{"id":20265,"date":"2023-09-13T15:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/?p=20265"},"modified":"2023-09-13T15:00:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T05:00:07","slug":"goodbye-turkiye-hello-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/?p=20265","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye T\u00fcrkiye, hello Bulgaria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Driving out of Istanbul was definitely sweet sorrow because it meant we had left behind one of our best experiences on our entire trip \u2013 and that\u2019s saying something! \u2013 and it also meant our time in T\u00fcrkiye was near it\u2019s end.  But there were a few more surprises left for us before we crossed any borders and in T\u00fcrkiye that can only be good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Scenes from Istanbul – a row of colourful buildings…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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…street food was always good fun to see, smell and taste…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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…and the ubiquitous Efes beer which seemed to have 100% of the domestic beer market in T\u00fcrkiye <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our plan was to head west toward the ancient capital of Edirne but we only made it about 100 kilometres, barely out of the greater Istanbul area, before we camped for the night along a dry creek bed in a rural setting with ample shade and a cool breeze.  Pity the trademark rubbish that had been left by locals camping here in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our final night in T\u00fcrkiye was representative of our experience – a beautiful place spoiled by rubbish and a Turkish group of fathers and sons who set up nearby, built a fire, played music and talked until late and then left. Only in T\u00fcrkiye! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We followed the highway through extensive rolling hills of hay and sunflowers, the temperature climbing again as we arrived in Edirne to check out their famous Selimiye Mosque dating from the 16th<\/sup> century.  By this stage you might think we are all mosqued-out but we\u2019ve saved ourselves for the good ones and come to appreciate what an engineering and aesthetic marvel they are.  How those guys built these huge structures with massive domes and big serious arches I can\u2019t imagine.  Unfortunately the Selimiye Mosque was under major renovation and covered in scaffolding but we were able to go inside and get an idea of it\u2019s grandeur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Selimiye Mosque was an imposing figure in downtown Edirne but unfortunately it was covered in scaffolding both inside and out while it gets a major renovation. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We knew the border with Bulgaria was only a couple of kilometres away and we had our last T\u00fcrkiye lunch in a local restaurant, another round of great pitas and kebabs, and we wanted the experience to last forever so we ordered a desert, rare for us, and accepted the friendly owner\u2019s offer of chai to finish off the meal.  We knew we were going to miss T\u00fcrkiye, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our last meal in T\u00fcrkiye was bitter sweet and when the owner heard we were leaving he came over with complimentary chai to toast our farewell. Only in T\u00fcrkiye! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And then we hit the border.  At 3pm we hit the queue of cars trying to pass from T\u00fcrkiye into Bulgaria. Thousands of cars hardly moved in this melting 36\u00b0C (97\u00b0F) heat as the queue stretched further than we could see.  Hours went by as we inched along, cars running out of fuel or breaking down, the strain on everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The multi-lane queue of cars leaving T\u00fcrkiye tested everyone but we made some new friends in neighbouring cars while we waited <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally we made it through T\u00fcrkiye’s border and into the queue for Bulgaria, whose Customs officials wouldn\u2019t accept our German-issued car insurance for EU countries even though Bulgaria is part of the EU.  And so began another multi-hour process for me to buy expensive insurance for Tramp, battling bureaucracy and indifference all the way.  We finally left the border at 9pm, a grueling six hour border crossing, one of our worst ever.  Luckily there was a campsite only 30 kilometres into Bulgaria and we followed our nose there before crumbling into a heap of sweaty blob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Good bye T\u00fcrkiye, you were fabulous and frustrating and wonderful and unforgettable – all in one! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The border experience notwithstanding, I can\u2019t express how much we loved our five weeks in T\u00fcrkiye, it was truly one of the best travel experiences we have ever had.  If we were to identify which places on our long Follow the Sun journey we loved the most I think three come to mind.  Alaska for sure with it\u2019s wild and beautiful frontier; Norway with it\u2019s fjords and remote beauty north of the Arctic Circle, and T\u00fcrkiye with it\u2019s beautiful coastlines, complex culture and wonderful friendly people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We’ll never forget Onur and his father who organised a rescue of us when we were hopelessly stuck on a beach near Cide on the Black Sea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We will miss starting every sentence with Merhaba, <\/em>we will miss the chai, <\/em>we will miss the lovable and loving people who will do anything for you, we will miss the stunning coastlines, the expansive history, the mosques, the conflicting cultural lifestyle, the gozlemes, pides, kebabs, baclava,<\/em> kofte<\/em>, the daily taze ekmek<\/em>, the T\u00fcrkish delights and a hundred other yummy treats.  We won\u2019t miss the rubbish they leave behind them or their maniac drivers but even those pieces are part of the complex puzzle in what makes T\u00fcrkiye a very special place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who can resist a cup of chai from the owner after a great meal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We spent almost five weeks in T\u00fcrkiye and drove just over 6,000 kilometres.  Despite the crazy drivers we didn\u2019t hit anybody and miraculously nobody hit us.  We didn\u2019t have any problems with the police, nor at any time did we feel threatened or at risk.  Quite the contrary, the T\u00fcrkish people are just too nice.  So here\u2019s my advice \u2013 drop what you\u2019re doing and get on a plane to T\u00fcrkiye.  You won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now if this doesn’t make you want to come to T\u00fcrkiye nothing will<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bulgaria.  