The cradle of mankind

"Hooray! We are celebrating our first year as a family on the bike. We have already cycled over 10,000 kilometers. Unbelievable how fast time has passed. We are gratefully dancing around our tridem and looking forward to our second year!"

One year ago today, it all started. We sold and gave away (almost) all our belongings. We gave notice on our apartment and rode our bike out the front door. It took us a little while to say goodbye to our old life. In the meantime we love our new life. We appreciate the freedom, the life in nature and the encounters with people along the road.

Two months ago we made the decision to head east from the Bosphorus. Today we are writing to you from Georgia. We would like to share with you what we have experienced since then. Below you will find again the link to pictures and videos.

From the Bosphorus we take the night bus to the center of Turkey, to Kayseri. "It looks like Mongolia here," Anna says enthusiastically as she looks out the window in the morning. Indeed, the mountainous landscape with its vast hills is reminiscent of the Central Asian country. In Kayseri, the many high-rise buildings in the city of 2 million immediately catch the eye. People appreciate the comfort of the colorful blocks of flats, especially in winter. It can get as cold as -40 degrees. We are guests of Ali and his family. They also live in a high-rise building. We enjoy the magnificent view of the snowy mountains and play with Ali's children on the playground. Anna goes shopping alone for the first time in a Turkish supermarket and comes back beaming with 6 apples.

From Kayseri we set off for Cappadocia. There, more than 3,000 years ago, people lived in caves. Each cave had a high chimney. We feel like we are in a fairy tale landscape. Whole towns have been hewn out of the rock over time - with bakeries, wineries and later the first churches. The first Christians lived here as hermits. Each had his own cave. For prayer and meals, they each gathered in a cave church and refectory. We sit down on the stone benches and eat our picnic on the same table as the first settlers thousands of years ago. What an experience!

Do you remember your childhood dreams? Katharina dreamed of flying in a balloon. When we share this with our hosts Arif and Belo, they both start grinning. In the evening they tell us that we will get up at 3 o'clock tomorrow. Belo works for a balloon company and has quickly reserved a place for us in a balloon. Katharina can hardly believe it when we take off at sunrise in a colorful balloon and fly over the many caves, fairy chimneys and green valleys of Cappadocia. Simply beautiful from above as well as from below!

After a week in Central Anatolia we continue towards Mesopotamia. For this we have to drive steeply uphill and downhill again over the Taurus Mountains. Anna enthusiastically builds a snowman on the top of the pass. On the summits there is still snow. In a mountain village we spend the night with the family of Imam Abdulkadir. His three daughters talk very openly with Katharina about their lives and dreams. As soon as Carsten enters the room, silence reigns. The world of women remains closed to the man here. Instead, Carsten suddenly receives kisses from men and red roses as a farewell gift. Other countries, other customs.

A few days later we are cycling down in the valley along the border to Syria and Iraq. It suddenly becomes very warm. Up to 40 degrees are reported. We have become accustomed to trucks and cars honking with excitement. But when suddenly an Iraqi truck driver overtakes us and a few kilometers later is waiting for us with a bag full of lemonade and water, we are amazed and touched at the same time. He has stopped at a supermarket and bought cool drinks for us. We are sweetening and we feel deeply touched at the same time! Hospitality knows no boundaries.

On our way we stop in a small village. The streets are deserted. Anna is playing in the village square when suddenly the window of a house opens and a young man waves to us. His name is Osman and together with his grandmother he invites us for coffee. Who would do this in our country? Osman is in his early twenties and is preparing for his civil service exam. He wants to become a policeman. We are keeping our fingers crossed for him!

In the village of Kuskunlu, we look for a place to camp in the evening. On the other side of the village, Carsten discovers a beautiful palace-like building. "There we could ask if we can pitch our tent in the garden," he jokes, when suddenly a car stops next to us. The driver points to this very palace and tells us that we can sleep there. We look at him incredulously and drive to the palace. There a young Afghan welcomes us warmly and offers us the 40 (!) meter long reception room as a night camp. We can hardly believe our luck. A little later the owner Aaron arrives. He mines basalt with his company and as a thank you to god, he has built this palace for the guests of his village. His family welcomes us warmly and we learn how to bake bread on the hot plate.

