Distance: 80km
Elevation: 505m
Sivas: https://maps.app.goo.gl/92UVfXHbWYwZWoxG7?g_st=ic
I woke up before six. The night had been chilly and the dogs were barking until about midnight. I got about eight hours of sleep, but felt still tired.
When I was finishing my morning routine, two farm workers walked along the nearby path. I am not sure they saw me. I felt like I was hiding. Half an our later the field owner arrived on his tractor with his son. They were there to bale the hay. I was expecting trouble. Nothing happened. They acted as if I was not there.
I packed up and tried not to rush. Rushing is when you make mistakes and forget things. I even took the time to brush my teeth. Then I slowly cycled off and gave a wave in their direction. I did not look back to see if they responded.
I felt weak today. Tired, even though I had slept ok-ish. It was not only the power banks that needed recharging. I did too. A roof, some good food, and time to myself. That was what I needed.
The next town with a hotel was Sivas, about eighty kilometers away. I would have liked to go further. But after Sivas there is nothing for a long stretch. And honestly, nobody is counting my daily kilometers except me. I have this idea in my head that I should average 110 kilometers a day. Nobody asked me to do that.
The first forty kilometers were uphill. A slow, gentle incline, but constant. The landscape changed several times during the day. Green fields with wind moving through the grain. Then rocks and canyons towards the end.
For the first half of the ride there were no gas stations. That is unusual for Turkey. Even though I had eaten a good breakfast, I could feel my energy dropping.
After forty kilometers, finally a gas station with decent food supplies. I stopped for a long time and ate well. I also made a decision: I would stay in Sivas and not push on. I had found an old caravanserai that had been turned into a hotel. That settled it.
Once the decision was made, the rest of the day felt easier. Some of that was probably the 30km of spectacular downhill through a sort of canyon. Some of it was just the relief of having decided.
Along the way, I noticed more and more cars with unfamiliar number plates, probably Georgian and Armenian. The border was getting closer.
I arrived in Sivas at three in the afternoon and found the caravanserai. It was beautiful.
Sivas has been a major crossroads since antiquity, and by the medieval period it had become one of the most important cities on the Anatolian trade routes connecting Persia and the Silk Road to the west. The Seljuk Turks, who ruled Anatolia from the 11th century onward, left a remarkable architectural legacy in Sivas, including madrasas (universities) and caravanserais built to serve merchants, scholars and pilgrims moving through the city.
Since many centuries, the caravanserai in Sivas offered travelers a safe courtyard for the animals, a roof, a meal, and a night of rest before the journey continued east. And today I still benefited from this.
My room looked like a cell from a monastery. The door was super small and walls one meter thick.
I washed my clothes, charged up my power banks, and had a nap. That was good.
Later, I went for an early dinner and sat in the former courtyard under an open roof with gigantic ventilators. Of course everyone smoked. But here it didn’t bother me.
I had received news from a friend who is originally from Georgia indicating that the train from Tiblisi to Baku might be no option for me. Anyways, I will continue looking for other options to get over this border.
The food was very good. I went for more carbs and less meat than usual. Maybe that would help.
Then I went back to my room climbing up the medieval stairs and chilled for the rest of the evening.
Learnings of the day:
I am usually my own harshest critic. Nobody pushes me harder than I push myself. But when your body is asking for a break, giving it one is not weakness. It is just good common sense. And it is also okay to enjoy it – no matter what others may think.