Ch 34, Day 7: Approaching the Industrialized Northeast

 14.6
kms, Oct 5, 2012


Bolu
is an large city, with a long, lively pedestrian street being
built--and a couple of hotels... but all are either closed, full or
very expensive. The Traveler ends up walking all the way to the
other side of town and back not really able to enjoy the experience
as he's not very happy with the prospect of having to cough up extra
money for a pricey hotel. Just when he was telling himself how easy
Turkey is to travel around... he's got this. And it's frustrating to
know that there are
cheap
hotels here somewhere and he's just not able to find them--or find
anyone who can direct him to them.









Finally
he makes a last ditch attempt, and goes back to one of the hotels
that is full, and tries to explain that he needs directions to the
cheap hotel area. Finally he get the message across and... sure
enough... down a back alley he finds just the kind of hotel he's
looking for.



Next
morning he meanders through the market area/main mosque/plaza, then
down to the ever present Ataturk plaza/memorial... then walk on back
towards the bus station... and on his way



From
Bolu to Duzce the scenery is quite beautiful. The flat
landscape suddenly changes, and he's following on a highway high,
high up on a hillside with a deep forest valley to the side. There’s
a kind of American feel to this area—with American style houses and
typical American type highwayside businesses and restaurants with big
sign and big parking lots. And then the landscape flattens again…
and he reaches Duzce.



Duzce
has a cozy shopping district with a clean, modern feel to it.
Nothing really distinctive about it except maybe that the main mosque
is a square, modern building rather than the typical Ottoman style.
he wanders on until the city starts to fade a bit… walks past a
couple of schools and through a residential district… Strums in the
Ataturk plaza.



A
peaceful, predictable town to end another peaceful, predictable
chapter traveling across Turkey.





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