Starting my first World Trip was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life! Since I had never done something like this before, I had to do a ton of research to ensure I was fully prepared. It took me a year and a half to plan and organize everything. Most of the time went into transforming the Defender into a fully-equipped camper suitable for Overlanding. I made a vlog about the interior, including the costs.
You can watch it right here.

I started by learning about my Land Rover's ins and outs. As an experienced DIY grease monkey, I was especially interested in the mechanical side of my Defender, so I read many blogs, watched uncountable YouTube videos, and talked to experts to really get to know my car. The pictures on the right say a lot.
I also wanted to learn how to maintain and repair a Defender on the go, which required me to know how to fix the car and what tools and equipment I needed.

Is this really necessary if you want to go Overlanding? Not really, but it does help a lot if you ever encounter problems with your car. And you will because that's what cars do... They break down eventually. Also, knowing the basics, like changing a tire, is helpful in any situation.

Wild camping on a mountain somewhere in Italy

Türkiye'ye hoşgeldiniz ; Welcome to Turkey

Ok, I've been to Turkey once, but that was mostly work-related and a long time ago. This time it would be a completely different experience. I entered the country via Greece (at Kipi, Ipsala border) and traveled to the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Peninsula, a national historical park. It was the site of a major battle between the Allied forces, mostly British, Australian, and New Zealand troops known as the ANZACs, and the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire during the First World War.

The battle took place from April 25, 1915, to January 9, 1916, and was one of the bloodiest of the war, with approximately 250,000 casualties on each side. The ANZACs and other Allied troops were eventually forced to withdraw from the peninsula. The battle ended in a decisive Ottoman victory led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who later became Turkey's first president. 

The impressive 33,000 hectares park is filled with memorials and graveyards, which is worth the visit

After a short ferry ride from the peninsula to Çanakkale, I officially arrived in Asia (yes, Turkey is partly European and partly Middle East). From here, I traveled further south, happily surprised by the overwhelming Turkish hospitality. Regularly I was invited to drink some "çay" (Turkish tea) during spontaneous encounters, but it didn't stop there.

While searching for a good wild camping spot, I saw a Turkish family having a picnic. I exited the car to ask them if they knew I could travel further down the road. After a short conversation, they invited me to join them for lunch. While we got to know each other, they spontaneously asked me to stay at their place. Because... why on earth would I go wild camping when I can stay in an actual house hahaha.

Well... after a long day of travel, I was in the middle of a beautiful nature reserve, so leaving this place after a few hours would be a pity. So we agreed that I would call them and meet them at their house as soon as I left this place and three days later I did. We had a lovely bbq till late in the evening, and I stayed for a night. I was asked the following day at breakfast if I needed to do some laundry. Euhh... Yes!! And so I dropped my filthy clothes in the washing machine and soon after everybody left the house because they all had stuff to do. And there I was, alone in the house of the lovely Kamacı family. I was blown away by their hospitality, trust, and overall kindness. I mean, would you trust your home and belongings to a complete stranger? After an incredible week, I was recharged and continued my travels. This experience will stay with me forever.

Following the coastline, I visited Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye, Kaş, Antalya, and Alanya towards Mersin. From here, I traveled further down inland towards Cappadocia.

The sunny coast of West Turkey

Fairy chimneys, hot Air Balloons, and freezing temperatures

By now, it's the end of January 2020. Although the temperature at the coast was pleasant (around 17 degrees), this was about to change. The further I traveled inland, the colder it got. When I arrived at my destination, it was around zero degrees. This didn't bother me because I had a mission; Cappadocia!

It is known for its surreal desert landscapes filled with unworldly fairy chimneys and unique rock formations. The rock formations (picture on the right) are formed by the erosion of the soft, tuff rock over millions of years. Also, archaeologists estimate there are over 200 underground cities; some even held over 20,000 people at one point in time! I marked this location on my travel wishlist because it's just amazing.

