turkiye | Around the World in 80 Trips (Or Less)

Posts tagged ‘turkiye’

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 1

Day 17, Kapadokya, May 20, Before Breakfast!

Today we get up at 3:45 AM. Yes, you heard that right! We are on a bus at 4:15 AM! Happily even! The bus drives for about 30 minutes. At about 5 AM, we arrive to see hot air balloons inflating. We are awake and happy because we are going up today! Within 15 more minutes, we’re in a balloon basket with 27 others plus 2 pilots.

Soon we are aloft and soaring over and through hills, valleys and hoodoos. Absolutely beautiful and magical! Another Bucket List Item checked off! Hot Air Balloons over Cappadocia, or the way they spell it in Turkey, Kapadokya! If you pronounce it the way Turkey spells it, you will pronounce it correctly!

The ride lasts an hour and we watch sunrise from the balloon. There are a total of 156 balloons in the air this morning. All of them ascend and descend through the hills and valleys of Cappadocia.

Our pilots even have a selfie video recording us. We all gladly get together and purchase the set of videos that they record!

This is a different experience than other hot air balloons we have been in. The pilots guide us up AND down through the hills, hoodoos and ‘Fairy Castles’ of the area and so do all the other balloons!

We even spot a house built into the rocks, more on that later!

Sunrise is beautiful from the air! This is surely a unique area of the world!

We are told that a lot of hot air balloon pilots from around the world come here to train. And it becomes evidently true as at the end of the flight, our chase truck is parked right where we land and, amazingly, we land right on the trailer!

Then, as the balloon deflates, the pilots hold a champagne party where they mix champagne with pomegranate juice.

Then it’s back to the hotel for breakfast. Yes, I said breakfast! We feel like we’ve been touring all day and we have only got to breakfast! A very good Turkish breakfast, I might add! Then we relax in the room for half an hour and it’s time to board the bus for the rest of the day’s tour!

But I will leave that for the next post….