Turkey 2009 Part 4 – Istanbul (and back to Germany with a day in Heidelberg to finish the trip).

This trip started out with just Turkey….the highlight of the trip was to be a gulet cruise along the Lycian coast. Initially we had enough people interested to look into doing a private charter but as often happens as time went by they changed their minds and it ended up being only our friends, Rae and Glen, and Ken and I. We then had to go for a “tour”, which morphed into a second week tour of historic sites along the Lycian coast. It was an excellent trip booked thru Explore Worldwide. As with all our holidays, while still working, time was precious so we tried to include whatever else seemed to be logical add-ons to get the most out of our vacation. With the Greek island of Rhodes just a hop, skip and ferry ride away from our Turkey trip starting point we worked that in too…..the Rhodes had to go to Rhodes!!! The best flight options to get us there and back from Turkey were thru Frankfurt…but leaving a few days earlier than we’d planned so made good use of our start days in Mainz, Germany.

This journal is in 4 parts: Part 1 Mainz and Rhodes, Part 2 Turkey – Tour of Ancient Sites, Part 3 Lycian Coast Gulet Cruise and Part 4 Istanbul

Mon June 29

Up early. Another beautiful day and a new adventure! The gulet trip was so just amazing…..could definitely do it again!

Breakfast and pretty much right off the boat by 10. Said goodbye to everyone….nice to meet you etc. etc.

Took our luggage to the hotel we stayed at last week to hold for us until we had to leave for the airport (Dalaman). Found a great place around the corner for coffee and pastries. Wandered around the market for a while then went and had a nice lunch down by the marina.

Found a taxi driver and made arrangements for him to pick us up at the hotel at 1. 80L but we gave him 90 as I’m not sure he’ll get a fair back. Discovered after he’d left that he’d dropped us at the wrong terminal!! We wanted domestic and dropped us at International….argh. Was about a ½ mile slog in the heat….was a bit exhausting but luckily we didn’t have to rush too much.

Had to go thru security to just get in the airport. Sat around, read etc. waiting for our 4:15 Turkish Airways flight to Istanbul….the Asian side airport, Sabiha Gokcen Airport. Rae bought a paper to get caught up on the news and found out that Michael Jackson died!!!

Good flight. Just over an hour. Served buns with cheese, water and chocolate pudding! Arrived at the “other” Istanbul airport. Grabbed a cab for what should have been about an hour drive but took over 2 hours!! Was supposed to cost 85L but gave the guy 120L cuz he got us there safe, not sure if we were sound though….very scary driving!! They drive everywhere and anywhere….curbs, emergency stopping lanes, sidewalks, other people lanes (half in/half out).

The Ferman Hotel is great!! In Sultanahmet…..great location. All that it said it was on the website and maybe even better. They have face clothes!!!! Rae flopped on the bed and said she was never leaving lol…..will be a treat sleeping in a real bed and a comfortable one at that! They gave us a nice little fruit plate with those great little green plums, an apple, kiwi, and orange, nectarines and cherries!! Fantastic rooftop terrace!! Spectacular views in every direction.

Rested for about a ½ hour and headed out to find a place for dinner. A little place around the corner called Ocean’s 7 (v.g.) I had beef wrapped in eggplant with cheese, Ken had the kefte, both really good. Long day so we just headed back to the hotel rooftop bar for coffee…but they don’t have it set up yet! The guy made us tea, which was nice. The views are spectacular!!! Unbelievable!! The Blue Mosque with the birds (seagulls?) flying around it….then off to the right/east is Hagia Sophia, both lit up and then to the south and west is the Bosphorus with tons and tons of freighters and the colourful lit up bridge. Just amazing. Beautiful at night, can’t wait to see it in the daylight tomorrow!

Great, fun and exciting day. So excited to be in Istanbul. Haven’t seen much but love it so far and can’t wait to explore tomorrow.

Tues June 30

Up at 4:30 and then again at 7:30. Met R & G for breakfast on the rooftop terrace, which has to have the best views in Istanbul! Spectacular all the way around. Great continental breakfast with the usual Turkish stuff, plus hard boiled and scrambled/omelet type eggs too. And a toaster!

Headed for Hagia Sophia, or Aya Sofia. Absolutely massive! The entry fee is 20L not 10 like the guide book said. The height of the dome if the equivalent of a ten story building. They are doing some restoration work so the scaffolding kind of ruins it but also gives you a perspective on just how huge of a place it is. Impossible to take half decent pictures…..they really mean nothing and do it no justice unless you can see it, so I just gave up. The work to uncover and restore much of the interior artwork will continue for years apparently. Some beautiful mosaics from roman times were discovered…they were covered up during the conversion to a mosque because of the faces. The marble floors are still in reasonable shape considering how old they are (6thC AD). Walked up the ramp to the next level which gives a different perspective of the size of it. Just an amazing building, great history and some wonderful relics or artifacts from eons ago.

Outside it was so incredibly hot! Slowly worked our way toward the Grand Bazaar. Stopped for coffees/drinks along the way. Some beautiful tree lined streets with nice buildings….not sure what style, some maybe sort of mid-century modern mixed in with old ottoman and new.

The Grand Bazaar….what can one say!! Today it’s pretty much a big open shopping mall full of stores/shops, many of which sell the very same stuff. The usual carpet shops, lots of food places, jewelry shops, places selling spices/herbs, nuts, beans etc. It smells wonderful! There are a few really unique shops tucked away here and there. Bought a dolly for Cadence, a pashmina for Shirley and a pretty water colour painted by a local artist. It was all a little overwhelming as you just didn’t know which direction to go next. It’s quite a maze. Not what I expected really. Most of the shops are real little stores with signs and doors etc. not open stalls that I was thinking. Surprisingly I didn’t find anyone terribly pesky. Some are little persistent but nobody really bugged us a lot. They say that if they haven’t got you in their store in 60 seconds it’s a waste of their time and they move on to the next potential customer wandering by. Found the Turkish bath towel I wanted but didn’t buy them. Spent about an hour and a half in there.

Thought we were heading towards Eminonu (sp?) area but apparently not….wandered up and down some non-touristy streets and ended up in the Kumkapi area where supposedly the best seafood is in Istanbul . Wonderful old Ottoman buildings and not busy at all until you get to the restaurant district….thought we’d find a place with a view of the Marmara Sea for lunch but ended up in one that wasn’t terribly good and didn’t even have a view! The food was iffy, mine was shrimp and mushroom casserole, was very dry, Rae had calamari, which was good, Glen ended up with a bowl of shrimp…little ones, not like prawns. Ken never did get his food!! Terrible service and way overpriced. And the waiter thru water on a cat that was lurking!!!

Blue Mosque was our next stop. Many wonderful street scenes…..fruit vendors etc. Walked through the Hippodrome on the way. It’s now Sultanahmet Square, a nice park with a fence outlining the perimeter of the ancient arena. Saw the obelisks and the serpent column…….fantastic history, good and bad!

The Blue Mosque is absolutely huge! Very beautiful. Had to cover our heads so I used the pashmina I got for Shirley lol….she’ll like that though. Also had to put on a skirt type cover up to hide our knees. The inside of the place is just amazing. It’s very hushed. It too is too big to attempt taking pictures….impossible to get enough of it in to appreciate it. The tile work and painting is exquisite. The dome is massive. Seen it’s been in use forever, it’s in much better shape than Hagia Sophia. The tulip designs are everywhere. On the walls, on the rugs, which have a pattern marking individual prayer spots. The ladies are at the back. A couple women just sitting around and chatting waiting I guess for the next call to prayer. It’s closed to tourists during prayer. It is an incredibly beautiful building inside and out.

Speaking of call to prayer…..you cannot escape it in this city!! It’s loud! There are, of course, many mosques and I’m pretty sure all of them use loudspeakers. Not all the mosques have synchronized their clocks! One starts, then another 10 or so seconds later, then another so they are all doing the Allah thing at different times. Even though it wakes you up it’s still pretty magical hearing it. Some people start running down the street, or find a corner facing the right direction and just put down their mat, others don’t seem to bother with it at all and just carry on with whatever they’re doing. Very secular country (many synagogues and catholic churches) still with some ways that we think of as oppressive but progressive at the same time….

Outside the Blue Mosque and all around that area we saw the “Candy Man”….not sure exactly what kind of candy he’s making (hard, various flavours, why the lemon??). Wanted to try one but was always a line up so never did.

Back to the hotel to clean up and have our own little happy hour on the roof. Cracked open the bottle of wine we’d picked up to go along with cheese and crackers. Rae and I were feeling a little tipsy by the time we left. Stopped at the Best Western Obelisk for a drink at their rooftop bar…..nice but ours is way better, much bigger and a more wide open view. I think our building is taller maybe…. Glen had a beer, Ken had coffee, Rae and I had G & T’s. Gin was 8L and tonic 2L….interesting that you pay separately for them.

Had a great dinner down and around the corner from there. Back to the hotel for drinks but nobody was at the bar, so we self-served coffee! At night it’s fantastic with the birds flying around and around and the BM all lit up. A great way to end the day.

And what a busy day, but what an exciting city. So much to see. It was great wandering down the little streets that tourist normally wouldn’t go down. Many people just sitting around though. The city is wonderfully diverse.

Tomorrow the Cisterns and if we head in the right direction Eminonu or Sirceki to check out the spice market and the Galata bridge. Need to get a ferry schedule too.

Wed July 1 Happy Canada Day!

Did not sleep well….too hot, too cold argh. Finally up and dressed around 6. Up to the roof to see sunrise, get some coffee and take some pics.

Sunrise was beautiful. No cups for coffee right away but when the man came to set up breakfast he quickly brought me a coffee and a couple of buns, how nice

Many ships on the Bosphorus today. A big cruise ship too…..would be kind of cool to cruise into Istanbul. Went and got Ken for breakfast around 7:30. Same as yesterday but with a cold potato salad that was really tasty.

We must have walked 30km today!! Started out with the Cisterns which are pretty incredible….there are some really big fish down there!! Saw the Medusa heads…..taken off their original columns and used a footings in the cistern! Neat story of how they discovered the cisterns…..people living in the buildings above had cut holes in their floors and would fish from them…..intrigued by that the city or whoever, started doing some excavating and discovered the long buried cisterns! They hold concerts and special events as well…..good acoustics. To Russia With Love was filmed there.

Topkapi Palace next. 20L to get in. Very impressive. Quite a nice museum with some really beautiful stuff especially the quartz jugs and a very gorgeous 68ct diamond. Quite crowded though so a bit slow working our way thru the displays in the museum. There is a very nice European style pavilion. Lots of Iznik tiles, fountains. The gardens were lovely. Great little display of the kitchens and how they worked. Didn’t pay to go into the harem. The views across the river were wonderful.

Down towards the Golden Horn….grabbed a ferry schedule to see if a trip up the Bosphorus would work. Crossed the Galata Bridge. Many, many fish restaurants all under the bridge touting their food along the way. Too expensive and supposedly not the best place to eat.

On the other side we found a great little restaurant up some stairs….little sign in the window as we were passing by. Rae had the chicken shish, Ken, Glen and I had the doner….all pretty good. Service was really good. Total bill for 4 was 30L.

From there we walked to the Galata Tower but didn’t go up because I’m sure it’s a 1000 stairs!!. Stopped and had a “cay” break. Nice little spot. Decided we’d walk up to Tunel to catch the tram up to Taksim Square. The tram was 1L each way and runs up Istiklal Caddesi, the main shopping/eating street. It was like Oxford St in London…..wall to wall people! The little tram took about 15 min and takes you right up to the Square, which was jam packed with buses and taxis….and people. Not at all pedestrian friendly trying to cross the road…..lol actually felt rather traumatized!!! Needed a drink so stopped in a very pretty café in the park…..nice view but did NOT serve alcohol!

Walked all the way down…..fun street. Stopped in one of the cafeteria type restaurants and tried a couple small samples (kofte and halumi), very good but we just weren’t hungry enough to try more….maybe another day. Stopped in a couple of the shops looking for tee shirts. Picked up some coffee.

Once down to the Galata Tower decided to try a different route back. Way off the beaten tourist track. Lots of narrow streets with shops/houses etc. and hills! One area we walked thru sold electrical stuff…..blocks and blocks of everything type of electrical product you can think off. Crossed the bridge again but on top this time to watch all the fisherman…..not sure what they’re catching but most seemed to have pretty empty baskets.

