Day 4 - After grabbing a quick coffee or two, we set off bright and early (well, 10 am) from MotoCamp Bulgaria, riding through the beautiful Bulgarian hills towards the Buzludzha Monument, also known as the Monument House of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The skies cleared up, giving us some breathtaking views of Bulgaria nestled in the valleys. It also meant some of the last views on Bulgaria as we were bound for Turkey today. Back in the saddle and two hours later we left Europe at the border to Turkey where we quickly felt the warm hospitality of the Turks. “No money, no money” the friendly patron said. He kindly offered first Çai’s, the turkish teas, in a local village just across the border.
Day 5 - Off to Istanbul! After a camping night on a stunning high plateau giving us breathtaking views on the border lands between Bulgaria and Turkey, we started a long ride towards the Bosphorus Straight and Istanbul. Not really to enjoy Istanbul, but to enjoy another inside view of a motor mechanic garage (we like them so much..) to replace Gion’s worn-out back tire that desperately needs some new rubber! ! Such is the life of an overland rider, I suppose. We crashed at a local youth hostel for the night and treated ourselves to some incredible Köfte at Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi Selim Usta, which has to be the best Köfte in Istanbul.
Day 6 - The Bosporus greeted us with heavy rains this morning. And what is a man supposed to do when it rains? Right. Working on his motorcycle. And so we did. After a slippery ride down the wet cobblestones of the old town of Sultanahmet, we took a right to enter the Eurasia tunnel - and to leave the old continent at sea floor level. Only five minutes later we arrived in Asia - and in the old school metal shop of Bozkurt Makine. The gents there have seen and done it all and went straight to work fixing Gion’s break pedal and shortening my side stand by exactly 15 mm. Helping my DR standing so much steadier when on parking duty. The rest of the day can be easily summarised with with a visit to the stunning Çamlıca Mosque, more rain and more Köfte and that’s that.
