Motourama Part 33: The Most Beautiful Ride In Turkey
Hello family, friends and followers! After the accident the day before, we were in the need for some distraction. Luckily, we were in for a treat, as the most beautiful stretch of road along the Turkish coast of the Black Sea laid before us.
Having spent the night under the stars in peace and comfort, we got up with the sun, packed our bikes, and rode for Sinop, a large harbour city, also with an interesting geographical layout, a bit like Amasra. The old town lies on a peninsula, connected to the mainland by a thin stretch of land only 260 m thick on its thinnest part.
Our breakfast was enjoyed on a stony beach, where we could dip our toes.
A lady and her bike.
So many perfect skipping stones. It was with an effort of will, that Esben restrained himself, and didn’t leave with pocket fulls of extra weight.
The riding along the coast was amazing. We would even go as far as saying it was the most stunning day of riding. The views along the narrow roads, hugging the cliff-side’s convoluted shape, kept getting more and more scenic. Here are the best vistas:
Behind each curve going inland, a new panorama stretched out before us.
The twisting road was perfect for training your curve riding.
You could never get tired of such a landscape.
The blue sea matching the colour of the sky.
We could ride along this stretch of road for days.
We would count ourselves lucky, if we ever got a place with a view like this.
Like a snake, the tarmac is laid out in front of us.
One of our quick photo breaks.
Riding into the blue.
The haze from the ocean just made it so much more inviting to look at.
The road was in a bad shape for stretches at a time, with multiple parts under re-construction. This made for interesting driving, and the day was far from boring.
A few long stretches of dirt road. Fun little breaks from the tarmac.
The new laid tarmac was pretty smooth. Not bad, but not as exciting as dodging pot holes.
A few houses along the road had caved in roof or walls, but none as picturesque as this.
We reached Sinop with plenty of daylight to spare, due to our early start of the day, so we found a cafe selling Turkish baklava, sat down, and relaxed. Having satiated our sweet tooth, we drove around the old town, shopping for a room for the night. We found a room, just large enough for two beds and with a fan in the sealing, for a reasonable 15 € per night.
The small, but adequate room, already looking like we had stayed there for a week.
After a shower, and with our luggage safely tucked away in the room, we set out in the evening light to take in the surroundings and find dinner. The city had existed for many centuries, due to its natural ease of defence from the narrow stretch of land connecting it to the main land. You could tell a lot of houses were old, all of them with a patchwork of sporadic renovations from different eras. At some points, it felt like taking a step into the past, but the stark contrast of flashing, full-colour LED advertisement signs in almost each shop window and plenty of plastic fantastic decors, kept reminding us of the present. So we walked around the evening, one step in the past, the next in the future.
Enjoying the sunset from the thinnest part of the peninsula.
Where we spotted another wedding photo shoot.
One of the houses were even completely covered in a net.
The Sinop Hamam – Turkish baths.
A wild flower on one of the guard towers in the old city wall.
The harbour.
A peaceful evening.
We had dinner on the sea, in a moored restaurant boat, enjoying salads, bread and kebab. A good way to end such a grand day of riding. Back at our small accommodation, we settled in for the night and, once again, slept before we knew it.
Until next time, take the scenic route!