Crossed under a busy street and ended up at the Spice Bazaar but was 5:30 and we were pooped so will save it for tomorrow or Friday. Back to the hotel, a quick clean up and up on the roof for a drink before heading out for dinner.

Great place called Arias…..Very good food. I had stuffed eggplant that was excellent, rice, salad and a baked potato! And the best crispy, puffy bread! Looks like a balloon…..you crack it and just break off bits as you want. Ekmek? Delish!!

Will do the Bosphorus Ferry ride tomorrow.

Thurs July 2

Up early to get upstairs to read a bit before breakfast……that said sitting there with a cup of coffee and enjoying the view I didn’t get much reading done! It really is quite glorious….something to look at in every direction.

Around 9 we grabbed a taxi to take us to the ferry terminal. After chatting with the driver we ended up booking him for our ride to the airport at midnight tomorrow! Ferry ride to Anadolou Varagi was 20L and took about 2 hours.

Great ferry ride. Very pretty and really interesting on both sides of the Bos. Many new, restored or ruined “yali” (summer homes) along the way. Some really nice hotels and the Dolmabahce Palace. The straight is really busy with freighters, ferries, fishing boats, pleasure craft etc. Because of so many accidents, freighter traffic is restricted to one way during the day and the other way at night.

Arrived at Anadolu Varagi just after 12. There really isn’t anything there unless you go up to the ruined fortress. It was quite the climb and very, very hot so we decided to just have lunch instead. Wandered around a bit and even there you are pestered continually to eat at “their” restaurant. One or two little shops but other than that only fish and ice cream places.

Had lunch at a place NOT on the water away from all the crowds. Ordered a bunch of stuff to try….battered mussels on a stick, calamari, meatballs, kebabs and salad. The best calamari I’ve had. Lots of cute and very friendly cats around.

Took the 3PM ferry back. Some gorgeous yali on the Asian side…..more newer, bigger ones, with pools! What a beautiful place to have a summer home…..close to the city but far enough away to be quieter and with wonderful views up and down the straight.

Back in Istanbul by 5. Headed to the Spice Bazaar. It was way more crowded than the Grand Bazaar. Only every 3^rd or so stall actually sold spices. Many jewelry stores, trinket shops, scarves etc. everything is all mixed in. So colourful and the smells were amazing!! Bought spices for Steve and Di and a brass spice grinder. A pretty purple scarf for Kim.

Walked back to the hotel on a different route. Stopped for beers and wine along the way. Rae and I shopped for a bit at the Arasta Bazaar by the hotel. Found some nice purses but didn’t buy anything.

Had a quick clean up and out for our “complimentary” Ferman Hotel dinner. The “morning guy” showed us the way up the street back to the Arasta Bazaar to the restaurant, Mesale Café. They have a whirling dervish! He didn’t whirl very fast and he was the only one, so not quite the show we’d hoped for. Dinner was awesome!! They brought a huge tray with all different stuff….lamb kebabs, meatballs, chicken kebabs and wings, salad, stuffed eggplant, tomato couscous. In the centre of the platter was a flaming (blue) bowl. He put the flame out and under the bowl was the yogurt dip. No alcohol served at this restaurant but you could smoke a nargili (sp?). Had apple tea. Great food at a great spot!

Wandered around looking for a place to have a glass of wine. Found another rooftop that unfortunately didn’t have much of a view…..and had to WALK up 5 flights of stairs to get there!

Back to the hotel around 11 for our last sleep in Istanbul. What a fantastic city….could easily have spent a few more days here. So much to see and so many great places to explore.

Fri July 3

Up early thanks to the guy in his truck selling watermelon at 5AM!!! Yelling “watermelons” thru a megaphone! Got up and had a look out our little balcony…..a fairly big truck with wooden sides loaded with watermelons…..people from the restaurants and hotels were out there buying them up!! Annoying but fun!

On to the glorious rooftop for coffee and to write in my journal and read for a bit before breakfast. Nothing specific was planned for today. A nice sleep in day for Ken (after the watermelon guy moved on!).

And as if the view and coffee on the roof wasn’t good enough I was treated to dolphins…..tons of them!

After breakfast we walked up toward the Horn or “Halic”. Wandered up and down some very odd streets…..lovely but a mishmash of old and new buildings, many with the Ottoman wood framing and glassed in balconies. Many sort of “half” streets connected by little narrow walkways. A few shops and cafes thrown in…..really an interesting area.

Walked toward the university. Uni grounds were nice, lots of students milling about. Ended up following signs for the “Halic Café” which took us past some of the older Ottoman row houses that have been meticulously restored….just beautiful. The café was in one of them. It had a wonderful view looking east over the Horn and Istanbul across the way. Rae and I had tea and apple pie! Ken and Glen had a milkshake and ice cream. The bill came to 40L!! But the view was worth it. The man took our picture with the view in the background. He told us we “must” see the Suleyman Mosque Botanical Garden, so we did. It was pretty much a big mess!! Had great potential to really be nice with an awesome view but needed a lot of work. Unfortunately it’s all “cared” for by volunteers and could use quite a few more. Some wonderful flowers and huge trees…..was built in the 1930’s.

On the way back we found all the outside street markets that sold all the “real” Turkish stuff. Ken bought a belt that the guy fitted and made for him right there. Rae bought a Swiss Army Knife. Found a deli and bought some pastrami, mortadela and cheese to have for our late dinner “picnic” dinner on the rooftop. This market, or bazaar, area was just great. It was what I thought the GB would be like. The shops sold everything…..teapots, wooden spoons, tools, party supplies, jewelry, scarves, sponges!! You name it you’d find it somewhere there. And the best part was that it wasn’t crowded….just the local people picking up whatever they needed.

Made our way back to the Mexican restaurant that we’d spotted earlier. Was actually really good and a treat to have some different cuisine.

Stopped to buy some simit and other buns from a street vendor for our picnic.

Back to the hotel around 4. Ken had a nap and I went up to the roof the enjoy our last evening here. Around 7 Adnan (the breakfast guy) came by to say goodbye. So, so nice. Watched the ships coming out of the Bosphorus heading out to sea.

Finally had to go down and get Ken up and collect our wine and “picnic” stuff. Really enjoyed our little picnic. The owner came by and chatted for a bit….he got us plates and a proper knife (tried using Rae’s army knife lol) to cut our buns and cheese. Can’t remember his name but he was lovely as was everyone that worked at this hotel. I don’t think you can beat this hotel anywhere here. We actually look down on other rooftop terraces and can easily see over all the buildings across the way. The rooms are really nice, just as pictured and of course the view from the rooftop terrace…..there are no words!

Collected our luggage and to the lobby to wait for the taxi driver. Took all our leftover meat and cheese out for the cats lol.

Hasan, the taxi driver, arrived right on schedule. Got to the airport in one piece…..traffic not at problem at midnight! It was supposed to cost 85L but when we got to the airport he said it was 105L because of tolls…..we had already decided to give him 100 to use up the last of our lira, so he was just lucky we still had the extra! At the airport before the check in even opened!

Sat July 4

1AM! Flight left on time. Uneventful. Tuifly gave us a very nice bun and drink along with some snacks. Must say it’s a pretty good airline for the price you pay, other than the ungodly hours some of their flights leave! More legroom than Lufthansa for sure!

Arrived in Frankfurt just after 5:30AM. We got our luggage, hoofed it over to terminal 1 to get a train schedule and caught the shuttle to the Steigenberger Hotel and checked in….it was just 7AM! Got an upgrade to the “Executive Tower” for free! Really nice room with a cappuccino maker to boot!

Had a short rest and met up with R & G at 9. Back to the airport to catch the train into Frankfurt and then another on to Heidelberg…..about and hour and half train ride…..I dozed most of the way!

It was beautiful, warm and sunny when we arrived. Grabbed a city map from a hotel and headed to the “old town”. A bit of a walk….thought it might wake us up, but no…..

Wandered around feeling a bit lost due to sleep deprivation. Cute place but very touristy. Many restaurants, lovely old wood frame buildings, lots of shops. They were having what looked like a Caribbean festival….or maybe North African (would make more sense!). Lots of brightly dressed people, food stands and music….fun!

Found tables outside at a great restaurant but just as we ordered the thunder started rumbling and lots of lightening so we ended up inside just before the downpour started. Excellent schnitzel….and a lot of it!

Luckily the storm had passed by the time we finished so went up to the castle which was very impressive from below. Took the funicular and wandered around looking at the ruins…. just as lovely and interesting once up at it. Beautiful views of the river (Necker?) from the top. Had to pay extra to go into the courtyard so we didn’t bother….you could see it from where we were. Took the “antique” funicular further up to the top of the mountain because there was a beer garden. The funicular was really old and went about 1 mile per hour. Finally made it to the top. Had time for beer and wine and a bathroom break….the absolute worst bathroom of the entire trip!! Filthy! The views though were awesome. I’m pretty sure you could just about see Frankfurt…… Headed back down……very, very slowly….and took a taxi back to the train station to catch the 6 o clock train.

Made it back to the hotel just after 8. Had a nice dinner out on the patio at the hotel.

To bed by 10…….very, very long day!

Sun July 5

Up around 7 and down for our “included breakfast”. OMG! Definitely the best breakfast buffet I think I’ve ever seen. We all ate A LOT! It was huge….you name it they had it! All the usual stuff…..eggs, bacon etc., with all the full English breakfast trimmings, plus cheeses, cold meats, pickled herring, fruit, cereal, breads, buns, pastries…..

Checked out and to the airport around 10:30.

Good fight, long though. Arrived in Vanc around 2:30PM. Linds picked us up and home!

Just a fantastic trip! Not sure how much more we could have worked into a month…..but could easily have stayed another week or two in Turkey….so much more to explore there.

Turkey 2009 Part 3 – Lycian Coast Gulet Cruise

This journal is in 4 parts: Part 1 Mainz and Rhodes, Part 2 Turkey – Tour of Ancient Sites, Part 3 Lycian Coast Gulet Cruise and Part 4 Istanbul

Mon June 23

Nice bit of sleep in this morning….no hurry to get up and rush out today.

Breakfast was the usual. Yesterday on the bus someone put together a tip envelope for Ceylan. Some people thought 10E was good enough but really, she was an excellent tour guide….really knew her stuff (was an Archeology student and studied Turkish history etc.). Felt kind of bad for her so made sure we gave her another 20E at breakfast when she was making rounds saying goodbye to everyone. I would think at least 3E per day or more would be the norm.

Back to the room to pack up and reorganize the stuff that we’ll be using on the gulet. Threw it in the backpacks so we’d have easy access as I’m not sure exactly where the bigger pieces of luggage will be stored…..cabins are NOT very big.

Checked out at 11:45. Ilsa (Belgian Dr.) had found a great spot to have drinks and lunch right over the water on a pier just down the road. Our group for the gulet from the first tour is Rae and Glen, Thelma and Jim (Scotland) Truii (Belgium) Anne (NYNY) Mary and Colin (British) and Ilsa. Had a doner for lunch….very good. Ken had a cheeseburger and fries.

Went shopping at the market for a bit……found nothing so back to the hotel to wait for the bus to take us to the marina around 3:30.

Our gulet is actually a ketch because of it’s size….28m, so nice and big. We have room #9, R & G have #8, both which are at the very back of the boat…and pretty “deluxe” compared to the other cabins that all have bunks! A window that opens that’s just about at the waterline.

Basically the bed takes up the whole thing other than a couple feet where the cubby is that we had to jam our suitcases into. The stuff we’ll be using is in the backpacks and bags that I’ve hung on hooks so it’s easy enough to get at. The bathroom is just about as big as the room! Has a little window and one of those showers that wets everything!. Got our lesson on the toilets…..you do not put any paper in them, ALL used toilet paper goes in the little bucket (with a lid). It’s emptied everyday, twice a day if necessary! The boat is pretty good really and pretty much what we were expecting.

Met the 2 new couples, Jean and Peter from England and Anne and David from Victoria!! Small world. There are 15 of us. Had our briefing and met Tolga, our guide (?)

Nice area at the back of the boat, all covered, set up with a long table for our meals and right at the back are sort of big deep couches/beds to sit and lay on. The front is where you can sit/lay to get some sun.

Booze is not cheap!! Decided to just buy bottles of the rose wine, seemed to be the best deal. Had “tea” before we left the marina. Tea, coffee and cookies!

Set off from Fethiye around 5:30. Sailed (motored really….) to Gemiler Island (possibly the original place of St Nicolas’ tomb!) where we tied up for the night. Some people went for a swim…..water is crystal clear and a beautiful blue. Was still really hot.

