Near Yusufeli is the 8th century Georgian church of the Mother of God. A 7 km dirt road forks from the main road and leads to village of Ishan in which the church is located.

As I ride the dirt road back down I realize I left my phone in Yusufeli. So I ride back and the owner of the place hands me the phone when I pull in. It’s pretty late and hot by now and I know I won’t make it as far as planned.

Near lake Tortum it starts to rain. I pull over and have some tea while I wait for the rain to stop. A few kilometers on I make a very brief stop at the Tortum waterfall.

It’s Sunday and people are out having fun.

Not far away is the 10th century Georgian Oskvank cathedral.

One last stop at Haho monastery and I’m all churched out for the day.

I make a quick dash to Erzurum

and initially I have a hard time locating a hotel with secure parking until I find the holy Kral hotel. They lower the drawbridge (metaphorically) and let me ride straight into the huge unused lobby.

I take a room on the Seljuk floor, decorated with Seljuk eagles all over the place.

Next I have look at the local sights from the Seljuk era. First up is the Yakutiye Medrese.

followed by the Cifte Minareli Medrese

I watch people washing before prayers

and I peek into Lala Mustafa Pasha Camii

In the park next to it is this industrial strength tea maker, which can barely keep up with demand.

The price for the funkiest restaurant on this trip goes to Erzurum Evleri. They have managed to cram an amazing amount of antiques into this place. The food is great and it’s not expensive.

It’s a balmy night, perfect for sitting outside,

having some corn on the cob,

watching this grumpy vegetable vendor or

these happy fruit vendors

The Ten and I check out of the holy Kral hotel in the morning .

It’s fast going on a four lane highway all the way to Erzincan. The landscape isn’t boring but it’s hard to stop once you get going fast. In Erzincan I fuel up again and have a lunch for champions

I continue on minor roads and it gets more interesting.

I stop again for tea at a Seljuk cemetery

before I tackle the last few kilometers

Not far from Kemaliye I spot a village with the architecture that is typical for the area: lots of wood and corrugated iron.

The bridge over the Euphrates

gets me to the tunnel leading to Kemaliye