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Hi Blues,

No, there is still a long journey to take before I get there. The apples come from Almaty (or Alma-aty) in Kazakhstan. Lots of good things here in Izmir, though.

I hope this road isn't a part of that journey...

http://youtu.be/UQ6VgTY8Cds

Two days ago I was lucky enough to get asked to join an expedition to find 'Eagle lake', a small mountain tarn, way up in the Sandras mountains in Turkey. The lake can only be reached at the end of a long journey on forester's tracks. At this time of year the tracks are often washed away by the spring melt. We managed to find the lake which nestles in a valley just below the highest peak. Every August it is the site of a festival held by the nomadic people of the region. For the rest of the year it remains isolated, with only the occasional visitor like ourselves. The ride into the mountains was a revelation. Here are some pics taken on the way.



This is an artificial lake created to provide a water supply in the event of a forest fire.



























Eagle Lake

That could just about be anywhere in BC. glad to see you're still doing well, love the pics...

Hi Doc

Thanks for the video. Ulp! That was pretty scary. It belongs firmly in my 'Things I will never do' archive. I've ridden cornishes in India this high above the canyon floor, but nothing where the road was as narrow, technical or dangerous as this. No thanks. (Sorry couldn't open the video till recently. Was staying with friends who only had cell phone connection. Vids just ate up their limited bandwidth.)

I had a great time up in the mountains. I don't get to lose myself so completely as this very often.

Cheers

Richard

Haven't heard from you in a long while, hope everything is well with you...

Hi Doc, yes I'm sorry not to be in touch. I'm now only posting on Facebook because it is the quickest place to upload photos and also seems to reach the most number of people. Apologies to anyone here interested, but because much of my time is spent on the road and because I'm finding wi-fi and internet connections very slow and unreliable, I can only find the time to post to one site.

I suppose the most consequential news is that my back has decided to go out, so I can't ride and am stranded in a hotel on the Turkish-Iraqi border. I was going to cross over into the autonomous Kurdish region of what was formerly Iraq this week, but I have had informed local advice that the situation there is worsening and it is best not to go. That's a disappointment but there is plenty on the border to keep me occupied (people here do not hold their opinions lightly) and I've had some fascinating encounters.

We are now in the middle of Ramadan which means that getting food during the day is a problem. The only place open in town is called People's Coffee. When I looked at the logo and the decor, though, it looked suspiciously like Starbucks. And that's exactly what it is. So there's the irony. I never eat in chain stores or restaurants at home, and so my first meal in a Starbuck's restaurant has been here on the Iraqi border. Being Turkey, though, I'm having endless long conversations with the staff and other customers. Quite an education. Not something you could say of Starbucks at home. The other thing is that it is HOT. So, as soon as I can ride again I will finish my trip along the border and head north towards lake Van where it will be at least 10 degrees cooler. Loads of other stuff to tell, but I'll need to keep this short. If anyone is interested they can find me on

https://www.facebook.com/richard.field.92

FR sent! I wanna follow along too!