The Off

Leaving home on the 17th of November to catch the ferry from Harwich to Holland. With some trepidation.

Rolling On

Rolling on to the Roll on Roll off ferry, behind two Dutch bikers. The guy just ahead worked in Private Security in Iraq in 07/08. Small world! We sailed on the Stenna Britannica

Early morning on the Stenna Britannica

A GFX Shot from the back of the boat as we head towards Holland, in the early hours of Monday 18th November 2019

A great recomendation from the hotel in Nuremburg, took me to a German Beer Cellar, with good food and great beer. Bar Fuber, 18 Nov 2019.

Overlooking Linz

A prettier city than I was expecting, chosen only for it's convenience in location, being mid way between Nuremberg and Budapest.

Tube Station in Budapest

Between Buda and Pest, 20 Nov 2019

Deserted Services

There were a lot of these deserted service stations and motels along the motorway in Serbia. This looked like it was still open, but it was deserted and I didn't try the door. There were no cars in the car park, and all the buildings around it were closed down. I guess modern services stations have killed business for these older places.

Bulgarian Roads

I took a detour at the request of google, who I think mistook the line of parked lorries waiting for the border crossing as a traffic jam. In any event it was good to ride in some countryside, rather than blast through it, although the Bulgarian roads are not well kept.

Hotel Leipzig, Plovdiv

As red on the inside as the out, Hotel Leipzig was a special place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 24 Nov 2019

Bracken in Turkey

I cut off the motorway in search of fuel, and found myself driving on very minor country roads, surrounded by bracken. I could very easily have been in the Charnwood Forest, not Northern Turkey between Instanbul and Ankara.

Hasandagi Volcano

This volcano is a huge feature, and is in the top ten features in Western Asia. It rises 3,000 feet above the neighbouring countryside.

Police Stop

Traffic stop with the friendliest policemen. A 176 Lira fine for payment on exit, around $50. Not the end of the world! I was given an apple and cheery smile and waved on my way. Of course we are now connected on Insta and FB... small and connected world we are now in.

Looking towards the Mountains from Bayegil, in Southern Turkey.

Shortly after earning a speeding ticket I stopped briefly to enjoy the views ahead of the Taurus Mountains, which separate Anatolia from the Meditranean Region.

Looking forward to the Taurus Mountains

The mountain views were so beautiful, at least while the sun shone. Later, I could see black clouds billowing up from the other side of the mountains. When I cut through the last motorway tunnel and out the other side it was into torrential rain and thick fog.

Gazantiep, Anatolia, Turkey

I was relieved to get to Gazantiep. It had looke an unambitous leg of the journey, but the conditions made it challenging and I was glad to arrive in one piece after driving once again through pouring rain. It was still raining the next morning when I left and I was very nervous as I pulled away onto the motorway. Nerves are probably a good thing; they got me here. That was a special morning. fog, contra flow, drivers who trust in God rather than their ability to drive in a way appropriate for the conditions.

Mardin Street Scene

DSCF3676

Mardin Views

Looking out from Mardin over the Mesopotanian plans, stretching away to Syria and Iraq.

First Iraq Sign Post

A good view from the office; not to far out of Mardin I found the first sign post showing Iraq, a good boost for morale. Sitting here I'm facing south towards Syria. The D400 runs adjacent to the border, left towards going east towards Iraq, right going west back towards Anatolia.

Looking into Syria

Stopped by the roadside near Cizre in Turkey, looking over the river and into Syria

Filtering Through Traffic

Miles of lorries line up in Turkey on the approach road to the Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing, on 01 Dec 2019. Around a thousand cars and 1500 trucks a day cross into Kurdistan.

Selfie Crowd Control

The crowd was getting a little out hand at the border crossing point out of Turkey and in to Iraq. Nothing unfriendly, just growing noise, more and more jostling. The way to get kids to line up these days, and behave? Shout 'Selfie' and wait for them to dash into shot. 01 Dec 2019, on the Turkish side of the Iraqi Border Crossing Point.

Crossing the Khabur

The Khabur River forms the border between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan near the Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing Point in Iraq.

Iraqi entry visa!

Visa on arrival just as good on land as on arrival by air, but much slower to complete the following processes to bring the bike in. A friendly lot though, and gave me tea - the first of many.

Christian Church West of Dohuk

I have driven past this Christian vilage several times on the way in to the camp, but have not been able to stop. I took the chance to go have a look. Behind me a woman was pulling bedding out from a very old stone hut to air in the sunshine. The previous night had been hacking, and I doubt the building was water tight. I don't know if these were long term residents, or IDPs who had moved into unoccupied buildings. I suspect the latter.