After a false hope to kick off our adventure, the ferry boat did not make it to the port on time. The next day, September 3, 2015, we decided not to leave home until the agent had confirmed that the ferry had arrived. After a long and confusing boarding procedure, we finally boarded the ferry at Tripoli port – Lebanon North. Our rides were secured on the ferry loading deck beside some heavy trucks and trailers. Destination Mersin. Precisely Silifke, Tsucu commercial port, on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. Once on land, our plan is to ride straight to Cappadocia. (Click HERE to read how it all started).
This Post is part of 15-day, 4000 KM motorbike ride from Lebanon to Bulgaria across Turkey and back. Use the links at the end of the post for more insights about this adventure, the challenges and achievements.
There were many Syrian refugees on the ferry, who were escaping war and terror. We chatted with a group of young guys who were sitting next to us, playing the guitar and singing some traditional songs. Most of them had no final destination as yet—they were traveling first to Turkey, as one of the few escape passages from the horrific war in their country, towards Europe. It was sad to see those families traveling in the worst conditions possible—some with toddlers and others were teenagers rejoining family members somewhere in Europe.
We decided to stay on deck in the open air because the area below deck seemed unpleasant and unhealthy. In the 12 hours that followed we hardly caught any sleep. From sitting on the metal floor trying to shelter from the chilly night breeze, then on to the wooden benches when they became free, we spent a long and exhausting night that made us wonder how all those homeless people were going to manage and what the future might bring for them.
At around 7 o’clock the next morning the ferry moored and started unloading. After receiving port clearance and insuring our rides, the port gates opened and we were set free… The surge of feeling that swept through my body was indescribable—it was the feeling of pure freedom mixed with a dose of ecstasy! We were like untamed horses released from captivity.
Read the whole adventure, day by day. Click on the links below
- TAKING THE FERRY BOAT FROM TRIPOLI, LEBANON TO MERSIN, TURKEY
- THE ROAD IS OURS: DESTINATION CAPPADOCIA
- UP AND ABOVE CAPPADOCIA
- THE ROAD TO ANKARA
- CROWDED ISTANBUL
- FROM WHEAT FIELDS TO SUNFLOWERS AT THE BULGARIAN BORDERS
- A PROMISE IS A CLOUD; FULFILLMENT IS RAIN
- WEATHERED IN VARNA
- LONG ROAD TO A SECLUDED BEACH HOTEL
- THANK YOU BODRUM FOR THE BREAK!
- THE BEACH IS CALLING! MARMARIS
- ON THE ROAD AGAIN
- BACK TO SQUARE ONE
- HOW DID IT ALL START?
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