I'm back in the wonderful land of sheep and it’s strange to be “home.” I'm in a new home in Kyrgyzstan. My 3rd home in a year…
Turkey was amazing. Stunningly beautiful. Delicious food (and icecream! mango, pistachio, blackberry, etc). The best friends in the world! Overly enthusiastic venders. Wonderfully friendly locals. Fascinating history. I could have had fun with those friends in a police station (and I have! Hannah!) but being in Turkey was icing on the cake.
A brief (not-so-brief) summary of our trip:
We began in Istanbul, in the Northwestern part of Turkey. Some quick facts about the city: Istanbul is divided between Europe and Asia and has a population of 20 million (larger than New York City). There are 505 mosques in Istanbul and 5 times a day, if you’re in the right place, you can hear the call to prayer ringing out in a breathtaking symphony. Istanbul has been the center of 3 empires. Everything is 100 times more spectacular than in any picture.
Once you leave the most touristy part of town, you find yourself in a world that comes alive in the late evening and continues to swarm with thousands of people late into the morning. Drinking tea and coffee, walking, going into clubs to dance, eating in outdoor cafés, enjoying the cool of the day.
After 3 days in Istanbul we went to Selchuk, a small town located near the ruins of Efes (Ephesus). It was a bizarre experience to be in a place that I knew about through Discovery Channel programs and Biblical references. I was that tourist, the one posing for a picture in front of ancient ruins in a fantastic place I never imagined myself visiting. The camera wasn’t able to capture my bewilderment.
After Selchuk we went to Pamukkale by night bus. Pamukkale is another small town located next to a fascinating place: a mountain turned white by calcium deposited by hot springs. Those same springs naturally form pools in steps down the mountainside.
Next we went to Fethiye: a beach town on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a perfect super-tranquilo spot to just chill and enjoy the sun. We swam in the Mediterrean, lay on the beach, and played tag with the fish. We were there for 3 days. One day we walked along a river gorge that tested our physical strength (we had to climb over boulders and up waterfalls) and revealed our fear of impending death.
Our next night bus brought us to Goreme, a town in central Turkey in the region of Cappadocia, but seemingly located on another planet. The landscape there was incredible. Volcanic events followed by centuries of erosion resulted in large conical rock formations jutting up from the earth. Ancient people carved out these rocks and lived inside them. The hostel we stayed in was a cave-hostel. During our stay in Cappadocia we visited an underground city and were able to visit 8 of the original 12 stories dug into the earth. Inside the city were stables for horses, a winepress, chapel, wells, and sky lights.
We then returned to Istanbul to say goodbye and make last minute tourist purchases at the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian spice bazaar.
This was my first actual vacation (travel just for travel’s sake) outside the U.S. I’m very grateful to have been able to see my friends and explore such a fantastic country.
Turkey was amazing. Stunningly beautiful. Delicious food (and icecream! mango, pistachio, blackberry, etc). The best friends in the world! Overly enthusiastic venders. Wonderfully friendly locals. Fascinating history. I could have had fun with those friends in a police station (and I have! Hannah!) but being in Turkey was icing on the cake.
A brief (not-so-brief) summary of our trip:
We began in Istanbul, in the Northwestern part of Turkey. Some quick facts about the city: Istanbul is divided between Europe and Asia and has a population of 20 million (larger than New York City). There are 505 mosques in Istanbul and 5 times a day, if you’re in the right place, you can hear the call to prayer ringing out in a breathtaking symphony. Istanbul has been the center of 3 empires. Everything is 100 times more spectacular than in any picture.
Once you leave the most touristy part of town, you find yourself in a world that comes alive in the late evening and continues to swarm with thousands of people late into the morning. Drinking tea and coffee, walking, going into clubs to dance, eating in outdoor cafés, enjoying the cool of the day.
After 3 days in Istanbul we went to Selchuk, a small town located near the ruins of Efes (Ephesus). It was a bizarre experience to be in a place that I knew about through Discovery Channel programs and Biblical references. I was that tourist, the one posing for a picture in front of ancient ruins in a fantastic place I never imagined myself visiting. The camera wasn’t able to capture my bewilderment.
After Selchuk we went to Pamukkale by night bus. Pamukkale is another small town located next to a fascinating place: a mountain turned white by calcium deposited by hot springs. Those same springs naturally form pools in steps down the mountainside.
Next we went to Fethiye: a beach town on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a perfect super-tranquilo spot to just chill and enjoy the sun. We swam in the Mediterrean, lay on the beach, and played tag with the fish. We were there for 3 days. One day we walked along a river gorge that tested our physical strength (we had to climb over boulders and up waterfalls) and revealed our fear of impending death.
Our next night bus brought us to Goreme, a town in central Turkey in the region of Cappadocia, but seemingly located on another planet. The landscape there was incredible. Volcanic events followed by centuries of erosion resulted in large conical rock formations jutting up from the earth. Ancient people carved out these rocks and lived inside them. The hostel we stayed in was a cave-hostel. During our stay in Cappadocia we visited an underground city and were able to visit 8 of the original 12 stories dug into the earth. Inside the city were stables for horses, a winepress, chapel, wells, and sky lights.
We then returned to Istanbul to say goodbye and make last minute tourist purchases at the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian spice bazaar.
This was my first actual vacation (travel just for travel’s sake) outside the U.S. I’m very grateful to have been able to see my friends and explore such a fantastic country.
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