Day 19: 2nd day in Istanbul.

Day 19:  2^nd day in Istanbul,  Wednesday December 29^th.

Having seen the very long queue waiting to get into Sancta Sofia yesterday, we set out early so as to be there when it opened.  That move paid off, as we went straight in and for the first ten minutes or so, there were very few there.  However, by the time we left about 90 minutes later, the place was packed with tourists.

Sancta Sophia is the wonderful church built by the Roman Emperor Justinian in 537AD, when the Romans ruled this part of Asia Minor.  Istanbul (then Constantinople) was Justinian’s capital and he was not a man to do things by halves – as witnessed by the cistern which he built and which I described in yesterday’s blog.  Justinian was converted to Christianity and as a result, this wonderful building was erected as a Christian church.  In the 11^th and 12^th century, in the Iconistic period of Christianity, the walls and domes were adorned with magnificent gold leaf mosaics of biblical scenes and characters.  Each wall is adorned with symmetrically matched marble panels and the floor is also marble.

In 1453, Constantinople was defeated by the Ottoman Empire, who converted Sancta Sophia into a mosque.  Minarets were added to the exterior, Islamic symbols replaced the Christian symbols and the beautiful mosaics were covered with plaster.  The rings of light, which I mentioned  yesterday  in reference to the Blue Mosque were hung also in Sancta Sophia.  Of course these were originally oil lamps but today they are electric and give a beautiful light to the building.  Incidentally, when I saw Sancta Sophia for the first time in 2000, I was shocked and considerably disappointed  at how dark and gloomy it was.   This is now not the case.  I will have to look at my 2000 photos to confirm what I believe, but I am sure that it was not as bright and beautiful as we saw it today.  I think that maybe then the chandelier lights were either not lit or maybe only a few of them were lit.  Now however, they all glow with bright lights, making the building much more beautiful.

Sancta Sophia remained a mosque for many centuries.  Then after World War 1, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated and Mustafa Kamal Ataturk became the ruler of the new Turkish Republic, he had the building turned into a museum.  Since then, restoration hasd been in process and gradually more and more of the plaster over the mosaics is being removed, revealing the beautiful artwork which was covered for so long.   We both loved our visit to Sancta Sophia and I will now  think of it as a much more beautiful building.

Our next stop was Topkapi Palace, the palace of the Ottoman Sultans.  This was another place that I was very keen to revisit.  By the time we got there, the queue was several hundred metres long (thank goodness it is the low season!), but it was only about half an hour before we were in.  We spent about an hour or so there, but in contrast to my delight with Sancta Sophia, I was quite let down in seeing Topkapi Palace again.   To enter each part of the palace, it was a matter of queueing up each time and then fighting the crowd to see what was the feature of the building.  We didn’t even attempt to go into the building that houses the collection of unbelievable Ottoman treasures as we estimated that it would be about an hour before we entered the doors!  No photography is  allowed in most of the buildings, so I am very pleased that I have quite a few photos from last time, when photographs were permitted. 

The afternoon was spent at the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul’s famous massive under cover market that has thousands of stalls and shops.  The aisles that have jewellery stores – hundreds of them – were hassle free, but not so the aisles with carpet sellers by the hundreds.   Each trader pleaded with us  to go into his shop and as I said,  “No thankyou,” in my best Turkish, they sounded so offended and asked, “Why not?”  We have become quite practiced in just walking on and ignoring them.  When we could get away with it, we pretended not to understand English, because they all approach customers in English.  A couple of times I also used a trick that Robyn and Damien put us onto – said that we are Finnish!

My main aim at the Grand Bazaar was to find a kilim for Elizabeth, as she would like one similar to the ones which we and several of my other siblings have.   These were commonly found in all areas of Turkey around ten years ago, but in my travels this time, I have seen none.  I thought that I would surely find one at the Grand Bazaar but I’m sorry Beth – no luck.  All of the carpet sellers also advertised kilims, but these are the real, traditional kilims which are not as attractive and so much heavier than the ones we have.  Roger was keen that I at least ask someone on the basis that they might have them at the back of the shop and not on display.   Silly move!!!  Sure enough, we were in the clutches of another master salesman who sat us down and offered us apple tea.  We insisted that we didn’t want tea, we just wanted to know if he had the sort of kilim we were after.  Out came several kilims but none like what we wanted.  “I will take you to our other shop,” he said. We tried to refuse but he became quite aggressive in saying that we were insulting him.   We asked how far away it was and were told that it was just around the corner.  About eight corners and several aisles later, we were at his “other” shop.   More vain attempts to get what we wanted and then we had another man question why we didn’t want to buy a Turkish rug.  No use pleading that we couldn’t afford one – he supplies an outlet in High St Malvern and we will, of course,  take up his offer to be given a rug, with us only paying the 18% GST (!!) so that he can ship it with two other rugs in a package deal.   With that we decided to be just plain rude.  I told him it sounds a wonderful deal but that he would have to find some other Aussies to offer it to.  We made a very hasty retreat and decided we had well and truly had enough of the Grand Bazaar!

