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Posts tagged ‘turkey’

Venice to Turkey 22

Day 22, Istanbul, May 25

We sleep in to 8AM today. We eat in the coffee shop on the first floor and they hand us a free breakfast. We stroll the hundred yards to the Tower on top of the hill and buy tickets to enter. €30 each. Priced in Euros, but only Lira and CCs accepted, interesting. The line is about 50 yards long.

The views from the top are great! We can see the whole city almost. After walking around the complete tower, we go down and head for the river, a fairly steep downhill. We walk across the bridge and almost immediately find the Spice Market. Very interesting indoor market that takes up several acres. Out the back side of the Spice Market, we step into the Grand Bazaar, a market to rival Cairo’s Souk. We walk a half mile through the Souk before turning around and heading back. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, I lost a group of photos of the markets.

We make it back to the river and take a ferry across for 7 Lira (about 20 cents) each. Then it is almost 2 PM (remember we slept in) and the waterfront is lined with restaurants. We find one and have a light lunch of eggplant and salad.

Now we make the trek back up the hill to the Tower and back to our hotel. We take a much loved nap and head back out to find dinner.

We walk around and the crowds are fierce. We realize that tomorrow is a holiday for fasting and people are eating to prepare for it. Thoughts come to mind of people back home finding out that they can’t buy gasoline the next day so they fill up today. Okay, I know it’s a bad analogy but you get the idea.

We find a street with really good Turkish food and we sit down. First I ask the waiter if they serve wine and we are informed the entire street is dry. Well, as the wine drinkers that we are, we get up and walk away.

We settle on a restaurant named, Guney, next to the restaurant where we ate last night. The food is very good and they serve good Turkish wine.

Back in our hotel, we have a less than adequate room (after the horrible room we started with yesterday) where the AC died and we can’t even get the fan to run. This replacement room also has no windows. So it will be another uncomfortable night.

But, being the travel troopers that we are, we will make do.

Venice to Turkey 20

Day 20, Troy, May 23

Today we’re on the bus at 7:30 AM. We leave Izmir on our way to Troy. Only about 110 km or one and a half hours. The architecture in Izmir is modern. And like most cities in the world, it doesn’t escape graffitti!

We head into the countryside and suddenly a warning alert goes off in the bus. It turns out to be a driver alert that announces our driver needs a mandatory day off. Akmed cannot work 7 days in a row by Turkish law. We do have a second driver on board so all is well.

W arrive in Bergama, Asklepion around 9:30 AM. The weather is mostly cloudy. Temperature is 20C (68F). Parchment Paper was created here. Books were also first created here.

Architecture is 70s era. The farmland is rustic. We visit Pagamon (or Bergama) ruins and marvel at more ancient artifacts including a sacred fountain. Then we are on the bus for 2 hours to our lunch stop.

We stop at Yasa for lunch and I have a Turkish pizza. It is delicious! I also like to photograph police cars around the world as most of them are quite different. Even tunnels through the mountains have a uniqueness to them.

We are heading through the Canakkale (pronounced kaan-a-kaal-E) province of Turkiye (the official spelling of Turkey). About two hours after lunch, we arrive in Troy, about 30 km from the city of Canakkale. The city of Troy is very interesting. It’s not even close to the stories I heard as a child or in school. There are approximately eleven layers of Troy, seven plus layers of the city, having been built upon itself many times. There are several discovered Amphora vessels that presumably held wine at one time. Earthquakes and fires involved destroyed the city several times also. The movie is totally a Hollywood creation. The story of the horse is sketchy at best, even though they have a horse there for tourist purposes.

We walk quite a ways around the old city checking out the ruins. Some sensitive ruins have had a roof built over them during excavations. I photographed a lot of the signs for myself and others interested to read later. The roman numerals following the name Troy indicate the layer of the city it’s referring to.

Our guide, Oz, is well versed with everything Turkiye and educates us about everything we see. The history of Troy is fascinating. As you can see it is the season of red poppies.

Now we drive to our hotel, the Park Ytun Hotel.

Dinner tonight is okay, basically unremarkable.

Venice to Turkey 19

Day 19, Izmir, May 22

Breakfast today is so-so. For such a huge hotel, we’d have thought there would have been more ethnic food. Oh well, can’t ask for everything. We have a 3 hour drive this morning.

It’s a pleasant drive on a new road through farmlands and hills. We leave the limestone and travertine pools behind and travel through farmlands. A much appreciated restroom stop and we stretch our legs.

After three hours of driving, we arrive at the House of Mother Mary. This is, supposedly, the last known residence of Mary, who was put in the care of St John the Apostle, a friend of Jesus before he was crucified. Interesting that it is in Ephesus, Turkey.

I am told inside the house that I have to put my camera away so I have no photos inside. Bummer! There is a wishing wall outside and we stop for an interesting apple tea!

After, we go to a leather store and watch a ‘runway’ fashion show (a first for us). We actually buy new leather jackets! Hey, what’s a little money among friends? Then we check out interesting cloud formations and go to lunch and have a ‘just ok’ buffet.

Then we ride for a couple hours and arrive at the other side of Ephesus. You might remember we visited here 10-12 days ago on a tour off the cruise ship. So we visit again! I don’t take very many photos today as I did last time. We are curious about how this tour will compare to the last one, but it seems that tour guides are on the up and up. The information is the same. This lends credibility to the tour guides whom I commonly suspect make up interesting stories to keep the tourists coming.

