I start the day by riding the Tasyol once again and continue on to Divriği,
where I visit the Great Mosque and Hospital (Divriği Ulu Cami ve Darüşşifa), a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built in the 13th century under a Seljuk ruler. Outside shots would have been great in the evening sun but I have to make the best of it.
Kids noisily play catch inside the mosque.
There are also plenty of other ruins around Divriği.
Pretty nice landscape between Divriği and Kengal,
where I’m greeted by a whimsical statue of the famous Kangal dog.
I have to say that the Kangals and I are not the best of friends. I used to think that Turkish sheep dogs are incredibly stupid because they can’t tell the difference between a sheep and a motorbike, whereas the New Zealand sheep dogs clearly can. Many a Kengal has chased me here. Well, it turns out they are not sheep dogs in the sense that they are herding their charges. Instead they are livestock guardian dogs and thus try to protect their charges from real or imagined threats, i.e. me on a motorbike. You just don’t want to hit a Kangal when it runs in front of you. Not good for both of us. They are huge and they can be incredibly fast.
It stays nice and quiet
until I hit Kayseri. I get a bit of a reverse culture shock. It’s a huge modern city with all the modern trappings like shopping malls, car dealerships, and fast food places. Oh, and heavy traffic. Welcome back to civilization!
From Kayseri it’s just a quick hop to Göreme, where I plunk myself at the pool and do nothing for the rest of the day.
