This photo was taken back in 1990’s when there was no DAM on Göksu river.
One of my favorite roads to take is the route from Anamur to Ermenek city and from there to Taşkent, to Konya. For motorcycle riding, it is a very scenic and winding route. And I entered this route from the middle of the Anamur-Ermenek route. I brushed the dust with my hand, drank water from the fountain. I was relaxed after almost 40 km of gravel road. I hit the road. As I passed between mountains, the scenery was breathtaking. In the old days, this road would go all the way down to the Göksu river. It used to derive its name from its turquoise color. Now, you descend to a man-made dam which also has very good scenery but I always prefer the natural one. I stopped at Zeyve a small town on the southern part of the dam for food and rest. Under the very old sycamore trees and the man-made flowing cascade, I treated myself with kebab and salad and rest in the shadow for an hour. I had to ride another hour to reach Ermenek where I was going to stay for the night. I hit the road again on a summer hot day and followed the contour of the dam and finally reached Ermenek. In Ermenek I stayed for one more day, I was tired and wanted to enjoy the day. Of course, I took care of the bike, washed and chain lubed, it was ready. Early in the second morning, I started to ride the winding road to Taşkent. Taşkent has its name suggests, Stonecity is situated between the mountains with high cliffs surrounding the city. A coffee break and hit the rid road again. I had no intention to stay a night in Konya city but instead, my intention is to overnight close to Ankara. After having dinner in Konya, the road from Konya to Ankara was flat and boring, I only enjoyed the sunset over the fields that was it. It was night and busy road mainly connecting traffic from Konya and Adana from south to Ankara and beyond. Finally, around 10 o’clock at night, I was able to throw myself into a very nice hotel near Gölbaşı, Ankara. I had no intention to enter the heart of the Capital due to the Covid pandemic. I was exhausted and decided to leave the hotel a bit late around 12:00 pm so that I can enjoy a long breakfast and some rest. I hit the road as I planned and start riding. Normally, with a car, you can reach Istanbul in 3,5 to 4 hours but it took me around 7 hours because of heavy traffic and a lot of concentration, I stopped almost every 1 or 1,5 hours for 15 to 20 minutes to rest and drink coffee.
I was at home around 7 o’clock and my longest and most experiences gained trip was over.
I thank my friend Alparslan Küçük, man with the sunglasses on the right, for lending me his motorcycle in Turkey.