Havsa (Tur) to Ormenio (Gr)

After cycling through “Edirne” I made for the quieter crossing just beyond “Karaagac”.

This was a tense border. I wasn’t allowed to take photos but the army on both sides patrolled it fully armed and watched each other intently from behind sandbags and the sights of their automatic guns.

These two old adversaries may now be at peace but it was abundantly obvious that trust was still in short supply.

This was the first time I had to empty my panniers and be thoroughly checked at a border crossing. When asked by the guard where I had started my bike ride and where I was going, he had difficulty believing anyone would or could do it, so he was immediately suspicious of me.

After a somewhat lengthy border crossing I made my way through “Kastanies”, “Kanades”, “Plati”, “Spilaio”, “Dikaia”, “Ptelea” and onto “Ormenio”.

I felt really tired today, no doubt cycling yesterday in temperatures of well over 40c took its toll on my body. I was however lifted by cycling out of Turkey and crossing into Greece where I am now camped under a couple of trees hidden away as the storm clouds gather and the thunder rumbles.

Crossing the border between Turkey and Greece