Artvin-Kars

Artvin-Kars

We go behind the green mountains that we have seen  2 years ago from the other side of the border (Georgia-Armenia), to the deep valley shaped by Chorukh river. We take a minibus from Trabzon to Borçka and our adventure begins. We learn that the last minibus towards Karagöl has gone and we have 25 kilometers to go before the sunset. After buying some warm bread from the bakery, we start waiting by the side of the road to find a vehicle going towards the way the Chorukh flows. Someone greets us. “Hello brother,” “Yes, we are going to Karagöl.” He is hitchhiking also to go to his home in a village and we get in a car together. When we reach the place where our roads divide, the car stops in the middle of the road; whoever goes to the same way with us, cannot pass without taking us. We get on a pick-up truck and reach the road to Karagöl.  Even without making an effort to wave our hands to hitchhike, we are in where we want to be. We start smiling and cannot stop for the following ten days. We intend to walk for a few kilometers but it goes in vain. After just a few steps we take, another person takes us into his car. A motorbike lover traveler-spirit; he says that he combined his passion with his occupation and traveled a lot while working for a company. In this way we meet Sefa and have a companion for 2 days. There is a facility serving mainly for excursionists and 25 TRY is asked to...
Where do we go now?

Where do we go now?

                We leave Istanbul towards Black Sea on the first day of holiday, where we came the day before. But towards the west of Black Sea, to Kırklareli. When we arrive Kıyıköy we see tens of tents in the pasture next to the sea. In holiday, this place is crowded too, not as much as Mediterranean coasts. But it’s free to camp as there is no facility. You can accommodate everywhere on this field, where cows, oxen and sheep feed all day long. If you want to spend your time in water, you can prefer to fight against the waves of Black Sea or take a trip on the river close to Aya Nikola Monastery by boat or canoe and enjoy the beauty of unique lilies. We prefer the second one.                 When we move towards longos forest and reach Sivriler Village, we spend the night in a picnic place on the way to Demirköy. The only things that ruins this place, near a slow flowing river and a forest is the plastic rubbish around. We get rid of this bad view with a half hour labor. But this neither the first, nor the last time.                  The next day, we arrive longos forest by following a stabilized road. İğneada Longos Forest is one of three examples of this special type of forest in the world. It is a national park but not under protection. There are buildings in the forest and it is allowed to enter from every corner. Inside the forest is like a jungle. Ivies on trees and buffaloes swimming...