Dinner was really good. Served around 8:30. A salad, green peppers in a yogurt sauce, rice, chicken in tomato sauce with veg. Dessert was fresh fruit….peaches, melon and bananas. Very good dinner! The cook has an area that is like 5×5 to work in!

Everyone sat around and chatted until around 11:00. Our room was so hot!! A few people decided to sleep on the front deck so headed there with pillows and blankets…..smart move! Propped open the window in the bathroom with the door on an angle hoping to catch a bit of a breeze. Tossed and turned until around 1AM.

Tues June 23

Heard the dingy being raised and saw it out our window, then the engines started up!! 5:30AM!! I’m pretty sure they are right under our bed.

Had coffee at the back of the boat. The sun was just coming up and it’s a perfect temp. Cabin was way too hot….may have to try sleeping on deck tonight. Slowly a few more people started arriving….chatted with Anne from Victoria who knows Avi that I work with!! Even a smaller world!

Cruised along watching the beautiful coastline go by. Can’t believe we are really doing this…..I have Frances Mayes to thank for this! Read about her trip in one of her books. Sounded like a fantastic trip…..and so far, only one day into it, it is!

Had a great breakfast with hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, cheese, bread and coffee.

We stopped after in a lovely bay to have a swim and just relax until lunch. There’s a ladder and little 2×2 landing that we use to get in the water…..you jump a few feet into the water from there. Quite a shock from the hot temps into the cool water…..but quickly get used to it.

A lady and a little girl came aboard selling scarves and jewelry. Some pretty stuff. Bought a mavi boncuk bracelet.

Cruised to Kalkan. Lunch was all veggie stuff….but no “veggie people” on board. Was good though….couscous, eggplant, potatoes and salad.

Off to Saklikent Gorge around 1. It was about an hour drive from the marina.

Saklikent Gorge is a major tourist attraction! People taking pics as you arrive, tons of Turkish style cafes hanging out over the very fast flowing river, stands selling food etc. You can rent inner tubes to float and/or bounce and crash your way down stream. Kind of like a natural “Splashdown Park”!!

That said, it’s really very beautiful….tall cliffs, trees, crystal clear water.

Crossed over a bridge, and once thru the admission gate down a rather rickety boardwalk suspended over the canyon….not up to high but the river is really fast flowing below. Once off of that you then stumble your way over rocks and boulders in the river to where one of the sources is gushing out of the mountainside. The force of the water is really strong and that was where we had to cross to walk in and along the river in the canyon. It was waist deep and almost impossible to see the bottom because of the rushing water so had no idea if you were going to step on a boulder or sand or both and go over on your ankle…a little tense! Everybody had to hold hands like a human chain to get thru it and if one went down the others could help get them back up. It was also numbing cold water.

All made it safely across that then the river becomes much calmer and not much more than a trickle in some places and maybe knee deep in others, still lots of rocks and boulders but you could at least see where you were stepping. Even more beautiful in this part with the tall cliff walls and bright blue sky above….and very few people. It’s a very silty river so easy to see how those ancient city harbours silted up.

In some places the rock walls were worn shiny by the river and the force of the water….almost didn’t look real, like it had been varnished.

Our next site was Patara. Birth place of St. Nicholas! It has a wonderful theatre and arches at the entrance. Only had time to visit the theatre….a family of goats were also visiting! Too bad because the site looked really interesting. Very flat and there are quite a few remains with bits still standing. From there we walked to Patara Beach which is magnificent! Something like 18km long. Some really big sand dunes too. Didn’t swim just relaxed with an Efes in the shade at a little bar. Really a pretty place….would have liked to have spent more time there too.

Saw a “burkini” for the first time today at the beach. A couple ladies had them on. They basically cover you from head to toe, might be two separate pieces, looks like of like the shiny windbreaker material….bright colours and some even had sparkly bits on them. Other ladies in burkas also in the water but only up to about there knees. I just cannot even imagine!!!

About a 20 min. drive back to the boat just in time for happy hour (7-ish) before dinner.

Dinner tonight was fresh trout (from a farm near Patara), which was excellent. It was served with salad, potatoes and spaghetti….simply prepped with olive oil, garlic and something green, maybe spinach? All very good. Fresh fruit for dessert.

Tolga informed us that we are changing our itinerary due some high winds that are expected. Tomorrow we head to Kekova where we’ll anchor in the bay rather than the marina.

After dinner we walked around town and shopped for a bit. Very touristy in Kalkan but I can see why….it’s a beautiful location and a very pretty town. Tons and tons of restaurants and shops. Bought a nice little pot with the tulip design (emblematic of Islam). Nice man in the shop showed me his kiln and how he paints and glazes the pots, plates etc. Would have loved one of is big platters but oh well.

Another great and very busy day. So many wonderful things to see.

Wed June 24

Ended up going up on deck to sleep last night….much cooler. Very noisy though…..woke up to the call to prayer….and with a nasty headache. Might be from the fumes from the generator.

Beautiful morning with some big white puffy clouds. Left cute but busy Kalkan and cruised for a couple of hours to Simena, (some super pics on this website) which is a really cute little hillside town only accessible by boat. There’s a castle/fortress right on the top. We anchored in Kekova Bay where the ancient sunken city is. We won’t be able to see it because our boat is too big to sail over it and it costs 25L to rent a kayak, which is the best way to see it but that was not in our plans for today.

The plan was to climb to the castle and then carry on for a couple hour hike on the Lycian Way trail. We did neither!! Too hot and was just nice to have the boat just about to ourselves for a couple hours.

The castle only tour people came back and we sailed around the point to a beautiful little bay. We swam and snoozed, had drinks, read all day.

Lunch today was salad and a really good stew of some sort and a tomato couscous.

Went for another swim after lunch. Just a beautiful spot.

Dinner was salad, rice, a Turkish ravioli and moussaka, which was excellent. Fun evening just sitting around chatting….all was very peaceful until another boat arrived and anchored next to us. Aussies!! Really, really loud ones!

Not too hot tonight, quite comfortable.

Another fantastic day.

Thurs June 25

Beautiful morning. A few clouds but a very nice sunrise over our bay. Up around 5:30 with a bit of a tummy ache. Luckily it didn’t amount to anything!

Early breakfast, 7:30. No eggs today, so very continental.

Then we sailed around the corner to Demre, or ancient Myra, to visit the ruins, which include Lycian tombs. St Nicholas was the bishop! We had to tender into shore today. Everyone except Jean came on the trip today.

Myra has an excellent theater with a wonderfully preserved interior stairway. There were some really good carvings of the Arti de Comedie here too and many wall tombs…..just spectacular!!

You have to go thru a little market on the way to ruins, so wandered around all the trinket places. Finally found a hat that fits my head! Nice straw one with a wider brim.

Back to the bus and on to Olympos and the Chiminera. The bus ride took us all along the coast for the first half hour or so. It’s a very twisty road but very, very pretty….luckily not too high either. The water is the most gorgeous colour of brilliant blue. Went thru Finike, which has about 15,000 people. This are is where all the tomatoes, peppers, cukes etc. are grown in hot houses. They’re everywhere and huge!

Stopped at a very pretty pebbly beach in a beautiful little cove….that had another gulet anchored. Looked picture perfect. We had an hour or so before lunch so could explore, go for a swim or hike to the Olympus ruins. We winded up just sitting at the bar with Jim and Thelma. Really quite enjoyable just taking in the scenery.

Lunch was excellent at that little bar. They brought out some delicious French fries for sort of an appie…..hot and crispy. Ken ordered more! For lunch I ordered the kefte and Ken had the chicken shish…..both came with MORE French fries. All was excellent. And an excellent spot. The restaurant was pretty much just a big covered area with lots of tables and a view to die for. The people that ran it were lovely. Two beautiful little girls, a grandpa, mom and dad etc. and lot of chickens! Very clean REAL toilets.

On to the Chiminera…..about a 20 minute drive on a really twisty, bumpy up and down hairpin filled road. You park at the bottom and then have to hike up 800m to where the fires are. A nice little park at the bottom where you start the hike up. This whole area is pine forest, it’s very pretty and very fragrant. Hard hike up for me….a mix of trail, steps…some really big steps, and twisted tree roots. Tolga just motored along ahead of everyone, talking the whole time….no one could hear him of course. He’s really not the best tour guide for sure….no sense of humour and just does what he has to do….very little interaction with anyone.

*The Chiminera…..a mountain full of gas!!*

The Chiminera is really neat. A bunch of holes in the rocks with fire coming out of them. It’s a mix of natural gas and methane that combusts when it hits oxygen. Really quite something to see. We got some sticks and tried to light them but it didn’t work. I think it would be much more exciting at night when you’d see the fires and glowing in the holes better. Back down the trail, which wasn’t that much easier than going up it!

About and hour and half ride back, mostly along the beautiful coastline. It had gotten quite windy and the water was very choppy looking…lots of big swells and whitecaps. Quite the exciting ride back to our boat on the dingy. Trying to get onto the ladder to climb up was tricky…..good timing between swells was needed. All managed back on board with no problems. Lots of rocking and rolling even on our boat.

We left Demre to get to a nice little secluded and protected cove for the night. It was really choppy but we’ve got an excellent captain who did a great job getting us there. We tied up in a beautiful little cove, anchored over a ship wreck, which you can clearly see on the bottom. A bit too windy and choppy for me to go swimming but hopefully in the morning.

Dinner was excellent again tonight, salad, a veal stew, deep fried zucchini, cauliflower in a yogurt sauce. Dessert was fun….they turned out the light and brought up 2 trays of fruit with sparklers and a “candle” in the centre.

The candle was a hollowed out tomato filled with oil that had been lit. It was sitting on top of a wine glass filled with water. Very nice little touch.

Chatted for a bit and then everyone headed off to bed…..too early at only 10.

Cabin was nice and cool, read for a bit.

Fri June 26

Up at 4:30!! But managed to fall back to sleep until it at least got bright out.

Upstairs for coffee! This bay is even nicer in the morning sun.

Breakfast was excellent this morning…..the most puffy, delicious french toast. Topped it with cherry preserves, yogurt and honey!! They put a ton of bread out with each meal and only half of it ever gets eaten, so this was a great way to use it all up…..I don’t think there was one single piece left!!

*Had time for a quick swim……a couple of “wrecks”!*

Time for a swim. Very cold water!! Had a float over the wreck. This is one of the best spots yet! But we had to leave by 10:30 because of the weather….too bad. Looks just lovely to me but apparently more wind and rough seas today.

Back to Kekova to have a sail by the sunken city. It was really interesting to see what we could….the city was ruined eons ago in an earthquake. Some of it just toppled right into the sea. You can still see ruins of buildings and stairs in the rock on the hillside and when over it you can just sort of make out what might have been buildings. On top of the earthquake the sea rose, so also covered part of the city.

Very rough ride this morning. The boat was up and down AND side to side. Big whitecaps. Very windy too but still warm.

*Another beautiful protected bay….a few gulets tied up* *for lunch.*

Found another beautiful sheltered bay for our lunch stop. Went in for a swim but was a little disorienting because the boat was moving around so much….the water was a lot warmer. Some really huge turtles.

We had a stew of some sort for lunch. All the food has been good but fairly repetitive in the sauces etc. but considering where the cooking is done, he’s a darn good chef.

Right after lunch we had to leave….too bad because it was just beautiful….but the wind was picking up again and we had to get to the marina in Kas. It was about an hour and half of a very rough ride.

Arrived in Kas around 2:30. Has to be the best town yet! Touristy but not too big and they are having their 12^th Annual Culture and Art Festival! We were docked right behind a big stage where a show started at 9:30. Some famous Turkish lady singer “Saavel” maybe and a bunch of politicians giving speeches.

Tolga had organized a Turkish Bath for us, so we headed off as soon as we arrived. Rae and I, Jim and Thelma and Victoria Anne. What an experience!

First off we were taken into a room that was incredibly hot and steamy. The man told us to shower (we had our bathing suits on!) but there were only a bunch of taps tucked in along the marble seating that ran around the room, so had no idea how to “shower”. The man grabbed a little bucket, filled it with water and proceeded to dump it on my head!! Then he did the same thing with everyone else….got it! Then we had to lie on the big round heated marble slab in the middle of the room for 10-15 minutes. This opens your pores so you can be scrubbed clean. With being wet, the steam that’s in there already and the heat you sweat like crazy…..even your eyes sweat!! We all got a bit of the giggles part way thru….

