Inspired by the adventurous journeys of the past, the Japanese manufacturer’s event allows you to experience fascinating routes with the reliability of Hiroshima cars. This is the Anatolia-Cappadocia-Black Sea travel story, aboard a Mazda CX-60.
Urgup
From the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia to the precipices of the D915 considered one of the most dangerous roads (or stony ground) in the world to the lush Black Sea coast near Trebizond, the eighth edition of the Mazda Epic Drive aboard the CX-5 SUVs and CX-60 plug-in hybrid unveiled the most special places in Anatolia along an arduous, tortuous and fascinating endurance course of over a thousand kilometers on secondary roads, completed in less than three days.
Dreamlike Cappadocia
Our spectacular and solitary journey from Urgup to Trabzon begins among the geological wonders of Goreme and before the long car march towards the east, we visit with Stoneland Travel the millenary Byzantine monastery of Selime dug inside the fairy “chimneys”, the underground city of Derinkiyu and the Christian churches hidden in the vertical walls that delimit the Ilhara valley. Here the trees offer almonds, black mulberries and pistachios; onyx and obsidian rocks; the air smells of botanical essences and the landscape is punctuated by extraordinary vertical formations of lava and basalt, created more than 30 million years ago when the violent eruptions of the Erciyes, Hasan and Melendiz volcanoes were followed by the cold of the ice age, the subsequent thaw and sandstorms to erode the territory. The intricate natural sculptures, also immortalized in the Star Wars film, offer particularly dreamlike sensations with the colors of the sunset and when the twilight envelops Cappadocia, structures such as the Guzide Cave Hotel and the Yunak Elveri, offer rooms in the caves and romantic elevated views of a truly unique geographical area in the world.
Wheat fields and great works
At dawn the next day – when the Muezzin resounds from the minarets and the hot air balloons take off over Cappadocia – the time comes to start the engines of the Mazda SUVs and for the next 1200km, our travel companion will be the new CX-60. plug-in hybrid propulsion. Leaving the town of Urgup and therefore tourism, jandarma and polis equipped with armored vehicles and speed cameras guard the entrance or exit of each inhabited center as well as many sections of the fast-flowing roads. No car escapes routine checks while the first hour behind the wheel will immediately highlight the excellent comfort of the Japanese sport utility, and the great infrastructural works of Erdogan’s autarchic Turkey, often and willingly contrasted with the simple traditional houses of rural living. . After passing the city of Kayseri towards Sivas and a series of small settlements, the route chosen by Mazda leaves the asphalt in favor of a long dirt road between endless expanses of wheat. The surface is uneven and full of holes but thanks to the off-road mode, the height from the ground and the suspension tuning, the CX-60 tackles the low-grip terrain without jolts and softening the roughness of the off-road section.
The incredible Stone Road
About five hours and 300km from the starting point, the approach to the fertile valleys of the Euphrates will prove to be one of the most exciting moments of the Epic Drive. The natural beauty of the ecosystem and the sense of history that the legendary watercourse instills in those who admire it from above, further enhance the pleasure of traveling along a sinuous and deserted provincial road, surrounded by an apparently uncontaminated nature. The idyll between driving and landscape will stop abruptly in the presence of the first and dark tunnel of the “Kemaliye Tas Yolu”. Built by hand in 1870 to connect the district of Kemaliye with that of Erzincan, officially completed in 2002 and since then known as “Stone Road”, the road of rocks is a mule track literally immersed in a gorge so steep and steep, that the the sun rarely manages to illuminate the river below. The length is just 8.7km and when you exit each of the 38 tunnels (just over two meters high) the views offer frames and refractions with a rare scenic impact. The acoustics of the watercourse and the winds of the Munzur mountains further sublimate the experience so as to mitigate the fear, when the narrow and slippery passage and no more than a couple of meters wide does not allow room for error. The precipice looms and never as in these cases, it is important to have confidence in the traction and braking system of the machine used.
