TURKEY

Turkey gave us our first taste of Asian culture with the bazaars, night markets, mosques and general street life.  Lots of new sights, sounds and smells to take in.  The food got cheaper and spicer, but fuel remained at European price levels which is a pity as there's a lot of miles to cover through Turkey.  While there are some good beaches to be found on the Mediterranean coast line plus archeological sites, ruins and underground cities to visit, it's not until you get into the east of Turkey that the real adventure begins.  It's the start of those big wide open desolate landscapes, mountainous at times or maybe just a flat empty road tapering off into the distance before you, but always stark and arid with a sense of foreboding that makes you feel like you're  really out there "doing it".

 If you head east from the Cappadocia region towards Lake Van, then you can expect to encounter a number of security check road blocks from Elazig onwards.  It can be hard to remain patient and polite when you've just been stopped for the third time in an hour and they insist on you removing your helmet again so they can match your face against the mug shot in your passport, but they're just carrying out a boring job and you're seen as a bit of a novelty to them, so you have to grin and bear it.  You will find less of this on the more northerly route via Erzurum, however both these routes take you over some spectacular high mountain passes approaching 3000 meters, so make sure you have the cold weather gear handy even in summer.  Keep an eye on the kids by the side of the road too, as they seem to have developed an unfortunate habit of throwing stones at passing foreign vehicles.  Dogubayazit is the only exit point from Turkey if you're heading into Iran.  There's excellent views of Mount Ararat (5165 meters) and it's a good place to stock up on supplies, meet other overlanders, or just catch your breath before the next leg of the journey.

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