Caravan

If you love them, they feel it 🐾

Mehmet Kahraman is our dog whisperer. And yes, he loves dogs. The best way to start your cycling caravan for us is to see if Mehmet is joining us! And we have had YESes. Also, crew members from our previous journeys are thrilled when Mehmet is there. As dog lover, we have nothing to fear when he is among our crew. He befriends all of them! No exception, all of them. We have quite a few anecdotes of our best cycling caravan friend Mehmet, here you can get some idea of the fun we have when cycling with a group and not to forget mark the route. Mehmet is also the best sticker champion. He has a lifetime of hard work that shows in many ways. When you come across stickers that are well positioned and still there after many years, it must have been Mehmet’s work.

  Derbent, Turkiye

   23 September 2021 –  11°

Not for kittens, in Dutch, we would say not for the cat. We met some lovely kittens and had a great day even though it was climbing and some rain. Just as we started, Sedat had a flat tire, but guess who fixed it? Amazing that we made it again after two days of resting, as it was more climbing than we assumed. The descents were steep and rocky. Good job we got treated to soup, bread, coffee and tea in a holiday camp and a picnic bag full of organic apples and aliç (little mini apples). It was cold in the mountains, so we wore all our clothes and even had to use a rubbish bag for warmth. Sedat was lucky and got thermo-pantys of Mehmet, so we were warm after our apple snacks in the mini prayer room. We had more climbs but an easy descent into Derbent and a very warm welcome with our friends, young kittens.

Roll into the era of history. From Istanbul with its busy port and teeming colourful streets bustling with modern-day advantages to the storied history found throughout the mainland, through quiet forgotten hamlets, to the great poet and philosopher, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi’s tomb in Konya, Turkey.
Sufism is a mystical Islamic belief in which Muslims (and many others) seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through the direct personal experience of God. A religion of love based on poetry, music and practising various esoteric contemplative practices; the most important: dhikr: private prayer.
This walk is a personal pilgrimage. Allow yourself to be lost in the moment, alongside your fellow pilgrims. Let them, nature, the people be the lamp that lights your path.
Hosgeldiniz. You are welcome.

In 130 B.C. the Han Dynasty (China) opened up the Silk Road with the West, and the routes remained until 1400 A.D.  when the Ottoman Empire started boycotting trade and closed them.

Caravans moved throughout the desert on routes bound for exotic destinations. These caravans connected Europe alongside the Mediterranean and into Asia, Africa, and Persia.

Meet the mountains

Relaxed Rolling on the Konya plateau

Sufi cycling

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