A man and a women came in and got us all sorted out…..pretty much pushed or slid us to where they wanted us on the big slab. You get an initial rub/massage….it was a bit brutal but felt good. They kind of do chop chops, then rub, rub really hard. From top to bottom, then they flip you over and do the same thing on the other side. Flip again and then they crack your toes and fingers. You then cross your arms up around you neck, he half flips you over and puts his arm under your back then pushes on your crossed arms to crack your back!!

Back to the sink for more water to be poured over you, then back to the slab and the lady started scrubbing with what felt like a bloody brillo pad! She’d pointed to the rolls of dead skin and said “dirty, dirty”!! An incredible amount of dead skin came off but truly who scrubs themselves like she did! It kind of hurt but did feel really good after.

Then you go and rinse off yet again. Back to the slab to get soaped up…..they dunk what looks like a pillow slip in a big bowl that I think must be filled with the soap suds, when they take it out they twist it and all the suds come out which is spread all over your body. You get flipped over and the same thing is done. Back to the taps for a rinse and hair wash and you’re done!! All that for 20L! Plus I paid an extra 10L for her to razor blade and pumice scrub my very sore and cracked heels.

They wrapped me up from head to toe in a Turkish bath towel, a regular towel and a turban for my hair and sent me upstairs to sit and enjoy my cup of tea. What an incredible experience! Not sure I would do it again but I’m really glad I did it this time. Rae and I went back to the boat to fix our hair and get ready to do a bit of shopping.

Kas is a perfect little town. Not too big, but lots of shops with some really different stuff, lots of locally made crafts and products, lots of restaurants and bars. We stopped for a drink at one called Bay Bay Café….nice view of the sea and the marina and all the activity going on for the festival. Bought a scarf!

Happy hour on the boat watching all the rehearsals for the big show. Glen went on the 7:00 walk to the theatre ruins….said it was beautiful because it’s right on the sea. Dinner was grilled peppers, eggplant stuffed with meat (v.g.!!), salad, rice and couscous.

After dinner we headed back to town for coffee and then back to the Bay Bay Café for a drink. Jim and Thelma came too. Lots of fun, lots of people and lots of food. Found a bar built in an ancient cistern so had to check it out….upstairs was sort of a Turkish disco, very noisy and crowded. Down the stairs, or more like a ladder, there are a couple of tables set up with wine bottles for tasting. A bit dank and musty so we didn’t bother staying.

The main street and square had lots of people milling about. Some ladies at the side of square sitting on the ground making that flatbread, guys selling bags of boiled almonds (v.g.), cotton candy, corn on the cob etc. Just a fantastic evening!

To bed late….after midnight!

Sat June 27

Woke up at 4AM to the smell of diesel….the boat next to us was leaving and all the fumes from their engine were pouring in our little window…bletch. Got up and closed it but just couldn’t lay there any longer.

Our boat started up at 5AM!!! More fumes!!

Had to leave very early because of the weather again. Once out of the sheltered marina the seas were unbelievably rough…..almost scary!!

They couldn’t make breakfast or even coffee!! At least until things calmed down a bit. A few very green looking people this morning. I found a chair right in the centre of the boat and parked myself…..

Originally we were heading to Gemiler Island but too rough. Should take only 3 hours but we were no where near it so they found another rather sheltered cove to anchor and tie up in hoping that things calmed down later in the afternoon. We were also supposed to stop at Butterfly Bay but that didn’t/couldn’t happen but the place we stopped was idyllic…..just beautiful.

Finally had breakfast around 10, went for a swim. A little while later a little boat or scow looking thing came along with a lady making pancakes. Her husband captains her around and she sits at the front with her wooden slab and rolling pin whipping up the crepes then flips them on the little griddle that sits beside her. They were delicious….had our choice of sweet or savory. 2L each!!!

Tolga and the chef/deckhand tried to catch fish and/or squid for dinner….but nada. Fun watching them. You easily see them in the water….would have had more luck jumping in and just grabbing them I think.

Had our lunch, which was stuffed peppers (vvvg). Just after lunch it started getting a bit wavy in our cove so we shoved off for Gemiler Island again. Only about 15 minutes away but calmer and less rocky and rolly than our pretty secluded bay….ah sigh. Much busier…..way more boats and people….there is also a big beach which is packed. You can rent jet skis and go on banana boat rides, there are quite a few pancake ladies, ice men boats. Tons of day tripper boats that come to see the ruins. Didn’t go swimming. The water looked really nice and you can swim right up to the ruin but not too appealing and a bit scary with all the boats, skis etc. right there.

Read, snoozed and watched all the activities going on for the rest of the afternoon. Didn’t go on the 6pm hike to the ruins……too bad, sounded interesting with the St. Nicholas church, tunnels etc. The ruins are Byzantine….you can tell by the way the arches are made. We could see lots of the ruins from the boat on the side of the island in the bushes. It’s really quite pretty here but just too busy.

Dinner tonight was excellent!! BBQ’d chicken wings, kefte and French fries. It was probably the most I saw Ken eat so far on the gulet. Beautiful sunset! Sat around and chatted the rest of the evening. Noisy neighbours on both sides, Thomas Cook on one side and the Durmaz 2 on the other which was full of “beautiful” young couples….Rae called it the “model” boat lol.

To bed around midnight.

Sun June 28

Beautiful morning. Sea is not rough. Sunrise was beautiful. You could see the mist in the valleys between the mountains. Had my pashmina on cuz it was a bit chilly but as soon as the sun came up over the mountain it was HOT!

After breakfast it got very choppy again heading to our little bay stop…..but once there, what a beautiful place. Quite a few boats tied up but nicely spread out.

The bay/cove had a little beach with a restaurant/bar. We were quite a ways out but we decided to swim and/or float in…..most people took pool noodles just as extra precaution in case we had too much to drink or just plain old got tired. Ken had the money and a couple of cigarettes in a baggy in his bathing suit….all stayed dry! Anne put her and Truiis stuff in a baggy and put it under her hat.

Ken and I, Rae and Glen, Colin and Mary and Anne and Truui…..was lots of fun. Swimming back was much easier because the current helped you along.

Just back on the boat and all of a sudden the anchor slipped or something and we were getting really close to the rocks so we motored off to another bay about 15 minutes away. Another pretty but busy place with local families on the beach having their Sunday day out. Stayed maybe an hour if that and started our trip back to Fethiye for the last night of our gulet trip.

Arrived around 5 so we headed into town to do some last minute shopping. Rae found a purse/big bag that she really liked but he wanted 200L. It was a carpet bag, or I think what’s called a kilim (sp?)….had leather straps. Very nice but….

Found a bar along the marina so we had a beer and calamari….Ken had fish and chips (late lunch??) was all v.g.

Later dinner tonight….our “farewell” dinner on the boat. Fish (bream v.g.), salad, pasta and a potato salad with sort of a tomato-y dressing (v.g.) Another fun dessert. Truii gave me the envelope to collect the tips so after dinner we got Tolga and the crew on deck. I made a little speech thanking them for a great trip and handed out the envelopes.

Back into town for coffee and then back on the boat to pack up. Could see a turtle out our window…..thought it was dead but finally started flapping around. Lots of oil and scum floating on the water here….busy marina.

What an amazing week this was!!

Off on an adventure tomorrow…..Istanbul!

Turkey 2009 Part 2 – Turkey Tour of Ancient Sites

This journal is in 4 parts: Part 1 Mainz and Rhodes, Part 2 Turkey – Tour of Ancient Sites, Part 3 Lycian Coast Gulet Cruise and Part 4 Istanbul

Mon June 15

Up early to catch the ferry. A quick coffee and croissant and we were off. Duncan had called a taxi for us. He could only get in as far as the square a short walk away so we didn’t have to rattle our suitcases too far over the cobbles.

Arrived at the marina by 8. Picked up our boarding passes and had to pay another 15E each for “port charges”?? Went thru customs and on to the ferry.

Ferry ride was about an hour. One of the Dolphin fast ferries. No outside areas, but not much to see enroute anyway.

Arrived in Marmaris around 11. Thru customs and got our visa ($50US paid in cash only). Found an ATM at the ferry terminal to get some Turkish Lira. Initially thought we’d take the bus, or dolmus, but found a taxi driver who would drive us all the way to Dalyan for 80TL ($25CDN), which is about double the price of the bus but also takes one third of the time!

Very hot….very, very hot. Didn’t realize until we were on the road that our taxi did not have air conditioning!!! Driver was an older guy who spoke about as much English as we spoke Turkish (other than please and thank you…that would be NONE!)…..luckily some other guy had organized the ride for us so he knew where we were going! Taxi was in a pretty rough shape…..torn leather seats, one of the windows only went down an inch or so and his front seat was filled with papers and books…..a bit of a mess!

Off we went in the 100+ degrees with the windows down as far as they’d go. Of course it was still hot, but also very dry here so a lot of dust blowing around and into the car. He stopped for gas!! Came out with ice cold bottles of water for us, which was very nice. He talked pretty much the entire way pointing at things but we had no clue what he was telling us.

We came to a roadblock!!! So we kind of made signs that we were worried and started getting out all our ID…..no, no he said. The roadblock guy said it was to check to make sure the driver had a valid taxi license, nothing to do with us. Next we stopped at a huge tap type thing. It was a big pipe about 20ft tall with a spigot/spout hanging from the top…..he told us to roll up the windows and then he drove under it and let the water just run over the car for a couple of minutes!! Found out later that these are along the highway to help cool off cars so they don’t overheat when it’s a 100+ degrees. Interesting!

Back on the highway and the windows open again we had not just dust blowing in but the bits of spray from the water too. We were literally stuck to the seats most of the way. Nice drive though, mostly on the highway with hills/mountains off in the distance and a mix of very dry land and some bits of forest.

Arrived in Dalyan at the hotel around 1. I opened the car door and we kind of rolled out …..I felt like I’d be on some leg of a journey on the Amazing Race!!

Rae and Glen were just coming out the door of the hotel when we arrived. They’d just checked in and were in search of cold beer. We got checked in, dropped the luggage. Oner Hotel….kind of a funky place with helter skelter rooms. Ours is pretty good on the main floor. R & G are up in the attic! Found R & G at the patio bar. Met Ilsa from Belgium, who will be in our tour group.

Enjoyed a very nice cool (not cold) beer and heard our first call to prayer!! Was just amazing to be here in Turkey! And HOT!

Wandered around the town heading towards the water…..kind of a canal I guess. Dalyan is a cute little place….quite touristy. Lots of Germans here. Had a great lunch at a little place right on the water, Ceyhan Restaurant, where all the little tour boats are docked and with a great view of the tombs in the cliffs. How cool was that! They look amazing…..can’t even imagine how they managed to do it.

Headed back thru town to find a store to replace the battery for my watch! Guy replace it for 5TL (less than $1CDN!). Stopped for coffee at “Gerda’s Café”, which is really just a little kiosk along the side of the road. She’s German….came to Dalyan 30 years ago, met a Turk, married that Turk and is still very happily here! She recommended a place for dinner along the river.

Back at the hotel we had a nice little swim…..mostly to just get some of the grit and grime off. Hotel is OK. 2 star, pretty spartan but exceptionally clean, which is the main thing. We’ve got twin beds in our room and a little balcony with A chair. Looks out over someone’s garden and small mosque.. No top sheets on the beds….only a blanket sort of….looks more like a big bath towel. No AC so probably not going to need anymore than that.

Met our tour guide and group in the lobby. 24 of us on the first tour, 6 that will carry on to the gulet next week. Got all our info etc. Met back there at 7:15 to go off to dinner. Not having done a tour before, 24 seems like a lot of people!!

Walked in a different direction to the restaurant. Still very warm. I had the cheese rolls for an appie, which was feta cheese rolled up in phyllo pastry….really really good. Main course was a chicken casserole, also really good. Ken had pizza that was just OK.

After dinner we went shopping for our picnic lunch for tomorrow. Found a little shop still open that had lots of goodies….cheese buns, more cheese, crackers, bananas, nuts.

Back to the hotel around 10:30 to empty a backpack and repack it for our tour tomorrow.

Long, busy but fun day! More calls to prayer!

Tues June 16

Slept really good! That is until the call to prayer around 5:15 …..our wake up call this morning!!! They amplify the call thru loudspeakers so you can’t help but hear it, no matter where you are. Did manage to fall back to sleep until 6.