Part of the EU and NATO but on the edge of Europe, almost an afterthought, a deeply communist country most of the last century which began travelling the bumpy road to democracy in the early 1990\u2019s.  Bulgaria has seen a little bit of everything, starting with Christianity in the 9th<\/sup> century, byzantine influence, part of the Ottomans, then heavily shrouded in communism, now trying to find a new path with mixed success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic or Russian alphabet but is a member of NATO and the European Union <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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After arriving in Bulgaria well after dark this is the scene we woke up to the next morning – camping next to a farm in rural Bulgaria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Julie and I spent two nights at a campsite run by a good-natured British ex-pat near the little village of Bizer not far from the T\u00fcrkish border.  We did chores, washing, repairs and that sort of thing, venturing into the local town of Harmanli to hit an ATM and get SIM cards.  Bulgaria has their own language but still uses the Russian Cyrillic alphabet (one of only eight countries to do so) so everything is totally unreadable.  In first impressions of Bulgaria we compared it more to Armenia, lacking any strong prosperity or investment, everything a bit tired and rundown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The scene next to our camp was timeless – and so were the roosters that started way too early<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The clip-clop of horses on the street reminds us we’re in a new country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Bulgaria was also intriguing because it was the unknown and a combination of our curiosity and Tramp drove us northwest across sunflower fields to the 11th<\/sup> century monastery at Bachkovo.  Now we\u2019re talkin\u2019, back to the good ole days of Armenia and Georgia where a day without a monastery doesn\u2019t count.  We were thinking it would be like one of those countries, a few dozen or at most a hundred people taking in the site, maybe having a picnic.  How wrong we were!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oh no, this was monastery tourism on a weekend, Bulgarian style<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We suspected we were near the site when cars were parked on the side of the road, then came the two huge carparks, the first one already full.  And the people, OMG, they\u2019re everywhere, families, groups, young people, old people, absolutely out of control.  And the shops selling everything Bulgarian, restaurants, cafes, ice cream stands, souvenirs, music playing, kids crying, what have we done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The inner courtyard of the monastery after I patiently waited for a calm moment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It turns out Bulgarians are in for a good time on a hot Sunday and we walked right into it.\u00a0 We had lunch at a little restaurant then walked up to the hill to explore the monastery.\u00a0 The complex was very cool, mostly rebuilt a number of times over the last 1,000 years and still highly functional.\u00a0 A long queue formed of Bulgarians with their little candles waiting to pay homage to an icon of Mary.\u00a0 It turns out Bulgarians are also quite religious.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kodak moments from inside the Bachkovo Monastery <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another monastery shot. You can tell we haven’t been to one for a few weeks and we were hanging out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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11th century monasteries don’t have any subtle touches – they are absolutely full-on<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So our first tourist experience in Bulgaria was an absolute ripper \u2013 a bit of history and culture and absolutely fantastic people watching stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our first Bulgarian tourism experience was crowded but super-good<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We then drove into the town of Plovdiv, a town with an awkward name but a fascinating history.  It turns out that this spot was first inhabited 8,000 years ago and has had people living here ever since, making it the longest permanently inhabited town in all of Europe.  That\u2019s pretty cool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is cool – Ottoman-style architecture in Plovdiv with each floor extending out from the previous one<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We wandered around the rough cobblestone streets of the Old Town and admired the Roman amphitheatre and Roman stadium, the former still used for concerts and the latter partly sticking out in various spots from the downtown main pedestrian streets.  We got a very good vibe from Plovdiv, it was named the European Cultural Capital for 2019, had some cool history, buildings and a good mix of old and new.  Plovdiv felt very livable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Roman amphitheatre in Plovdiv, still used for local concerts and performances<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Julie taking a little breather in the grandstands of the Roman stadium which is partly revealed from under the buildings of downtown Plovdiv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A popular local restaurant in Plovdiv – we didn’t eat there<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We headed out of Plovdiv, across the fields, up into the mountains and camped near a reservoir in the middle of a small cow paddock, as you do.  We knew by this stage we were going to really enjoy Bulgaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our campsite in an open paddock near a reservoir up in the mountains not far from Plovdiv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Driving out of Istanbul was definitely sweet sorrow because it meant we had left behind one of our best experiences on our entire trip \u2013 and that\u2019s saying something! \u2013 and it also meant our time in T\u00fcrkiye was near it\u2019s end.  But there were a few more surprises left for us before we crossed any borders and in T\u00fcrkiye that can only be good. Our plan was to head …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[101,98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulgaria","category-turkey"],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/DSC_0796-1-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20265"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20321,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20265\/revisions\/20321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}