turkish delight

traffic jam in capadoccia

mosques, mosques and more mosques

gallipoli battlefield and cemetery  

channeling brad pitt at troy

emil says:


absolutely loved me some turkey. snow-capped peaks abutting a brisk blue mediteranean sea, pristine ruins that make other ruins look a bit more ruined, site of mount olympus, where the battlefields of galipoli lay, home to troy (laurel could even  feel brad pitt's presence within the trojan horse), land of the great roman, latin, and ottoman empires and a fabulously current city of istanbul which straddles both continents of europe and asia, and overall just a great country to get to know a bit better. the architecture of muslim works beside christian churches and sometimes conversions by the former of the latter make for some super fascinating sites such as the blue mosque and hiya sophia. istanbul can get a bit touristy as many europeans flock here to get a sense of the middle east without having to really go to the more aggressive parts thereof. the small mediteranean towns of kas and kalkan can easily be home to the author of the next great novel, serene working fishing towns with a splash of tourists just to keep it vibrant enough. i can't say enough about cappedocia a town composed of ancient lava formed caves which we stayed in and hiked around.  optically the economy here is amongst the best we have seen, with the exception of australia. and optically, despite the health benefits of the mediteranean diet, this may be home to some of the most unattractive people. much of the population hit every branch of the ugly tree and some have even been tangled up in the limbs and are yet to come down. turkey is a top top destination and if we hadn't seen so much of it in the past 2 weeks i would say we'd be back soon.

still walking like an egyptian, even in turkey

turkish med

kas harbor

laurel says:


i didn't have many expectations going in to turkey, and in fact did not know much about the country, aside from the rave reviews i had heard from friends who had visited.  turns out, turkey has been one of the best stops on our trip.  it is the perfect blend of exotic, while having all the creature comforts you want.  there is a huge range of interesting, historical and beautiful places to visit, all within a relatively small space.  and relative to europe, it is a real bargain.  we started our turkish jaunt with 3 days in istanbul.  it is a charming old city that is strikingly beautiful.  the many mosques dominate the skyline and the city sits on the banks of the black sea.  you can easily stroll thru the historic sights of istanbul in a couple days, taking breaks in between to sip a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice or indulge in a turkish bath- if you dare.   the incredible grand bazaar and a cruise on the bospherous river are other musts.  after istanbul we hoped in our rental car for a week long tour of western turkey.  emi bravely battled the crazy turkish driving scene and managed to have only had one encounter with the law.  with a fair amount of driving, you can easily take in all of the alist sites in a week.  our first stop was the gallipoli battlefields where so many anzac soldiers lost their lives in ww1.  next up was a visit to historic troy, where little remains of the ancient city.  even more impressive was our visit to ephesus, widely considered the most intact ancient roman city.  after that we made our way to pammukale, where the gods and goddesses discovered the most stunning natural hot springs i have ever seen, flowing over bright white basalt.  the turquoise waters against the piercingly white backdrop are quite a site.  from there we made our way to the mediteranean coast.  it rivals greece in beauty but is far less developed (and much less expensive).  we spent a couple days lounging in the sun and taking in the ancient city of olympos.  the finale, and highlight, of our trip was our time spent in cappadocia.  where an ancient volcanic eruption and years of wind and water erosion have formed the caves and 'fairy chimneys' that the locals now live in.  (it sounds wierd, but trust us, it is amazing).  it is a pyschadellic landscape that is made even more trippy by the dozens of hot air balloons that float into the sky each morning.  a few nights relaxing in a luxury cave hotel was the perfect way to end our trip.  overall, i can't rave enough about turkey.  definitely one of the top 10 spots we have been to this year and highly worthy of a visit.

olympos

konya, home of the whirling dervish

ceiling of the blue mosque

blue mosque

aya sofya

romans in your mush

ephesus 

only my people know my sorrow

cappadocia landscape

caves of cappadocia