Breakfast at the hotel at 7:30. Thought the tea was coffee lol….coffee was instant Nescafe, at least it was coffee! OK little buffet with breads, cheeses, meat that looked like bologna, hard boiled eggs, cereal and the best yogurt with honey and cherry preserves. Also had cherry juice, which was a bit tart but really good.

Grabbed our stuff for the day and off to where the boats are along the river to go to Caunos or Kaunus (have seen it spelled both ways).

Going down the river was really neat. There are tall reeds on both sides, very quiet. The boats have to go very slow because of the turtles, which are protected. The guide explained the tombs on the walls…..they’re from the 4thc BC! Incredible!! The tombs are exactly as they were when they were discovered….no restoration has been done and in amazingly good condition.

Came to our first stop for the Caunos town ruins. The theatre is really still quite intact with the odd tree growing out of it here and there. The views from the top looked back towards Dalyan and out to Iztuzu beach. Hardly any people at this site so it was very peaceful. Caunos was a very busy and important sea port at one time. Saw the agora and fountain in the main square, still columns standing with writing on them that explains the rules of trade and the applicable taxes etc. Silting over the centuries has left the sea off in the distance now.

Spent a couple hours there. TG (tour guide….can’t remember her name Che-yen maybe?) also explained the restoration process. They can’t use original materials and depending on when the restoration took place must use different marble, stone, concrete etc. of certain colours and types based on the year/century etc. to distinguish restored bits from original bits…..this is based on requirements from the Int’l Archeological Society. Sometimes restorations are done many years apart, so this helps to identify what is still original and what period restorations were done! Very interesting! Amazing ruins and history!

Back on the boat and on to the beach. Iztuzu beach is magnificent! 4.5 km long, very nice soft and very hot sand, they have a wooden walkway almost right to the water. The sea is beautiful. Nice clear and very clean looking, quite warm too. Went for a nice swim to cool down.

Everyone went back to sit on the boat in the shade to have our lunch, which was really quite good. Chatted with TG (tour guide until I remember her name!!) for a bit then back to the beach cantina for an Efes beer and to take some more pics. A really nice little spot! A great place to have spent the afternoon. Not many people here either…..incredible to have such a big beautiful beach with so few people.

Nice cruise down the river on the way back. Saw a number of turtles…..huge ones! Also saw the fishing contraptions….very interesting. So peaceful cruising along….very quiet and very few other boats.

Out for a bit of a walk thru the town before dinner. Stopped at a little street bar where the guy at the travel agency next door helped us order our drinks lol….chatted with him for a while.

Walked to “Safran” the restaurant that Gerda told us about yesterday. Ken and I had the grilled crab, which was excellent. Came with fries, rice and green beans. A couple of glasses of wine. Total bill 65TL ($20CDN if that!).

Wandered around town again browsing in and out of shops and had to shop for our picnic for tomorrow.

What a great day!

Wed June 17

Good morning at 5 again thanks to the call to prayer! Do people really get up at that time and go??

Our tour guides name is Ceylan. She is an archology major at the university and she’s great! So knowledgeable and loves Turkey. Her brother is a vulcanologist and travels all over the world. Told her about seeing all the stuff in the British Museum and was hoping that they’d get it back. She agreed but also said that many of the great treasures were not being looked after. Items were being destroyed by weather and vandals back then so at least they have been preserved. Interesting!

Leaving Dalyan today. The ruins at Alinda was our main tour. About 3 hours by bus with a couple of 15 minute breaks. Terrible bus! Small, cold (!!) and uncomfortable. Had to wear longer shorts or pants and tee shirts with sleeves today because we go thru Karpuzlu, which is a very traditional muslim town, to get to Alinda.

The road goes up and up….way up! Very hot and initially very windy. A very HOT wind. The Alinda ruins are spectacular. There’s an aqueduct, an amazing theatre with olive trees growing out of it everywhere. Had our picnic lunch in the shade under them sitting on seats that were built in 400BC!! The views of the valleys on both sides is unbelievable. At the top of the site there are cisterns that they actually lined with concrete type stuff to hold the water. They had a clay pipe system to get the water to the wells in the old town just below it. On to the agora, which was a bit hard to distinguish what was what, but the agora stoa were awesome. Many still standing. You can see that the agora was at least two levels. Not much has been excavated at this site but more will be starting next year. Definitely not a touristy place probably because it’s not that easy to get to and if we’d been on our own I highly doubt it would have even been on our radar….so a tour was a good idea. The site is quite big and took a few hours to cover it. A lot of walking/hiking/climbing in 40C temps and not a heck of a lot of shade.

Walked/hiked back down to the “new town” (Karpuzlu, which wasn’t really new!) and stopped at a little bar in the town square. Many old men sitting around, drinking tea and playing backgammon. As soon as we sat down the waiter came out with a little spray bottle of lemon water for us to wash our hands!

I feel sorry for the cows here…..they just sort of wander around the streets. They can’t run off because they have a rope attached to one of their feet that goes thru a ring in their nose so that when they take a step their head sort of gets pulled down….very sad I thought.

Quite a drive to our stop for tonight in Gulluk. Some road construction or whatever created a couple hour detour. Hotel is called Ozer Gulluk. Very, very basic but clean. Nice deck with a view across the water. Bodrum is just around the bay.

Only place to have dinner was the hotel so we had all pre-ordered when we arrived. I had chicken, Ken had kefte (meatballs), both very good. I think they were 13L each. Included mixed appie platter and some seaweed with butter and garlic (ok…) and dessert. Beautiful big outdoor seating area. Lovely sunset over the water. Couldn’t sit out there too long tho…..mosquitoes were really bad.

Another really good and very interesting day.

Thurs June 18

Up early. Perfect view of sunrise from our deck. It was already hot at 6AM.

Basic continental type hotel breakfast.

Our first stop today was Didyma. A spectacular ruin right in the middle of the city/town. There are two magnificent carved columns and one uncarved one still standing tall. All around the site are sections, or chunks, of columns that have tumbled. Presuming they’re all marble…..they look like big solid tires lying here, there and everywhere. The carvings on the column bases look as crisp as if they were carved a year or two ago….just amazing. All seem to be different, don’t know why or what they represent. Quite incredible that no one has built a hotel or two around it since this is a pretty touristy town.

The temple of Apollo has been excavated and was second in importance to the one in Greece. Also the temple of Artemis which isn’t excavated. It’s really quite unbelievable to see it all just sitting there. A column or two just laying there where it fell and broke into sections. Some of the carving is so detailed and intricate. Just a beautiful historic ruin!

Had a great buffet lunch at a restaurant across the street (10L). Really good couscous with a spicy tomato sauce.

Next stop was Miletus. An ancient town from around 700BC. The theatre is incredible. Held 15,000 people. The agora was beautiful and has a few restored columns. The Baths of Faustina still had a couple statues. You can see what was the swimming pool and how the water came in thru holes in the walls.

A lady with a little cart selling fresh squeezed orange juice…..very, very good and refreshing in the heat. Incredibly HOT!

Miletus was once a port! Hard to believe now as you can see the sea way off in the distance (great views all around). The harbour silted in and eventually ended it’s importance as a busy sea port.

On to Priene…..I think my fav place so far! Again, you can see where there used to be sea but long since silted in. This place must really have been something in it’s day. Way up on hill overlooking the valley and out to sea. The temple of Athena is pretty grand. Five columns are still standing (restored). You can still see roads and gutters, just like at Pompeii. The theatre is beautiful, still with some of the carved seats for the rich people. Tons of pieces just lying everywhere…..like a big jigsaw puzzle that was dumped and then scattered around the room….can’t even imagine how they put it together for restoration. The site is surrounded on 3 sides by beautiful and very fragrant pine forests with rocky cliffs behind it and with spectacular views looking over the valley and out towards the sea. Definitely the prettiest place so far.

Left there around 5 and arrived in Selcuk just before 6. We’re staying here two nights at the Canberra Hotel. A treat to not have to pack up in the morning! Very nice people that run it, 2 brothers.

Nice basic rooms….we have two balconies! Was great to have a nice big shower! You get incredibly dirty at these sites because of the dust and sweat! Also did some “shower laundry” since we’ve lots of room to hang it up outside so it will dry!

Selcuk is a neat place, not too big maybe 20,000 or so people. There is an old mosque with a big storks nest on the top. St John’s Basilica, a medieval castle and some other ruins up on the hill. Also the Temple of Artemis, which is, or was, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. City/town is a real mix of “city” and “country”. Lots of traffic, buses and all the usual city stuff, along with tractors and ox/goat carts mixed in. Quite an enchanting place I think!

Ceylan was organizing a group dinner but we didn’t join them. Met R & G and had drinks at the hotel rooftop bar. Wonderful view from up there of the basilica and ruins on the hill, which get lit up at night!

Wandered off looking for some place for dinner and found that they were just setting up for the night market that opens at 8! Still hot at night but much more comfortable than with the hot sun beating down on you so makes sense to have the market at night.

Found a little restaurant just off the plaza. Had our first rakis! I ordered the stuffed peppers, Rae ordered the stuffed eggplant so we traded half of each…..very good. Also had chicken souvlaki, Ken had beef….both were good. Went to the market and wandered around for a while.

Back to the hotel around 11 and did laundry! Great because we’ll have an extra day for it to dry and with the 2 balconies lots of places to hang it all up.

Across from our hotel is a home with a big garden and yard….it’s almost midnight and there are kids out there kicking a soccer ball around….young kids, like 5 or 6!! I guess this is when they play…way too hot during the day to even move!

Big day tomorrow….Ephesus! Can’t believe we’re really here.

Fri June 19

Hello!!!! Call to prayer at like 5AM! Sounded like it was right in our room…..which it almost was since the mosque is about 50ft away!! You cannot escape it. Watched all of about 10 people arrive for prayer….ah sigh.

Just stayed up and went to the roof for coffee and some quiet time before breakfast. Beautiful….and already HOT! Usual continental type breakfast….no yogurt here or the last place tho.

Ephesus today! Just another incredible place. Still much excavating going on and will be for years and years. The site is huge and just as spectacular as I was hoping it would be. Theatre still has some of it’s carved seats. Can easily see the water cistern/piping system that was used. The walk down to the library is all ruins in various stages of restoration.

Hadrian’s temple and others, Trajans fountain, what were public bathrooms, a bathhouse, houses etc. On the walkway there are big metal rings embedded in the stones every 20 ft or so……these were used to help bring carts/wagons with supplies, or for moving big hunks of stone/marble for building up the hill!! They would tie rope or ? to the carts/stones and then thru the rings to make a pulley type thing to get the stuff up the hill. Quite brilliant really.

You catch glimpses of the Library on the walk down. Really beautiful. So much detail to look at. The Grand Theatre is extremely well preserved and I’m sure was once very beautiful too. It held 25,000 people which was a lot for that time. Because the acoustics are still so good it’s been used a number of times for modern day concerts….Elton John, Pavarotti etc. would be wonderful to see.

On the way out you walk down a path thru a very nice pine forest. There are ancient “milestones” displayed! Like our mile markers today…..who knew they used them 2000 years ago!

If you are a ruin junkie Turkey is the place to get a good fix!! And we’re not done yet…..a couple more days to go!!

Lunch today was rather unique! Went to a little roadside restaurant where we had to take our shoes off and sit on pillows at little tables to eat. Definitely not a tourist type place and great experience at a traditional eatery. I had a mixed pancake which had meat, onion, cheese and spinach in it……very good. Ken had their specialty which was called “Meleman”. It comes in a nifty little cast iron casserole dish….eggs (sort of scrambled), cheese, onion and hot peppers still bubbling away. All came with tea in little glasses. A fun place!

Back to Selcuk to see what was left of the temple of Artemis….only a couple columns and basically just a field with bits of the ruins. Then to the Efes Museum where some original bits from Ephesus are. Quite a nice little museum with fairly good descriptions. Some of the huge sarcophagus.

Crossed the street to a park where there was a snack bar set up….had a drink and relaxed under the shade trees for a while. Some beautiful, huge hollyhocks….bright red and some must be 10ft tall!

R & G went shopping, Ken and I back to the hotel. Ken snoozed and I went to the roof to read. Great view from up there. You can see the hills all around, the old 14thC fort, St John’s basilica in one direction and out to sea in the other. Chatted with the owner. Really nice guy.

