Turkey 3 - The Final Blog

Well it's happened - reality has come crashing down. We now have a house and both have jobs. Our bank accounts have gone into shock at the first sight of a credit transaction in over 5 months. So I have decided I can no longer put this of and will wrap up the end of or trip.

Cappadocia - one of the mst beautiful and unique landscapes I have ever seen. We arrived in the afternoon after a series of public buses and dare devil drivers. The first stop was the hot air balloon office to book our balloon flights for the following morning. Then we were off to "pigeon valley" for a short walk down through the valley. The landscape has been formed by several volcanic eruptions which have created layers and layers of different coloured ash - these have then been eroded by wind and rain to form amazing pillars and cliffs. A lot of the freestanding rock has been hollowed out and is now lived in. The whole area is UNESCO listed. It was well worth the death defying bus trips to get there.

Walking through "Pigeon Valley"

Walking through "Pigeon Valley" Cappadocia

The next morning we were up early early early and off for our hot air balloon ride. Despite some wind and rain and a lot of standing around staring at the sky we were off. We all hopped into the basket and up we went. It was such a peaceful experience. We dropped down into valleys and floated over mountains. Despite taking the top off some poor mans apple tree (who came running outside and shook his fist at us) it was a perfect flight.

early start for hot air ballooning

hot air ballooning through "Pigeon Valley"

From the hot air balloon

Cappadocia landscape from the balloon

Town from the hot air balloon

House carved into the rock

After the excitement of the ballooning it was back to the hotel for breakfast and then off for a walk through "the red valley". It was a beautiful walk and we saw several churches that have been carved into the inside of rocks. From the outside they looked tiny but once inside the scale was amazing.

Walking through "Red Valley"

After walking through "Red Valley" we were off to "Love Valley" - called "love valley" due to the errrrrm "suggestive" shape of the pillars throughout the whole area.

"Love Valley"

That night we were off to a local families house for a delicious home cooked meal. So delicious! We basically rolled back to the hotel we were so full.

The next morning was another early start as we headed off to an underground city. I had no idea what to expect and loved it. It basically consisted of a series of tunnels and rooms starting just below the surface and continuing down to around 85m below the surface. They had everything in it from stables to churches - even a room for wine making. We had the entire place to ourselves and it was a great opportunity to hide and jump out and scare each other - not very mature - but a lot of fun!

Underground city stairs - lucky we had a small breakfast

Mr Multicultural

After our underground city experience we were off to a pottery workshop. I got to use a 1000 year old kick pottery wheel to make a bowl. I thought I was probably a natural - but apparently not! It was a lot of fun - despite the fact I got clay all over myself, the wall, and the guy trying to help me! After cleaning up and spending way more than we planned to in the pottery shop we were off to see the carpet making. I was tempted to buy one until I was told it cost over $45,000! Bunnings has pretty nice ones a lot cheaper :P

The next morning we were onto the bus and headed for the capital Ankara. We didn't really have any time to look around as it was dinner and then onto the overnight train headed back to Istanbul. After a few drinks in the cabin Kylie and I headed to the dining car to let the others get some sleep. 6 hours later - after talking to people who couldn't understand us - and who we certainly couldn't understand (apparently friendship is like a pomegranate-who knew?) we headed back to the cabin for a refreshing 2.5 hours sleep.

Sight seeing in Istanbul was great but Kylie and I were both in a fair bit of pain and probably didn't get the most out of the experience. First stop was Topkapi Palace, followed by Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The most beautiful buildings - especially the blue mosque - breath taking!

domed roof of Topkapi Palace

Hagia Sophia - amazing

The blue mosque - beautiful

We had a couple of extra days in Instanbul and loved it. We saw the grand bazaar, the spice bazaar and so many amazing places - not to mention the food! Our last night we went for a delicious sunset dinner in a rooftop restaurant. It was heaven.

One early morning visit to the "Basilica Cistern" and a bit of last minute fridge magnet buying and we were off to the airport and headed for home.

sunset fishing from the bridge

The "Basilica Cistern"

I just want to say thanks to everyone for reading - I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we've enjoyed writing it! So until next trip - Bye for now!

Turkey Part 2

Wow - our second last blog already. It seems like only yesterday that we started this. I think I will miss it when we stop - I don't suppose anybody wants to read about the life of an unemployed architect? I didn't think so.