But there's more. Around sunrise, countless hot air balloons ascend from the valley daily, creating a dazzling, colorful spectacle. I saw the pictures, but I wanted to see them for myself. I parked the Defender at the edge of the mountain in love valley and slept inside the car because it was too cold to put up the rooftop tent. The following day I was in for a surprise! Hopefully, I opened the car door, and I saw not a single hot air balloon! Instead, I saw snow. A massive blanket of snow!

There was no way to safely leave the mountain's edge as I couldn't identify the road anymore. My only option was to sit and wait it out. In the following hours, temperatures dropped below zero. Oh... btw, did I already tell you that I don't have a heater in the car installed? The following two days weren't pleasant, but I kept warm tucked away in my sleeping back with lots of hot coffee to keep me warm. On the upside, I didn't see any snowfall anymore. On the downside, I didn't see any hot air balloons either due to the bad weather conditions.

It was a semi-complicated border crossing because I had to visit many small offices for all the paperwork, but the people were very friendly and helpful on both sides. The whole process took about two and a half hours. 

The first few minutes in Iraqi Kurdistan were surrealistic, but somehow it felt familiar. While still in Turkey, I reached out to Hannah (also Dutch) via the website couchsurfing.com. She's been living and working there for a couple of years, and I could stay at her place for a few days in Duhok, the capital of Kurdistan situated in the north. She introduced me to Kurdish customs, traditions, and some very bad tequila, haha.

After a few days, we said goodbye, and I continued discovering the country, not knowing what was about to happen.

Welcome to Iraqi Kurdistan (North Iraq)

Inside the ruins of an old hotel which overlooks Amedi

One day, after setting up camp, I met Farman, who was having a picnic with his family near me. His English was excellent, so he asked me to join them for tea. We talked about many things, and we had a really fun time. Right before they left, Farman invited me to his house for dinner, and because it was such a lovely encounter, I agreed, and before I knew it, I was sitting at their dinner table.
The evening flew by, and Farman insisted that I stay the night. The following day I left after some breakfast and a haircut (Farman's wife owns a hair salon at home, but he is also a pretty good hairdresser. ), and I returned to the same spot where we met, and all was good for two days.

But in the afternoon, a pick-up truck arrived carrying six guys in full combat gear. They weren't Peshmerga but Asayish, which is like the Kurdish CIA. They were friendly but didn't understand what the hell I was doing there, haha. I called Farman, who gave me his number in case of an emergency, and he talked to the guys. It turned out I was wild camping close to the presidential residency. Double oops! 

Farman was so kind to pick me up and guide me to another camping spot where I could stay for the night. But it didn't stop there because first, we went back to his house, picked up his family, and some food for a big picnic. "Eric, you can stay here," said Farman, "or you can join us for a small family get-together in the summerhouse of my sister up in the mountains where it's nice and cool. Before I could answer, Farman added, "I already talked to my sister, and she and her husband would love to meet you!" So I thought... Why not! The next day we all got into our cars and drove east.

Shit is about to happen

The small family get-together consisted of twenty(!) people. And what incredible fun it was. After the acquaintance, we had a massive dinner and partied all night. The following day, some interesting news popped up on my phone. Iran decided to close their bother with Kurdistan due to the many corona infections. Mmm... That's not good. The next day, Turkey responded and closed the border as well. Great, I'm stuck. But it didn't end there. Kurdistan was also taking action to control the Covid-19 outbreak. First, they closed the provincial borders and, soon after, the municipality boundaries, which meant nobody could go home, and we all had to stay at the small summerhouse.

If you put an average Dutch family together in a small house for a month, it wouldn't end well, haha. But not here. We all made the best of it. We leveled the area next to the house, put up an old UNHCR tent stored in the shed, made a fire pit, and partied some more. Luckily, we were allowed to get some groceries in the nearest village, and we 'survived' like this for a month. Eventually, with the correct paperwork, government officials gave the green light to leave the area. We said goodbye, and we went.

