The first leg, the longest in terms of kilometers (960kms), has passed.

After the trip from Borgo San Giacomo to Ancona, and the ferry crossing to the Greek port of Igoumenitsa, at 6 am we are on the highway heading the border with Turkey.

After a first drawback - I went out of petrol between two supplies because of a possible defect of the reserve Diaphragm, promptly resolved by Domenico to whom I  took out a couple of liters - and a first rain, after all refreshing, we arrived at the border of ' EU. Short tail, but slow, we lose an hour under a sun that beats down. Then straight to Istanbul.

We arrive in the city at the end of the afternoon, but we still have to cross it to get in the Sultanahmet district, with its narrow, winding streets. We arrived at the hotel where we took a refreshing shower and a dinner at a local restaurant to enjoy a great mix of kebabs.

First day of pause, one of the few full days in the program. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Cistern and Topkapi, in the afternoon a walk to the Galata Bridge.

Enchanting Cappadocia, Nemrut Dagi and Lake Van

Quiet day in Göreme, walk through the "fairy chimneys", pinnacles of volcanic origin that housed hermit populations. The hot air balloon ride at dawn was cancelled - after waking up at 4 ... - because of the wind. We’ll try again the next morning, without success again before continuing on to Nemrut Dagi.

What is dramatically surprising, is the almost total absence of tourists. Only some Turkish families, for the end of “Ramadan”, and a few Asian. Europeans do not show up anymore, and those who were expected have cancelled their reservations after the recent events in Istanbul.

After 540 km in Turkish Kurdistan, we come under the sanctuary of Nemrut Dagi, protected by UNESCO. Here too, few tourists, all Turks, we are practically the only Europeans.

So many people who greets us when we cross the villages, offering us apricots, we are in the valley of Malatya, world's largest producer.

From the sanctuary of Nemrut Dagi the next step leads us to Ercis, on Lake Van. 550km in the torrid Turkish Kurdistan (42°C at 1pm). The people we meet during our journeys to fuel distributors are very kind and hospitable, refuelling is an opportunity for a brief chat drinking a nice cup of "çay", the local tea, now main and only drink that has replaced our usual coffee.

The lake air cools the second half of the afternoon, we find an accommodation for the night and tomorrow we will face the last part that will lead us to Murandiye waterfalls, the Ishak Pasha Palace and then at the border with Iran.