Saturday 11th October (con't)
Arrived in Istanbul, Turkey and slowly made my way out of the airport (definitely a busy one!) and to my hostel. By the time I arrived they were preparing dinner (falafel) so I just hung around until that was ready and had an easy night (seeing l didn't have my bearings in the city yet).
Sunday 12th October
Joining my tour today so I moved to the hotel we are staying in before heading out to see some of Istanbul. l walked along the river and through Gülhane Park and found the Aya Sofya. It is very interesting in the fact that it is both a Christian Cathedral and a Muslim Mosque together. Unfortunately half of it is under renovation though which kind of ruins the atmosphere. After a quick lunch in the park (with the stray cats!) and a wander around the area, I found the Basilica Cistern. Very cool, complete with fish and 2 Medusa heads that no one really knows why they are down there.
This evening we had our tour meeting and met the group. My first tour that is not majority Australian. We have 7 Canadians, 5 Australians and a South African, plus a Turkish guide. After the usual tour briefing we went to a local restaurant for dinner.
Monday 13th October
We started early this morning with our orientation walking tour. First stop was the Blue Mosque. It is very impressive, both inside and out. We came out into the Hippodrome and explored the area. From there we walked through some of the Grand Bazaar and made our way to the Suleymaniye Camii Mosque. Also very beautiful and with a great view over Istanbul. Next we went down to the (general) bazaar which has "everything you can think of and everything you can't". We then made it to the Spice (Egyptian) Bazaar and l had my first taste of real Turkish Delight. Yum! The Bazaars are very clean and tidy, considering just how much stuff is there and I don't think I was expecting the proper store setup of some of them.
After some time to explore and have lunch, we took the ferry down the Bosphorus River to meet our van to take us to Ankara for the night. We got an amazing view back over the city from the ferry, a nice way to see it. Ankara is actually the capital of Turkey and looks like quite a big city but we really were just there to break up the drive to Cappadocia so didn't see much. We did find a great local restaurant though that have us so many free appetisers that no one really needed their dinner; it was great food though.
Tuesday 14th October
Road trip day today as we make our way to Cappadocia, with some awesome stops along the way. First stop was at Anitkabir, the monumental tomb of Ataturk, the founder of the republic of Turkey. A very impressive monument and we were there during a visit by the President of Singapore.
Next stop was at a salt lake which being the end of Summer is mostly dry so we could walk out into it. Such an amazing view and a great little pedicure/massage for our feet ;) Our last stop for the day was at an ancient underground city, built BC, they were used by many different civilisations, first of which was the first Christians, hiding from the Roman Empire.
We arrived in Goreme, Cappadocia in time to head to the local Hamam before dinner. Definitely an experience; the massages were fantastic though and the staff definitely have fun with all the tourists. We tried the pottery kebab for dinner which was tasty but unfortunately I succumbed to all the different food (in particular our lunch today on the road) and was sick all night. I've done very well with not being sick so far so I guess it had to happen once.
Wednesday 15th October
After a long night and basically no sleep, it was up well before dawn for our hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. I still wasn't feeling well but the views were just amazing (I really need some new words to describe everything I'm seeing!). The scenery of this area is just so unique but maybe even more impressive was the 100-odd other balloons taking off and flying through the sky!
Once the rest of the world woke up we travelled slightly out of town and visited a local pottery workshop for a demonstration and shopping. The pottery was so nice pretty much everyone bought something. After lunch by the river, we went to the Goreme open air museum. This is the main tourist area to see the famous fairy chimneys of the area. The natural formations are impressive enough but then people have carved homes and churches etc into them!
Tonight is our local dinner at a local family's home. Lucky by then I was starting to feel a bit better so was able to enjoy the food which was really good.
Thursday 16th October
This morning we started with a walk through the valleys. So beautiful and such amazing scenery: the fairy chimneys, valleys, autumn colours and countryside. We even saw the original pigeon holes (cut into the side of the cliffs so the inhabitants could collect their droppings for fertiliser). We stopped at a local place for traditional gozleme (Turkish pancakes) for lunch.
After a relaxing afternoon we visited the Whirling Dirviş. The religious practice is definitely unique and was interesting to see. After another big day tonight was our Turkish night. A very fun night with good food, entertainment and even some dancing. We watched a number of different traditional dances including belly dancing, which I was called up to participate in!
