Dearest friends!
The very long Asian walk started in Turkey along the Black Sea coast. Of course it was necessary to leave the enormous city of Istanbul first. The landscape is breathtaking, but in spite of all, Jean doesn’t feel in full shape. He must go through a certain gloomy period that occurs each year after our vacations together. He knows well enough that a whole year must go by before we meet again.
Besides, the land is very hilly and he must expend a lot of energy pushing his stroller uphill while holding it tight coming down. This stratagem is amusing for a couple of hours, but soon becomes exhausting.
Fortunately, Turkey is a country where technology is well developed and their well-equipped Internet cafés exist in almost every town and village. We communicate nearly every day by email and I can feel that his enthusiasm is not up to its highest level.
Before my departure from Montreal to Istanbul, a Turkish TV channel (IZTV) had reached me to inquire of the possibility to produce a documentary on Jean’s walk. They started filming while I was with Jean in Istanbul. Then after my departure they shot some more footage again in Istanbul. This TV crew was the one that got the necessary permissions from the authorities for Jean to walk across the first of the two huge bridges that traverse the Bosporus. Did you know that these 2 gigantic bridges are forbidden to pedestrians because of the high number of suicidal attempts into the Bosporus, thus creating extraordinary traffic jams? The traffic is already somewhat bewildering in Istanbul, even in normal time!!!
The third stage of the filming took place in Zonguldak on April 20th, 21st and 22nd and immediately after Jean boarded a bus for Ankara where the vice-consul and 2nd secretary of the Canadian embassy had arranged an appointment with Mr Karim of the embassy of Turkmenistan to start the process of obtaining his visa. The necessary documents were filled out and the results were to reach Jean by email along his route. His dream: to walk the road to India via Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During my stay in Istanbul with my walker we worked together on the route that Jean intended to follow in Asia. We kept in contact with the Canadian vice-consul who was very helpful with the necessary visa application for the countries that are situated immediately East of Turkey. Georgia and Azerbaijan didn’t seem to present too many problems. But from then on, obtaining visas seemed very complicated. It was irritating for Jean, who should think about an alternative route, should it not be possible to obtain these visas.
Thus, the route continues in Turkey, decked out with marvellous landscapes, but with the never-ending routine of laborious climbing and descending for the world walker. When he complains about this difficult terrain to the Turks whom he meets, they tell him that the road becomes flatter a little farther away.
However, in spite of the hilly roads the Turks are very friendly. He gets many invitations that he unfortunately cannot accept because he would like to enter Georgia before his Turkish visa expires.
From Yakakent, he emails me: “All is well! Finally all that tough climbing is behind me. I was beginning to think these mountains would never end!” And just before Samsun: “Here on the Black Sea coast, it is really safe country! Zero delinquency in this part of the world. I can sleep peacefully in my tent on the beach – like nowhere else!”
On May 15th, despite of Mr Karim’s hard work, Jean saw himself bestowed with a 5-day visa; which by no means gave him the time to walk across Turkmenistan. Therefore, a revision to his projected route had to be done. The only possible alternative route is through Iran; otherwise Jean would have to fly to Delhi. This is exactly what I had suggested to him in Istanbul! “Take a plane from Baku, I said half jokingly, this way you could be back home to me much earlier!”
In Giresun, a teacher friend organizes a visit to a primary school, thus promoting his global walk with the pupils.
On the evening of June 1st, Jean leaves Turkey to enter Georgia. At the border he is the guest of the mayor of Sarpi village. He emails me: “We ate good food and drank vodka, making toasts to all the good causes that we could think of – with the consequences of that old familiar morning after headache!”
The Georgians are happy to welcome him and the news of his presence in the country spills out quickly. Just before Zestaphoni, he is met with a police escort who will accompany him for a few days, as he would go through one or two areas that could be risky.
The Internet cafés are almost non-existent and our communications become less frequent. On June 17th, in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Jean’s walk is the subject of an interview that seems to be watched by all residents of that city. After the broadcast, most people who see him greet him cheerfully!
The following day, he goes to the Iranian embassy and fills out all the forms needed to obtain his visa. There will be a three-week delay before getting an answer. He is informed that if the answer is positive it will be possible to take delivery of the aforesaid visa in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
On June 20th, he collects his visa for Azerbaijan. He leaves Tbilisi on June 22nd in the excellent company of Jumber Lezhava who walks with him until the city limits. Jumber is a world famous cyclo-trotter who travelled through more than 220 countries on a bicycle. He crosses the Azerbaijani frontier on June 30th, in the early morning. Again in this country, Internet service is very rare and the networks are very slow. However, he writes: “These people are fantastic! They are amongst those who have helped me most up to now. It is a real pleasure to walk across their country.”
He arrives in Baku on July 14th and a family receives him and takes real good care of him! On Monday July 16th he goes to the Iranian embassy and is told that a visa to enter Iran has been granted. As the office is just about to close he is asked to come back the following day to take possession of that vital stamp in his passport. Jean is so happy and excited that he forgets to inquire about the duration of this visa.
During the last 3 weeks his mind oscillated between mad hopes and gloomy apprehensions. It is known that the Iranian visas are issued with parsimony. Yet this country attracts him powerfully. It possesses a history filled with marvels.
On the 17th he is overjoyed when he is granted a one-month visa! It gives him time to get to Tehran where he is told that he will be able to ask for an extension without any problem.
Jean is back on the road on the following day and it seems that the kilometres from Baku to the Iranian border are never ending! The people are still really nice and generous. They are also extremely curious and the walker must stop frequently to answer their questions.
He crosses the Iranian border on August 1st. As the distance to Tehran is about 550 km, he estimates to arrive in the capital around August 18th, in time to celebrate his 52nd birthday and the 7th anniversary of his very long walk!!!
Till next time.
Luce
www.wwwalk.org
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