June 25, 2009. Day 7

And God rested on the 7th day of creation. Here is the dilema. Should I observe religion or just scrap it altogether and keep on riding? I realized that deep down we are all religious beings and as such, I can not escape my destiny. So rest I did. But lets be clear, rest means abstain from biking and not from any other activity.

The day started with a buffet breakfast at the hotel. Usually, in lieu of breakfast I'll have a litter of milk which is not heavy on the stomach and also very nutritious. This helps start a vigorous biking day. This time, contrary to observed custom I stuffed myself. Little did I know that the miles that I wouldn't bike today I would have to walk.

The first stop was at the Roman Agora, the only ancient ruin the town has to show. Interesting enough to walk around it but not enter it. I've already been in hundreds like this. A picture will help you understand (photo 1)

After that I decided to go to Kadif Kale. Kale means castle, Kadif I have no idea. I figured it would save time if I took a bus. One of the same. No matter how hard I tried it was impossible to get the bus info from the locals. Once more, I ended up walking all the way to the top of the hill. The view, however, made good for any "suffering" I had to go through. It was breathtaking. You could see one of the best natural harbors that there are, in all its splendor. Only comparable to that of Marseilles.

Kadifcale

Smyrna port

I asked one of the locals to take a picture of me, which he did, and then he insisted that he take another one w/ the huge flag (bayrak) that features there on the background. As I understand the Turks have a particular reverence for their flag. For instance, to show their appreciation, they will give someone a flag.

I started descending the hill and as I walked I noticed that the street signs were marked with numbers rather than names. Actually, they indeed use number for street names. The difference w/ NYC is that these numbers can be something like 2357.

I walked back to the hotel, got refreshed and then decided to boost Spitha's morale by giving him a treat. I took him to a bike store and had its chain and its front wheel axis lubricated. Due to lack of the appropriate wrenches, the back wheel was not lubricated as thoroughly. Photo 4

Once Spithas was all set to go, I decided to take him w/ me for the rest of the city tour. So I randomly biked around for a while and then headed for the Konac, which is the town's center (merkezi.) Really beatiful place on a beautiful shiny day. On the way I took a picture of a kid that was minding the store.

The pictures below are from Konac, which is, I believe, what the Greeks used to call "to quai" using the French word for pier.

My next move was to bike back to the hotel where the consierge infromed me that in order to take the bus to Tsesme, I would have to walk back to Konac to take the bus to the bus terminal and from there another bus to Tsesme which is approximately 80 kms away. I submitted to my fate and walked back to Conak and took the bus. People were really nice helping me find the right bus. This time it was an army officer that walked me to the bus and make sure that I had all the right info. The bus driver though turned out to be a jerk. The first real jerk I've met so far. Even though I could only have broken communication w/ him it was clear he was a jerk. A you know, I never ever make mistakes. So I was right about him too, as it turned out. At the next stop a young man entered the bus and the driver started a heated verbal fight w/ him. The boy wouldn't give up to the extend that the jerk stopped the bus got up and started really screaming. Unlike Greece where in a similar incident the crowd backed the driver not caring who is right and who is wrong but just wanting to reach their destination, here the people sided w/ the boy. The driver screamed really loudly seemed as if he would punch the boy and then sat back and went on driving cursing all the time, as far as I could tell. The jerk never told me where to get off and had I not been alert enough, I would have skipped my stop.

The Tsesme bus seemed to have been waiting for me. It took off soon as I entered. I was a one hour drive. The usual rituals took place. The conductor after collecting the fare went around w/ a bottle of cologne sprinkling people's hands and then went on to hand out water bottles.

Tsesme is very beautiful. This time I was not impressed by the natural beauty, which is not that evident but by the construction and development which is really outstanding. It has a small port and a Venitian castle.
Tsesme
Tsesme

I walked around for a couple of hours and then went to the bus station to take the bus back to Smyrna. Upon my arrival at the depot, I asked a local where the bus stop to Konac was and after failing to make me understand, he walked three blocks with me so that he could show it to me.

After I arrived at Konac I walked into an internet cafe where I composed all these words of wisdom that you read.

See you tomorrow