Turkey

A week ago I got back from a trip to Turkey.  A friend was going to Istanbul for conference and I got talked into tagging along.  While not high on my to-go list, I did have a lot of interest in seeing Cappadocia so I went.  As I expect

Hagia Sophia

I spent two days in Istanbul and saw Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Süleymaniye Mosque. We also did a boat ride on the Bosphorus.  Istanbul was an interesting city.  It was half European, and half Middle Eastern culture, with tons of history.  Food seemed mostly the same in most restaurants though - kabobs or some other meat dish.  Our hotel in Istanbul had the most ridiculous breakfast buffet though.  It was the largest I had ever eaten at.  All you can eat of almost anything you can ever think to eat at breakfast, and then some.

There was security everywhere in the city.  Metal detectors to get into malls, big hotels, and museums.  I had also never seen so many ATMs in a city.  They were everywhere.  Selfie sticks are getting popular too.  Many people had them at the tourist sights.  To get to the sights, we took the metro - easy peasy... Except for one Sunday where everyone in Istanbul and their brothers and sisters seemed to be out and about, some of the public transports were jam packed - like how it gets in Japan during rush hour.

Rose Valley

While my friend was at a conference, I headed to Cappadocia. Not really having done much research up front, I just booked 3 day tours back to back with Turkish Heritage Travel.  I also spent one day with my friend who joined me after his conference.  Cappadocia was all I expected and more.  I really liked it out there and am glad I spent 4 days there, even if some of the things I saw were similar to each other.  It is not likely I will go back to Turkey any time soon, so figured I better get my fill of the place on this trip.

Monk Valley - Fairy Chimneys

Most of the sights in Cappadocia were outdoors - there are many interesting and beautiful geological formations that make the place great for hikes.  It was quite hot there though, so I was kinda glad the hikes on the tour were on the short/flat side.  Would really be interested in going back some day to do longer ones though, in cooler (but not cold) season.

Cappadocia also has many underground cities. I toured a few of them, and it was interesting to see how people lived in these dwellings. Not something I'd want to do....

The whole area is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Oh, and something not to be missed in Cappadocia is the hot air balloon flight.  Every morning there are flights that take up tourists to catch sunrise over beautiful Goreme.  While I was not keen to go up, I did get up bright and early to watch the flights and it was so worth it.  It was one of the most amazing and unique things I have seen in my life.  Here is a short 30 second clip of it.

After Cappadocia, we flew to Izmir for the night.  From there we visited Hierapolis and Pammukale.  Hierapolis is an ancient Greco-Roman spa city.  I was pretty jaded when it came to ruins, but I really liked Pammukale.  It was different.

Travertines at Pammukale

Latrines in Ephesus

The next day was Ephesus and Priene - more ruins.  I didn't care for much at the time, but I am now glad I went.  Got some nice pictures out of it anyway.  One thing I had never seen or noticed at other ancient Greek or Roman sights though were the latrines. For some reason I found it interesting

Well, I'd hate to end on this note, but that was pretty much the end of the trip.  While it was great, I was glad to be home.  More pictures from Turkey trip can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dancingnomad3/sets/72157654719382769.