For once the call wasn’t related to work. It was worse, This is back when Syria and Iran had a slight little missile exchange, With the news not looking good and airports closing, Asareh made the choice to meet me at the border with Turkiye. It’s a quick pack followed by a 3-day drive. But the bonus is I always find some time to look around as it will take her 4 days to reach the border regardless and it takes some stress of Pina instead of 12 hours straight in the L200 its easy 8 hour days.
Day 1 begins with heading out of Antalya and making a pit stop for lunch at the Meke crater lake, normally there is some water in the bottom, but I am there out of season, a few nice areas to camp around but some of the bigger areas are littered in glass which is a recurring theme here. Pina is limited on where I let him run. I stop in Adana for the night.
The next day we visit some early early civilizations, 12000 years ago possibly. And obviously there will be more on this later. But for now the road is open and the sun is out. We make a few stops to stretch our legs before arriving at Karahan Tepe.
The area is still under excavations, and some are estimating it to be actually 15000 years old, some of the earliest signs of civilization and worship or teaching areas/ schools. No one really knows yet.
The final day seems me starting my drive from Mardin after ordering some parts for the L200 to stop the rattles on the calipers. The drive I have chosen will take me right against the borer with Syria, which is heavily fortified, has spot lights and the army is everywhere.
The real win came as I hit the mountain canyon that runs along the Iraq border, now this road is like something out of a movie, the mountains towering above me, the snow, the rivers. Just an amazing area for a drive. I did have a slightly interesting moment, as a Kurdish family was very interested in me joining them for lunch, but I had already eaten, as a last ditch effort, they sent there 2 single daughters over to try to convince. Bold strategy cotton, lets see if it pays off? Not quite, back on the road we get stopped by the army at the top of the pass, now the l200 has a front tinted window, and these guys are on edge to begin with. No real issues but I did get told to stop well before the actual stop point, once the side windows were open all was okay.
My final stop for the night is near the border for Asarehs arrival tomorrow.