Remember our vain search for a post office yesterday?   Well, to our delight there was a post office at the Grand Bazaar.   We tracked it down, only to find a queue about 20 long waiting to go in.  With that, we decided to just take the risk of excess baggage charges and give away the idea of sending a parcel home – for the time being at least.

We have now packed our cases ready to fly to Rome tomorrow.  We have airport transfer organised, so will do little else for the day and give ourselves a bit of a much needed down day.  We are getting to Rome a day ahead of the start of our Trafalgar tour, so are looking forward to one more day on our own. 

Day 18: First day in Istanbul

Day 18:   1^st day in Istanbul,  Tuesday December 28th

We said goodbye to Robyn and Damien last night because they wanted to leave the hotel early in order to see as much as they could of Istanbul before their late afternoon flight back to Amsterdam.  As for Roger and me, we slept like logs until 9am.

Our first task for the day was to deposit our build-up of washing at a laundry.  I must eat my words in rubbishing Roger for bringing two pairs of bathers – they came in very handy as emergency jocks!  The man charged us by weight which I thought was a very good idea.

After lunch, we set off to do a bit of exploring of Istanbul.  Our hotel is in a brilliant location in terms of exploring the ancient parts of the city.  It is one of the many hotels in Sultanamet and  it takes us only about five minutes to walk to most of the things we want to see.  We started with the magnificent Blue Mosque, the famous mosque built in 1603 as a rival to the equally magnificent Sancta Sofia which stands directly opposite.  We got there just in time before they stopped entry because of an impending prayer time. 

The mosque is simply breathtaking with its multiple high domes, supported by four huge marble columns,  the walls of marble and the famous blue Iznik tiles.  As with all mosques (at least all the ones I have seen), there are multiple circuits of lights and these highlight the wonderful red carpet which covers the entire floor area.  I was interested to see only a handful of men at prayer at the front of the mosque.  When I was ther e in 2000, there were many more than that – perhaps up to 80 or so men.  

Knowing that our cases are in danger of being overweight, we decided to investigate what it would  cost to send a parcel home.  Go to the Istanbul equivalent of the GPO to find this information – a simple matter surely??   How wrong we were!!  Opposite the Blue Mosque, we started looking for what the signs suggested was a post office.  Bad mistake!  “Excuse me madam, can I help you?” we heard.   The polite man indicated the way to the post office – turn right, go down the narrow street and then turn left.   In fact he was so helpful that he went part of the way with us – steering us into his father’s leather shop to give us his business card.   Well the simple hand over of a business card involved three flights of stairs, a quick look over the leather workroom, a cup of apple tea (hospitality only – no obligation),  a phone call to Pappa who appeared in no time flat, hand shakes all round, an offer to make us a distributor in Australia, a firm but polite refusal on our part and as hasty a retreat as we could manage without socking someone!!!  We never did find the post office in that location.

We asked in a shop which appeared to post letters – we would find the post office 200 metres that way.  Off we trundled, over the cobblestoned street, Roger getting hotter and more flustered with every step and my ankles becoming sorer with every step.   Sure enough, no sign of a post office.  Another request for directions ….”another 200 metres that way and then ask again.  It is close to there.”   Once we had done this no fewer than three times, we were thoroughly frustrated to say the least!   We decided to give it away for today and to try again tomorrow.

We made the Bascilica Cistern our only other venue for the day.  This is a fascinating destination, deep under the street just opposite the Blue Mosque and Sancta Sofia.   I was fascinated by it in 2000 and was very keen for Roger to see it.  It sounds like yet another church, but it is actually a huge water storage, built in the Byzantine era around 500AD, by Justian the Great, the same emperor who had Sancta Sofia built.  To support the roof of this massive water storage device, the Byzantines used  the columns of what they considered to be obsolete Roman buildings.  No fewer than 336 of these wonderful  marble and granite columns , mostly Corinthian but some Doric style, stand in a grid over the 70m by 140m cistern.  A real feature are the two Medusa heads which would have once been resplendent in a Roman building.  Here in the cistern though, they were treated very shabbily by the Byzantines:  one is upside down and the other lies on its side!   The cistern is beautifully lit with subtle mood lighting and I think is a real highlight of Istanbul.