Friday 17th October
Time to leave Cappadocia this morning so back onto the van. Our first stop was at a little place, Aksaray - Sultanhani Caravanserai. It is now just an empty building with lots of rooms but it was cool to see and imagine what used to be there. Next stop was in Konya (birthplace of Whirling derviş) at the museum, followed by lunch (Turkish pide! Yum). This afternoon's stop was at Catalhoyuk, an archaeological site with 7 layers/levels of civilisations! The oldest of which is said to be the oldest ever found! It reminded me of my interest in archaeology when I was little, there is just so much history in Turkey, it really was central in so many aspects of history.
Tonight is our homestay in a local family's house in a local village. We arrived and found our rooms, they have a great set up for tour groups in the whole downstairs area. We are mixing up roommates from now on so excited to get some sleep and spend more time with the other people on tour. We've got a really good group, with great dynamics, including with our CEO (leader) Mutlu.
After a quick walk around town we were back and had dinner, prepared by our hosts. It was such a nice meal, followed by a night of just chatting and enjoying our homestay.
Saturday 18th October
After a great breakfast we said goodbye to our hosts and drove south to Antalya (Mutlu's hometown). We did an orientation walk and saw the clock tower, Hadrian's Gate (entrance into the old town) and the great water views near the harbour. It is a really nice city so glad we have the afternoon to explore. Some of us took the tram down to the beach which was gorgeous. We saw lots of people paragliding off the cliffs which would be so much fun. We stopped for a drink and enjoyed the crystal clear water and beautiful afternoon sun before slowly walking back into town (stopping for another drink and then dinner on the way back). We wandered through the local shops for a bit and then relaxed by our hotel pool for the evening. It is a nice hotel here but so random, when I got into my room with Nancy, it was a ground level room and there was a scooter parked outside, plugged into the power inside our room! We thought it was a bonus feature of the room but no such luck ;)
Sunday 19th October
Pam and I woke up early to go to Starbucks for a 'real' coffee but unfortunately being Sunday it was closed that early. Still, it was a lovely walk through town while it was quiet on the streets. Leaving Antalya, along the drive we stopped at the Church of St. Nicholas (yes, Santa) in Demre. We arrived at our boat and accommodation for the night. The afternoon was spent sailing along the coast and through some of the islands. We saw some ancient ruins and even sailed over the 'sunken city' from about 300AD. We made a couple of swim stops and enjoyed the beautiful Mediterranean Sea... just amazing! Before we settled in for the night we went to Kekova Island to see the Simena Castle and archaeological ruins. We had a nice relaxed night on the boat and our boat crew and Mutlu gave us all Turkish names, mine is Ceylin [Jaylin]. So we have Mutlu and Australian name: Matilda. We headed to bed early on the top deck of the boat underneath the most amazing sky I've ever seen! There were so many stars you almost couldn't make out individual ones. It was crazy to see whole galaxies and the northern hemisphere sky (it's always weird not to be able to see the southern cross though).
Monday 20th October
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise on the boat before sailing and one last swim stop in the Mediterranean. Once we disembarked we had short drive to Kaş, a really lovely little seaside town. We spent the afternoon wandering around the shops, stopping for lunch and a drink by the water. We have had fantastic weather for the costal part of our trip; I'm enjoying the last of the warm weather I'll be getting for a while.
The whole group met this evening for a walk around town to see 'The Ancient Theatre'. A Greek style amphitheatre with stunning views. After a lovely dinner we did a bit more shopping (I'm buying more souvenirs in Turkey than I have my entire trip so far) and some of us continued on to a local bar. We had some great entertainment (a group of oldies dancing to the Elvis/Johnny Cash style band) plus the moment when 2 dogs came straight into the bar and just hung out with us for a while!
Tuesday 21st October
We're saying goodbye to the Mediterranean and the Anatolia area today as we drive up to Pummukele. On our way we stopped for some local yoghurt (natural yogurt with honey & crushed walnuts... yum).
Once we arrived in Pamukkale we headed up to the ancient site of Hierapolis built on top of the white "castle" (the famous cliffs). There's a museum which we saw but the highlight was the 2 Chinese ladies (1 of which was a tour guide) absolutely going at it, screaming at each other while everyone just walked past. So random but kind of amusing. Then we headed to the actual city ruins which are amazing. They reminded me of Delos in Greece, just because of the size of the ruins. There is so much still there! One of the most intact (& restored) buildings is the amphitheatre which is enormous and had the most amazing view over the ancient city. Just before sunset we made our way to THE white cliffs. They truly are incredible; just a build up of calcium from the thermal waters but looks more like a snowy mountain. We took our time walking down and enjoying the spectacular view, the warm thermal water and taking hundreds of photos. We also got treated to a fantastic sunset on the way down and a great view over the twinkling lights of the city as it got dark. A seriously good afternoon. This tour has been so amazing, with so much happening everyday!
We found out that it was Clara's birthday today (she kept it very quiet) so after singing to her on the van, we all had dinner together at a nice outdoor restaurant just next to the hotel and they (& Mutlu) surprised us all with a cake and even fireworks (or life size sparklers).
Wednesday 22nd October
On the van again this morning and off to Selçuk. We stopped just outside of town at a carpet maker's workshop and briefly saw how they handspin, dye and make traditional Turkish carpets. It is very impressive and I can see why they are so expensive. After tea and cake we went into town to go to the actual carpet store where we saw the finished products. After lunch we checked into our hotel and quickly went and saw the ruins of St John's Basilica and castle (honestly not that impressive after yesterday and knowing we are going to Ephesus this afternoon). We made it to Ephesus and saw it all. There is an extra section that is currently being reconstructed that was cool. They have all the excavation findings laid out so you can kind of see the archaeological process. Then we saw the famous library which has been rebuilt using original parts and another impressive amphitheatre. Finally at the end is the 'harbour road' which led to the harbour that no longer exists which is a cool view.
In the evening we had dinner at our hotel and then went into town to a local bar where we had a great, relaxed night. We had a few drinks, tried Nargile (Turkish Shisha) and even learnt to play backgammon.
Thursday 23rd October
Before we left today we saw one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis. Only basic ruins are there now but cool to say I've seen one of the ancient wonders.
Off to Ayvalik today for a relaxing day after the last few which have been so busy. We are staying in a local 'pansion' which is really cool, kind of a large B&B, or a cross between a small backpackers and someone's home. Today is market day where people from the nearby islands (some Turkish, some Greek) visit for their shopping. It is definitely more of a local market than for tourists but we had a look around and wandered down to the waterfront. Not the best weather today (rainy and very windy) so a lot of us ended up in this cute coffee shop Mutlu found and then she took us back to the markets to shop with a local's knowledge.
A quiet night tonight, we all went out for a basic dinner (Turkish jacket potatoes), then back to the pansion for some quiet drinks.
Friday 24th October
Making our way back to Istanbul, first we have one night in Canakkale. On our way we stopped at Troy. Lucky we were warned because compared to the last couple of ruins we'd been to, it is nothing special. The excavation site has not been kept up so everything's starting to overgrow again... kind of a good example of how they disappear in the first place though. It was cool to see though and of course we saw the Trojan Horse.
Once arrived in Canakkale we had a little bit of a look around at the local bazaar and shops. After a group dinner at a local restaurant we saw the Trojan horse that was used in the movie Troy that is now in display on the harbour. Then Mutlu took us to a local bar that had a great live band playing. It was kind of strange not knowing or understanding most of the songs, especially when everyone else is singing along, still a lot of fun though.
Saturday 25th October
An early start this morning to visit Gallipoli. We took the ferry back to Europe and stopped first at Anzac Cove and one of the Anzac cemeteries, then we headed up to Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair. Definitely an emotional experience to be there; I've been to a few war memorial places now but nothing anywhere near as close to home as Gallipoli.
A long drive back into Istanbul this afternoon. After a quick rest, we all met for one last group dinner. I am sad to be finishing this trip, it was amazing and we had a really great group and fantastic tour leader. After dinner, some of us went over to the Taxim area (across the water) to a club for some drinks and dancing. It was a cool place, on the top floor of a pretty dodgy looking building with great view over the city.
Sunday 26th October
The end of another tour means a lot of goodbyes. Throughout the morning we said goodbye to those leaving and a few of us that still had another day explored the Spice Markets again. After saying goodbye last night, then again at the hotel this morning, we ran into Mutlu again on our way so had our personal shopper back! After picking up some last minute souvenirs we walked over the Gatala Bridge and back again to the hotel.
After seeing how nice the area around Taxim Square is last night, we decided to go back and explore a bit more. After our actual final goodbye to Mutlu (I think we said it at least 5 times) we made our way slowly up to the square doing some shopping on the way. It is definitely a busy area but quite nice. Daylight savings finished last night so it was well and truly dark by 5:30pm so we had an early dinner in one of the many restaurants on the Gatala Bridge and made our way back to the hotel for an early night (the hectic 2 week tour has caught up in us all).
Monday 27th October
The last few of us still here met this morning to visit the Topkapi Palace museum and harem. It was very impressive, sooo many tiled walls! Also countless amounts of jewel encrusted items, the Ottomans definitely had a lot of wealth! After a quick lunch we said our final goodbyes and I had quiet afternoon at the hotel repacking and relaxing after such a busy tour.
