Still felt sick when we woke up and with not having eaten much for the last two days our energy was so low that a trip up Mount Nemrut was out of the question. When we arrived where the Nemrut road branches off the highway we sadly looked at the beautiful switch backs in the distance but had to accept the fact that we probably would not even make it up to the first turn. Even just riding up the gentle incline on the new highway felt like a major work out. So annoying. It would have been so cool to go up there. But, cycling over two passes with a striking digestive system is like trying to drive a car with no fuel. In other words, not very effective at covering distance, especially the vertical kind.
So we just pootled along towards Elazig. Slowly slowly, but every mile covered is better than sitting still. Past Kale the road started up the hill that we knew would be awaiting us along this route. The road was brand new with a wide shoulder and gentle grade so the ascent was much easier than expected. Yavash yavash, Slowly slowly, was the moto for this day.
Eventhough we still regularly passed through little villages, the area kept becoming less and less inhabited compared to western Turkey. This is a beautiful thing but it also made it harder to find a well shaded, comfortable spot to spent the hot hours of the day. This worried me a bit because I was starting to get tired so I specifically prayed for a lunch spot that was well shaded for the hottest four hours of the day, has a source of cool water and is exposed to the refreshing breeze. A bit later we stopped at a little mosque by the road. It had some inviting benches beside the minaret. As we sat there against the north facing wall of the mosque watching its shadow crawl over the pavement, we realized that the mosque was constructed perfectly east-west. This meant our bench would be shaded until mid to late afternoon! There was also a nice breeze where we sat and like all mosques do, this one also had several water taps on the other side. Thank you Lord for this great place! Perfect timing because I was beat. I lied down on my tarp and fell asleep in no time on the cool concrete floor.
At one point the surprisingly young Immam (muslim pastor) came to make the call for prayer from the little cubicle at the bottom of the minaret we sat next to. James and I agreed that his voice and singing style was definitely one of the best we had heard so far. In Turkey, mosques are not allowed to just play a recorded call to prayer like they do in some countries so James and I had some fun commenting on and comparing the many different Immams we heard along the way. In fact, when we stayed in Avanos, we concluded that there must be about two or three Immams on a rotating schedule at the mosque across the square. One was quite good but another one was either in training or simply did not have the right voice for the job.
Three very nice older guys had been awaiting prayer time by the mosque. After prayer, I heard the friendly Immam call James over to show him something. It turned out that he offered us a cool, carpeted side room with a nice couch for me to sleep on because I was still sleeping on the floor outside. So nice! I ended up sleeping there for about two hours.
A bit later the three older guys returned (funny trio, probably childhood friends). One of them, Ahmet, said we could sleep in the events room down stairs that night. Well that would be just perfect!! Despite the long nap, I had no desire to ride any further that day. After we had got set up down there, Ahmet returned and invited us to come to his house for tea. Sure, it may even please our upset stomachs.
His house was up a bumpy gravel driveway, in the middle of a beautifully wild and lush orchard of apricot, pear, mulberry and apple trees. The house was old but inviting and clearly set up for outdoor living during the summer months. His wife not only prepared tea but a whole Turkish breakfast-like platter. Since it was Ramadan nobody joined in the eating. It was delicious but because of our grumpy stomachs we could only nibble. Luckily we were able to explain why we were being such picky guests. Ahmet then returned us to the mosque in the side car of his motorbike. So fun!!! He was such a kind man. He even brought us more bread that evening when he came for the evening prayer because he had understood that our stomachs wont really accept anything else right now.
THANK YOU AHMET AND FAMILY FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE KINDNESS. IT WAS SO NICE TO MEET YOU.
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