Day 43 -19th May 2014 leave 7.45am Miles rode 141 Field in SE Turkey – Hakkari

I woke early and the farmer came by at about 7am, I really don’t know if he was ok with me pitching the tent or not? Anyway, I gave him a packet of cigarettes and he went away smiling.

Early in the morning a couple of Germans bikers passed and throughout the day I kept either passing or riding with them.

What I didn’t expect today was the massive military presence here, I knew I was riding along the Turkey, Iran & Iraq boarders but there were military posts and secure forts all day. I am in the SE corner of Turkey and again the riding was amazing, I rode at over 2000 meters and the scenery blew my mind.

I didn’t ride for long today as after the terrible roads over the last week my bike has been shaken to bits. I’ve lost one of the main bolts holding my panniers on and others are lose so I stopped early to work on the bike.

For the bikers;
I rode all day along one rode, the D400 from Cizre to Hakkari and every mile was great, yes your off road tyres are needed on occasions but amazing, as good as any road anywhere.

So, I stopped early, still with the Germans, one guy said he would get a hotel. It looked at bit expensive so I said I’ll find a cheaper one. He insisted I wait, 10 minutes later he returned with a smile on his face as he had negotiated over 50% discount and it was on my budget. Germany efficiency!