That was enough for the day, so, at around 4.30, after sampling McDonalds Turkish style, we headed back to the hotel.   Along the way I bought an umbrella which I can use as a walking stick.  I will need something for support if I am still to hobble over the streets of Rome and probably quite a few places in England.

Day 17: 2nd day in Cappadocia

Day 17:  2^nd day in Cappadocia

The alarm was set for 5am so we would be ready for what will surely be one of the highlights of the whole trip: a hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia.  This was a most wonderful experience.  Apparently the two ‘’must do’’ ballooning venues are Cappadocia and the Serengheti in Africa.   Having now done this, we can see why.   Ours was one of about thirty balloons up on that day, but our pilot told us that this coming summer, there will be as many as 106 balloons in the air together.  With each balloon having a capacity of twenty people, that’s something like 15,000 people a week – and that’s only for one flight a day.   He said that at the height of the tourist season, each balloon goes up several times a day!!!

Some of our blog readers will know of the dramas that we had in finally getting up in a balloon over the Yarra Valley to celebrate Roger’s 60^th birthday.   That was, of course wonderful, but this trip surpasses it.  We were taken (yes, in yet another minivan) to where many of the balloons were partially inflated.  Within only a few minutes, we were up in the air, ours being the first balloon to take off.   For the next hour we glided over the valleys of Cappadocia, dipping occasionally close to and around the fairy chimneys.  Several times, the basket of the balloon came to within a few centimetres of a rock formation.  Robyn and Damien were on the side of the basket that came closest to these, and they said that they were certain the basket would be scraping the rock.   But each time, the skillful pilot lifted the balloon just in time and up and over it went, leaving the ground unscathed.

With about thirty other balloons in the air, you can imagine that we went mad with photography.  It was an unforgettable sight.  There were several different companies with balloons up, each company having its distinctive colouring and design on its balloons.  In many of my shots, I was able to get quite a few balloons in the background.  With Damien’s more powerful camera, he was able to also get the snow-covered volcanic peak in the background.

As our flight neared its end, we could see four-wheel drives towing the trailers for the balllons, racing all over the countryside, following the balloon they were to collect.  We were incredulous when our pilot said he was going to attempt to land our balloon on its trailer – in fact, I thought he was joking.  But sure enough, with careful manoeuvering and the assistance of several strong guys on the ground,  our balloon was landed on its trailer!  There followeda fun few minutes when the 4WD slowly drove a few hundred metres with us still in the basket of the balloon.   This was apparently to find a better location for deflating  and folding the balloon.

When ballooning in Australia, the final part of the experience is for the passengers to assist in getting the air out of the partially deflated balloon and then in folding it, ready for storage.   This was the part we were not looking forward to.   To our delight however, the crew did all this part while we were served champagne!   For anyone visiting Turkey in the future, we will say that this experience is a must – and it’s only about half the cost of doing it in Australia.

We returned to our hotel for breakfast and then a 9:30 pick-up for the rest of the day’s activities.  The first of these was a four kilometre hike through Rose Valley, so called because of the red layers of rock running through it.  Although mostly easy walking, there was a bit of scrambling involved from time to time and we were glad we had worn our sturdy boots.   All this uneven ground, including the many cobblestoned streets over which I am walking, is starting to play havoc with my ankles, so by the time we had finished this walk, I was really in quite a lot of discomfort.

The next venue was a place that processed onyx and made jewellery.  There was the now predictable serving of Turkish and apple tea, the demonstration of the turning of a piece of rock into a beautiful onyx object, the sales pitch which included the promise of a good discountn because it is the low season and then the opening of the doors into the treasure chest.  Having written so cynically, I must not give the impression that I was not sorely tempted yet again.    I do not really care for onyx, but some of the jewellery was simply stunning!!   Diamonds, turquoise, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones, all set into the most delicate designs.  I let myself look longingly at one or two pieces and then of course, had to very firmly convince the sales lady who was ‘’looking after’’ me that I simply could not afford anything.  She seemed to be resigned to my declaration, but then, as I wandered the showroom for ten minutes or so, she trailed me,  every now and then alerting me to particular pieces, obviously in the anticipation of wearing me down.  I finally felt so spooked by this stalking that I left the showroom with relief.   Roger was, of course, already sitting in the bus – such a man!!

