Next stop Iran!

With one day before we make the border crossing to Iran at feels like the perfect time to reflect on our Europe adventure. Having been on the road for 16 days it is safe to say that the number of break downs have increased to almost daily since we ventured through Istanbul to Asia. Dora has proved to be a little madam!

Yesterday (8th August) we camped by a beautiful stream in the rolling hills in Western Turkey (the landscape looks like the Nevada Desert) and woke to the temperatures of 30 degrees. Dora clearly enjoyed our little spot so much that she point blank refused to start. So Todd and Jo trundled off to find help. 20 minutes later a Turkish man in his 50s rolled up in a beat up car gesturing that we should all get in. With Todd and Jo's reassurance we piled in. After a short drive we arrived at a beautiful farmhouse. There were cows being milked, a bee hive, a horse pulling a cart loaded with hay, chickens clucking around, storks with their nests high on the roof and wild flowers growing all over the buildings and as far as the eye could see. First the man led us to a row of cages with guinea fowl, rabbits and a number of other large birds. All communication was through smiling and hand gestures. As he led us round the farm he spoke and we nodded with no idea what he was saying! The tour of the farmyard led us to plenty more members of his family, with the women tending to the livestock and other men riding on old tractors through the courtyard. When we reached the house, he gestured for us to sit on a large bench covered with large cushions and immediately a young girl (about 18) bought us eggs, bread, apricots in honey, cheese, tomatoes and olives. The food they explained was all produced on the farm. A small group of about 8 other family members appeared and sat on chairs slightly away from the table and watched, smiling as we ate with the head of family. There was a lot of laughter as we tried to communicate. We tried to offer them something in return as a thank you but they firmly refused it. The whole experience was incredible. We got back on the road a few hours later with a taste of what is to come as we enter the Middle East.

One of the many jump starts we got that day!