The small summer house where we stayed with 20 people. On the right, you can see the UNHCR we put up next to the house

Leave this area within 24 hours!

After another month, we got the necessary paperwork, and Farman, his family, and I could travel to his house in the Pirmam area, close to Erbil. It took three times longer than usual because a zillion checkpoints were demanding to see our travel documents. At the last checkpoint, we had to wait almost an hour. Farmans said everything was ok, and they just had to check a few things, and eventually, we were allowed to go home.

All was ok, or so I thought. After two weeks, Farman got a call. He asked me, "Do you remember the guy from the last checkpoint?" I did. "He called and asked if you were still here and that he wanted to talk to me." Ok, I said when? "He didn't know." The following evening, at about 10 AM, Farman jumped up and told me 'the guy' was here. I put on my jacket, walked to the gate, and opened it, and there he was, accompanied by six guys in full combat mode, all carrying automatic weapons. It was the Asayish again.

After a short conversation, he turned to Farman, and they started talking in Kurdish. I had no idea what this was all about, but soon I was told I was in the 'president's backyard' again, and I had to leave within 24 hours. I was dumbfounded... I asked the CIA guy if I could get 48 hours, and he replied, NO!! I looked at him, wished him goodnight in Kurdish, and walked away. Not the neatest I could, but this made no sense!

I contacted the Dutch consulate to inform them about my little adventure. And because the military was involved, this became a consular case for the Ministry of foreign affairs. What was going on?!? After a very short night trying to arrange whatever I could, I eventually got in contact with a friendly guy living close to Erbil named Hawre. The next day I said goodbye to Farman and his family, which was hard as we became friends for life!

A Covid-19 test in Iraqi Kurdistan

Another Dutch guy

Hawre was a 4x4 enthusiast as well and was working for a Dutch NGO. Luckily the coronavirus restrictions were eased, so we could travel to closeby places and wild camp now and then. One evening Hawre organized a BBQ (on the right, you see him preparing some delicious fish) with some of his Dutch colleagues, so I could finally have a Dutch conversation again, and you won't believe this. One of his colleagues, named Robert, told me he grew up in a village near where I was born, haha. I traveled thousands of kilometers, and the first Dutch I encounter comes from the same region as me. And there was another surprise because who also showed up? Hannah. She had changed jobs and now also worked for the Dutch NGO. 

In a month, Hawre and I became best friends. Many trips, dinners, walks, and talks later, there was some unexpected news. Turkey decided to reopen the border with Kurdistan. I still had to arrange a lot of paperwork to make the border crossing possible, but after four months, I finally had the opportunity to leave this country. 

I entered Iraqi Kurdistan on February 15, 2020, and left on June 16, 2020.

Exit strategy

The border crossing at the Kurdish side was pretty quick, but once I entered Turkey, I had to park my car and go inside a big white tent, where they told me that I had to go into quarantine for 12 hours... that's just what I needed on top of everything else. Everybody was very friendly, and I eventually stayed in the quarantine zone for the rest of the night. I got a hot meal, plenty of çay, and breakfast the following day.
All was ok, and I was now officially back in Turkey!

I knew Covid-19 would be a massive problem for my future travel plans, but I stayed positive. I stayed in Turkey for over two months. I only visited the civilized world for groceries and then quickly returned to wild camping. I had an awesome time discovering more of Turkey's inland and was pretty much waiting it out. I planned to go to Georgia, but I wasn't sure if the border was open or if there were any quarantine rules due to conflicting information. As you can imagine, I wasn't looking forward to getting stuck in another country for four months. My only exit strategy was Bulgaria, and because it was unclear how long that border would stay open, I decided then and there that I would return to the Netherlands. 

I traveled via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. The whole trip took just a couple of days.

Looking back on this experience, I can only say it was a hell of an adventure! I decided to go on a World Trip because I wanted to do something else and add a new chapter to my life. Well... I can only say that I received an unexpected bonus! I asked for a stick of gum and got a lifetime supply of fresh breath, and if I knew what I know now, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.