Back on the bus we drive for over an hour to Izmir. A very large and modern city. We arrive at our hotel in light rain. Oz has arranged our dinner to a very specific meal. We are nervous that we don’t have any choice of food. But true to his word, the meal is delicious. It’s comprised of a Turkish soup and an entree of a sliceable meatball dish. Toss in a Turkish wine and all is good.

We become closer to some of the other guests with us and share contact info.

Venice to Turkey 18

Day 18, Pamukkale, May 21

We arise early and have breakfast and get on the bus by 6:30 AM. It’s a long drive today to Pamukkale (pronounced paam-oo-kaal-ey. Thank goodness for professional bus drivers. It’s raining and miserable for most of our morning ride. There are a few fun views out of the bus windows!

The weather clears and we stop at a unique mosque, Sultanhani Belediyesi, with living quarters that we can visit. The marble walls and carvings are immense and beautiful! Rug collections on display are everything from pristine to ragged and torn.

Several different rooms with signs describing them in English. Very helpful. Who knew that a ‘harem’ was a room in which to sleep and pray? Or that a ‘living room’ was a Council Chamber? ‘Bread’ is a scent? A ‘bath’ serves a Social Function? Very interesting philosophies!

A cafe outside the mosque depicts the ‘Fairy Castles’ sells potato chips that you recognize but read the packaging.

Back on the bus for another few hours. The weather is clearer and we pass through attractive countryside. We stop for lunch for one hour and get back on the road. The steps down to the restrooms are quite interesting.

An hour later we come to a stop again. This time it is for a crane on the road ahead removing the wreckage of a two truck crash. We are backed up for most of an hour and we get out of the bus and stretch our legs. We are near the front of the traffic and we watch the crane do its work. As we get underway again, we see that one of the accident vehicles caught fire and burned.

So I don’t know what time we were scheduled to arrive but we can add an hour to that. There is something magical about stormy skies where the sun shines through occasionally! We stop for the mandatory driver’s rest in Dinar for 45 minutes. We have 90 minutes left to ride. So we have been on the bus from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM with only a few stops and one traffic delay. We will stay in Pamukkale tonight.

Goat farmers herd their flock along the roads. We drive through Karai and limestone deposits.

We next visit these thermal limestone and travertine pools in Hierapolis. They are fed by 35C (95F) mineral rich springs! It is about a half mile hike in to the pools. We even get to wade into them without our socks and shoes. The water is warm and we have to be careful for it is slippery.

Elee is feeling somewhat more adventurous and wants to wade into the deeper pools in the distance. I opt to get out and walk on the boardwalk above them. It starts to rain and Elee comes back out but not before getting soaked.

We try to take shelter under the trees above the boardwalk but we are not very successful. The rain lasts about a half hour and we are drenched by the time it stops.

The rain has lent a mystical aura to the sky and the light and our cameras love it! This is truly a miraculous place in the world! The rain stops and we walk the half mile to the bus, a few pounds heavier with water!

After visiting this UNESCO site, we drive a short distance to the Adampira Spa Hotel where we will spend the night. Dinner is a huge buffet with some very good food and, as always, fabulous soup!

We retire to our room and get chargers plugged in. Showers will happen tonight to save sleep time in the morning. After being up early the last two days, we will get to sleep in to the late hour of 6 AM!

Venice to Turkey 17, Part 2

Day 17, Cappadocia after breakfast! May 20

We now visit Uchisar, a village of “stone churches” or “fairy castles”, where people still live. Remember we saw one of these from the hot air balloon this morning! The first thing I notice is the Police Station (Jandarma)!

There are moments of very light rain, not enough to get you wet, but enough to put spots in some of the photos! This place is fascinating! What a concept of house building! As a testament to the quality of the camera on my iPhone 17 Pro, the first photo here is a zoom in of the second photo!

A resident, Ismail, invites us in and gives us a complete tour throughout his house. Four generations have lived here. It is pretty spacious and comfortable looking. It’s amazing that the house looks totally livable! Ismail makes a living by selling trinkets and food in his own cafeteria and store built into his house! One room feels very warm and Elee comments on that. Ismail tells us that is because the fireplace is lit! Notice in the photos that Ismail has a terrace and even a built in ‘veranda’ overlooking the valley!

It is hard to describe the feeling as we marvel at the ingenuity of the Turkish people!

We spy a unique bike path and are told that Turkey chose ‘cornflower blue’ as its national aesthetic and functional color choice. The bright coloring helps combat cars parking or driving illegally in the bike lanes, and serves as a visual guide

Now we move on to the “Camel Hoodoos” and Fairy Castles or ‘towers’. Lots of fun rock formations in Cappadocia. We walk around until rain drives us back to the bus.

Rain sets in and are offered a downhill walk in the rain which I pass on and a stop for hot tea and coffee. I decline again but I’m sure the downhill hikers will enjoy. We do walk down to a unique set of shops with a couple of ‘Wishing Trees’ where you can tie on a ribbon for good luck!

We make another stop to check out a rug store but I decline to go in as I have seen Turkish rugs AND their prices!

We have a lunch stop at an all-you-can-eat buffet that turns out to be very good. We have determined that Turks can make a mean cup of soup!

We get to our hotel around 4:30 PM and dinner is at 7. I set my alarm and go to sleep for a couple hours. We get up for dinner and go back to the room for the night. A couple photos out of the room show our view.

See you all tomorrow!