41°N 36°E Sarıalan - Samsun

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2.3 km (1.4 miles) SE of Sarıalan, SAMSUN

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Ynt: 41°N 36°E Sarıalan - Samsun

After I could experience a wonderful hospitality at 41N 37E and parted late with my new friends, I returned but late to Kavak. There I asked for the way to Günkoru, the next village on the map, but nobody knew about this village. So I drove by GPS only, and actually found a way leading directly towards the Confluence in the tangle of roads through the boonies.

But then the twilight started to fall and within a very short time it was dark. I approached the point until 1000 m and already toyed with the idea of making my first "night point". But then suddenly ferocious dogs came along. Those beasts, carrying collars with steel nails, jumped around my car, their heads being already at the height of the windows when not jumping. Finally, the dogs disappeared and a shepherd arrived; I wanted to ask him about the localities, but he grasped through the open window on the spot, and so I started driving on immediately.

This time I drove to the bathing resort Havza 35 km away, and found accommodation in a hotel, because the Teachers' House was closed due to the Sugar Festival. The advantage of Turkey is that nearly around the whole country there are seashores; and even when the sea is farther, there are hot springs nearly everywhere. Havza is a very old bathing resort, but the baths were disappointing. Well then, I was here for confluencing! So I stayed there overnight, and the next morning I was soon ready to drive to my confluence point.

I didn't want to pass the shepherds and their dogs again, so I turned off much earlier into the hilly landscape. There was an incredible tangle of small roads, and it was very difficult to approach the point. The roads looked more like dry streambeds, and I got stuck several times with my roadster. The good old fogey has already seen a lot bad road conditions during confluencing. Eventually, I closed in ever nearer on the point, and the last road was indeed a streambed, this time with water. I left the car and climbed up the mountain.

On top of the hill, the confluence point is located in a mixed forest, fortunately without too much foliage, which was favourable to the satellite reception. We already had stumbled for hours and hours through the scrub and undergrowth at another confluence point until we finally got a good reception. I took the pictures and returned at once, because it started to rain and a storm pulled up.

On another road I passed through a small village and chatted there a while with a villager who had spent some time in Germany. I took his son along with me to Kavak, because he had to start working again as policeman in Samsun the next day; he only had spent the Sugar Festival with his family. We had a nice conversation. In Kavak we had to drive upon a main road with two separated lanes. According to the traffic sign, it was only allowed to enter the main road to the right; but when I wanted to turn right, the policeman stopped me and told me I should drive left on the wrong lane. That's the way in Turkey! So I drove on the wrong lane until I could cross the street at a crossover. Then we parted and I returned to Istanbul. According to the GPS a distance of more than 500 km as the crow flies, one always underestimates the size of this wonderful country. (GK)

Harald Waldvogel
15-Nov-2004