We actually had a pretty good night's sleep being gently rocked by the motion of the train. In the night I made an important discovery although the loo nearest to us was a squatter the one at the other end was the more familiar variety. Helen looked out the window to see the most wonderful starry sky.
We headed up to the restaurant car for breakfast.I ordered yellow cheese omelet, Helen ordered fried eggs. Omelette was Ok but fried eggs were off. How can you make an omelette but not be able to fry eggs? I hear you shouting powdered eggs,but the omelettes tasted good.
We headed up to the restaurant car for breakfast.I ordered yellow cheese omelet, Helen ordered fried eggs. Omelette was Ok but fried eggs were off. How can you make an omelette but not be able to fry eggs? I hear you shouting powdered eggs,but the omelettes tasted good.
The railway line now followed the Upper Euphrates valley with some spectacular scenery. The Turks were also building a swish new motorway following the route of the railway.
The line seems to climb and climb inevitably following the valley.
As you can see the countryside, though awesome is also rather samey. The shot above shows some ancient dwellings and caves. If you expand it you can see more clearly, but I expect you all know that anyway.
An especially nice shot of the train by Helen. Yet another viaduct over the Euphrates. The Turkish insignia on the window and angle of the sun causes the glaring.
Right at the start of this journey me met a character called Stanley. He was the only other English person on the train. He was another retiree and hailed from London. We also met a young Swiss couple who were also thinking of moving on to Georgia. More of them later.
We pulled into Kars about half an hour late. We took a taxi to the Temel Hotel. It proved to be pretty grotty even by North East Anatolian standards. We had hardly got in the door when a guy was offering us a trip to Ani. The price was good at £15 a head. He could also help with the onward journey to Georgia. The bus did run directly to Hoppa where we could connect to Batumi. What a relief. I was most worried about this section of the trip as despite all my efforts I had been unable to confirm the existence of any though transport. We went out for a very enjoyable meal and then prepared for what I hope will be a highlight, Ani.Tomorrow will tell us.
Right at the start of this journey me met a character called Stanley. He was the only other English person on the train. He was another retiree and hailed from London. We also met a young Swiss couple who were also thinking of moving on to Georgia. More of them later.
We pulled into Kars about half an hour late. We took a taxi to the Temel Hotel. It proved to be pretty grotty even by North East Anatolian standards. We had hardly got in the door when a guy was offering us a trip to Ani. The price was good at £15 a head. He could also help with the onward journey to Georgia. The bus did run directly to Hoppa where we could connect to Batumi. What a relief. I was most worried about this section of the trip as despite all my efforts I had been unable to confirm the existence of any though transport. We went out for a very enjoyable meal and then prepared for what I hope will be a highlight, Ani.Tomorrow will tell us.
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