Towards Elazig, between the Tigris and the Euphrates
In this sense, it can be said that the CX-60 plug-in all-wheel drive with 327 horsepower and a purely electric range of 72km declared, knows how to comfort, lull and reassure all occupants thanks to the combination of roominess, efficiency, quiet, quality materials and advanced safety systems. The Kemaliye Tas Yolu therefore represents a dramatic test bench for the Japanese SUV and once back on the asphalt, so are the unprotected curves that climb steeply up the mountains of central Anatolia; a region inhabited for more than 20,000 years which in its long history has always witnessed a perpetual succession of religions and civilizations. For example, Troglodotes (from the Greek words troglo “hole” and dyein “dive into”) lived in the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia, while the Bronze Age saw the flourishing of trade between the local populations and the Assyrians of nearby Mesopotamia, who arrived in Goreme and its surroundings to exchange ivory and lapis lazuli with tools, weapons, cutlery and agricultural tools. In the following centuries Anatolia will be marked by the Hellenic civilization, by the troops of Alexander the Great; from the conquest by the Roman Empire and also by the Byzantines, before the long domination of the Ottoman Empire
Anatolia on the road
The different historical periods of Anatolia – a land of priceless naturist riches and of high strategic value between Asia and Europe – are particularly tangible when in the early hours of the morning, a boat at the gates of Elazig transports the Mazda convoy between a bank and the other of the Euphrates river which, near the modern urban center, widens taking the shape of a lake. From the center of the inlet stands an island surmounted by an Ottoman fortress perched on the apex and used in previous centuries to control the navigable accesses of the region. The landing on dry land signals the beginning of another memorable session behind the wheel with the road that runs along the Euphrates river among olive trees, metalliferous hills and graceful families with ocher roofs at the edge of the woods. When the road rises again, the Sport mode of the CX-60 offers the driver an optimally calibrated steering, 327 overall horsepower (including 191 horsepower from the 2.5 SkyActive petrol engine and 129kW from the electric unit) and 500nm of maximum torque good for a time of 5.8 seconds, in the 0-100. The speed performances and the excellent road holding of the CX-60 even on slippery surfaces, contribute greatly to reaching the most awaited stage of the journey, which curve after curve and once you have passed the city of Erzincan located more than 700km from Urgup. , materializes at 2330 meters above sea level shortly after the Soganli Gecidi Rakim pass.
Luciferin D915
Climbing up a vertical ridge of Mount Soganli and built by the Russian army (and therefore by their prisoners of war) in 1916 after the capture of Trabzon, the D915 contends with the Bolivian carretera de la muerte for the most feared road scepter in the world. from above, it is not difficult to understand why. The roadway is a little wider than the car and every inch of dirt road is flanked by frightening ravines; all of lethal height. Proceeding slowly with sweaty hands and the descent-control of the CX-60 activated, the four-wheel drive seems to manage the slope with ease but it is impossible not to be influenced by the sound of the stones that after having bounced on the bottom of the car, fall to the bottom of the valley. Another cause for concern is that if a car arrives in the opposite direction, the only place with enough space to pass would be one of the 29 hairpin bends that on average have a slope close to 20 degrees and that one of the two cars should reach while running. backwards. In such precariousness, among other things, there is no trace of asphalt, guardrails, signs, rest areas or escape routes. The impervious morphology of the D915 was not enough, we must also consider that the frightening off-road section is a must for anyone who has to travel from the Black Sea coast to Bayburt, passing through the Pontic mountain range. It is therefore a great relief to know that in our case the men from the Mazda organization stop the uphill traffic until the convoy’s CX-5s and CX-60s have finished the most dangerous part of the descent.
From Mount Soganli to the shores of the Black Sea
When you proceed downhill along the merciless D915, the wooden house supported by stilts and built in traditional style with the flag of Turkey on the roof, marks the end of the most critical section but for those proceeding towards the Black Sea, it is good to know that the precipices will continue for another ten kilometers. Net of its danger that does not allow any distraction, the high-altitude road is an unmissable driving experience both for the adrenaline generated by the body of those who face it, and for the magnificent glimpse of the lush valley below and the monumental peaks of the massif. In this latitude, the sharp rocks stand out among clear skies and in the middle of the conifer woods with changing colors, you can see waterfalls, gorges and crevasses. Given the tight schedule, there is no time to delve into the splendid nature of the Pontic Mountains and once in Bayburt with the asphalt again under the wheels tortured by the off-road session just passed, the navigator writes 70km at the end of our epic journey . For history buffs, the epilogue in Trabzon – a city with a history as complex as that of the whole of Anatolia and which for many centuries was the center of important trade and fierce military disputes – can only evoke the genocide of the Armenians of 1915 and the watershed war between Turkey and Greece at the end of which, in the year 1923, the two countries decided to expel Muslims from Greek territory and Christians from Turkish lands with the result that almost two million people were forced to abandon their homes.
Mazda CX-60, un Suv premium
Driving almost 1200km in less than three days using only secondary or dirt roads is an exhaustive test with which to evaluate the robustness, reliability, load capacity, on-board equipment and many other parameters of the car used. It should therefore be doubly emphasized that during the journey marked by many hours of continuous driving and sparse intermediate stops due to tight deadlines, the new Mazda CX-60 in the plug-in hybrid version (prices starting from 52,000 euros) shone with light. thanks to the high levels of comfort, practical and usable technologies, large and comfortable seats (adjustable and ventilated) and a stable, composed and reassuring gait in all circumstances of the itinerary. When you spend more than 10 hours a day in the car – especially driving through mostly uninhabited and remote landscapes – the vehicle becomes a sort of second home and the 4.75-meter-long Japanese SUV with a 570-liter boot and a 17.8kWh, did not disappoint expectations, revealing itself to be an absolutely premium product in every element, detail and function.