On Monday, I finally move on. I leave Gözek, where I have had a great time the last few weeks thanks to Ravi’s hospitality, for Istanbul. I take the direct route over the mountains, which leads over several passes between 800 and 1200 metres.
The first night I am very lucky. It is already dark when I arrive at a restaurant where there is a wooden hut where I am allowed to spend the night.
Tuesday I get the update that my visa for Russia is not waiting in Istanbul after all, but has to be picked up in a Schengen country. The nearest Schengen country would be Greece, but I would have to go into quarantine there on entry. Also, the border between Greece and Turkey is closed and I would have to go via Bulgaria, where an additional test would be required.
I’ll take a diversion on Wednesday via Uzak, where there is a DHL agency, and send a passport and power of attorney from there to Switzerland so that my father can pick up the visa at the Russian Embassy in Bern. Hopefully this will work and the passport will be back in my hands in time before I get to the Russian border.
