Winter in Turkey impressions #12: I left the icy cold highlands and went back to south coast of Turkey for a few days relaxing in a warm weather. It was also the time for some maintenance on my Land Rover #TinaTortuga. Luckily i found a good mechanics back in Antalya.
Winter in Turkey impressions #10: Derinkuyu is famous for its underground city. My camping neighbor told me about it. And since it started to snow i gladly took his invitation for the ride there in his comfortable heated van. Beside exploring this fascinating underground city, it was also nice having a nice pal to talk to.
Winter in Turkey Impressions #7: The way to Karahan Tepe brought me to a lovely campsite at the mediterranean sea near Iskenderun, before i continue my trip along the Syrian border to Sanliurfa, near the archeological site. This was merely a week before the huge, disastrous earthquake.
Karahan Tepe is one of the oldest settlement of human history. It is around 10000-12000 years old. Humans settled here approximately 10’000 – 12’000 years ago. Just discovered on early 2000’s it’s a rather young excavation site. In winter the work is paused and many areas are covered in tarpaulin.
This trip was actually taken in winter 2022/23, but wasn’t able to post earlier. However, i decided to post some impressions in the next days from my journey trough winterly Turkey. Don’t expect much text or explanations. I just post mainly pictures. So, get ready for many of them 😉
On my way to Turkey i crossed Greece. Many kilometers and coffees on the road, but also some nice places to stop by, as the hot springs i found somewhere next to the highway.
ISTANBUL was the first goal. Not to see all the sightseeing, but as a start in Turkey and meet some old friends there. It’s happened to be Christmas 2022. Another reason not to hunt down all touristic spots, rather roaming around and enjoying myself too.
I took some time to visit dear friends on my way back. One of them invited me to a pretty special place to camp on a private, very idyllic pond, where we had a barbeque and nice chat.
Every journey comes to an end, but the good memories stays.
Another calm night drive with the chance to see wildlife along the road, or even crossing it.
Early in the morning I crossed the Arctic Circle again. This time southbound.
Short time later the barren landscape changed to forest. I decided to look out for a quite place to camp. A small forest road brought me to an old path in the wood. This wonderful lonely spot next to a small stream was just perfect to rest for awhile.
With lots of sunshine the Lofoten was pure bliss.
Pure? Almost, if there wasn’t those dirty people using the bushes as camping toilet. It makes me angry to see how some tourists pollute the nature, while posting about the their passion for outdoor activities. I guess there will be consequences for other tourists and traveler sooner or later. I wonder how much longer wild camping will be tolerated.
Back on the road i noticed wooden frames with left overs of dry fishes. Stockfish is an important good in Norway and its export was recorded back to the medieval times. Although it’s originally not salted, i found some salt on the bottom of these frames.
There are quite a few villages. Most are suited themselves best for tourism. They’re pretty, some have also museums and other information centre. Probably most important are the restaurants and cafes settled on beautiful places.
After a couple beautiful days on the archipelagos i reached the village of Å , where i had a last hike before boarding the ferry to south at midnight.
I played tourist in Riga.
Just strolling trough the old town, looked at historical building, visited churches and parks and learned a bit from its history.
Not going to bore you with many details about Riga, what you could find in a better way online, but post some impressions on my walk trough the city, before i found a quite place for the night just at the bank of the river Daugava.
Just cruising trough the beautiful countryside on minor roads, stopping by some unknown landmarks, watching the local sunbather at the crowded beach or listen to their nightly party music on a picnic spot next to a lake on a weekend.
The Baltic people love the outdoors. They spend the weekends out camping, enjoying fishing at the lake or just chilling at the sea. That’s why there are easily to find picnic spots in beautiful surrounding for a overnight stay including a refreshing dip in the lake after a day driving.
There was this occasion of a family reunion in a small valley. As a boy i used to spend our family holidays in these mountains in Northern Italy.
Blue sky invites for a hike in nature. From the top of the mountains shines the first snow of the season, and the colors of autumn burst from the forest.
A good opportunity to grab my Nikon and take some shots of this colorful world in autumn…
rene bauer photography 