We had a couple of mountain ranges to cross on our way to Konya where we were having an exhaust brake fitted at Sahin MAN-Mercedes.
We were soon surrounded by the snowy peaks of the Taurus mountains and when we reached 1500 metres, snow was lying along the road side although the carriageway was completely clear. It was weird to have so much snow around us when the previous day we had been sitting on the beach enjoying the warm sun.
We easily found Mustafa at Sahin MAN-Mercedes with the indispensable help of our Satnav. We also met Ali, the owner and his team soon got to work fitting the exhaust brake and when the work was done Ali took us in our truck to another company who were to fit the foot switch and connect it to the exhaust brake. Everyone we met was kind and friendly and we were regularly offered tea and asked whether we needed anything to eat. By the time the work was completed it was almost 7 pm. We had a rule never to travel after dark so we asked Mustafa if we could stay there overnight – he assured us we could stay with “peace of mind”. At 9 pm there was a quiet knock on our door – it was one of the technicians asking if we needed anything before they went home.
The workforce reappeared at 8 am the following morning.
We had found Mustafa through an app called “IOverlander” from which travellers could get world wide information about such things as where to stop overnight, where to get water, where to get truck repairs and so on. Travellers could recommend companies that had given good and efficient service. Until we explained it to him, Mustafa had no idea his company had been recommended on this app. He proudly posted a photo of our truck on Facebook saying that he was doing work for a British couple. Someone posted – “Mustafa you have started working internationally, good luck”
