Bulgaria - Hela - Türkiye

In the next few days, we will cycle through three countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire for a long time. Greece became independent in the early 19th century, Bulgaria as a result of the Berlin Congress in 1877. Turkey emerged after the definitive downfall of the Ottoman Empire and was reduced to the area around Constantinople as well as parts of Asia Minor and Anatolia. There were constant conflicts and wars over the border drawing. Between Greeks and Turks today, more in the Aegean than on the mainland. Thanks to the European peace project, we can travel through these three countries with ease and cross the borders without any concerns.

Cycling Day (back to EV13): Komotini (GR) - Hadzhiysko (BG) - Momchilgrad 75 km 1500 hm

Now a mountain stage with Lothar and his folding bike. He is cycling in the footsteps of Tim Moore, who rode the Iron Curtain Trail in one go on a MIFA 904 folding bike. (Recommended reading: Cycling in the Cold with a Folding Bike).

We leave Komotini on a side road and soon reach the old pass road Makaza, which leads from sea level to the Greek-Bulgarian border at an altitude of 700 meters. It is probably the best cycling route in Greece - good road surface, not too steep except for one section, no car traffic, and beautiful views of the Thracian plain and the sea. The only drawback are sudden dog attacks in the villages at the beginning of the climb, but luckily they mostly just bark. However, there are definitely too many dogs on the roads in Greece.

Lothar handles the climb more easily than us and has time to take photos. At the border, we cheekily pass the long queue, which is even 2 kilometers long in the opposite direction. The border control only takes a few seconds for us.

On the Bulgarian side, we stay on the main road for a while before turning onto a side route that leads through a hilly, green landscape, which of course involves a few more climbs. In some villages, the muezzin calls for the midday prayer. There is a Turkish-Muslim minority in this part of Bulgaria. At Hadzhiysko, we meet the EV 13 again, but we don't follow it immediately because there is no accommodation nearby. We continue north and will finally meet the Iron Curtain Trail tomorrow in Krumovgrad. But there are still several kilometers and meters of climbing in between.

Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to Lothar, which is very difficult for us. His company has been uplifting, enriching, and relieving. Fantastic! We consider it as an outstanding appreciation of our tour that he has gone through all the necessary arrangements.

We already missed him when saying goodbye, but a few kilometers later even more. He would have been a great help with changing the tube after the first flat tire. A small thorn had lodged itself into the front wheel. But together, Dominique and I quickly replaced the tube and can tackle the next ascent. It's constantly up and down until we arrive at our accommodation around 5 p.m.

ICT Cycling Day 20: Momchilgrad - Krumovgrad - Ivaylovgrad 95 km 1300 hm

For the first time, we sit on the terrace for breakfast and think that it could (should) have been like this most of the time. In the meantime, we at least know why - because of the Omega position.

It's not far to Momchilgrad, and we cycle non-stop on the 59, which we will continue to our destination Ivaylovgrad. We immediately tackle a "mountain ascent" with 400 meters of climbing, which is doable. From the top, you have a beautiful view of the eastern part of the Rhodope Mountains with many mountains around 1000 meters and deep-cut valleys. There are hardly any villages, even though we are cycling on the main road, but for us, that means that the smooth asphalt rolls well. The short, snappy climbs in between give us a bit of a hard time, but we reach Krumovgrad around lunchtime. We take a break and buy supplies for our picnic because we still have 55 kilometers ahead of us with a climb over 800 meters (600 hm) and no opportunity to shop along the way. The few villages are located on the left and right sides of the main road and have only a few residents left. In the first section, the proportion of horse-drawn carts is only slightly smaller than that of cars. And then the two of us cyclists, who unexpectedly meet English long-distance cyclists. The two of them are on their way home after ten months in North Africa, Iraq, Turkey, and Georgia. In the evening, we meet two English women who are combining the EV 6 and EV 13, just like us, in three sections. They had even more problems with the bad weather and therefore deviated from the EV 13 in the last few days. For this third part of their tour, they bought e-bikes in Belgrade. It's very interesting to hear what people do with their bikes. The ascent to the pass is easy to ride, and after that, it's mostly downhill, so we reach our destination shortly before 5 p.m.

ICT Cycling Day 21: Ivaylovgrad - Edirne 80 km

From Ivaylovgrad, it's not far to the Bulgarian-Greek border, which we are allowed to pass after a short check. The sky shines bright blue over the fertile plain with orchards, vineyards, sunflower, and cereal fields. After 15 kilometers, there is another small uphill section, the only longer ascent today. We take a break in the tranquil village of Petrota and then want to ride the 45 kilometers to Edirne without stopping. This will give us enough time to explore the former capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Initially, we make good progress on the well-paved road with almost no traffic. In Orméni, we continue on a dirt road in close proximity to the Bulgarian border. Due to the rain, there are deep tracks in some places, which sometimes force us to dismount and push the bikes. After a nice stretch on asphalt, we still have 8 kilometers of dirt road ahead of us until we reach the small border village of Marasia, where some border police officers stand around bored. A bridge, which is often associated with driving through the water, is supposed to lead to the other side of the Arda River and to the border station, but the river has washed away the bridge. Shock! There is no ford and no boat that could take us to the other side. However, after careful study of the map, we discover that about 3 kilometers away, there is a highway bridge over the river. So another stretch of dirt road and then onto the highway, which has little traffic and a wide shoulder. After 2 kilometers, there is the exit to the border. Towards the Turkish side, the sky gets darker, and a heavy thunderstorm announces itself. We pass the Greek and Turkish border control and have reached Turkey, the tenth and final country of our trip this year. In two days, we will cross a border by bike one last time - back to Bulgaria.

As soon as we arrive in Turkey, a torrential downpour starts. We take shelter under a shelter that protects us from the heaviest rain. After half an hour, we can cover the last six kilometers to the hotel. On the way, we cross the Evros, which in its lower course is a nearly 200-kilometer border river between Greece and Turkey. In 2011, this border saw 55,000 poverty-stricken refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan, prompting the Greek government to build a three-meter-high border fence. Since the completion of the fence, the flow of refugees has shifted to the islands of the southern Aegean.

Most of the roads are flooded, and passing cars splash us with water. Later, the clouds clear, so we have time for sightseeing. We have arrived in a different world, several mosques dominate the cityscape, there are small shops with eye-catching advertisements everywhere, many people are out and about, street vendors. We enjoy it very much.

Especially impressive in Edirne is the Selimiye Mosque, which towers above the city and dates back to 1575. Since 2011, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Currently, large parts of it are under restoration. Equally beautiful is the Eski Cami, the old mosque, with its beautiful ornaments inside. Worth seeing are also the old wooden houses from the Ottoman period in the old town of Kaleici.

Only three more days or one blog post or 250 kilometers or 3000 meters of climbing or a border crossing or... until we hopefully jump into the Black Sea. We are eagerly looking forward to the next three days.