20 years ago today - Day 244

Saturday, November 2nd – Istanbul, preparing to leave

It’s back to the Iranian Consulate after breakfast to wait in the line-up for our visas, more than half believing that they still won’t be there. At least we are braced for bad news. But the Iranian government has finally come through and our visa are ready. We all burst out in exclamations or joy and relief. The same Iranian official to spoke with us two days ago tries to give us an “I told you so” speech, but I cut him off saying, “We’ll say hello to your family when we are there.” He gets the message and smiles in defeat.

So, there must be a thousand little details to concern myself over before tomorrow morning but I can’t think of what they may be. We return to the hostel where I pack and repack my bags, carefully reviewing what I am carrying and what I need. We still don’t have maps of Iran or Pakistan but we won’t look any further for them at this point. I do a load of laundry, wearing my already-cleaned cycling garb for tomorrow while the rest is being washed.

I have not used my sewing kit until now, so while I am waiting for the load to be done, I sew on badges onto my panniers – flags of the different countries I have visited which I have purchased along the way. Several countries are missing – Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria – and for Croatia and Turkey I have purchased small flags when I couldn’t find the cotton decals. In case of emergencies, I stitch US$90 cash behind the Croatian flag.

Over lunch at the hostel, Vincent and Coen tell me they are using the Lonely Planet Guide to Western Asia. It recommends avoiding Ankara, which is a large, congested city of over two million. It says it is especially bad in the winter months because it is set in a valley that fills with the blue smoke from coal fires the homes there use. They want to go south of Ankara to reach the region of Cappadocia, further east, to see the Goreme National Park. It has been recently declared a World Heritage Site by the UN. We should reach there by mid-November. They aren’t sure of what route we’ll take east of there.

I write a short letter to my parents and post in at the PTT. In it I tell them that I have visas for Iran and Pakistan and will be finishing my trip in India. I have no idea what Poste Restante address they should write to. I promise to write regularly and will let them know where to write to me when I know more. On my way back, I look for Ilio to wish him well, but I don’t see him in the places where we have met before. I feel a bit sad that I have missed him, but I would have still felt sad if I had seen him, I suppose.

Back at the hostel, I sew on the remainder of the patches before dinner and pump up the tires on my bike. We decide to celebrate by going out for a final meal of lamb kebabs and rice, and Turkish custards for dessert. We also split a bottle of wine. Before bed, I borrow their Lonely Planet Guide to read up on Cappadocia. Wow! There is nothing as exotic as this in Europe. I am getting so excited that I can’t wait. I am afraid I might not be able to get to sleep tonight.