Spontaneity – when you simply
do what’s on your mind.
At this moment. NOW!

Fred Moore

© 2009 by Author

A flowering bush discovered alongside a road.

Today we’re driving east of Adana, no destination in mind really; we simply want to escape our confined quarters for a few hours. We’re on the autobahn; as I drive, I think maybe we’ll go to Osmaniye or maybe Iskenderun. It’s a nice morning even though it’s a little hazy and visibility at a distance is not real clear. The mountains are beautiful and it’s a shame we can’t see them this morning. Here’s the toll booth. I press the red push handle and out comes my ticket, I take it and drive on. Carol and I talk about where we’re going even though we’re not really going anywhere.

We cruise past the next exit and then we pass the exit for Iskenderun heading now to Osmaniye. As we crest the hill, the valley where Osmaniye sits off to our right appears, and we decide to exit the ramp at the foot of this hill. This is the exit for Toprakkale we know it as black castle (visitors call it that because it’s built from black volcanic rock, this region is strewn with it.) The little village has the same name and the castle ruin is to the west of the village on a bluff overlooking the area. The plain here is dotted by other castle ruins and it’s said you can see each of them on a clear day.

We drive through the village and our attention is momentarily diverted from the road by a train idling on the track to our right. This train is attention-getting because it’s loaded with military hardware, most prominent are the tanks but there are many other pieces looking equally menacing. I’m not fully versed on military hardware so I can’t tell you what all the pieces are. Based on its direction of travel I venture these war resources are heading south further into Hatay Province south of us.

As we drive out of the village we take a road west and south not really knowing where we’re headed but simply driving. We don’t drive far though, and discover we’re on the main road heading across the Issos Plain where Alexander the Great gained victory over the Persian King Darius II. We’ve been here before but didn’t get here by this route. Again I’m amazed that our road map doesn’t even show us the road that got us here. We decide since we are here we’ll take a moment and re-visit the ruins just off this main highway.

We turn off and make a couple more turns then cross the railroad track on a dirt/gravel lane. There is a string of aqueduct arches among the fruit trees and fields of agriculture. We drive next to them for a few minutes, then over a concrete bridge, and beyond the bridge are more arches and then the lane turns right, though the arches don’t cross the lane; seems too bad we can’t drive through an arch.

These kinds of ruins always fascinate me; here we are in the 21st century driving a Mazda 626 through a field that was centuries ago a major battlefield for soldiers of Alexander the Great! Carol has gotten out to take photos and I sit trying to get my mind around that concept. There are several other structural ruins off in the fields but we’ve not dressed to hike today so we won’t discover anything else.

Ancient aqueduct alongside the road. Below, the fully-loaded military train.

As we drive out of the fields and citrus groves we hear a train and it’s right in front of us; the same train we saw in the village a little while ago. We can reach-out and touch these tanks and other military weapons as the train passes just feet in front of us. CNN News trailers pass through my mind's eye, as I know what this weaponry is capable of. I think to myself; one day before my life is through on this planet MAYBE this awful cargo will be unnecessary and all of humanity can live in peace, but then I think of that old song "...to dream the impossible dream!

We’re back at the main road again, and cross it, headed for the autobahn on-ramp but at the last minute decide: let’s simply drive through Erzin, a village not far down the road.

The "Four Corners" sign A blooming Oleander past the Dortyol.

Oh hey, here’s a village sign indicating Dortyol is to our right. (dort is "four", and yol is "road": four-roads; an intersection). We’re familiar with that particular village and turn in that direction. Once again, it’s a lovely morning for a drive and we’re enjoying the getaway. Here now , just before Dortyol we find the onramp to the autobahn, so we get on it and head back toward Adana.

We drive north and then turn west for home; shortly after we pass through the toll booth we decide to stop for lunch at the truck stop. Several cars and trucks have the same idea, many have filled the petrol station and we drive through to the restaurant. You may remember, this is cafeteria style and always good food. We both have their eggplant special and ayran. After lunch I pull around to the petrol station and fill-up.

Our morning has been fun and, as always, we’ve learned something more about our neighborhood.