Another great four-course Turkish meal in another great reception place and then it was on to the last of our Cappadocia venues, the underground city.  This is one of around seven cities that exist in Cappadocia.   We were taken down five of the eight levels of this city, which is a maze of tunnels which open out to various rooms.  There are warnings at the entry to the underground city, that it should not be entered by those who have heart or blood pressure problems or who may experience claustrophobia.   Once inside, it is obvious why the warning is given.  The tunnels are very narrow and to traverse them, bending into a stooped position is necessary.  This was a tactic used by those who built the city and hid in it.  If the enemy tried to enter the city, they would have had to come in single file, stooped and therefore very vulnerable and to make their way down the maze of tunnels.  The occupants would, of course, have known short cuts where they could head off and ambush the enemy.  Throughout the city, there are several points at which we could see holes through walls which were used for spearing the enemy.   We also saw a huge flat stone, probably a metre or so in diametre, which could be rolled across a doorway, blocking the entrance to that particular area.   We saw a large room with smoke-stained walls and ceiling – obviously a kitchen.  We also saw rounded divets in the floors, indicative of where stone jars would have stood.

It was not long before we were collected for our transfer to the Kayseri airport for our 8:20PM flight back to Istanbul.  By the time the shuttle bus picked up passengers from several hotels and then travelled the surprisingly long distance (around 60km or so) to the airport, it was close to a two hour trip.   The plane was delayed at each end of the flight and so it was around 10pm before we landed in Istanbul.   We were grateful to be met and driven to our hotel by the last of our people organised by our friend Bilal.  This completed our wonderful,  trouble-free six day Turkey experience with One Nation Travel, another company for which I will write a very good review on Trip Advisor.

Back at our Istanbul hotel, we were able to ignore the wailing of cats and other street noises under our window and fall into a deep, well earned sleep.

Day 16: Part B- 1st day in Cappadocia

Day 16B: 1^st day in Cappadocia                   

Our guide for the two days in Cappadocia was Ali, a young Turkish man who amused us with his attempts to chat up a beautiful Japanese woman in the group.

The day started with a walk through Devrent Valley, which is full of the very strange formations for which Cappadocia is famous.   Ali explained their formation:  with a volcanic eruption 6 million years ago, basalt rocks were expelled from the volcano along with the lava, ash etc.  As wind and water eroded the resulting surface, the basalt, being a rock surface hard enough to withstand the erosion, stayed in place, protecting the softer rock, tufa, below it.  So now, the landscape is a series of millions of these cones of tufa, each topped with a basalt rock.   In many cases, tufa below the basalt rock has eroded away to such an extent that the basalt has toppled from the top and the tufa cone is now quite pointed.  In these cases, the basalt rock which once topped the cone can be seen lying beside or near the cone. Many of the formations take on a recognisable form: a witch, a saddle, a camel etc.

Our bus then drove us to a hill overlooking the famous Monks’ valley, which is full of a different variation of the rock formations, fairy chimneys.  These typically have a pointed cone of the harder rock.  Because the tufa is soft enough to be quite easily carved away, for thousands of years, from prehistoric times right up until today, the fairy chimneys have served as homes.  For several different civilizations: the Hittites, the Persians, the early Christians, they have served as hideouts from the enemy.  Even as recently as the 1920s when, after the 1^st World War, a political decision was made to send 1 million Greeks living in Turkey back to Greece and bring half a million Turks living in Greece back to Turkey, hundreds of Greek people who did not want to leave Turkey used the rock formations of Cappadocia as their hiding places.

Throughout the whole of Cappadocia, windows and entrances can be seen all the way up the fairy chimneys, indicating that it was used as a dwelling.  In some cases, one side of the fairy chimney has eroded away, leaving the inside exposed.  Where this has happened, the internal layout of the dwelling, including staircases, walls, shelves etc can clearly be seen.

Being built on volcanic soil, Cappadocia’s main industry, apart from tourism, is agriculture.  Here are vineyards for their thriving wine industry, crops of maize, barley, sunflowers etc and fruit trees, the most predominent of which are apricot trees. 

The region of Cappadocia, which covers thousands of square kilometres, has a capital city, Kayseri, and several large towns, each with its own special character.  Our tour took us then to one of these towns, Avanos, which is renowned for its pottery and beautiful ceramics.  Almost everyone in Avanos is involved in pottery in one way or another.  We visited one of these potteries.  On our arrival we were served apple tea – the sure sign that they will be trying to get us to part with lots of money!  After the impressive pottery turning demonstration, we were shown how the design and glaze is applied and fired and then shown into the wonderful “Alladin’s cave’’.  Every one of the beautiful pieces was tempting to me, but Roger had stayed in the bus, still very sleepy from his tablet taken to help him sleep on the long bus journey the night before.  Had he been with me, I am certain he would have persuaded me to buy a small piece, so I was so proud of myself when I walked out empty handed.  (This is not to say of course, that I won’t leave Turkey without some, but it won’t be one of the unique, signed pieces from this particular factory which may have cost me several hundred dollars.)

Our next stop was a cave restaurant – another huge reception place but this time very tastefully decorated.  This was our best Turkish meal so far and agiain there were no fewer than four courses.

