Cold toes, warm hearts

It’s a really chilly morning to be descending from the pass. Luckily its sunny, so hopefully that waterbottle will start to melt soon. Long narrow bands of distinctive rock formations line our route all morning.

At lunchtime we divert to pick up provisions. Spending a euro on bread and fruit, somehow we end up being treated to a traditional local lunch with workers. A very nice and typically Turkish touch. Freshly baked flat breads, topped with meat, just out of the oven. And a refreshing yoghurt drink that we have taken to.

As with almost all our turkish interactions, this is exclusively with turkish men. In rural areas women are very much in the background and do not interact much with us. We only ever see men driving tractors, the women are only ever passengers. Women work in the fields or are with children.

Our night time pitch is on the next pass beside a good dirt road. We have views over the coming Konya valley and back to where we have come from. It’s just above zero and feels much easier than the night before.

Overnight, the wind picks up considerably - we are exactly placed for maximally catching the wind. It has the perk that the tent is dry in the morning - the first time in weeks. As we battle the wind to take down the tent, a lorry driver arrives to deliver us two fresh sesame bread loops, and another then stops by to see what we are up to. It makes for a heart warming start to the day.Read more