After the trailMay 10–18, 2021

Hitchhiking east

May 10–11Back to Antalya↓
May 12Salda and Pamukkale↓
May 13A night in a park↓
May 14–16Cappadocia, briefly↓
May 16–18A truck to Ararat↓

Me, Pamukkale15:09

by road · ≈2,100 kmRoute · 0%

Monday · May 10 – Tuesday · May 11

Antalya

Fethiye to Antalya

The trail was done, and I still had about twenty days before my flight home. No real plan, just one idea: see as much of Turkey as I could.

01 · Friends

A lift to Pamukkale.

From Fethiye I went back to Antalya and stayed there for a night. In Antalya I met up with some friends who were driving to Denizli, to Pamukkale, and they took me with them.

Wednesday · May 12

Pamukkale

Antalya to Denizli

After nineteen days of dust and rocks, a whole hillside of white.

A bright white shore and a deep blue lake under a clear sky — Lake Salda, on the way12:27

02 · The cotton castle

Barefoot on the terraces.

Pamukkale is one of the most famous places in Turkey: white terraces of travertine, with warm water flowing down them into shallow pools. You walk on them barefoot. I took off my sandals: the trail was over, so the running shoes had gone into the pack, and I was back in the same sandals I’d started the Lycian Way in.

Andrii crouching on the white travertine terraces of Pamukkale, arms spread — Me, Pamukkale15:09

Andrii standing knee-deep in a pale blue travertine pool — Warm water15:35

White terraces above a town with a turquoise pond and a wide plain beyond — The plain below14:58

03 · Denizli

A host for the night.

In Denizli a Turkish host took me in for the night. From here on I was on my own again, and on the road.

Thursday · May 13

Konya

Denizli to Konya

Hitchhiking in Turkey during covid turned out to be hard.

04 · Nobody stops

Empty roads.

There weren’t many cars on the roads, there were restrictions in place, and drivers didn’t want to pick me up. The road to Cappadocia isn’t really that long, but it was hard going. That day I only made it as far as Konya.

05 · The park

A visit from the police.

I slept in a park. In the night the police came up to me and asked who I was and what I was doing there. Then they showed me another spot in the park where I could stay. So I moved, put the tent up again, and slept there.

the police found me a better spot.

Low sun shining through trees onto a lawn in a park — Morning in the park06:16

Long shadows of trees across a park lawn at sunrise — Konya, sunrise06:16

Hitchhiking in a covid spring

Empty roads.
≈2,100 km.

Few cars, restrictions everywhere, and drivers who didn’t want to stop for a foreigner with a huge backpack. I never booked a single night.

2100

AntalyaOne nightBack in the city where the trail began.

DenizliA Turkish hostAfter a day on the white terraces.

KonyaA parkThe police came at night and showed me a better spot.

CappadociaA hostNot everyone in the family was happy about it.

Near KayseriA Russian womanWith a dog and a son.

The highwayMy tentRight next to the road.

Friday · May 14 – Sunday · May 16

Cappadocia

Konya to Cappadocia

I’d wanted to see Cappadocia because it’s one of the most famous places in Turkey. I saw it, but only a little.

Sunset over rocky valleys seen from an iron balcony — From the balcony19:19

A carved rock pinnacle glowing orange in the last sun — Last light on the rocks19:19

06 · Two hosts

One night each.

In Cappadocia a host took me in for one night. I had the feeling they didn’t really want to. Maybe the family was against it. In the morning I walked around a little, really just a little, and went back to hitchhiking.

Not far away, maybe in Kayseri, I found another host: a Russian woman who put me up for a night. She had a dog and a son.

A valley full of rock cones and fairy chimneys among green fields — Fairy chimneys09:38

A town of pale houses built among carved rock formations — A town in the rock09:38

Sunday · May 16 – Tuesday · May 18

East

Cappadocia to Doğubayazıt

I was heading for Kars, near the Armenian border. I ended up somewhere else entirely.

A roadside with a green field and rock formations under a blue sky — Back on the road08:47

A wide plain with a flat-topped ridge on the horizon — Waiting for a ride08:54

07 · The plan

Kars, and a night by the highway.

Kars was the plan. Friends of mine were there, and a guy there was ready to host me. But hitchhiking stayed hard, so hard that one night I put my tent up right next to the highway and slept there.

08 · The truck

“Doğubayazıt.”

Somewhere before Erzurum a truck driver picked me up. He was going to Doğubayazıt. Doğubayazıt is the town at the foot of Mount Ararat.

So I decided to go straight there and skip Kars: I didn’t have much time left. I read a little about what you need to climb Ararat, but not everything. I didn’t really know what conditions to expect. I decided to just try.

change of plan: ararat.

By road≈2,100 km

Park nights1

Roadside nights1