The final stop for the day, which was fast becoming dark, was Goreme Open Air Museum.  Like so many places we have seen, this is a UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning that UNESCO is subsidising its preservation and upkeep in the interest of culture and history.  Goreme is one of the places throughout Cappadocia which was a centre of eary Christianity.  As early as the 6^th century, a community of monks and nuns were living here.  There are many churches in this small valley, interspersed with other places of domestic life, such as kitchens, food storages and refrectories where meals would have been eaten in commune with others, all seated at a long table which was also hewn out of the rock.

The 6^th century Christians used an ochre-like substance to paint quite simple symbols on the walls and domed ceilings of the cave churches.  Those who lived here in the 11^th and 12^th century, painted wonderful, coloured frescos, covering the earlier, more simple designs.  But the frescos are simply superb!  They are quite detailed depictions of various characters and stories from the Bible.  One of the churches has almost every square inch of wall and ceiling surface covered with these frescos and is quite breathtaking.  In  others, the frescos have faded or been partly scratched away, but we could still get a sense of how wonderful they would have been.  No photos are allowed, so you will just have to image - sorry.   Each of the churches at Goreme are very close together, with only thirty or so paces between them.  It is intriguing as to why this is so, but considering that there would have been hundreds of monks and nuns here together, and each of the churches would have held only a dozen or so people, maybe this explains the number.

This had been a full day, with lots of tiring walking involved.  Robyn and Damien walked into the main street of Urgup to find some tea, but Roger and I were so tired that we just had a shake and went to bed.  By 8:30, all four of us were sound asleep!

Day 16: Part A - Getting to Cappadocia

Day 16:  A_Arriving in Cappadocia

Goodness this spasmodic internet is frustrating.  I managed to post Days 13 and 14 just before we boarded the bus yesterday, but ran out of time to post Day 15.  Now I still can’t post it because the internet connection at this hotel is not working properly.  How soon we forget what travel was  like when we could only send postcards that might arrive home after we did. 

Well we eventually had our overnight bus trip to Cappadocia.  It was actually three buses:  a mini bus to take us from Pammukale to Denali where the bus station is, the main coach which drove us the 800 km or so to this area and then yet another minibus to bring us here to Urgup.  We wish we had kept a minibus count, we have been in and out of so many.  

The overnight bus trip was as gruelling as we anticipated.  The departure was delayed for fifteen minutes or so while they sorted out the not double but triple booking that the bus company had made for the seats Roger and I were in.  We were happy to sit anywhere, but one lady insisted on the seat she was allocated and would not be flexible at all.   She kept telling the “consierge” on the bus that it was the bus company’s stuff up and she would not move.  They finally sorted it out and we were away at 11pm. 

It stopped no fewer than three times during the night for toilets etc.  After the second time, when Roger had had very little sleep, he took a tablet and slept like a baby for the rest of the trip.  As I can sleep anywhere, I was able to sleep reasonably soundly between stops but never the less, I was very glad to finally reach our destination.

Once there, as has been the case all the way along on our Turkey trip, a man materialised at the door of the bus and asked if Mr Roger Edward was there.  That was our indication that we were indeed expected and that some hotel in the town will have a booking for us.  As we travelled, I  had visions of the lovely cave hotel that I had stayed in on my 2000 trip to Cappadocia.  It was built like a cave, but had every mod con. How eagerly I anticipated staying in a similar one this time.

Well those hopes faded as we wound our way through the narrow streets of Urgup.  The minibus got as far as he could to the hotel, but a street or so away, the van stopped and the driver  told us we would walk the rest of the way.  Off we trundled, following our driver who was rattling our suitcase over the cobblestoned laneways.  Finally, at the top of a hilly lane, there it was: our obviously very basic hotel! 

We were met by the hotelier who confirmed our booking and showed us to our rooms – up a steep flight of stone steps.  The doorway is very low and Roger, who was tired and still very dopey from  his sleeping tablet, saw stars when he knocked his head on the lintel.   I don’t think I need to describe his reaction do I ???  To say that our room has character is an understatement!  It is built partially in a cave, but unlike my 2000 hotel, it has no mod cons at all!  The “piece de resistance” is the radio on a shelf gouged out of the stone wall.  It is right out of the 60’s.  However, we happily had a nice warm shower which has nothing at all wrong with it – unless of course we wanted it to be attached to the wall!

We were particularly impressed with the ventilation in our room!

Having freshened up with a morning shower, we made our way to where breakfast was served.  To do this, we had to climb three more extra steep flights of stone steps, right up to the top of the hotel.   However it was worth the climb.  The breakfast was lovely and I was even able to make what I now crave for – a decent cup of coffee.  Breakfast was served in a very modern and tastefully furnished dining room with a panoramic view over the town of Urgup. 

