30th of June, 2022.
Hitchhiking in Turkey.
I get in a truck right after the border. I tell him I want to go all the way to Izmir and I try to explain that I will camp somewhere on the road for the night, and he can carry on. His destination is Ankara.
We pass some gorgeous mountains on our way. Unfortunately, by stupidity, I haven’t taken any photos of them! How I wish I knew where exactly they are, and which region, but I only know that it is somewhere between Artvin, Kars and Erzurum, in this small circle. The mountains are truly beautiful! There are different shapes and colours, it is just amazing! Why nobody ever talks about this? I have met many people who have been to Turkey, and nobody have ever told me about its beautiful nature!
I start looking for a place where I could make my camp for the night. I am wondering if I should just camp in an empty area or in a village. The sunset is almost finish and when I suggest a place to the driver, he refuses, saying that it is dangerous and there are animals and stuff. I know that he is just worrying about me, but I wish he had listened to me and stopped the truck. I have been camping in many places before, where people think it is dangerous because of wild animals, and nothing happened!
We keep driving and it is getting dark. We pass through quite a few villages and for some reason I don’t reckon, a part of stupidity, I don’t ask him to stop. I see people working in their fields in all these places, and everybody seems so nice, and I am sure they would be more than happy to help for the night. But I am stupid, and I keep quiet.
There are many fields on this area. Just open fields with different crops on it, no fences or anything. I wonder to whom do they belong, who takes care of them and to where all this production goes?
The driver insist that I should not camp. I don’t care, I have made my mind and I demand him to stop when I see a village approaching.
I walk towards the village. It is a bit away from the road. Now I am to decide: should I just have my tent somewhere outside or ask to be in a family’s garden? It is quite dark, and I am sure nobody would see me. But there is quite a lot of cars passing by for such small and isolated village. I try one big house with a garden. No answer. I walk a bit more and in a small street, in a house with some nice grass in front, there is an elderly man outside. I start the conversation.
With the help of a young boy, we all understand each other, and they allow me to put my tent in front of their house. They are a couple and I think the young boy is also living here. They invite me for tea and some food, which is really nice, but we cannot chat because they don’t speak English.
I have a pleasant night of sleep. Next morning, I pack my things early and after saying goodbye to the couple, I go to the road.
I plan to eat something for breakfast by the road and I do it, just across the road there are some fresh cut grass and I have my breakfast there. Then I star to hitchhike.
10 Years Around the World 