Ended up having dinner up there with R & G and Colin and Mary (will also be on the gulet). Dinner was really good. The chef deboned my fish, which made it really enjoyable!! Rae and I shared the stuffed peppers and mushrooms….all very good.

The rest of the group joined us later for drinks and told us about their Turkish bath at the hammam……lots of laughs. Kind of wished we’d done that now, sounded like quite the experience.

Great day!

Sat June 20

Up early for breakfast and checkout and on to Aphrodesias (named for Aphrodite).

Aphrodesias was incredible! It’s one of the best sites yet. Another new favorite! And not many people at all. Restoration work is going on all the time. There is a display of carved masks that are in unbelievable shape. The theatre was awesome as well as the temple with all the columns but it was the stadium that was the best. It’s HUGE. Still more excavating to be done…..they have so far only uncovered the tops of the lower entrances. The Sebasteion will supposedly rival the library at Ephesus when the restoration is completed.

Terrific museum. Set up much like the Elgin Marbles display in the British Museum.

Very hot but such a great place to just wander around. Some beautiful bits of mosaic floors near Hadrian’s baths, lots of columns from Aphrodites temple still standing and the tomb or monument dedicated to Kenan Erim, the guy who started all the excavations. Really, really enjoyed this place!

Stopped for lunch at a neat place. Huge restaurant with a big covered and nicely shaded outdoor eating area. Lots of beautiful flowers and trees. They brought out a trolley with all the samples of the stuff they serve. You just point at whatever you wanted. I had roasted beets and moussaka, Ken had cheese rolls and stuffed mushrooms. Each dish came in a small cast iron casserole…..would love to take a couple of them home but they weigh a ton. The moussaka was excellent. Had tea with lunch. This place and the place the other day do not serve alcohol.

Our hotel in Pamukkale is kind of cute. Pamuksu Hotel. Called a boutique hotel and they are trying. Nice big pool and beautiful grounds….back is all covered in vines. Our room is ok, clean enough which is the main thing, with a deck that overlooks the front street. They have housecoats and flipflop slippers in the closet. The sink leaks….had to use all our towels to dry the bathroom floor! Front desk sent someone up right away, which was good.

Had just enough time for a quick swim before heading up to Hierapolis and Pamukkale. Good time to go in the late afternoon when it’s not quite as hot and also got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

What an amazing place Pamukkale is! The “cotton castle”. Was hoping to get a better view of it on the drive up, but no. It looks really spectacular….all the different levels of pools and the bright blue water. We could walk into the upper level pools…..you have to take your shoes off but luckily it wasn’t too slippery other than in a few places where algae had built up. It’s so smooth! The water is warm but not hot. Tons of people up there still at almost 7PM. They don’t let people into the natural pools further down the mountain anymore to preserve them so instead they built some fake ones that you can sit and soak in up on the first level.

A nice boardwalk takes you to another set of pools that you aren’t allowed in… fantastic views. Took tons of pics. Spent a ½ hour or so wandering thru there then off on our tour of Hierapolis. Hierapolis is probably one of the most spectacular settings of anywhere we’ve been so far. High up on the mountain behind Pamukkale.

Beautiful theatre, lots of restorations. The pathway to the agora was through sort of a wheat field that was just glowing golden with the sun setting behind it….really beautiful!

The roadway to the agora was pretty well preserved. The arches at the end were great. Not much else had been restored other than the theatre. From there we walked thru the necropolis where there are hundreds and hundreds of sarcophagi scattered all over, some in almost perfect condition, some stacked on top of others, some in varying degrees of ruin. Just unbelievable walking thru there! Like Pere Lachaise without the trees!

Sunset from up there was just spectacular!

Back to the hotel around 9 for a late dinner. Pretty cute place really. Nice pool. Pretty good selection in the buffet. More people here than anywhere we’ve been. I guess it’s the tour routine to head up in the evening and then a late dinner.

Sheets are not nice….very rough. They fixed our sink and replaced all our towels.

Sun June 21

Long bus ride this morning…..4hrs. Seemed to be driving on a plateau. Not a lot to see…..very dry, rolling hills but the Taurus mountains off in the distance were quite spectacular. 2-3000m, some still with snow on the tops. Actually managed to doze off a bit and read my book.

Finally reached Minare, which is the little village below Pinara. We had lunch with a family. They had carpets and pillows all laid out under a trellis that was covered with what looked like wheat (drying it?). A really nice little farm. A cow, a goat or two, a bunch of chickens and lovely vegetable gardens, olive trees and other fruit trees.

The ladies and little girls were prepping lunch in the kitchen and the men were sitting around chatting….Ceylan translated and questions etc.

Lunch was a bunch of dishes that were shared by groups of 4 or 5 of us. Fresh tomatoes with cucumbers and onions in olive oil (homemade), roasted eggplant, green beans in a delicious sauce of some sort, chicken kebabs, fried potatoes kind of like French fries, white beans in sauce, rice and two different kinds of homemade bread (flat and regular) and to top it all off was a delicious cake drizzled with syrup/honey and tea. They showed us how to make tea properly! All excellent and really a lot of fun.

The family seemed to be Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad and 2 very cute little girls. The little girls helped put down the table cloths on the little tables and set out all the plates and cutlery. All the food was very good and the family just lovely. We all thanked them profusely for their wonderful hospitality and delicious food. We could use their bathroom, which was a good thing. The house was immaculately clean and neat and tidy.

A short drive from there to Pinara. Way up and up we went on a very narrow twisty, hairpin filled dirt road. What a beautiful spot! And no one there but us….so even better.

Hiked through the beautiful fragrant forest and some very pretty gullies (no water this time of year), right up to some of the rock tombs. Could actually go inside some of the them. Lots of them! The view was across the valley with the ruins….the theatre is built right into the hillside below and the Taurus mountains in the background…was fantastic.

There are not many restored or put back together ruins there but the site and views were absolutely breathtaking. Very, very hot!!

Luckily just a short bus ride from there to Fetihye. Staying at the Yeniceri Hotel….so far the best yet room wise. Checked in at 4:30. Did some “shower laundry” and read on the deck for a bit before taking a little walk around the area.

Fetihye is a busy place. Quite big with a huge marina…..saw all the gulets! A market and lots of tourists…..this is the start and end point for many of the Lycian coast gulet trips.

Back to the hotel for a quick beer before heading out with our group for the final dinner of this tour. There are 11 of us carrying on to the gulet cruise for this week. I think there are 2 new couples that will be joining us.

Very good restaurant in the main shopping area. Ceylan took us down to the pier to our gulet “Sobek”, named after and Egyptian god.

Even though we’re not tour people, I’m so glad we decided to do this one! There is no way we could have seen all that we did on our own…..no matter how much research we did.

Back to the hotel around 11. Hooray, no wake up call tomorrow…..except maybe the call to prayer of course!

Turkey 2009 Part 1 – Mainz Germany and Rhodes Greece

This trip started out with just Turkey…..the highlight of the trip was to be a gulet cruise along the Lycian coast. Initially we had enough people interested to look into doing a private charter but as often happens as time went by they changed their minds and it ended up being only our friends Rae and Glen and Ken and I. We then had to go for a “tour”, which then morphed into a second week tour of historic sites along the Lycian coast. It was an excellent trip booked thru Explore Worldwide. As with all our holidays, while still working, time was precious so we tried to include whatever else seemed to be logical add-ons to get the most out of our vacations. With the Greek island of Rhodes just a hop, skip and ferry ride away from our Turkey trip starting point we worked that in too….the Rhodes had to go to Rhodes!! The best flight options to get us there and back from Turkey were thru Frankfurt…..but a few days earlier than we’d planned so made good use of our start days in Mainz Germany.

This journal is in 4 parts: Part 1 Mainz and Rhodes, Part 2 Turkey – Tour of Ancient Sites, Part 3 Lycian Coast Gulet Cruise and Part 4 Turkey – Istanbul

Mon June 8

On time into Frankfurt. Flight was OK, certainly better than most service wise, seats were comfortable, or as comfy as they can be for a 10hr flight. Bathrooms on this plane were downstairs!! Kind of a good idea…you went down a winding staircase and there were at least 10 bathrooms!

The airport is not terribly nice and doesn’t seem too organized to me. Not great signage but appears to be some renos happening so maybe that’s why. Just followed everyone else. Went through customs with no problems and picked up our luggage which came along pretty quickly.

Trains are right in the station. You buy your tickets from the travel office. Didn’t see any kiosks. Tickets to Mainz 3.40E each. Train takes about a ½ hour. Took a taxi from the train station to our hotel (6.00E), the Novotel.

Had a bit of a rest and headed out to explore. Rather cloudy and a bit chilly but wandered all over. Many, many nice shops here. Tons of shoe stores!!!! Even with the converted $$’s the prices are pretty good. Quite pretty in some areas I think with all the half-timbered buildings. Beautiful Mainz Cathedral (St Martins), which we couldn’t go in (renos)….apparently it had to be completely rebuilt after the war. Good job as it looked much like the original. Everything pretty well closed up around 6, including many restaurants….maybe we were just too early??. A few outdoor cafes but nothing really for dinner.

Kirschgarten….great half timbered buildings

Long day anyway, so we just headed back to the hotel and had a great dinner there. Schnitzel, potatoes with bacon, 2 salads and some really good bread. Way too much food!! Ordered the Riesling “Kabinett” because I knew it from the wine club…..was very good.

After dinner we walked down to the river to the river cruises/ferries kiosks, but nothing in English! And no people to ask. So tomorrow will head down there around 7:30 to see where we can get info. Really could have used a phrasebook!

Back to the hotel room around 9. Made some tea and that was it for the day.

Tues June 9

Up early…..really early, like 3:30AM. Gave up trying to sleep so made some tea and read until 6AM when all the alarms and wake-up calls went off.

Took a taxi down to the river around 7:30 to buy tickets for our “Rhine River cruise”. Decided to only go as far as St Goar and back. Didn’t leave until 8:45 so we were a little early. Bought coffees from the ticket guy (4E). Boat tickets were 76E for both of us.

Very nice KD boat that is really more of a floating restaurant. Weather was pretty iffy. On and off rain and quite chilly. Only us and 6 others initially on the boat. More got on at all the other stops.

Just as the boat left we ordered breakfast in the restaurant. I had the “big breakfast’ which was cold meats, cheese, hard boiled eggs, croissant, bun, crackers, bread, various jams and spreads and a little pot of coffee…..way too much food again (9E)!! Ken ordered eggs and ham (4.80E), which came with more bread….he shared all my stuff too!

Had started to rain pretty good just before we boarded but had eased up after breakfast. We ended up staying inside instead of going up on the deck until Lorch and Loreley rocks.

Passed so many beautiful little towns and villages…..Kaub, Bacharach, Oberwesel etc. The road runs right along the river (both sides)….would be great to have a car. A pretty drive and to be able to stop at some of the pretty towns. And castles…….around every bend in the river there is another! Just beautiful….some right at the top of a cliff/hill, some restored, others in ruins. Just fantastic! Vineyards everywhere.

Every inch of the land, including the bits between the road/railway tracks and river is planted in grape vines. The vineyards climb up hills that look impassable for people or vehicles. We saw a helicopter doing the spraying and they have these little funicular type contraptions to take workers and at harvest time, the grapes, up/down the hillsides. There is no way you could get any type of vehicle up some of the slopes.

Even the train tunnels look like castles!

Had warmed up a bit when the sun came out so we got to enjoy a lot of the sights from the deck at the back of the boat.

Passed the famous Loreley rocks. The river is quite narrow at that point and takes a bit of a turn.

Many, many cargo type boats, or barges on the river. They are really low and long. Looks like people live aboard some of them.

Arrived at St Goar at 11:30. Had to catch the return boat at 2:20. Very cute city. Wandered a bit, stopped for coffee and Ken had a “Loreley” cake (chocolate cake covered in chocolate icing that looked like the rock (??)). Some very nice shops……found the Wusthof store where Linds bought my scissors and paring knife….fun!

Took the little train up to the Rheinfels Castle. (2E for the train and 4E each to get in to the castle). Would have been a pretty tough walk up the steep hill. The castle is pretty much a ruin but you get the idea of what the place would have been like. Lots of skinny windy staircases and walkways. Fantastic massive old doors and hardware.

The views up and down the river from the top are spectacular. The weather turned really sunny and warm so a treat to see it all. A few school groups but not really many other people. Was fun wandering around the ruins and watching the various displays they were putting on for the kids…..shooting arrows and sword fighting etc.