The hospitality of the people literally blows us away. Often we drive only a few kilometers and are invited to tea or dinner. "You bring us hope, joy and inspiration," Sadettin sums it up. His sister invited us when we wanted to take a short break at the roadside. Sadettin works as a teacher, but without a lifetime contract. Like many young people, Sadettin would like to go abroad. He asks us questions about Switzerland. More than 60,000 Kurds live there. We have similar conversations with Ahmet, an extremely talented pastry chef. However, he has already turned down job offers from France and Germany several times. "I don't want to be treated like a second-class person. That's why I'm staying here," he says thoughtfully, recounting his cousins' experiences abroad.

The economic situation in Turkey is challenging. We ourselves have noticed in the three months how fruit, vegetables and even bread are becoming more expensive lira by lira. There is no end in sight. Many families are self-sufficient. They grow fruit, vegetables and olives. Every house has a cow. From it they make cheese, butter and yogurt. "Everything you eat, we harvested and made ourselves. 100% organic," many men tell us with pride. We remember that in Basel we have always tried to eat regionally and seasonally. People here do that quite automatically.

Mesopotamia feels to us like the cradle of mankind. In Mardin, we marvel at the world's first pocket book. 3,000 years ago, tiny characters were chiseled onto a hand-sized stone. This is also where the first coins as we know them were created. The old town of Mardin captivates us with its churches and mosques. Here Turks, Kurds and Syrians live peacefully side by side. Why is that possible here and not elsewhere?

In Mardin, we are guests of Leyla and her sister Rojin. They live on the 8th floor of a high-rise building in the "new" Mardin. From the balcony there is a wonderful view of the old town. Leyla works as a criminal defense lawyer. She tells us about her visits to Turkish prisons. "When I visit the prisons, I am often the first woman the inmates have seen in years. It's not always easy," she tells us. When Leyla tells us about the court hearings, she bubbles with passion. She stands up for minorities and supports a refugee organization as a lawyer. With her, we gain a completely different image of women.

"Welcome to Georgia. You can stay one year if you like", the customs officer greets us and hands us our passports. A little later it starts to rain. We stop at a supermarket. A bunch of men - some of them alcoholic - gather around our tridem. One of them invites us to his home. There, three young women are waiting for us. They tell us that they are Armenians. Although they were born and went to school in Georgia, they have no work permit. They live on the income of their brother in Moscow, who has a painting business. They feed us and we learn the Armenian Kochari dance. Anna shows them a ballet dance.

Georgia inspires us with its indescribably beautiful nature. People like to be outside and love camping and picnicking. A lot of importance is also attached to the car. Everywhere there are garages, car washes and gas stations. "Hey, that car looks funny," Anna calls out to us, pointing to a Mercedes without a bumper or hood. The people are very cordial. At first, they seem cooler and less inviting than in Turkey. Carsten in particular struggles with this at the beginning. For him, Georgia is a real culture shock.

After a year and 10,000 kilometers, our bikes have been through quite a lot. In Turkey, we could easily get spare parts. In Georgia, it's a different story. When we miss one of the numerous potholes on the second day, our rims are broken. Replacements are hard to come by. But in the capital we find people who can mend the rims and even correct a radial runout. Here they still repair really well with the simplest tools!

So much for all our adventures. How we feel inside, you can read in the individual reflections from us:

Carsten: "Georgia is a real culture shock for me after three months in Turkey. I never thought that I would find this challenging. In the end, I realized that the challenge is not the country or the people, but my attitude towards it. Whoever I meet openly and benevolently will also open their heart to me."

Katharina: "My family keeps me in or keeps me off balance. I focused on making sure we were doing well together. Besides healthy food, enough sleep and a regular shower, all it takes is love for perfect happiness! Everything else is secondary."

Anna: "My parents need a break from the hustle and bustle every now and then, so they sleep in a tent in the countryside. I love to stay with host families and enjoy the food and sometimes the TV ;-). In Georgia I especially like the big waterfalls."

We send you and your loved ones warm greetings from Georgia and hope that you are doing well. We would be glad to hear from you!

Katharina, Anna and Carsten

Our trip in numbers

Kilometers driven: 10,653

Hours in the saddle: 587

Average kilometers per day: 46

Nights in tent: 112

Nights as guest: 221

Nights in pension: 32

Number of sunny days: 214

Number of cloudy days: 87

Number of rainy days: 64