Kirklareli, Turkey (TR)
I can read
the signage in Turkey; it’s written in Latin Script. Kamal Ataturk was
responsible for changing the old script to the modern Latin alphabet. Thank you
Kamal!
We finally
arrived in Turkey, the modern Turkey; our end goal. This Turkey today was the ‘Ottoman’
Empire; the Empire that lasted for more than 600 years. The Ottoman Empire was
not a small blip in history, but a true power in the area. Compare that to the
Roman Empire which lasted about 500 years, or the Greek Empire which was split
into many smaller parts. All those dominant countries, after a while were no
longer Empires but have left us with a great history. Greece, Italy, Turkey,
Germany are just that, small countries today. There is no evidence of an Empire
any longer but there is something about the people of Greece for example, that
makes them different. Think of Italy, they have flair! And when I think of
Turkey there is a wild strangeness, a smart calculating idea beyond their daily
lives. I like Turkey; I have been to this Country before. And now I am back,
getting more ideas of what Turkey was and is like.
The most
obvious, immediate change noticeable is that the belief system changes
drastically once you cross the border from Bulgaria to Turkey. Most of the
people in Turkey are Sunni Muslims. But there are many Shia Muslims, Sufi
Muslims or even non-orthodox Muslims, too. Not too many Christians, the
Christians have left Turkey for the most part. When I say I notice a change in religion
I don’t mean to say all the women wear Burkas or the men dress differently, or
there is something written on their faces that would make you see something
obvious, yet there is a feeling that this country, Turkey, is different.
At the end
of the Caliphate or the end of the Ottoman Empire, or during WWI, or between
the two Wars, during WWII and even today, Turkey is in constant change. The
reforms Turkey took upon itself are healthy and still ongoing. Kamal Ataturk, a
pro-Western thinker, was most likely the most influential man in recent
history. But Turkey always was on the cusp between the great religions,
Christianity and Islam. Turkey is the buffer zone between the Near East
thinking and the European thinking. Not that either of them are bad, they are
just very different from each other.
To visit
Turkey is a unique experience, especially visiting Istanbul, our final
destination. But, as you might know by now, I take my time getting to my goals.
Kirklareli, our first stop in Turkey gives me a bit of breathing room, a stop
to take a deep breath before entering the very busy Istanbul proper.
For Carol
this is her first time in Turkey and I do not know how she feels as a woman in
a Muslim Country. I let her write a report on that if she wants to do it.
Carol writes:
I had absolutely no qualms about
entering Turkey. I know from my reading and from previous travelers to Turkey,
that western women have no problems in this very tolerant Country. The only
stipulation for women was to have hair, shoulders and knees covered when
entering a mosque and everyone had to remove their shoes. My biggest fear had
nothing to do with my gender but everything to do with the crazy drivers sharing
my lane (in fact there were rarely any lane markings) and the amount of traffic
flying past at insane speeds.
Kirklareli
is a nice town. We had no Hotel reservations so we had to find a room for the
night. With a little back and forth and asking people we did OK. Parking the
bikes was easy; the hotel had a large enough parking lot. I did not fear for
the bike in Turkey. Just park it, put a cover over it, and that is it. We walked
along a busy street just to get a feel for Turkey and to get used to the sounds
and ambiance.
When we were looking for a small nibble, an older man took notice
and he asked us, in German, if we wanted help. He was Turkish but he spoke
German. Not so unusual in Turkey where many men have spent time in Germany
working for some years. He helped us to order a soup and some tea and then left
us alone. He was a nice guy, neat and orderly looking. The soup turned out to
be head cheese soup but it was delicious. Nothing out of the ordinary happened in
Kirklareli, exactly what we were looking for. I felt like a visitor of course,
but nobody made a fuss about us.
Carol saw that, even though all the cafés had
only men sitting at the table, it was OK, as a western woman to have a coffee too.
I am ignorant as to why women are not in the cafés. I remember in Morocco,
when Carol had to use the washroom once, it was a real dilemma because there
was no facility for women at the café. In Turkey, we did not have that problem.
At least I never noticed that Carol had problems, but you can see my point,
right?
We spent
the night eating dinner at the Hotel, which had a restaurant on the top floor.
The food was so-so but all and all Kirklareli was the perfect stopover before
we rode into Istanbul.
