Monthly Archives: November 2021

bridge problems

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This post is about how I am trying to get permission to walk across the Bosphorus. It doesn’t really work. Also, I have a cold. I had felt it in the evening. Maybe even before that. There was a reason why I was so tired all the time. The sneezing, the runny nose, the sore […]


Clara

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This post is about a 19km walk from Kovukkavla to Akcakoca. First I get held up by the wind, then it starts raining. And I meet an old cat. When I started walking in the morning it was a bit more windy than usual. Also it was supposed to start raining by nightfall. I figured […]


Name’s Ash, House Wares

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This post is about a day of tree felling in Kovukkavla. I am very tired and very useless, but I am there, wandering around in the forest. “Why don’t you stay another day?” my hosts had offered the night before. And now, as we sat down for breakfast, the question came up again. I was […]


from steel

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This post is about a 22km walk from Eregli to Kovukkavla. Finding a place to sleep is difficult at first, but then good things happen. Walking into Eregli the night before had been difficult, and when I left in the morning it didn’t get much easier. The place was swarming with cars. There were sidewalks, […]


the road sign

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This post is about a 30km walk from the Martyrs’ Forest to Eregli. I run into three cyclists, and the road makes me very tired. Tuncar returned to work at his restaurant just as I was packing the tent. “Finish up and come inside,” he said, “you need some more soup!” And so I warmed […]


soup at the end of the day

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This post is about a 20km walk from Zonguldak to the Martyrs’ Forest. I make it through one tunnel and around a few more. I had a hard time falling asleep the night before. And I woke up before dawn, feeling scared. People had been telling me about a few tunnels that were lurking on […]


to bowl or not to bowl

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This post is about how I went bowling by myself in Zonguldak. I had some vodka and an expresso, listened to 90s metal, and bowled very badly. My legs hurt, and the weather forecast said it was going to be rainy for two days. So I decided to take it easy and rest up in […]


the black diamond

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This post is about coal mining in Zonguldak. It was there, under the city. But up near the sea it didn’t seem to exist at all. I got up and had breakfast. It was the typical Turkish hotel/รถgretmenevi breakfast: an egg and some bread, cheese, cucumber, tomato, olives, strawberry jam, chocolate spread. Along with water […]


looking for a tunnel

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This post is about a 20km walk from Catalagzi to Zonguldak. It’s one of those extremely rare occasions that I’m looking for a tunnel. Something unexpected happened this morning: the sun had come back, and it was shining hard on the industrial landscape around me: factories, freight trains, fences – and black dust. Turkish cops […]


the good people of the dusty places

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This post is about a 20km walk from Filyos to Catalagzi. I arrive in a heavy industry area where the people are very friendly. I woke up in a wooden pavilion that stood in a park by the beach. At one point during the night, all the street dogs of Filyos had gathered around the […]


lies and bridges

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This post is about a walk from Mugada to Filyos. I tried to take a shortcut across a bridge, but some men in uniform turned me away. When I went downstairs to the cafรฉ I stepped into a world of warmth. Metil was making soup and tea, and the windows were completely fogged up. Outside, […]


Mustafa’s persimmon

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This post is about a walk from Bartin to Mugada. I end up finding a place of light in almost total darkness. In the morning I had another long conversation with the lady who owned the hotel. There was tea and gossip from both Germany and Turkey, and I couldn’t stop listening. When I left […]


did you push something heavy?

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This post is about getting physical therapy in Bartin. I also went to the post office and tried to mail something to Germany. I woke up in a hotel remembering the headache of the night before. Bartin was the biggest city I had been to since Samsun, and it was full of places to stay. […]


grasping at straws

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This post is about a walk from Amasra to Bartin. I saw an awesome Roman monument, and I asked two Turkish TV stars for help. I took the first ascent out of Amasra in one go, and I was surprised by the strength in my legs. Apparently the three days of rest had served them […]


good call

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This post is about the history museum of Amasra. And about its prayer call, which I liked a lot more than in many other places. Amasra didn’t just have one of the most enchanting locations on this side of the Black Sea. It also had thousands of years of history. So today I went to […]


the dust and the smoke

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This post is about the town of Amasra. It sits on the Turkish Black Sea coast, and I found it a stunning place to visit. I had managed to order my medication the day before, but the people at the pharmacy had told me that I could only pick it up on Monday. This was […]


we want… a shrubbery!

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This post is about a walk from Cakraz to Amasra. I’m a bit worried about my back at first, but it turns out to be fine. I was worried before I started walking in the morning. Half of the way from Cakraz to Amasra seemed to be one long uphill. And it was steep. How […]


harcar harcar bitmez

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This post is about a rest day in Cakraz. It’s also about some pharmacy troubles and about my newfound love for the supermarket A101. The Kantian stayed for breakfast. Then he left because he had responsibilities. It wasn’t easy being a Kantian, especially not in 2021. I wore the Kantian’s jacket when we said goodbye. […]


stop haunting me!

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This post is about a 29km walk from Kurucasile to Cakraz. The Kantian has the fun experience of walking through a tunnel for the first time. When we left the รถgretmenevi, we were in a good mood. It had rained heavily over night, but we had been in a room with a little window overlooking […]


the 14th day

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This post is about a walk from Gideros to Kurucasile. It was also my own gift to myself for my 40th birthday. I had wanted nothing but this for my birthday: walking. I wanted to feel the road under my shoes, the wind in my hair, the sun in my face. Like on that First […]