At 9.30 we were picked up – yet another person had Mr Roger Edward on his list – for our first day touring of the area.  I will describe this in a separate blog as I really want to post some pictures of this hotel.   If I do that, I won’t be able to do justice to the fantastic views we got during the day.

One final word about our quaint hotel:  I am sitting up in bed writing this.  The sheets are nice and clean, the mattress is soft and the bed is warm.   I can forgive the “quaint character” of tonight’s surrounds.  J

Day 15: Kusadasi to Pammukale

Day 15:  Kusadasi to Pammukale

We were not really sure how our Christmas Day  would evolve, but it turned out to be a ripper.  We were picked up from the hotel at 8am with yet another guide.  Six other people joined the group before we set off for the three hour drive to Pammukale.

Arriving there about midday, we were taken for lunch at yet another big reception place type of venue.  Again the tired bows on the chairs and again it would have seated around 300 people.

We then went to Pammukale, with the ruins of the ancient Greek then Roman  city of Hierapolous right there.  Pammukale is well known for the healing mineral waters that flow over the terraced cliffs- the Cotton Castles.   Over the centuries,  the travertine rock surfaces have been turned white by the mineral deposits of the water.  In ancient times, people came here from all over Asia Minor to be healed of their illnesses. And so a thriving city of 20,000 people grew up around the springs.

In the ten years since I was here last, it is a very different area.  There used to be five hotels at Pammukale but in an effort to preserve the travrtine terraces, they have been demolished and relocated five kilometres away.  There is now almost no water flowing over then terraces at all.  In fact, again as a preservation tactic, they rotate the area that has water flowing over it so that each section has a share of the water on a rotation basis.   If they did not do this and allowed the water to flow over only part of the terraces, that part would survive but the rest would deteorate over time.

The hotels are gone, but Pammukale  has now been highly developed as a day venue, with a series of pools (the deepest  five metres deep), a very attractive tabled area with palms, umbrellas etc, a huge block of lockers, toilets, showers and even day cabins. Of course there are also the food shop and souvenir shop.  It is all one big, new and very attractive area, completely paved with travertine.

Our guide walked us around the ruins of Hierapolous, including a walk up the steep hill to the amphitheatre – not as large at at Ephesus but very well preserved and in some ways more intact than Ephesus.   We then spent the rest of the afternoon on our own as the rest of the group were going back to Kusadasi with him.  We, however, are catching the overnight bus from here to Cappadocia and it isn’t due until 9pm.

Our guide told us that the quickest way to get back to the bus station was to walk down the travertine terraces!  This seemed so strange, but he said there is a ‘’path’’ down and that it would take us 15 minutes – 20 at the most.

Rob, Damien and I went for a walk around the thousands of sarcophagy (stone coffins) that litter the hillside around Hierapolis: testamony to the fact that not all who came seeking healing went away cured.   

While we did this, Roger sat and relaxed by the pool and did his Soduko.  It was a long, long walk and we were very happy to have a cup of tea before we set off down the terraces.  (We have given up on coffee – they simply don’t know how to make either instant coffee or cappuchino.  Roger is enjoying the sickly sweet apple tea and I am sticking to Turkish tea, which is just our type of tea, drunk black.) 

As we relaxed, eight little kittens were playing around our feet.  There are cats everywhere in Turkey.  Yesterday’s guide said that they are not feral – in fact most of them are owned.   But everywhere we go,  there are cats, cats, cats.   These ones were really sweet and beautifully coloured.  They had real personality.

Right on 5pm, when the tourist venue was closing and the day was drawing in, we set off for our 15 minute walk down the travertine terraces.  No fewer than forty minutes later, we were at the bottom with VERY sore feet.   However, it was just magic.  I have to admit a perverse delight in doing something that just would not be allowed in Australia: not from an OH&S perspective nor from a conservation perspective.  So there we were, in the evening light, one behind the other,  carefully picking out the smooth areas to walk on.  In some places we were walking in beautifully warm flowing water across the smooth rock.  In others, the only way through was across sharp stones which made us very much regret what we were doing.  Once at the bottom, we very happily put on shoes and socks again then set off to find something to eat for tea and somewhere to pass the several hous before the bus arrived.

We happened on a little restaurant next to the bus station and they are obviously used to people waiting here for the bus.  It is so Turkishly quaint.  There is a pot belly stove keeping the room warm and tables and couches alike are covered with kilims.  We have internet access, so I am writing this and will have the pleasure of being able to post it straight away.  (Later addition:  not to happen!)   Roger is back at his Soduko to pass the time and Robyn and Damien are playing cards.  The TV is on Turkey’s Got Talent.  It was on the news a little while ago and the floods in Queensland made it to their news.  We couldn’t see exactly where they are, but they seem to be up Cairns way.

