Day 439 – EU – Turkey [Kesan to Uzunkopru]

17/06/21

48.4km

  From Kesan (Turkey) to Uzunkopru (Turkey)

Europe

Running in Turkey’s countryside on a long and hot day – a radical change of environment

Today’s landscapes

For my first night in Turkey I got woken up twice by the Muezzin! I learned that there is a call for prayer around 3:30am and another around 5:30am, which is just before my normal waking time. I better get used to it and check if I’m from the hearing distance of a minaret in the next few days. It’s incredible how just hopping over a river (the Maritsa) has changed everything. I feel a world away from Greece right now.

Getting myself a very nice, wide and safe road shoulder!

The roads I have run on since crossing the border are in amazingly good condition with an extra super large shoulder for slow vehicles (which I seem to be the only one using). It’s the safest I have felt on the road for a long time. It helps that there is very little traffic too. I tried to engage with the locals, in every village I ran through, by saluting them or waving at them – I was keen to verify if my being a woman and running in shorts and tshirts was shocking to them. Apparently not, as everyone so far has returned my salutes and waved back at me enthusiastically, men and women alike. A good thing.

A common sight in Uzunkopru

Tonight I am staying in Uzunkopru, a medium-sized town in the province of Erdine. The town is named after its 15th century stone bridge believed to be the longest in the world at 1,392m long (Uzun + Kopru = long bridge in Turkish). The highway passes over it now, giving it a noticeable modern touch. I notice I have started to see horse carriages again. I have only seen them in Albania and Bulgaria so far (along with donkey carriages too). I went for my traditional stroll in the city after lunch, but it was cut short by torrential rain and thunderstorm.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: