Kocasinan

As soon as they heard the zipper of the tent, the dogs were all over us to get some cuddles. They had slept right next to the tent. What a happy welcoming in the morning!
We cycled to Svilengrad where we had our last breakfast in Bulgaria. Then it was time to cross the border to Turkey. We weren't sure how strict they are in Corona times, but had heard from other cyclists that border crossing is rather smooth. And indeed, it was. On the Bulgarian side, they checked our passport twice. Then, there was a car desinfection site which we as cyclists just ignored. The guy took my temperature instead - and indicated Herbert to just go through when I didn't have a fever or anything. Because if I'm ok, he would be ok as well. The passport control on the Turkish side was smooth as well. They let us pass all the cars and gave us our stamp. There was a Corona test centre right next to the road, but it seemed to be more relevant for people leaving the country, so we ignored it.
And here we are in Turkey! We cycled to Edirne, the first city after the border. We quite liked it with its impressive mosques and a cosy city centre. First, we sat down at the mosque, watched people and listenend to the muezzin during Friday prayers. Afterwards, we went to the main street. Straight away, we felt the difference in culture. People were super friendly, two of us came over and invited us for food, offered a place to stay and any other help we need. We accepted an invitation for a coffee and chatted a bit with Sadegh before continuing to our warmshowers host for the night. We expected to stay with Özgür who had accepted my request. But as he was on holidays, his flatmates Esin and Şashenem welcomed us warmly instead. They cooked dinner, we talked a lot with the help of Google Translate and watched a movie at night. What a great start into our Turkish adventure!Read more