In the beginning, my intention was to make a trip of a few weeks. But as I read more and more mouth-watering travel memoirs of all that Africa overland trips, I ended up going all the way from Istanbul down to Cape Town with my vehicle. There have been a few unpleasant incidents and mishaps, yes, but it was mostly full of beauties, unforgettable memories and possibly lifetime friendships. A few weeks after returning to Istanbul, that is 19th of April, 2006, I have virtually returned to real life, too. However part of my mind and heart is still in Africa

What I missed
Although I sticked to my originally planned route, I did make a few alterations, too; that was off course until the border of Zambia. After being expelled from Zambia, it was not an alteration any more but a whole new route, that is my plan B, leaving Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia totally out of picture.

That changes also meant that I was deprived from seeing some sights such as Omo Valley (Ethiopia) which I had to skip due to robbery incident in Sudan, Victoria Falls (Zambia and Zimbabwe) which I liked to see so bad but also had to remove from my schedule due to problems in Zambia border, Kalahari Dessert (Botswana), Okavango River and Delta (Botswana), Namib Dessert and Skeleton Coast (Namibia).

What I Caught
The most impressive sights I have seen were Palmira (Syria), Petra and Wadi Rum (Jordan), Western Dessert (Egypt), Lalibela (Ethiopia), mountain gorillas in Virunga Mountains (Uganda-Ruanda), Serengeti (Tanzania), Zanzibar Island, Kruger National Park and Cape Agulhas/Southernmost point of Africa (South Africa). But all that people I was lucky to meet all through my trip was I believe no less of a catch. Chris, whom we made a small part of the trip together, Nando, who turned the horrible Wadi Halfa wait into a pleasant rest for me, Mehmet, whom I met in Khartoum and broke legs and arms to help me when I indeed needed any help I could possibly get, Meltem the Monk who sold her Ferrari in Uganda, Barış and all the rest. I am still in touch with all of them.

Whom I was Caught by
I got caught, too. After I returned, I guess it was mid May 2006, a lady called me and told me she has been in Lalibela, Ethiopia where she met two young locals. When she said she was Turkish, they told her that they had a Turkish friend and at once went their home to grab an envelope with a letter to me inside. Next day I received the envelope from this nice lady.

You Got Mail from Ethiopia

Before opening it, I knew who it was coming from: I met these 2 young guys in one of my evening walks in Lalibela. We walked together and chatted for a while. One of them was rather fluent in English. They then invited me to their tiny one-room home and showed their hospitality. Ermiyas and Alene then walked me back to my hotel where we bided farewell.

Ermiyas (left) and Alene

Turns out that 2 friend wrote a letter to me and as they were trying to find a tourist who can mail the letter for them, they bumped into Sema. That's the story.

Figures, figures…
Among my readers, many was interested in the "cost" of this trip. I have been asked many times about how much the vehicle has cost me, what is my daily expenditure etc. If I disclose how much I spent during preparation phase (including the cost of my vehicle), it might be deceiving as per the general cost of such a trip. I'd rather list the expenses from day 1 of the trip until the end, which I believe will be a better key to understand what sort of budget is involved in this.
The comfort level of my trip, as per my own standards, was usually mediocre. On rare occasions, I stayed in luxury hotels. On others I have slept in the car, outdoor in a sleeping bag, in hotel rooms (!) with only three surrounding doors or in cottages made of rush. Most of the times I based my preferences on the single rooms of budget hotels, usually populated by backpackers, referred to by Lonely Planet of Bradt books, with a bathroom and WC where available. For some of my friends, this standard was absolute misery whilst for some of the voyagers it was absolute luxury. The latter is particularly the case for those who travel on a budget of US$15.00-20.00 per day. What I am trying to say is that it is possible to find way cheaper options than I did. How about more luxury? You know there is no limit to it.
Putting all the above in figures:

- It took me 186 days to return to Istanbul (in a plane) after I left home.

- For 156 days, I was on African soil, a 15 days planned trip and another 15 days of obligatory trip to Istanbul adds it up to 186.

- I have been to 13 countries (excluding Turkey) in these 156 days.

- I have passed borders 14 times. I failed to pass them once. I have been expelled from that country, to which I was never able to enter anyway.

- From my backyard in Istanbul to the container in Cape Town Harbor I made 29,580km

- That divided by the days in Africa says I have made and average of 190km per day while I was there.

- I have initially set a daily budget of US$50.00. That was going to include all accommodation, food, fuel and other travel costs, vehicle maintenance etc but exclude flight tickets to/from Turkey. It was not long till it hit me that it has not been a realistic target and so I revised it as US$75.00. That was not easy to match, either.

- If I replace the days I have been with Buket and Alican, on which I was way more generous in order for them to spend a comfortable holiday, with my otherwise would be figures, that brings me to the following figures:

	Accommodation	US$3,373.00	(Hotel, laundry, sometimes breakfast)
	Travel	US$4,467.00	(Fuel, toll, vehicle repair and maintenance,    vehicle entrance fees, parking fees)
	Food	US$1,266.00	(Food, drinks)
	Visa, customs fees	US$1,235.00	(All expenditure endured on borders)
	Miscellaneous	US$1,979.00	(National park entry tickets, stationery,    internet, telephone)
	TOTAL	US$12,320.00

- This total divided by 156 days I have spent in Africa gives me an average daily spent of US$79.00 which is, considering the revised target, not bad at all.

- I bought a total of 3,224 liters of fuel. That corresponds to a 10.89lt/100km consumption which is, considering the road conditions and the vehicle's loading, not bad either.

- I paid US$2,258.00 for this 3,224 liters of fuel. That means a per liter cost of 70 cents which means, considering the cost of fuel in Turkey in May 2006 (US$1.42/l) I traveled quite economically.