After the excitement of Paragliding it was time for a bit of a relax. We headed by bus to Ucagiz where we boarded a boat for some southern coast cruising. It was a great boat - it had no bedrooms so the nights were spent sleeping on the deck - inside on the first night - but outside under the stars on the second. We spent the days swimming, eating, swimming, drinking, swimming, eating, swimming, dancing....etc. We even managed to start and maintain a conga line around the deck for about 15 minutes. Our lovely hosts cooked the most delicious food and we all felt very spoilt. We did also visit a few local historical sites including the "sunken city" and some local villages for home made ice cream.

Chilling on the boat

Sunken City (more crumbled than sunken I think)

Dinner fresh from the sea - delicious

It's a hard life

Our home for 2 days - nothing to do but relax and swim

After leaving the boat we were on the road again heading for Cirali. Cirali is a tiny town located on a long wide beach with beautiful mountains surrounding it. While it is home to 2 of the most impressive things we saw on our trip it is not at all touristy and the main inhabitants seem to be chickens, cats and dogs who co-exist in a very tense, danger fraught relationship.

The first attraction we saw was Chimeira. We set off about 9:30 at night and climbed what seemed like 1000s of stairs up to a rock outcrop where flames have burned naturally out of the rocks for around 4000 years. There are lots of flames which vary in size from the one you can see below to tiny little ones. It made all the stairs worth while - I've never seen anything like it.

The next morning we headed to the ruins of the ancient city of Olympos, which are located on the beach we were staying at. They were unlike any of the other ruins we had seen in turkey as nature had done a pretty good job of reclaiming them. It felt very Indiana Jones as we pushed through vines and crossed streams on fallen tree trunks.

The ancient city of Olympus (and Ben)

View from Olympus - aka heaven

Ben relaxing near the natural flames at Chimeira

Burning rocks of Chimeira

From Olympos we were back on the bus and headed to Antalya for the night. Once we'd arrived at the hotel Ben and I set off for a bit of an explore and happened to come across the "Orange film festival" parade. We saw all the big Turkish movie stars and the crowds were going crazy for them. You could tell the tourists by the look of confusion on their faces. Needless to say we recognised no one.

Giant hand in Antalya

Turkey Part 1

It seems like so long since we have updated the blog - we have been very busy enjoying Turkey. Such a fantastic country - for those who haven't been I recommend it.

Our trip started with an early morning flight from London (3:30 wake up - not fun). We landed in Istanbul around lunch time and decided to catch the tram into the city - thankfully people were very friendly and with a lot of help we got to the hotel. That night we met our group for the next couple of weeks and had a nice dinner.

Day 2 was an early start. We hopped on a bus and headed for Gallipoli. Was really interesting to see. Also interesting to hear the other side of the story and see the respect the Turkish have for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers.

After Gallipoli we crossed the Dardanelles by ferry and spent the night in Canakkale. The next morning we were back on the bus and headed out to Troy. Despite having read there was nothing to see it was fascinating. The ruins are well worth seeing and there is the oportunity for a cheesy tourist photo in a wooden horse - who could resist.

From Troy we headed to a seaside town called Ayvalik where we stayed in an old greek house complete with rooftop, vine covered terrace. The perfect spot to watch the sunset and enjoy a few drinks before heading into town for dinner.

Possiby not the real wooden horse of Troy

Sunset from the terrace in Ayvalik

After Ayvalik we caught the bus down to Selcuk. This was our base for 2 days as it is the closest town to Ephesus (apparently the greatest Greco-Roman site in the world). I wasn't really sure what to expect - but it was amazing. Some parts are still so intact it is possible to get an idea of what life must have been like there. And the library building is just breath taking. There are also some recently unearthed houses where it is possible to see perfectly intact mosaics.

Ben in Ephesus


Ben at the library in Ephesus

After a day at Ephesus we headed up to a small mountain village for a delicious dinner and a great view of the sunset.

The next day we were once again on the bus and headed to Pamukkale. We walked up through the white terraces before exploring the ancient city of Hierapolis located at the top. Walking back over the terraces at sunset was amazing.


Ben at the white terraces

White terraces - matching green shorts unintentional

Ampitheatre at Hierapolis

From Pamukkale the majority of our group headed back to Istanbul and we were reduced to 7.

