The Kackers and to the Georgian Border

About 40k south of Trabzon is the monastery of Sumela which clings to a cliff face nearly 1000 feet above the valley floor. According to tradition it was founded around AD380 and reached its current form in the 13/14th centuries. It was abandoned in 1923 along with all the other Greek Orthodox sites in the Pontus and is now a tourist attraction. I was extremely lucky to see it on a day like today apparently….most people have to be content with glimpse through the mist and cloud.



Sadly, the Frescoes on the interior are in a shocking state. Every bugger since 1923 has been carving their initials into any that were within reach. There also has been some organised vandalism of some also with a hammer.








On the way down from Sumela, I got chatting to this local chap who is also a fellow biker and he recommended I detour and see a village called Ayder in one of the national parks further up the road in an area known as Hemsin. Hemsin is reputed to be the wettest part of Turkey with some areas getting 500cm in some spots. He also writes a blog and has promised to post a comment…..so we'll see :-)

I wandered another 100km up the road and turned right for Ayder and had the best 45km of riding in Turkey so far. A new strip of smooth twisty blacktop snakes along the valley floor climbing all the way from sea-level to 1400m with an excellent Chicken Shish waiting for me at the top with this fantastic view from my restaurant table. The water pours off the mountains around and the river valley is covered in white water rafting outfits and trout farms.







I then bumped into my second and third set of locals. A Police car stopped as I was checking the map and wanted to know all about me and my trip. We had a good chat and they commiserated about the hiding we took from Croatia last night. I think they thought I was slightly deranged travelling on my own. A very friendly pair. When they departed, three builders from the local site came over and we did the whole conversation again, this time in pidgin German.

It was getting late and I headed for the Georgian border but decided not to go across as I had no map, no GPS data for Georgia and no Georgian money to buy either. I stopped in a village called SARP which is the most bizarre place I have ever come across…..virtually all the shops in the street are womens clothes shops.4 out of every 5…no joke. This is some sort of shopaholic paradise. I checked into the only hotel in town (a 4 star one….pretty good) to discover I am the only guest and I am staying in room 101. I wandered the village to stretch my legs and discovered a western style Shopping Mall in a huge warehouse, complete with Burger King etc.