Рет қаралды 6,865
From our spring fed water stop in the previous episode we continued on until near dark and found a quiet spot for the night away from the road. With darkness now all but fallen the only signs of life were the small scattered village lights across the neighbouring mountain faces and the unmissable and echoing ‘adhan’ (call to prayer).
We woke the following morning to an incredible mountain-scape stretching off into the distance with painted hills of pastel earth shades glowing in the morning light. The damp cool coastal air of the Black Sea was behind us and we were now embraced by a warm dry desert air. The air stood still and the only sound to be heard was the occasional flock of passing sheep. In only a matter of days we had crossed from the snow capped peaks and towering glaciers of the Caucasus to the warm dry sandy desert of Central Turkey. A transition we would’ve spent weeks covering previously though much more achievable now with ease of borders and quality of roads.
We take the morning start slow to enjoy our surroundings before hitting the road again. Our destination for the day is the tourist Mecca of Cappadocia. First though, like the D915, we were searching for something more to fill our transit across this part of Turkey. We found success in a lesser known road down, or more so through, Karanlık Kanyon which translates to ‘Dark Canyon’. The road leading to the canyon led us through endless valleys of striking colours, lush green farmlands, and crystal rivers. The towns appeared quite desolate of amenities which combined with the brutalist architecture and infrastructure indicated they may suffer hard winters. Contrasting the cold designs was the friendly faces of youth that lined the streets of the towns as the schools didn’t appear to have an attendance policy.
When we reached the canyon we entered a short tunnel which took us straight onto a bridge over a turquoise river, delivering us at the entrance to the infamous Kemaliye Taş Yolu. The road started construction in the 1870s to link the two districts of Iilic and Kemaliye and continued construction for 130 years wrapping up in the early 2000s. The tunnel road was carved by hand and originally only used for foot traffic though later widened just enough to allow vehicle passage. For the majority of the canyon the narrow road is concealed within the cliff wall though opens through small breaks in the valley or ‘windows’ in the cliff face to allow light and air. The total collective length of the 38 unlit tunnels is just shy of 5kms long. An incredible feat of human persistence and strength in a time when the need for the tunnel became increasingly obsolete towards the end of construction. Before reaching the tunnel section a single width path is cut into the cliff face, thankfully we met no oncoming traffic meaning no need for reversing - something not preferable in the near blind Troopy. We’ve been lucky to date with narrow hill passes like this with not having a need to reverse. We crossed similar roads in Pakistan and met oncoming traffic though the sight of our armed military attache eliminated the negotiation on who was to reverse - thankfully.
Leaving the tunnel we travelled along beautiful quiet narrow country roads for hours through the hills until we hit the huge 4 lane central highway. The beautiful weather early in the day degraded the further we went west and towards the end it was very heavy rain. Not ideal though it provided a break from the monotony of the highway. As we arrived in the area we had chosen to camp we took a small farm track to a crest which looked promising. Like we experienced on the drive, this region had been experiencing heavy rain recently and the soft course sand ground had suffered washouts along the track. From the surface the washouts looked minimal though, like a sort of iceberg, there was a lot more hiding under the surface. We hit one one of these sand iceberg sections near the end of the track which brought us unstuck. Unknowingly we drove straight into a cavern approximately 1 metre deep by 4 meters long lying under a thin crusted surface. The Troopy lurched and sank as it ploughed into the ground ahead. The top of drivers side bullbar was level with the ground and the rear passengers side wheel was about 1 metre off the ground (one of the downfalls of leaf suspension). The drivers wheel was in the hole though still not on a solid surface as the Troopy hung precariously balanced, wedged into the ground by the bullbar. Getting out the drivers door wasn’t an option as it was half underground so we very cautiously climbed out of the passenger door and gently shut it behind us. We took a few moments in the fading light to assess the situation and build a plan for recovery.
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