SUNDAY 19th JULY 2009 (ECEABAT to KUCUKKUYU)

SUNDAY 19th JULY 2009


After a brilliant day yesterday (ANZAC Cove) we weren't in a hurry to go anywhere. We had actually relaxed for possibly the first time on this whole trip. BUT, we had to continue to make miles because time is running out and if the HORS has another colic attack we may not make our destination!




We eventually left 'Crowded House' at 11.00am and within 30 minutes were on the ferry to KEPEZ on the far shores. We gave Canakkale a miss because it's a BIG town, it's very hot and Kepez is just a little further downstream. The ferry boat ride has always been good. You can see both sides of the shores easily (not a very wide channel) and we always wonder who would give way to who as it's such a busy shipping channel but the ferry boats seem to dodge in and around the big ships easily.

We were also secretly happy that we were 'making miles' without actually riding The HORS...!!! A shocking admission...but true...!!! The ferries are very popular as a way of getting from A to B as petrol costs $3.00 AUS a litre.


The terrain was hilly with low scrub and scattered pine trees. The only potentially interesting thing we rode past was the turn-off to TROY (the Trojan Horse) but it was far too hot to consider doing more miles than necessary. Turned out to be a good decision. We did pass a replica TROY horse so was satisfied with that.


It was EXTREMELY hot and within half-an-hour we had to pull off the road and park-up in the shade of a tree. The engine was far too hot. And there we stayed for an hour before hitting the bitumen again.







We only rode another half-an-hour before having to stop once again because of the heat. The bike was 'smokin' (and I don't mean speed...!!!).

We rode into EZINE where we hoped we could rest the bike and ourselves in the shade. We found the perfect spot and spent the next two-and-a-half hours here. We just had to wait till the intensity of heat passed before contemplating riding again. We did what all good Turks do (every day of the week) - sit in the shade, drink tea and play board games. Nearly every cafe is chokka-full of blokes drinking tea - no women to be seen.



We hit the road again, still hot, but we were to turn off the highway and ride along our first 'Adventure Road'. Our map of Turkey has sections of road indicating 'Adventure' and in this case, that word turned out to be a bit of an understatement. We were heading to ASSOS and were enjoying the ups and downs and all the corners the road offered. We were a little bit impressed with The HORS too as he seemed to manage it all okay. The hills got steeper and steeper, the corners sharper and the road more narrow - not always a good combination for a sidecar outfit....but for all those people with big road-trail bikes this would be brilliant.



Eventually we couldn't believe what was before us. The hillside town of BEHRAMKALE-ASSOS was as old as old can get - hard to distinguish the buildings from the rocks. It's an ancient Greek village dating back to the 6th Century, complete with the ruins of temples and an amphitheatre. It wasn't hard to imagine the people in their white robes and carrying their water jugs - just like the movies. Actually, not like the movies - like REAL life. It really was like that. A fabulous place.


We rode further along the road and that's when life got 'REAL' interesting. Only a few metres along we discovered the road drops TWO kilometers to the Aegean coastline - NO safety barriers, uneven cobblestone road surface, about 4 million cars wanting 95% of the road and the only thing between us and the edge was a row of thistles!


I was SCREAMING as sitting in the sidecar I was the one almost going over the edge of the road, Paul was SCREAMING as he fought The HORS trying to keep it on the road as it seemed that each car that passed had a personal mission to run us over the edge. End result - I got out and walked, happy to leave Paul to his fate...(not really). Stupid thing was....the drop-off to the water ended about 20 meters further along but that didn't stop Paul riding to the bottom as I waved my stick in the air cursing trying to get his attention...!!!

BUT...on the good side, this is when I found the amphitheatre. It was right on a corner and difficult to see whilst negotiating road conditions, but on foot I couldn't miss it. Oh well, no need to hurry to the bottom. Paul can wait...!!! I went in to have a look but just as I was about to enter I heard the familiar 'chug-a-lug' of The HORS coming back up the hill. I immediately forgot all the nasty things I was thinking and thought how nice - Paul has come back to get me. That wasn't the case though - the road turned out to be a dead-end...!!! We both ended up laughing.

Paul had to use all his effort to handle the bike on the way back UP as the weight of our gear on the sidecar made the front wheel VERY light. I watched in dismay as I saw the front wheel leave the ground on a few occasions!

We both went to explore the amphitheatre and were amazed at the construction of it all. Half of it lay in ruins as ground subsidence has destroyed the layout of the steps; the other half is remarkably intact, the view stunning.
We were most pleased that THAT road was now behind us, but satisfied that we had ridden at least 'one' adventure road.


From here we made our way to KUCUKKUYU with the only problem being we were back at the top of the hill and needed to get back down to the water level. This time I didn't get out of the sidecar - the road made a more gentle approach to the coast. It was very pleasant riding along at water level but glad we weren't camping - very crowded and all dirt - very little grass to be seen.


We stopped at a small roadside stall - Paul needed a beer and I had an ice-cream. We met the most delightful kid who chatted away to us non-stop. We couldn't understand each other but eye contact spoke volumes and we just loved him. His name was Furkan TOPGU. We took off, got a few metres up the road, did a uu-ee (not sure how to spell that!) went back and gave him a koala with an Australian flag. He was wrapt. We left him with a big smile and lots of waves.



On we rode till dusk arriving at the Aydin MOTEL about 8.45pm. Dinner was provided (which was awful), the toilet didn't work (which was awful) but we did have a large verandah on which to sit and enjoy the view of the surrounding hills and night lights of the city. Temperature had cooled but it was still 30 degrees...!!!