None of us are really looking forward to the ten hour overnight bus trip to Cappadocia.  However, when we get there, I am sure all the discomfort will be forgotten.  We are booked to do the balloon flight on Monday morning and the tour director assures us that it goes ahead every morning.   Fingers crossed!!

Day 14: Ephesus

Day 14:  Ephesus  (Christmas Eve)

The first part of today’s tour took us to the House of the Virgin Mary.   This was a feature that I had not visited on my previous trip in 2000, so I was quite keen to see it.  We were amazed to see that the Virgin Mary also has significance for the Muslims and is mentioned several times in the Qran.   Apparently a German nun, who never travelled out of Germany, several times had visions of the house where Mary ended her days.  Eventually scientists traced what the nun described in her writings to this place, where foundations dating back to the 1^st century were found.  The location coincides in a general sense with this area, as it had always been believed that Mary would have lived in this, the same area that the disciple John came to.  From the cross, Jesus had beseached John to look after his mother and so it makes sense that she would have lived where he lived and there is no dispute among scholars that John came to live around here.  

From the 1^st century foundations, a new stone house has been built.  The Roman Catholic church has declared the house a sanctified place and some believe the springs nearby to be carrying holy water.  Three different popes have visited the house, the most recent being Pope Benedict in 2008 (I think).

From there we travelled to Ephesus and spent about an hour and half there.  It was a beautiful  sunny day and the reconstructed ruins looked wonderful against the blue sky.  Our guide, this time a very pretty young Turkish woman, Isik, explained all that was to be seen very well.  She exploded a couple of myths that are commonly told about Ephesus but otherwise told much the same stories that I had heard from Hakan.  Roger was excited to see Ephesus and Robyn and Damien declared it to be the best they had seen in preserved Roman ruins.  The fact that so much of it has been reconstructed gives a sense of  perspective and reality to what otherwise may just look like a pile of rocks.  This is particularly so with the library, the front of which has been very extensively reconstructed. The theatre at Ephesus is breathtaking- seating for 25,000 and in Roman days it would have been overlooking the ocean.  The platform where the Emperor sat can be seen at the front and it takes only a little imagination to see the Emperor putting his thumb up or down to determine which of the gladiators will live or die.

We were taken to a restaurant for lunch Turkish style.  Out came delicious soup and bread, then salad, then a casserole, then chicken kebabs then dessert!!! We all found it very tasty but there were two Sth Korean girls with us and they struggled – epecially with the beetroot on the salad.   It was a huge place, seating 300 people I estimate, obviously used for weddings because it was permanently set  up with green seat covers with orange bows and a swagged bridal table.  When done for the first  wedding, it probably looked quite stunning but now, probably 100 + weddings later, it’s all looking very tired and tacky.  Robyn and Damien of course joked about changing their wedding venue, having the wedding at Ephesus and the reception there.

With our stomachs groaning, we were then taken to a leather factory.   Robyn’s eyes lit up when she heard this as she saw a possibility of buying what she has always longed for – a red leather jacket.  We were treated to a 15 minute fashion parade – all six of us – and then let loose in the show room.  I’ll just abbreviate the next hour by saying that we left, not only with a red jacket for Robyn, a brown/black for Damien, a chocolate brown one for “Pappa” and a red one for “Mamma”.  The salesman really had to work hard on “Mamma” and the more he called me Mamma the more diminished were his chances.  However, at the very last minute, with his “all time special price”, I caved in.  As we were walking out, we remembered that it was Christmas Eve, so are calling the jackets our presents to each other.

From there it was to the museum at Ephesus, which houses many of the statues and artifacts that have been removed from the ancient city for their protection.  It was good to be able to now imagine them in situ.

The day had still two activities.  Firstly to the location of the former wonder of the Anciet World, the Temple of Artemis.  There is now just one reconstructed pillar left, so imaginations were needed big time.

Finally, we went to a carpet weaving factory.  With four leather jackets to our names, they had no hope!   However, it was good to see the weaving happening.   When I saw it last time, it was a group of ‘’Turkish mammas” who were at work, but this time, it was five young girls.  The owner, who was able to converse with Rob and Damien in Dutch, but who also spoke excellent English, explained that they bring girls in during the low season and teach them.  Having been trained, they are set up with a loom at home and contracted to weave a carpet over something like a ten month period.  In this way, the tradition of the hand woven carpet will live on.  Robyn enjoyed learning how they make the knots.  They brought out about twenty carpets of course, in the flamboyant style with three men throwing out the rolled rugs to the boss’cue and of course, eliciting all the appropriate oohs and aahhs.  This particular company do tiny silk rugs about 30cm square and we were all tempted to maybe add one of those to our luggage.   But even they were $350 each, so we thanked them for the apple tea and their time and left them without a sale.

