I see a light and head to it. It is a school and the teacher who runs it is there. After his intial confusion he says no problem, later one of his friends arrive. He is an Imam, and leads the pray in the nearby village mosque. Using a computer to translate, we discuss Islam and hospitality. At one point I think they try and convert me to Islam. I am repeating various prays - I let them no that I can not believe in one god - this seems to deflect the conversion and they are happy with me as a curious visitor. I end up staying in the Imam's house, a very modest hut in the village. I am treated to full hospitality with a full meal before bed. Once you get out of the tourist places Turkey is genuinely surprising in how friendly and hospitable the people are.


Day 34 - Siverak, Turkey.

Next day I leave after breakfast with the teacher. During which his students which range from 5 years old to 8 years old play around us in the school yard. I head for Nemrut eventually making it for early afternoon. Its pretty interesting but may have been a bit of an effort considering, having said that it bought encouters I might not of otherwise had. I head on now pretty low on petrol. I take small ferry ride across a gorge. I am well out of tourist terrority. On the ferry laiden with various vehicles and some terrified cattle handeled by there owner, the rain comes and the wind. As I rise out of the gorge the other side the wind really hits I am really leaning into it, again I don't learn, it is getting dark and I am on an open plain and I am tucking well into my reserve tank. There are no settlements between me and the next town so I have to press on. Eventually I see the town and a petrol station as I approach, the man fills the bike on arrival with 7.5 liters of fuel. Which is the capacity of the tank when empty. I guess I arrived on the fumes. I go to another garage in town and I am asked into the restuarant. I am seated at a table with some other turkisk men, they are all friends and one of them can speak German and some broken english we piece some conversation together and he offers to help me find a hotel. Dinner is paid for by someone, by now i hate to say but you know that will be the deal. So I follow the chap on his bike to a hotel, there is some dispute with the owner as the bike will have to be left on the street and i get told many bikes go missing. The chap decides this is no good and we go to another place where I can put the bike securely away. The hotel is terrible for the price. The manager an Imam too said I had a special price 30 YTL which was special as it was 5 YTL more than the price on the board in reception. I only noticed this till it was too late. It was a bed. I went off to find an internet cafe and get on with updating the blog.

Day 35 Mardin, Turkey.

Came to Mardin as it was recommended by many people and the old Lonely Planet. So here I am. It is pretty nice. I think it is better for the fact that I decided to blow my budget and took a pretty nice hotel for 25 quid. I havent met any other travellers here, see a couple. I know that many people will be scared of coming here as it is well in PKK territory, which you are constantly reminded by the heavy police and army presence. It looks like a war zone which I suppose it is.

Everything got a little worrying tonight when I checked my Iranian Visa. Now this was tricky to get. I got it in August and after it was in my hand put it to the back on my mind. Now I have just checked it and found out it will run out on the 22/10/08. Thats a problem! A pretty big one. Now I have to race to the border get through and get to a city where I can extend it. Currently my shortest route travels along the Iraq border, not great, that is a bad road to travel as that is where various PKK bombings and police killings have taken place. Or I go North which will take me a few days! I think I will play it safe and go north.

So finally I have updated the blog after all that. Hopefully it will be kept up a little now.