After spending much more time than anticipated loading and reloading my bike - I ended up taking the soft stuff out of the panniers and repacking it into two roll-top waterproof bags to go on top of the side panniers. I am sure I must have too much stuff.
I was ready to depart.
The bike is noticeably heavy and cumbersome when fully loaded and I was particularly careful and cautious when moving off, cornering, stopping, riding in traffic, through narrow, cobbled streets, up and down hills etc - this is going to be great riding experience.
I added Chora Church to the sights to see on the way out of Istanbul since it is an interesting example of a Byzantine church that became a mosque under Ottoman rule that is now a museum.
Chora Church (Kariye Camii)
Once inside the walls of the Church it became obvious that this is a major attraction for many people. Several people were seated in the grounds sketching while others carefully framed their photos to capture the details. Their were tour groups in various languages and parts of the inside were packed with people.
When you see the mosaics it is obvious why...
The mosaics were covered over with plaster during the time of the Ottomans.
After the spiritual experience of Chora Church it was time to keep moving towards the Asian side of Istanbul and then onwards. I had chosen Taps Brewery and Restaurant at Bebek as my lunch stop since Taps had great reviews as one of Turkey's only real brewers and the great location on the shore of the Bosphorus. The ride to Taps was intense with incredible traffic, narrow and steep roads leading down to and back up from the water and some back-tracking due to GPS not knowing one-way streets. I have never used the clutch, the brakes and my steering so much.
Since I was riding I sampled a 2x small Pilsener, had a relaxed lunch and finished with their Wheat Beer (small).
The view from Taps to the Bosphoros.
After lunch it was time to get going and move on since I wanted to hit the lighthouse at the north eastern entrance to the Bosphorus before then making it to Sile for dinner and bed.
This is the traffic just after the toll gates leading onto Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on a Saturday afternoon - there are even people selling bread and water between the lanes of traffic.
The insane traffic slowed things down quite a bit making my departure from Istanbul a little later than hoped. I made it to the lighthouse at Anadolu Feneri for a quick stop and a few photos.
The lighthouse at Anadolu Feneri signifies the northeastern entrance to the Bosphorus Strait.
I reset the GPS for Sile and headed off following the magenta line on the screen taking note of the arrows advising when to turn.
The GPS took me through some wonderful countryside and what seemed to be back roads until I encountered the road closed / no entry signs near Bozhane about 30km from my destination. Although it was about 7:30pm and getting dark I continued pressing on following the revised sign posting - the GPS recalculated and was taking me back where I had been and there were no more signs (maybe I need a map too - Turkey is the only country I don't have one for).
I stopped and asked someone, who called their friend who could speak some English, to help. They were telling me to go way back towards Istanbul to get on the major road to go around the long way. I was so close and thought about heading through the road closed / no entry signs to see if I could get through…..
I made the choice to head to Riva which was about 7km away on the coast. I had seen signs advertising a few hotels so I thought it might be OK. I followed the signs to Riva Legend Hotel and gave it a shot. It was an odd place with a mixed crowd, loud live music in the dining room, mould in the bathroom and dripping ceiling onto the bed. I was not in the mood. I had dinner and some beers with a Scot and a Brit and some locals they work with who are building a recycling plant near Sile who stayed there.
The little cove beach at Rive Legend Hotel.
Riva Legend Hotel and the Black Sea in the morning.
I was glad to be heading off from Riva Legend Hotel to Sile and hopeful that the trip would go a little better from now on.