Cold Turkey

12-04-2010

Crossing the Iran-Turkey border in the south we found ourselves in a three hour queue as the whole immigration computer network had crashed leaving bewildered Iranian and Turkish truckers to sit, smoke, drink cay and ponder what a “network” was! As it worked out, the holdup did us a favour because at 8am we were sat with the Iranian Director of Immigration, huddled around his electric fire that balanced precariously on the end of his desk, wondering how we were going to cope with the foreboding weather awaiting us. By noon the high mountain passes that we could see before us were bathed in glorious sunshine and sittin g in the vehicle compound eat ing ou r no-man’s-land picnic of yesterday’s bread and tomatoes (yeah Pete on our “holiday”) we were finally given the all clear to ride off into Turkey proper. 

The afternoon’s ride took us along a 9000ft pass with views as vast if not as vertical as any we had seen so far, on the summits we would stop between snow covered banks for the customary “ooh, look at that!” and photo opportunity. Considering we were only a stone’s throw from the Iraq border with images of war and destruction firmly implanted in our heads we were caught off guard by the serenity before us. Ice cold blue-green mountain lakes in the foreground, snow-capped peaks away in the distance, fairy tale castles and crumbling stone walls, the only life for miles appeared to be the small, wild donkeys traversing the craggy trails on their way to grazing pastures. This couldn’t be further away from the media-induced hype rammed down our throats by CCN and the BBC. 

South Eastern Anatolia is picture perfect, the people warm and friendly, if a little bemused by two motorcyclists turning up in their tiny villages looking for bread and tea, but I’m sure if one of them found themselves wandering down my local high street, sat atop a donkey with all their worldly possessions strapped to it’s rear, they may find themselves the stir of the town. This area gets a bad rap but apart from the odd army checkpoint with efficient and cheerful soldiers offering cay and a chat there is no other evidence of unrest. The place certainly holds It’s own as a must see destination and you better get here quick before word gets out!