Ilgin to Kadinhani – 30th September
Distance: 30.9 km – Elevation +230 m -160 m
Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 27 degrees
I left at 7.00 this morning after a very good night’s sleep. I decided again to skip breakfast and as I made my way out of the Otel I was stopped by a member of the restaurant staff who thought I was trying to leave the Otel without paying, I tried to explain that I had paid last night but not understanding he indicated that I should wait whilst he made a telephone call, after which he apologized with a smile and a bow and I was able to continue on my way.
Ilgin, like Akşehir, was located on the “Royal Road” and it has come under the rule of many dynasties including, the Hittite Empire, the Lycians, Persia, and Macedonian after Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, and then the Roman Empire and the Byzantine State and in the 10th century, the Muslim Arabs, and the Ottomans.
It is a thermal springs town and there were several hotels in the centre of the town catering for those visitors to the thermal springs.It is quite a long town and it was 8.00 am before I came to the town centre where the town was beginning a new day. Secondary school teenagers arriving by bus and primary school children being escorted by mum and dad, probably not much different to what happens throughout the rest of the world. I walked past the local Gendarmerìe and caught the eye of one of the gendarmes who called me over. Always, my first word of introduction is ” Ingiltere” and that creates an immediate sphere of interest and it was not long before I had a group of gendarmes all shouldering machine guns wanting to know what an Englishman was doing in their town. Then came the selfies and a parting gift of a delicious bottle of fruit juice.
There was no cafe like yesterday to enjoy breakfast so I called into a mini-market and bought some biscuits and chocolate and sat outside with a cup of coffee. It was not long before I was joined by a dog with the saddest of faces, although he looked a little happier when I left having shared my biscuits and chocolate! It was another beautiful day, with clear blue skies and warm sunshine. I am still on the Anatolian plateau so the scenery is much like yesterday, with lots of golds, browns and yellows with a backdrop of distant mountains.
The journey today at 30 kilometres was much shorter than yesterday and I arrived on the outskirts of Kadinhani at 4.30 pm and in the centre of town, I called into a pharmacy to buy fresh dressings for my fall wounds. The pharmacist spoke very good English and like everyone I meet he was inquisitive about my presence here in this part of Turkey. He was also able to clearly direct me to the only hotel in town. Well, the hotel was in fact an oteli and I am staying tonight in the Kadınhanı Belediyesi Oteli for the princely sum of £3.50 per night. I wasn’t clear as to the difference between an oteli and a normal otel but I know now! It is a very very basic place to sleep in a very run-down building in the back streets of the town. My room was spacious enough and the bed comfortable but to say the room needed a coat of paint would be an understatement. There was no hot water, an unusable shower, no towels, no toilet paper and soap that looked as if it had washed a thousand hands! – fortunately the last three items I have in my rucksack.
