{"id":1987,"date":"2011-08-26T22:01:04","date_gmt":"2011-08-26T19:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onmytodd.org\/?p=1987"},"modified":"2013-05-20T17:46:04","modified_gmt":"2013-05-20T15:46:04","slug":"rowanduz-shaqlawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onmytodd.org\/?p=1987","title":{"rendered":"Rowanduz – Shaqlawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

As usual I started cycling later than planned – I left Mahdi and his extremely friendly and hospitable family at half past 11am.<\/p>\n

The landscape just outside Rowanduz was dramatic. The Gali Ali Beg gorge features vertical rock cliffs and was a major obstacle for Hamilton’s road-building endeavours. In his book he describes the gorge and the exploration missions to find a viable way through it – so I had a picture of the place in my head. However, in reality it was much more stunning.<\/p>\n

The ride was way more exhausting than I had expected. A headwind, the hilly terrain, and the heat – more than 48\u00b0C (in the sun) again – didn’t help and I didn’t make it to Arbil, I stopped in Shaqlawa, a touristy town known for it’s pleasant climate, located about 40km from Arbil.<\/p>\n

On the road it sometimes happens that people drive past me then stop to talk to me. They then offer a lift – probably knowing very well that it would be very difficult to fit my bike and my luggage into their cars if I accepted their offer. The amazing thing is, they all come across as if they wouldn’t be bothered by any such difficulties and would find a way to make it work. Maybe I should challenge one of these guys one day. :)<\/p>\n

Cycled: 64km<\/p>\n