Looking down the river….many long cargo boats.

Took the little train back down to town to catch the boat. Was starting to cloud over and had gotten a bit windy.

Maybe about two dozen people on the boat. Sat in the covered area on the back deck and ordered some rose wine, chips and peanuts!! Was fun sitting and watching all the castles and towns going by.

It was still warmish but had started to spit a bit then it turned into a torrential downpour……thunder and lightening to go with it. The wind picked up so we ended up back inside. Unfortunately from that point on it stormed just about the entire way back. Finally the sun came out and it warmed up again around Kaub. Very long boat ride back 4 hours because I guess you are going up stream. Very long, scenic and exciting with the storm but a bit too long. In hindsight we should have taken the train back, but oh well!

Back in Mainz around 7. Had dinner in a nice place across from the theatre. Ken had turkey scaloppini and I had sausages with potatoes and cabbage….and wine! All very good.

At the hotel around 9. We both took those Nyquil sleeping things to hopefully get one good night sleep.

Tomorrow night we have to catch the 11PM train back to Frankfurt to head to Rhodes!! Exciting!!

Wed June 10 (1^st part)

Those pills worked wonders! Slept pretty good. No rush to get up and out early today.

Out the door around 10 and started to pour!! Hadn’t gone far so went back to the hotel to borrow umbrellas. Found a café for coffee and croissants. Ken had a decadent “cupcake” covered in chocolate and marzipan icing!! Energy, right?

Over to St Stephan to see the Chagall stained glass windows. Very beautiful church, inside and out. Why didn’t I take pictures????

Next stop the Gutenberg Museum. Quite fascinating really. Great display of printing processes from 900AD up to the 18^th century. Saw the Gutenberg Bibles……who knew there was more than one. The detail, and colours, in them and all the other printed material on display is incredible. I can’t imagine the time it took to produce some of it. A lot of Asian printing artifacts on display. Unfortunately not a lot of the information was in English so couldn’t always appreciate what we were looking at. Too bad, no photos allowed.

To the train station to see if we could buy our tickets for tonight, but can’t buy them until 2 hours before train departure. Nice lady showed us how the machines work so we were good for later. Lots of trains that seem to run every 20 minutes or half hour.

A bit scary around the train station…..lots of skinheads just sort of hang around in big groups making a lot of noise (no idea of course what they’re saying). A little intimidating and definitely don’t want to make eye contact with anyone.

Found a nice place, called ALEX in the main square for a drink. Did think about having our late lunch there but the waitress was really cranky. Had our drinks and left. Went across the square and had a great lunch. Thin crust pizza with lots of cheese and proscuitto e fungi. Ken had a cheeseburger and fries…..MCCAIN fries!! All the cafes had signs saying they selling MCCAIN FRIES!!

Back to the hotel around 6 for to pack up and grab a nap before heading off to the train station at 11:00 and part 2 of today!!

Wed June 10 (2^nd part)

Woke up around 8:30 from our nap, made some coffee and finished packing up. Checked out at 11 and took a taxi to the train station.

Managed to buy our tickets for the 12:02AM train with no problem but it was only 11:15. Many strange people at the train station. It was a long ½ hour or so. Many normal people too of course. Lots of people just hang around on the platforms drinking beer……apparently you do not need a ticket to be down there!!

Safely on the train and got off at the right stop at the Frankfurt airport.

I would like to come back to Germany and spend more time…..maybe a road trip thru all the little towns and villages. I think learning a bit of German would have been helpful too….other than bitte and danke. Next time I’ll definitely have a phrasebook. Ordering food was hard……I love “wursts” but was so worried about getting blood sausage I only ordered it when it clearly said “bratwurst”. Oh well……on to the next adventure, some warmth and sun!

Thurs June 11

This day started right at 12:01AM!! Got to the airport and found the shuttle to terminal 2. Easy to find the TUIFLY line up and check-in……..only one at that time of morning! Got checked in by just after 1AM so had until 2:55 for boarding to kill some time. Wandered around, had coffee and muffins and wandered around more. Finally thru security around 2:30.

Boarded the plane at 3:20 and we were on our way. Flight was just over 3 hours. Dozed on and off.

Arrived nice and early. Had to ask to have our passports stamped…..because you know the Rhodes are in Rhodes!!! Not necessary of course because they’re both EU countries. Immigration lady said we didn’t need to have them stamped so we explained why we want the stamps…..seemed to be a bit of a hassle for her but she did it!!

Caught a taxi (18E set price to old town) and called the hotel. Taxi dropped us at the D’Amboise gate where Duncan met us and then led us thru the windy, narrow maze of streets to our hotel, The Spirit of the Knights. OMG!!! This place is awesome. Better than the pics and reviews. The room is lovely. The owners are lovely.

It’s 10AM, we’ve changed into summer clothes, it’s warm and sunny and just beautiful. They made us coffee and some little snacks and we’re just sitting on the patio enjoying it all. Lots of chairs, tables, plants, ponds and even a little plunge pool. I sat for an hour or so reading and updating my journal, Ken went and had a little nap, then off to explore! Yes, it’s still Thurs. 24hrs with only a couple hours sleep

I LOVE IT HERE!! Very touristy, much like Capri but you can’t help but like it! Lots of stores that all sell the same stuff, restaurants that all have the same food…..but just being in the old walled city is almost magical. The streets, or alleys, are all done in stone, some in very intricate patterns and some large black and white round stones. All the buildings are old, some look ramshackle but most are really well preserved and well kept. A few pretty treelined streets just inside the walls, which were much appreciated in the mid day heat. Very easy to get lost in the maze of streets.

Found a restaurant on a roof in the main plaza by the marina entrance. Lunch was good but I think I got ripped off when I told him I wanted seafood and wasn’t sure what to order and could he suggest something for me. Which he did, sort of a special dish that wasn’t on the menu!! Our lunch was well over 60E! Not including the wine! The view made up for it….I guess. Huge cruise ship in port so very crowded.

Managed to find our way back to the hotel around 2. Ken went and had a snooze, I sat out on the patio with a G & T and read for a bit, then went and had a nap too.

Headed out for dinner around 6:30. Had an excellent dinner at Archipelagos in the same area we had lunch. Again up on the roof with great views of the square below and the marina area. I had this absolutely incredible roast chicken!!! A thigh and something else that had delicious crispy skin in a casserole dish, that was still bubbling when I got it, surrounded by crusty roast potatoes all with dollops of some kind of mild cheese melting all over it

Pretty much right back to the hotel after dinner. Sat around and had coffee and chatted with Felicity and her kids (owners). Very interesting lady!

Took a Nyquil sleeping pill so will hopefully get a really good nights sleep….it’s been a long, long day!!

Might rent a car tomorrow and visit Lindos!

Fri June 12

I cannot believe this is only our 2^nd day here!!

Up early (6:30) and went out to the “gazebo” to read for a while before breakfast (starts at 8:00). The bed was really comfortable….so had a pretty good sleep. Duncan was at the desk and got some coffee to tie me over until Ken surfaced. The garden here is just lovely. There are many beautiful plants and trees. Spider lilies hang over the pond with trickling water, bougainvillea and other flowering plants climb up the old stone walls, a few palms trees, bamboo and other potted plants. There a few steps, lined with lanterns that lead up to a little dipping pool. It’s very peaceful and a great place to start the day.

Great little continental breakfast. They will do an egg for you too. Ken had a hard boiled one.

Duncan helped get us sorted with a car rental and off we went to do some touring. Very, very hot today.

I think it was about an hour drive to Lindos. Eventually some great views of the sea along the route, otherwise quite industrial once you get out of the old town.

Lindos is very pretty. Somewhat touristy. Only a small area of shops and restaurants really. And donkey rides up to the castle if you want. Very nice sandy beach…..2 beaches actually, both very busy. The water is a gorgeous deep/bright blue and clear as anything.

Had lunch at a place call Dimitris. Greek salad was really good, gyros (pork), tzatziki, with pita type bread. Chatted with the waiter/owner. Asked where we were from etc. Told him I was Lindos Rhodos…..he laughed so I showed him my ID, he laughed even more and we got our beer for free!! Fun!

Left Lindos and headed inland and up over a mountain to get to the other side of the island. Found a winery so we stopped and tasted a rose and a red. Bought the rose to share with R & G at some point when we meet them in Turkey.

Totally got lost returning the car. Lots of one way streets never seeming to be going in the right direction. Did get there eventually.

Walking back from the car rental place we stopped a really neat huge outdoor plaza type place with a self-service food bar and regular drink bar. Really neat areas with different table and chair set ups, a couple of big screen TV’s showing soccer games and concerts…..probably lots of fun in the evening.

Back to the hotel for a drink and then back out to do some shopping before dinner.

Met some people in a store that were from Chilliwack (Marie and Doug) and Burnaby (Dick and Pat) !! Chatted for a bit and invited us to join them for dinner at Rustica, which is just around the corner from our hotel. Had a great dinner and evening drinking and chatting. Doug and Marie knew Brian Minter, who Glen and Rae also know…..small world! Not back to the hotel until almost 1AM!

Great day and evening!

Sat June 13

Up early…….found some coffee and chatted with Kara for a while. Met the people from Israel and chatted some more. Very nice and very interesting to talk to.

Collected Ken around 9 for breakfast. Every morning you get fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh ground coffee (French press). Today was a menu with fresh fruit, croissants, toast, cheese and meats and eggs. Ken had scrambled today.

This place is really fantastic. They change the beds every day and it is kept absolutely immaculate. Very pleasant, interesting people. Super service…..they constantly know what you want or are right there if you need something but at the same time very relaxed and laid back. Fun chatting with them…..lots of good stories about the family. Felicity has one or two biological children and the other 17 are, or were, foster kids, Kara and one or two others who run the hotel with her.

Wandered around a different area of old town this morning enroute to the port to check where to buy ferry tickets to Marmaris….can only buy them the day before??

Went to the Palace today. Just wow!! Very good museum type displays. The place is massive and has an incredible history.

Lunch and shopped for hats!! Ken bought one that says Rhodes on it and got another free when we told the guy our name. I bought a straw type hat and sunglasses!!. Picked up tea towels that say Rhodes on them for the Rhodes’ and Steve and Di.

Back to the hotel for a drink, rest and chat with Felicity et al. Cleaned up and headed out to do a bit more shopping and just enjoy the much less crowded streets (cruise ships leave around 5) Around 9 we stopped in at Rustica again. Very good food and a fun place. Was just going to be something light and simple but ended up having a great dinner. Platter for two for 40E…..a ton of food! Free ouzo to start and a glass of Mextaca, the Greek brandy, after. Ran into the Israeli couple on the way back to the hotel. Had coffee and talked with them until almost midnight. Very nice people with some very interesting stories to tell about living in Jerusalem.

Sun June 14

Up early today. Had breakfast and off to buy our ferry tickets. First place we went to said there were no tickets available!!! A bit of panic for a moment then we went to the place next door who said no problem lots of tickets available!! Got those and walked out to the marina where the Colossus of Rhodes supposedly was.

Two HUGE cruise ships in today…..disgorged about 5000 people into the old town so pretty crazy busy.

Along the pier a guy has set up a shelter for the feral cats. He feeds them and tries to get as many neutered as possible. Contributed to the cause. Carried on to the St Nicholas Tower and lighthouse. Watched a short video about the history of Rhodes…..interesting.

Walked into the new town because of the crowds…..nice walk along the water. Had a great lunch overlooking a park and the water. Spinach pie in puff pastry and Greek salad….with a huge big hunk of feta as opposed to the crumbled stuff that we get at home….all very good. Ken had a burger and said it too was excellent.

Really could spend days wandering around thru the little streets and alleys. Love how many places have little bowls of water out for the cats and dogs. Some great shops and tons of little cafes. I must say though the cobbled stones/rocks are hard to walk on…..very lumpy so easy to go over on your ankle. Have found flip flops to be the best to wander in, they kind of form around the stones.

Found a café for a glass of wine and had to sample their saganaki and mussels…..both very good.

Spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing at the hotel. This place is so serene with all the plants and the water fixtures dribbling away. Ken snoozed, I read and chatted with people when they came along…..and of course had a couple of G&T’s.

Got to be a bit later than we’d planned for dinner so just went back again to Rustico! I had mousaka, Ken had the prawns….still sort of full from lunch and our snack. Free ouzo and mextaca. Loved the little clay jugs for wine, so asked if I could buy one or two……they opened their little store across the street to get them for me. They perfectly hold two glasses of wine. You can chill them in the fridge or freezer and will keep your wine very nice and cool! We got to sign their repeat customer book AND he gave us a bottle of their wine as a gift to take with us.