I am up in the middle of the night writing this blog.  The beds at this lovely hotel are very ‘’orthopaedic’’ and I twice woke up with a searing back ache.  The second time, I decided to have a shower, some Panadol and come down to the lobby to finish this blog.  It is now 1pm your time and I am picturing Christmas dinners roasting in ovens and the various families gathering around various Christmas trees to open gifts.  Of course Chris, Cathy and James in New Zealand will be half way through the afternoon, so maybe they are now having their Christmas afternoon nap.    Hope the gruelling trek went well Chris and that you had the energy to tuck into Christmas dinner. 

Unfortunately I cannot post this blog yet as the internet won't connect properly.  I will have to wait until I can connect to post it.

Merry Christmas!!!

It is 7am in Australia and I am about to head for bed.   Wishing you all a very happy day today, what ever you all do to celebrate Christmas.  Am thinking of all the children beginning to wake up to Santa gifts.

Wish we could call when teh family is at Wonga Park but we will be in transit so doubt we will be able to.    thinking of Ruth busily getting ready for reduced numbers of 25 and of Beth who has a broken ankle - what some people will do to get out of a Christmas Day washing up!!!     Marnie - sorry we won't be sink mates this year.

Love to all,   Mim

Day 13: Troy

Day 13:  Cannakale – Troy – Kusadasi

We are finding that so far, our decision to stay with this particular tour company is proving successful.  It seems to be that we have paid the tour company to act as an agent for us and to book us on all the public buses that we need to get around, to find local mini buses where necessary to get us from hotels to bus stations etc and to find local tour guides to show us around the various sites.  They have booked and paid for everything:  the hotels, all the entrances, most of the meals, all the bus fares and the air fare back to Istanbul.  So far it has all just fallen into place without a hitch.  Once we arrived at Selcuk, the last ciy before Kusadasi, which was to be our final destiation for today,  we had a few minutes in which we wondered if we were about to be picked up or not, but a phone call to the tour company and were on our way again. 

We are much more impressed with our Kusadasi hotel.  It is a  5 star and very nice indeed.  We are here for 2 nights, so are pleased it is so good.

Thismorning we visited Troy in the morning.  Again it was a local guide – in fact a guy who has a shop only a kilometre or two from Troy who showed us around.  His knowledge of Troy ,  the various stories behind the archeological digs and the eight different reconstructions of Troy was just about as impressive as Bill’s knowledge of Gallipoli.  Again, I felt that I learned so much more and so I was far more interested in it than I remember being in 2000.   Robyn, Damien and Roger were also impressed with Troy, so again that was pleasing.

Troy, the city of wooden horse fame, is one which was originally built around 3000BC.  From then until around 500AD, several times the city was destroyed by earthquakes, war, fire and the like.  Each time, it was rebuilt, basically on top of where the ruins of the last city were.  Archeological digs have found no fewer than 9 different cities – each on top of the last and more extensive than the last.  Of course, over 3,500 years, several civilizations have been the occupiers of Troy.  It started with people from the Bronze age, then there are ancient Greek buildings, then ancient Roman buildings and finally Byzantium buildings.  The Greek writer Homer, in writing the Iliad and the Odessy, wrote extensively about Troy.   It is in one of these books (the Iliad I think) that the story of the Trojan Horse is written.   However the city was assumed to be mythical until, in 1871, a German archeologist found what he believed to be the site of Troy, obtained permission from the then Ottoman Empire of Turkey, and proceeded to carve great excavation channels through the area, destroying much of it and plundering the gold that he found.   The great treasures of gold made their way to Greece then Germany but were taken by the Russians at the time of WW11.   They are currently in a museum in Moscow and the Turkish government is trying to have them brought back to Turkey.

I think that having a local guide, who maybe hasn’t Hakan’s  general knowledge about Turkey, but who has indepth knowledge of their own particular area, is a great way to go.  (Hakan is the Turkish travel guide who my dad was great friends with and who guided all the tours that Dad took to Turkey, including my tour in 2000.)  We found this on the cruise too.  At each town or city, we had local guides who could really “sell’ their particular part of Europe and then we had Csaba who was the tour director for the overall tour.  It worked very well.

A quick word about the weather.  We have well and truly left the snow behind.  Here in Turkey it is really quite warm.  It would be around 17-19 degrees and really quite muggy.

Having looked around Troy, we were deposited at the bus station where we caught the bus to Selcuk and then Kusadasi.  We were a total of 6 hours on the bus, so were obviously very glad to arrive in Kusadasi.