Mountain Drive

After we left Bolu yesterday (see yesterday's post) we decided to take the "mountain route" back to Ankara. As suggested by the title, we knew that we'd be winding through the mountains and would see some incredible scenery. What we didn't know, however, was just how long it would take us to get home. The drive started with heavily forested mountain peaks and paved road. It was absolutely breathtaking. About an hour in, however, the road turned into a dirt/gravel road that wound through one little mountain village after another. The houses were made of stone, wood, and tin, and the population in each of these villages couldn't have been more than 150 people. While the scenery was still beautiful, I found the sights of the villages more fascinating than anything. See...    

There wasn't another car in sight (seriously, we only saw three cars in three hours), but we saw quite a few donkeys saddled up with interesting looking saddles (possibly made from straw and wood?). There were chickens, goats, cows, horses, and sheep grazing all over the place.  Here's a herd of sheep that was blocking the road.

Yesterday, I mentioned that the cows just graze from property to property because there aren't any fences separating them. Since there are no fences, plenty of shepherds and cow herders can be seen keeping watch over their flocks, and using switches (you know, as in, "go fetch a switch so i can whip your behind") to keep their animals going in the right direction.

While I'd highly recommend the "mountain route" for someone in the mood for great scenery, it did tack on an extra three hours to the drive. By the time we arrived back in Ankara, we had three greenish colored people suffering from car sickness, two crying babies, and some very weary parents.