Automotive

As the trip was longer, I will split it into several posts over the coming weeks 😊

So after changing employers last year I found myself with some time on my hands and my wife being understanding as always, she felt I needed to do something to gain perspective and recharge the batteries, before embarking on something new. 

I tend to do these trips with a friend, as hard driving is always better when you can switch behind the wheel every 3 hours or so and having company really makes for a nicer trip. It does necessitate a similar driving style though, otherwise the car can get a very uncomfortable place very quickly. 

We looked at several options and finally settled on Turkey as an interesting destination. 

Here’s a section of the route, leading from Derinkuyu (close to Cappadoccia) to the Georgian border at the Black Sea coast. 

We wanted to kick it off with the underground city at Derinkuyu. A spectacular sight that I can highly recommend, btw. As you can see from the shots below, the tourist trade wasn’t in peak season when we arrived, yet the hospitality was peerless. 



The gentleman gamely opened up a way for us to approach and enter to the historical site, and subsequently the same one with his friends also helped push the car to get out of the parking lot 😂 RWD and snow has been a mixed bag throughout the trip 🤷🏻‍♂️

Descending into the underworld city is a very cool experience and it’s unbelievable how many people used to live there temporarily in times of strife. 

Before I get back to the driving bits, some more shots from Cappadoccia, of a kind most tourists are not used to - namely balloon free and covered in snow 😂❄️

After the morning sightseeing some distance needed to be covered, as our evening destination was Sivas in central Turkey. This section had well sighted, nicely built and fairly empty roads (a feature throughout the country) and covering ground was effortless. 

Interestingly the inbuilt satnav tended to suggest routes with more driving fun built in than what came from Google Maps (quite pleased about that, actually).

Sivas is a lovely historical city with many a claim to fame but for people living in Germany, the fact that the Döner kebab was invented here is probably most prominent. So a visit to the place where it all began was a must, and I have to say it was otherworldly. 

As it tasted so well, we went for a dessert as well 😂🐑

After a stroll through the historical center it was time to call it a day. 

The following day would bring some epic driving, setting off relatively early, with no clear destination in mind but the Black Sea coast featuring in the plans. The landscapes were impressive and the variety on offer was astounding - but then it is a large country. 

Even the mountain passes tended to be reasonably broad and the roads a pleasure to navigate, even if not always immaculately cleared of snow. Keeping up speed was essential, as the RWD made a restart on a snowy incline quite a challenge. We did fortunately source some snow chains by this point, just in case. 

The car suggested the D-865, which while not your typical switchback mountain road, had a wonderful rhythm to it, making for a fun drive. 

In addition, it brought us past a village called Kekec, the name of a child hero figure from children’s books from my homeland - which was funny (no one at home would accept he could be Turkish 😂).

While the roads were mostly empty, on occasion some unlikely vehicles could be spotted. 

The first mountain pass of the trip was the Tersun Gecidi that climbed to around 2000 meters, before descending to the Black Sea around Trabzon. Not having to worry about traction on the way down (gravity helps), it was a slightly less tense and more fun experience. 

As you can see, the driving did add a certain layer of ‘patina’ on to the car 😂

Going from the snow of the central plateau and subsequent mountain roads to the Black Sea coast was a day and night change within less than an hour - something we would experience repeatedly on the trip - from cold winter to pleasant spring 👍🏻

Trying out the local cuisine was a must…

And hamsi (small deep fried local fish) are truly to be recommended. While away from the tourists spots you will be hard pressed to find locals speaking anything but Turkish, Google Translate and a lot of good will and hospitality on their part solved any language barrier issue. 

After lunch we decided to take a walk down the route less traveled - we wanted to explore to what extent the Bayburt Of Yolu - the purportedly most dangerous road in the world - was navigable in winter. Built by Russian soldiers during WW1, it had a large section of YouTube videos devoted to it and while all websites claimed it was closed in winter, we were too close to not have a peek. 

Of course a RWD car was perhaps not the most suitable equipment but no risk, no fun 😁

The first part from Of inwards was quite nice and while the road was getting more challenging slowly, the scenery offered was stunning and the drive real fun. 

At some point the snow got more and more until we finally got stuck a good way from the last village. Here the foresight of getting snow chains turned out to be a life saver and after fitting them on we managed to get the car back to the ground, where we could at least safely return. 

We never did make it to the infamous Derabasi turns (the quickly ascending switchback section) but were quite chuffed with the experience nevertheless and after reversing for several kilometers to a place, where we could turn around decided to postpone the final conquest of the pass to another trip during a more sensible season for it. 

Still, if you ever find yourself in Turkey with time on your hands, the D915 is the road to sample 👌🏻👍🏻

Irrespective of not achieving the impossible (with this car in this season), we had epic fun and saw some sights (nature and architecture both) one would not have expected in Turkey. 

Ending the day in Hopa, a small Black Sea town next to the Georgian border brought another taste of delectable local food, before the journey continued the day after but that’s to be covered in a subsequent post. 

All in all, the great thing about road tripping through the lesser frequented parts of Turkey is a combination of superb roads (both in terms of condition and interest level), the ability to cover large distances per day (road conditions and lack of traffic), and combine that with plenty of things to see on the way, as well as superb food. 

What’s not to like?

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