Turkey > The Temple of Athena

About thirty kilometers south of Tevfikiye lies the Temple of Athena near the village of Behramkale. The temple was built around 500 BC by settlers from the nearby island of Lesbos. When we park the car, it immediately becomes clear how to reach the temple. On both sides of the steep, cobblestone-paved road up, numerous souvenir shops are lined up. I estimate that nearly every household in this village has a stall. Once at the top, the remains of the Greek temple immediately catch the eye. Six columns still stand upright. With the sea in the background, it makes for a beautiful picture. The climb was definitely worth it. Also here are the ruins of an old Ottoman mosque. Its dome served as inspiration for the construction of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, today’s Istanbul. There are only two Ottoman mosques in Turkey. In the village, we order coffee. They don’t have cappuccino, but they do have Turkish coffee. The coffee is brewed on a small stove and served in a gilded cup. It looks appealing, but unfortunately, it is undrinkable—just coffee grounds. We leave it.

Turkey - The remains of the ancient Greek Temple of Athena

Then we cover some kilometers. Our plan is to drive to Bursa, Turkey’s third-largest city. The road runs along the coast of the Bay of Edremit. The road is wide, but with numerous traffic lights, progress is slow. Perhaps that is also why the cars around us massively and boldly exceed the 50 km/h speed limit on this six-lane road. We cautiously adjust to the flow of traffic, also to avoid having trucks on our rear bumper. Further on, the road improves. We continue northeast on a decent highway. The motorcyclists, who visited Troy this morning and didn’t pass Behramkale, are also making good progress. We therefore decide to drive via Yenisehir to Bilecik. Along the way, we stop for lunch at a small roadside eatery. It doesn’t look like many tourists come here. The owner gestures for us to follow him to his small kitchen. He shows us the ingredients for a toasted sandwich with egg, sausage, and sauce. It looks excellent. From the fridge, we help ourselves to two colas. An excellent lunch choice. The owner comes to ask if it tastes good. His wife looks on proudly. In broken English, he explains that he lives behind the restaurant and works across the street at the school. We take it that he is something of a concierge. When we leave, both wave us off. Not something we experience every day. Bursa is a large city. Even though we are only driving on the ring road around the city, the traffic is completely congested. We crawl forward slowly. Fortunately, most of the traffic is heading to Istanbul, and we are soon able to drive on again. Around 5:30 p.m., we enter Bilecik. Finding a parking spot is difficult. With some maneuvering, we manage to park the Land Rover in a small gap. From the terrace, where everyone is sitting enjoying Turkish tea, all eyes follow our actions. The owner of the car behind us rushes to move his car back a bit. We can’t find a hotel in this town via the internet. Looking around, it turns out we are practically parked in front of one. For the motorcycles, a temporary barrier from some roadworks is moved aside so they can be safely parked. From our room, we have a view of the square and a rooftop terrace across the street. Perhaps a nice place to eat? On the sixth floor, there is a pleasant restaurant. Many local people are dining there as well. The owner’s wife helps translate, since the menu is only in Turkish. At the end of the meal, we are served a piece of pastry and Turkish tea on the house. We finish the evening in the park, where mostly men are sitting, drinking tea. Ordering tea is not easy—no one speaks English. With hands and feet, we manage to get two teas. The price is not one lira, not two lira, but something in between. The waiter gestures with half a finger, but it’s not 50 cents either. He chooses to play it safe—one lira is enough. When I try to give him two, he refuses to accept it.