Walk Across Turkey: Hobo Skills
On the morning of my seventh day on the road, I walked out of Nazilli and stopped at a tea garden near the village...
Walk Across Turkey: East of Aydın
Just a few minutes after saying goodbye to Enes, I met some truckers eating breakfast by the side of the road. They invited me...
Walk Across Turkey: Back to Horsunlu
The next morning, I woke up knowing that I was going to have to do whatever it took to work my foot back into...
Walk Across Turkey: Sarıköy
Tuesday, 23 October on the way to Sarıköy
After four days at the hotel in Beyşehir, I was eager to get moving again. I felt...
Walk Across Turkey: Peace
Wednesday, 26 September
The next morning, about forty-five minutes into that day’s walk, I pulled off at a gas station for a morning break. I...
Walk Across Turkey: Havutçulu
Back at the mosque, I pulled my sleeping bag and tent out of my pack, feeling like an imposter, marveling as I set up...
Walk Across Turkey: Greater Middle East Project
Thursday, 20 September
The next morning when I woke up, I went back out onto the square and found Eren and Özgür at the büfe....
Walk Across Turkey: Horsunlu
Friday, 7 September
I stopped that day at Horsunlu, a small village at the eastern edge of the Menderes River valley. The river valley at that...
Walk Across Turkey: Kuşadası
Thursday, 30 August - Kuşadası
At 10:30 a.m., at the walk’s starting point in Kuşadası, I stepped off an overnight bus from İstanbul. The other...
Walk Across Turkey: The Road to Bozkurt
Tuesday, 18 September
Tuesday morning I awoke with a start to my cell phone alarm. I panicked. Oh my god, I am still at this...
Walk Across Turkey: Two Polish Guys
Sunday, 2 September
At 5:15 a.m. the wail of the muezzin’s call to prayer from the loudspeakers of the minaret rising over me stirred me...
Walk Across Turkey: Luxury in Nazilli
It was lunchtime when I arrived in Nazilli, population about 120,000. I walked up to the first restaurant I saw and ordered a lunch...
Walk Across Turkey: Naughty Boys and Circumcision
It was fig harvest season in the valley, and there was rack after rack of figs drying by the side of the road. Early...
Walk Across Turkey: Fatih and Feridun
On Friday morning, my fourth morning in Horsunlu this time around, I woke up and got ready to begin another day of working my...
Walk Across Turkey: Three Girls and A Wedding
In this better frame of mind, I continued walking through Denizli. My gait was slowed by the pain in my foot, and by mid-afternoon,...
Walk Across Turkey: Denizli’s Charm
Monday, 17 September - Denizli
Monday morning, the third week of the walk, I packed up my stuff and said goodbye to Metin and the...
Walk Across Turkey: The Secret Handshake
About two hours later, with the sprawling edges of Denizli visible in the distance, I stopped at a gas station for a bottle of...
Walk Across Turkey: Dinar
Sunday, 23 September
The next day I walked into the town of Dinar feeling lonely, uncomfortable, and out of place. I knew I needed some...
Walk Across Turkey: Rolling into Denizli
Friday, 14 September
The next morning I woke up, broke camp, and walked over to the station’s café for a breakfast of menemen (scrambled eggs,...
Walk Across Turkey: Köşk
I reached the town of Köşk (population 9,900) early on Tuesday, 4 September. It was only 10:45 a.m. I had planned to spend the...
Walk Across Turkey: Where am I?
I wake with a start. Where am I? Through the parting fog of sleep I remember that I am in İstanbul. A hot sun...
Walk Across Turkey: The Wedding
The next day, Saturday, Metin and I took a car to his village for the wedding. Our first stop was in another village to...
Walk Across Turkey: The Asian Ghost
Friday, 12 October
The next day I woke up early, packed up my stuff, and took a look around the room. Eight hours ago I...
Walk Across Turkey: Breaking Free From Eğirdir
Monday and Tuesday, 8 and 9 October
I enjoyed the pension at Eğirdir so much that several days when my week’s vacation was finished, I...