DAY 35: Aliağa – İzmir (Turkey)



Day 35 began with a 5:00 AM wake-up call.


The weather has turned as cold as midwinter.


With winds blowing at around 10 meters per second, the "feels-like" temperature drops significantly.


If I’m not moving, I feel like I might freeze.


It’s supposed to get warmer next week, though there’s a lot of rain in the forecast.


I heard there was a major earthquake in the Tōkai region—is everyone there okay?


Breakfast this morning:






Like last night’s dinner, the food was so delicious that I ended up overeating.


I set off at 7:40 AM. After passing through Menemen, I had about 20-plus kilometers left to go.


Traffic has increased, likely because I’m getting closer to İzmir.



This photo was taken in the square in front of the Menemen train station.


While in Menemen, someone kindly gave me some drinks and a *simit* (Turkish sesame bagel).




Thank you so much!


In a large city, the traffic is heavy; crossing highway ramps requires perfect timing—I have to make a mad dash for it. Cars turning right won’t stop for me, and on top of that, there are other vehicles merging from the right.


A high volume of people and cars is just part of life in a major metropolis.



İzmir is Turkey’s third-largest city.


While there are plenty of sidewalks, they are often blocked by parked cars, forcing me to constantly move back and forth between the road and the sidewalk—it’s quite a hassle.


Having to stay constantly alert to my surroundings has been mentally exhausting.


I arrived at the ferry terminal a little past 2:30 PM and caught the 3:00 PM ferry to Alsancak.


The route from Karşıyaka to Alsancak covers 2.6 kilometers by sea.




This is my second time taking a ferry—the first was back in Istanbul.


They allowed me to bring my buggy (cart) on board as is. The trip took about 25 minutes.




Just before 4:00 PM, after covering 37.9 kilometers, I checked into my hotel in İzmir.


The hotel was about 2 kilometers from the ferry terminal. After this, my friend Irfan came to meet up with me.


Having dinner with Irfan.




I’m in the heart of Izmir.


We took a stroll together through Kültürpark.




We had some *çay* (tea), and then he dropped me off at my hotel before we said goodbye.


Tomorrow is my day off. He’ll be acting as my tour guide again in the afternoon.




Distance traveled today: 37.9 km


Total distance traveled from Istanbul: 817.5 km


* Click here for photos taken today.


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