Lurking in Turkey

 After two very comfortable nights in the shaded park near Posof I set off up the valley to climb the pass up to Ilgar Gecidi at 2,500m before a swooping descent to Ardahan where after negotiating some chaotic traffic around the market I parked up for a much needed shop. The busy town was a contrast to the remoteness of recent weeks and as always I was absorbed by the details of everyday Turkish life. The citadel overlooking the town was worth a visit although apart from the imposing walls there is little left within them. However a really delightful cafe did occupy one corner and provided a comfortable corner with good coffee and cake to sit out a brief but torrential thunderstorm. It was the sort of place you could spend hours in but once the skies cleared I was back at the van and on my way just a few more miles towards Savsat. 

Another high pass, the Cam or Sahara Gecidi and also at about 2,500m had a decent water  source to fill up from before the long descent via numerous hairpins towards Savsat itself. On one of these lay my intended park up but as I approached there was clearly something talking place in the wooded valley so I pulled in, paid about £6 and was soon parked up in a smaller side valley beneath some pines. The event was a weekend long folk festival which was being set up in the main valley and meadow with banners and bunting billowing above numerous stalls and display stands and a large stage under construction. There were a few stalls selling corn on the cob, boiled or grilled on wood fired stoves, a couple of kebab outlets and other ones being set up as the main event got underway the following day, Friday. Clearly the earlier downpour at Ardahan had hit the site as early arrivals were trying to dry out sodden tents and bedding and the tracks and grass were quite wet.

After a quiet night's sleep I took a walk round as a very small cattle show (6 beasts in all!) took place, watched the numerous council workers laying out seating, wiring up additional electrics using the fire department's turntable ladder, which managed to get seriously bogged down and generally soaked up the atmosphere as the sun broke through.

By evening time there were hundreds of families pitching their tents in amongst the trees, lighting fires and setting to with wood fired stoves to cook for large family gatherings. The various stalls were selling local handicrafts, honey, cheeses and so on as well as well as some promoting conservation charities and local development initiatives. It was a lovely atmosphere and as the sun set people retreated to their camps for in some  cases a long and boisterous evening. I had been hemmed in by a number of cars whose occupants had pitched all round me which was fine but unfortunately one group of youngsters had a speaker the size of a dustbin lid in the boot of their car not ten feet from me which blared at full volume until the early hours. Despite this I managed some sleep and on Saturday enjoyed a day of traditional dancing displays, a bout of Turkish wrestling and another tour of the stalls as yet more people arrived. By the evening there were thousands of people around with barely any gaps between the tents and cars jammed in everywhere. Back at the van I could only just open the sliding door and certainly could not have driven away and yet again my immediate neighbours filled most of the night with a wall of sound.

Sunday saw more folk dancing and music, a couple of solo artists and a few more stalls setting up. I got a seat in the small pavilion with a good view of the proceedings and soaked it all up, including the highly entertaining 'bubble football' until late afternoon when things began to come to a close. Families packed up, stalls were carefully dismantled and by sunset most folk had departed, leaving I am sorry to say, an unbelievable amount of trash absolutely everywhere. There were more than enough bins and the council lorry had been round continuously throughout the weekend but the place looked absolutely terrible as I left this morning. To be fair the council workers were beginning the task of litter picking but it was a huge undertaking that need not have been necessary. All round the van were cans and bottles, broken camping gear, food waste and the ubiquitous wet wipes and whilst I had been happy for a group to use my camping chair I was a bit miffed to see they had, I hope inadvertently, packed it away when they left....

Anyway I filled up with water and dropped the few miles in to Savsat for a couple of hours to get fresh fruit and vegetables which are now in abundance, some fresh bread and other essentials and followed the Berta valley downstream to a point where a new bridge across to the village of Sakalar marked the start of the new reservoir that is part of a major hydroelectric and irrigation scheme for the Artvin region.

There is a good cool breeze blowing and from my lofty perch above the blue green waters I can see a trio of fishermen below and on the other side of the valley the very few vehicles passing by. 

I will continue my steady journey west but will linger in these cooler mountains for another week at least so watch this space...

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