We headed to Fethiye the next day and spent some time at the beach. For dinner we went to the fish markets where you choose your fish and take it to the local restaurants where they cook it up for you. Delicious.

Ben enjoying the beach

The next day we did a nice walk through the forest and along the coast to wind up at the beach. The scenery was beautiful and the water looked amazing. It was so clear you could see the shadows from the boats on the sea floor.

That afternoon we had the optional extra of paragliding. I never knew I wanted to do it - but after 1 or maybe 2 wines the night before I decided that it was for me. I woke up slightly regretting my decision but am now so glad I did it. The jump point is 1960m above sea level and you land on the beach. The scariest part was without doubt the drive up the cliff hugging dirt track to the top. Once at the top it was all systems go and taking off was easy - although I must admit running as fast as you can towards a cliff edge is a little nerve racking!

The flight down was amazing, very peaceful and relaxing. We did do some spins and tricks which to me seemed quite scary, but once I looked at the video I realised my "pilot" was actually smoking a cigarette as he was doing them - so I guess not that scary for him. The video is hilarious though.

Bushwalk along the coast

Me and my pilot at the jump spot

We landed on the beach you can see below

Looking straight down

Having a great time

One of my favourite shots

After paragliding we headed to Kas for the night. Part 2 to come soon.

Paris

Ahhhh Paris. City of Romance, city of lights, city of 100's of unbelievable restaurants/bakeries/shops

On Wednesday we caught the Eurostar from London across to Paris on what is our last little break before we leave the UK and head for our final destinantion - Turkey.

We got to Paris around 12 and as we couldn't check into our hotel till 2 we found a restaurant to spend the afternoon. Ben was brave and had the steak tartar, I opted for the safe option and had a delicious chicken breast - and quite a bit of delicious French wine.

That night we had tickets to a local stand up comedian doing a show called "How to become Parisian in 1 hour". Very funny - and informative. We learnt all the important things like how to swear at taxi drivers, talk down to waiters and laugh when people fall over in the metro - apparently all typical Parisian reactions. Would highly recomend it for anyone in Paris.

Our second day we had a typical French breakfast and went for a walk into town, manily due to the fact that everyone was on strike and we had no choice but to walk (apparently this is a national pasttime). We walked along the Promenade Plantee, saw the Institut de monde Arabe, Notre Dame and the Pompidou Centre before heading for home.

Enjoying the local cuisine

Walking along promenade plantee

Outside Institut du Monde Arabe

Facade detail of Institut du Monde Arabe

Ben and Notre Dame

Me and Notre Dame

Along the walk we may have been tempted by one of the many boulangeries (bakeries) and the most delicious lemon meringue in the world!

Boulangeries Delicacies

Delicious delicacies

That night we went out for dinner to a Japanese restaurant. I don't know if you have ever tried to order Japanese in French - but its not as easy as you would think. Thanks to some pictures we managed to get some food by pointing - and despite one of Ben's dishes which contained very large bones for "chicken" it was delicious.

Day 3 we headed back into town to see some more of the sights. We walked the Champs-Elysees, saw the Arc De Triomphe and then headed for the Eiffel tower.

Tourist at the Louvre

Ben and the Arc De Triomphe

Eiffel Tower by day

Eiffel Tower, Ben and scary rain clouds


While we were enjoying the sights of the Eiffel Tower the rain clouds were gathering. Right as we got to the middle of the park they opened up and we got drenched. We were forced to take refuge in a deserted Capioreia tent and then run for the metro station.

That night we treated ourselves to the full French dinner Aperitifs and all. Possibly the nicest meal I have ever had - and no snails or frogs legs in sight!

Day 4 we headed for Montmartre and the Basilique Du Sacre Coeur. We'd heard good things but were a little disappointed. Very touristy - but it was a Saturday. We had a walk along Canal St Martin then another long lunch before heading in to the Eiffel tower that night.

We got there at the perfect time. The sun was setting and the lights all turned on. After about a 45 minute wait we got to the 2nd level and saw Paris under a gorgeous full moon. It was beautiful.

Our time in Paris was way too short. Could happily spend a lot longer. Now 2 more days in London then off to Turkey for 3 weeks. Then back to Australia.

Eiffel Tower by night

View from the Eiffel tower at night

View along the Seine from the Eiffel Tower

Full moon over Paris from the Eiffel Tower