Back to finish packing up for another adventure tomorrow…..off to Turkey!

Istanbul 2022

This is part 3 of my trip to Uzbekistan. Using Turkish Airlines we had to go through Istanbul so thought we might as well spend a few days there. Back in 2009 my husband and I spent a week in this fantastic city and we both just loved it. My daughter is on this trip with me and had not been to Istanbul so that gave me an excuse to go back and for her to see it, hoping that she’d love it just as much as I do.

From Istanbul we carried on to Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Munich, which will be my next post, or posts, but I thought Istanbul deserved it’s own post because of it’s uniqueness. It is such a mix of east and west…..not quite like Uzbekistan and not like Europe either…..

June 5 Sun

R, A, R, C, Linds and I shared 2 taxis to the airport.

Rustam got up to make sure check out went smooth and to see us off. Because it was so early the hotel had prepared little boxed lunch/breakfast goodies for us, which was really nice! A sandwich, cookies and a banana.

We all got checked in for our flight to Istanbul, no issues with that or going thru immigration.

Turkish Airlines again. Great airline. Just over 4 hours back to Istanbul. Arrived around 12 noon and gained back two hours!

Said bye to the Haymans and Batstones as we all headed off …..they on to Italy and Linds and I into the city for 3 nights.

Grabbed a taxi into the city. Flat fee of 350 Turkish Lira or 20 E. Pretty reasonable considering the new airport is pretty well an hour out of the city.

Our hotel, Blue House Hotel, is in a good location in Sultanahmet, right across the street from the Arasta Bazaar. Nice little room, great view of the Blue Mosque. Rooftop terrace/restaurant with views in all directions, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. (I booked thru Booking.com as their website is not in English)

We are going on a city walking tour tomorrow so just spent the afternoon wandering around Sultanahmet. Up to the square between the BM and HS, thru the bazaar. Great area to wander thru. Showed Linds the Ferman Hotel where we stayed the last time and a couple of restaurants that we ate at. So many great shops……spent forever looking at mosaic lamps trying to figure out how we’d bring a couple home. So many lovely craft shops…really nice kilim bags. A lot of touristy type shops too…many selling luggage! Some great restaurants. Heard the call to prayer a couple times….just love it.

*The unlit Blue Mosque…..spot light is just not working!*

Had gotten quite windy and was actually a bit chilly so we headed back to the hotel to get sweaters and decided we’d done enough for the day so just went up to the rooftop terrace to have dinner, hear the last call to prayer of the day and wait in anticipation of all the lights coming on. Sadly for us the Blue Mosque is NOT lit up, other than a couple of spot lights shining on it. It’s undergoing extensive renovations. How disappointing because I really wanted Linds to see it. Hagia Sofia was lit nicely though. Too bad because that is one of the main reasons we picked this hotel because of how lovely it was at night with both those buildings lit up…..loved the BM with the birds flying around the minarets at all hours of the night! Oh well, was not to be!! But still a great view. Decided to buy a bottle of wine…..they will keep whatever you don’t drink for the next day. Was cheaper than buying it by the glass. Dinner was pasta in a ragu sauce, was just OK. Bread was good!

Went for another little walk around and then back to do a bit of laundry and to bed. Another long day. Looking forward to our walking tour tomorrow and meeting up with James and Alli.

June 6 Mon

Slept OK-ish. Not the most comfy bed. Up with the first call to prayer. Got dressed and went down to the breakfast room hoping to find some coffee at least. Was only 6:30 and breakfast isn’t until 8. The hotel night guy was still on so asked if there was coffee anywhere. He said to go have a seat outside on the patio and he’d check. A few minutes later out he comes with a very hot and very strong cup of coffee for me. How nice was that!

The hotel patio faces the back of the Arasta Bazaar….it’s quite a narrow short street. What comes along but a HOHO bus!! I’m pretty sure we didn’t see them driving around these little old narrow streets the last time….maybe he was just relocating?? It barely made it around the corner….actually had to back up and make a second attempt.

Breakfast was the usual…..tomatoes, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, cereal, yogurt and some OK pastries and very good coffee.

Off to our meeting point for the tour at 9. It’s across from Sultan Ahmet Park (not to be confused with Sultanahmet Square!!), which is now surrounded by gates and a check point if coming from the other direction. We just walked thru with no problem but they were checking bags of people coming into the park. Seemed sort of odd because if you walked around the block and came into the park from the same direction we came from there is no security checks….seemed sort of pointless but whatever.

Met up with Alli and James…..they arrived around 10 last night and are staying at the Pera Palace Hotel. James found this tour thru the Airbnb site. Good deal for a full day $46US. Our guide is Ozur.

First stop was the Hippodrome. Explained the history and the obelisk (Egyptian). There is a big museum right across from it but we didn’t go in. Normally we would have gone to the Blue Mosque but he said it is not worth it now while the renos are happening….too much scaffolding, areas blocked off etc. Was a little disappointed the Linds wouldn’t get to see it because it is pretty beautiful.

Hagia Sofia was next. I think this is the best building ever!! The sheer size of it is just overwhelming, inside and out. It’s now converted back to a mosque so head and knees have to be covered. We no longer had access to the second floor mezzanine which was disappointing too as that is where some of the great frescos were uncovered and the view looking down into the main area was great. Apparently they have left them because of the historical/archeological significance ….thank goodness!! During prayer they lower curtains over the mosaics. Ozur told us the history, built over 1600yrs ago in Byzantine times by Justinian as a Christian church (Greek Orthodox?). Over the centuries it’s been a church, a mosque, a museum and now back to a mosque (2020). There are no words to describe the inside of the building. Beautiful, huge marble columns with exquisitely carved capitals, looking up to the massive dome with light streaming in thru the windows, the lights, the artwork……it’s all amazing. There are just no words to describe this building!

Walked to the Grand Bazaar! Had a quick tour thru part of it and it’s history. Today it is basically the biggest “mall” in the world with over 4,000 shops. There are different areas….the spice market, the gold and jewelry shops, the carpet shops and basically everything else under the sun.

Leaving there we wandered thru the streets on the way to a bakery. The street scenes in Istanbul are fantastic. Each street seems to sell a specific product or service…..there is the electrical supplies and lights/lamps, the plumbing street, the hardware, housewares and so on….can easily spend hours just wandering up and down them. And the proverbial simit man walking up the street with them on a big tray or stacked on a stick. You can’t help but love it!

Bought goodies and snacks at the bakery to take with us to have on our tea break at a 300yr old tea house.. Cool little spot tucked away from the street. They offered us Turkish coffee or tea and a drink called the “Churchill”, which was a salty but very refreshing lemonade that was named after Winston Churchill as that is what he asked for when he visited. Lots of narghili pipes….everyone had a try. There were 8 of us on the tour so finally had a chance to chat with everyone.

After our break we walked to the Suleymaniye Mosque. Built on one of the seven hills of Istanbul. Very beautiful and almost as big as the Blue Mosque. Not quite as decorative inside but just as lovely. I had been in before and would have had to wear a cover up this time so I just waited outside and chatted with another tour guide…..who told me I need to go to Iran!! He said it’s very safe and very beautiful. Maybe one day! The view of the rest of the city across the Horn and to the Asian side.

The spice market was next….just a quick stop with history information.

We then bought tickets and took the tram up the horn to the “Old Jewish Quarter” an area now called Balat. Was up here in 2009 to explore a botanical garden run by the university/college or a mosque and there was little or nothing in the way of shops or restaurants….one little café with great views…most buildings were derelict with very few restored or livable …..how it has changed!!! For the better! It’s the new up and coming “hipster” area or as Ozur said it’s where all the cool people and the “tik tokers” come for pics. Many of the old ottoman buildings have been restored or rebuilt and painted in bright, lively colours, lots of shops and cafes, overflowing flower pots and vines, cobbled streets. Very hilly!! A great area that is now UNESCO protected.

Visited St Georges Greek Orthodox church. Very pretty from the outside. Inside the altar wall is embellished in gold! The whole thing is very ornate. There’s a piece of post on the wall that Jesus was supposedly tied too. If you touch it it will bring you good luck….we did, so we’ll see! Quite a few coffins (sealed) that hold the bodies of saints.

*Jesus was tied to this post….touching it brings you good luck (??)*

Wandered up and down all the pretty streets and alleys with Ozur pointing out various cafes, restored homes etc. Such a fun place.

Worked our way down to the waterfront park to catch the ferry back to Sultanahmet. Great views of the city skyline on both sides of the horn. Only a couple stops before we were back but enough time for a guy selling tea on the ferry ride!!

Could see one big cruise ship docked and another at anchor our in the straight.

Lots of walking but was a great tour. We went from 9AM until just after 4! James and Alli came back to the hotel for drinks on the roof top terrace and to enjoy the view….and the call to prayer! Then we all went to dinner at a café that Ozur had told us about Deraliye Ottoman Cuisine. Was really good.

J and A headed for the tram and Linds and I back to the terrace for night caps before bed.

What a great day…..long but very interesting especially Balat!!

June 7 Tues

Up early again….coffee on the terrace.

The original plan today was to take the tram up Istiklal Caddesi to Taksim Sq and have lunch at one of the cafeteria type places on the way back down. Ozur told us yesterday that area has changed! There aren’t that many left anymore and those that are are now mostly Syrian food….whatever that means?? That made me sad because that was one of the best days when we were here last time…..the main street was great with all the cafes and shops but it was down some of the side streets that we saw the best shops, produce stores and little family cafes. We moved it to the end of our to do list for today but now sorry we didn’t get there….ah well.

Decided that we’d go back and check out the spice market to get all the goodies we said we’d bring home for people (spices, coffee etc.).

First we went to the cisterns…..the Basilica Cistern are closed so tried the other one. Had to buy tickets for a specific time (11) so had time to wander a bit and grab coffee. The Cistern of Theodosius was NOT anything like the Basilica one. No information about it there at all. It’s 1600 yrs old and they put on a light show!! Which didn’t appear to have anything at all to do with the cistern. And much of the equipment for the light show is covering bases and columns so you can’t appreciate all the details on them. So that was a waste of time and money.

On to the spice market where we spent way too much time…..but so much too see!! Bought some Turkish delight and other little goodies to sample. Inside and outside….is wonderful. Inside the smells, the colours, the displays, the guys wanting to trade for camels LOL….outside there is the guy selling corn on the cob, umpteen different cheese stalls. Unless you are into gold and carpets this is the market to go to instead of the Grand Bazaar!

Thought we’d take a walk up to Topkapi Palace but long line ups to get in so passed on that and just found a nice little café for lunch. Spent a couple more hours just wending our way up and down streets and alleys. Many still use hand pulled carts for moving stuff from supply trucks on the main/wide roads to wherever up the narrow and windy streets. Found the textile district…..beautiful fabrics in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Thought we’d go to the Galata Tower and up to Taksim anyway. Walked across the top of the Galata bridge watching all the fisherman. Started heading up to the tower and decided that we’d had enough walking for a couple of days and we had bags to carry too so just headed back across the bridge on the bottom past the seafood restaurants.

Found a couple more nice little shops selling tapestry wallets and kilim bags. Finally made it back to the hotel around 7 and Linds was just done for the day. Went up to the terrace, had some appies and then just had dinner there too. Great evening….warm and no wind. Lots of ship traffic, freighters and a couple of cruise ships, tons sailboats out…so pretty. Got in our last call to prayer and the unlit Blue Mosque.

So glad we did that walking tour yesterday. Was great for Linds to see how beautiful this place is……I was hoping she’d like it as much as I do. Last time we spent a week here and still did not see all that we’d hoped see so was hopeless to make a dent in all the city has to offer in 2.5 days……you “see it” but you don’t really!!

*I hope they have the renos done by the time I come back!*

To bed pretty early for us after repacking/organizing all our shopping. Have ordered a taxi to 5:30AM for the airport. Back to Frankfurt and on to Berlin!

I hope to get back to Istanbul again one day. We didn’t make a dent in what there is to see here. Last time we did the ferry trip up to the last town (Andaolu Kavagi) before the Black Sea, we visited Kumkapi for the seafood, Taksim Square, went to a dervish cafe….all worth doing again. I still have not been to Dolmabahce Palace, the Princes’ Islands or explored the Asian side of the city.

Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Munich next!