Day 21: Istanbul to Çamlıdere Barajı

Having decided simply to relax on our morning of departure from Istanbul, we slept in before heading for a long breakfast. This time we managed to get some seats with a little shade, and stayed to enjoy all that was on offer including the view. 

The view from our breakfast table.

Another tourist enjoying the view from breakfast.

After packing our luggage and checking out, we needed to first recharge the toll card for the motorways we would be travelling. This turned into more of an exercise that we anticipated, with only certain places apparently able to recharge our card (unless we wanted to buy another prepaid one and lose the credit remaining that we already had). In the end, after some interesting sojourns though the Old Town and Golden Horn areas of Istanbul we were successful and heading in the same direction out of town as we had taken on our bus tour the day previous.

Once going with the flow of the traffic, the exit from Istanbul was pretty straight forward. We took the same route over the First Bosphorus Bridge, and shortly thereafter joined the motorway direct to Ankara. I had considered detouring along the Black Sea coastline, however given the importance of obtaining the Turkmenistan visa and that we would be visiting the Black Sea coastline again at the other end of Turkey where it meets with Georgia, the more direct route was followed. 

About two hours after setting off, signs for a McDonalds restaurant started to appear. Given our poor experience in Italy, Gerle was keen to indulge again. Thirty minutes or so later we stopped at a motorway overpass that hosted the sign posted McDonalds. Big Mac meals ordered, we sat down for an early lunch watching the traffic go by. All seemed well. Tasted OK, place looked hygienic... but this may be perhaps the last time that I ever have McDonalds.

Back on the motorway, it would have been less than 15 minutes later that I started to have some uncomfortable motions inside the belly. Then stomach cramps. Then just pain. Something was wrong. Very wrong. With some initial clenching and loosening of the belt, I figured I would try to ride it out. After perhaps another twenty or thirty minutes of this, I was ready to give in and find somewhere to stop. A roadside diner appeared; not the petrol station with cafe attached, but a restaurant. I must have a toilet, I figured. Surely I can sneak in as a patron and use it. Which I did.

Up until Istanbul, the toilets had except for two occasions in Italy been 'Western' and not 'Asian' squat style affairs. Beyond Istanbul, except for at some nice hotel accommodations, the majority of what we have experienced are the Asian style. This place was no exception... not my preference. But, when you gotta go, you gotta go - so the door was locked and the business complete. Nothing horrific, but it will be a while before I forget and put the experience behind me. McDonalds isn't on my radar any time soon, but who knows, it could have been breakfast, it could have been the dinner before. In any case, it was better out than in!

McDonalds, the same shit the world over... except this which seemed to destroy my insides.

Having recovered somewhat, I emerged from the restaurant to find that some local men had indulged in washing the car without asking, but were insistent that I pay them for their hard work. Even when I pointed out that the windows were dirtier than prior, and the whole car was covered in muddy watermarks, payment was still expected. Considering that I had made good of a bad situation inside, the coins in my pocket made it to the car washers. A few Lira for expelling what ailed me seemed reasonable enough in the circumstance.

Not 100 per cent sure that I was 100 per cent recovered, we resumed steadily toward our planned destination of Yeniçağa where by pictures on Google Earth a picturesque lake existed. The lake did indeed exist, and it was picturesque, but it was extremely popular with the locals and not a single accessible place seemed suitable to setup camp due to too many day trippers enjoying their barbecues and football matches. 

Not to worry, it was early, so we continued to look a little farther afield than the lake, and drove through the surrounding farmland looking for a suitable place. None was forthcoming, though we did manage to see our first poppies of the holiday, albeit only a few growing wildly between the road and the fence. The land around Yeniçağa was being utilised too well to allow for a secluded wild camping spot, so after consulting the GPS unit for information about the surrounding area we set off toward Çamlıdere Barajı, a large reservoir en route to Ankara. 

Turning off the motorway, the road wound up amongst some sandy ridges before descending again into farmland. Travelling parallel to the motorway that we had just travelled, we drove about 15 km before turning perpendicular to the motorway and slowly descended down until the reservoir. We passed through a two villages that seemed almost like ghost towns, and on arrival at the reservoir found that vehicle access to the water was blocked. I think previously that some ferry service existed across the lake, but not any more. 

A local boy was herding goats, and some men were fishing nearby. As the choice of accessible camping locations wasn't too good, and we had spotted a place that seemed ideal not for from our exit point from the motorway, we decided to drive the ~25 km back to this place to setup camp and save ourselves the drive tomorrow. 

How many Turks does it take to catch a fish?

Çamlıdere Barajı

Individuality!

The camping spot that we chose was nestled amongst the sandy ridges that we had first driven through on our way to the lake. They were at a higher elevation, meaning it was a little cooler. There was some breeze, good views and as it was only accessible by 4WD it was reasonably private and free of rubbish. In hindsight, parking further from what we had thus far seen to be a remote and not often used road would have been a good idea, as the sporadic traffic did continue throughout the night. 

Waiting until dark to setup the tent, as it would have been clearly visible to passing traffic, we made use of the remaining daylight to cook up some packet soups for dinner. The temperature cooled off nicely, and the breeze kept the mosquitoes at bay. After dinner, with the remainder of the boiling water  we had some tea and coffee before retiring to bed. Tomorrow being an important day in the success of our planed itinerary, we needed to be up early.

The gorge beneath our campsite.

Getting ready for the cool of evening.

View from the campsite

Sunset over the sandy ridge