I had to wait a couple of weeks before my Schengen visa became valid. So I booked a ticket to Istanbul instead.
Suddenly Turkey restricted e visas for South Africans. Will the airline allow me to board ? Fortunately they reversed their technical glitch a couple of days before my flight.
After arriving in Istanbul, I assembled my bicycle. Kathy Panton’s notes enabled me to easily reach the edge of the city. The only difficulties were a short stretch on the D020 and fording a shallow pond.