S3E12 – Italy to Turkiye – Bursa, Polatli to Cappadocia – Riding Through Mind-Expanding Landscapes

Days 15 – We covered about 350 km from Bursa to Polatli. Guided by Ken’s navigation, Deep drove the hulking old stick shift Oompa Loompa across vast landscapes into narrow little streets in cramped city quarters. Rumi is keeping us fed and watered, while keeping a tight watch on the expense sheet. We marvel at the fancy truck stop where we had lunch. In the little town of Polatli that none of us had heard of till the previous evening, we found ourselves in a place vibrant with hip youngsters dashing around on scooters, stylish ladies with bouncy hair strolling by smoking cigarettes, delivery people darting in and out from Dominos, and people hanging out on patios eating food and drinking Turkish chai till late into the night. The Vulcan Mother is attracting a lot of attention. “Mashallah! Mashallah!” they exclaim, as they slowly walk around her, with hands on chests and open admiration on their faces. Where have you come from, they ask. Canada, I tell them. And jaws drop. Day 16 – we did a sniff under 300 kms from Polatli to Capadoccia. As we rode/drove through staggering vistas, we can see mountains literally hundreds of kms away. It reminds me of ethereal Japanese landscape paintings in which progressively distant mountains merge into the sky. Ken takes the Vulcan Mother for a spin. We’re held up by sheep. Our AirB&B in Capadoccia is perfect. We’ve reached the farthest west point in our trip. From here, we’re northward bound to the Black Sea coast through Ankara. (All additional photo- and videography by Rumi, Deep and Ken.)