Destinations, Turkey

Guess What Day It Is!

Our tour guide told us that Cappadocia means “land of beautiful horses.” Well, I didn’t see any horses during our time in Cappadocia, but I sure did see some camels! These camels were basically just brought in for the tourists as a way to make some money on photo opportunities. So don’t go to Turkey expecting to see lots of camels just roaming around.

Regardless, Happy Hump Day! (you’re welcome Craig!)

And just in case you live in a bubble (as apparently I sometimes do!), this commercial was the inspiration for today’s post.

Destinations, Turkey

Soaring Over the White Valley (videos)

Here are a couple videos from our hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia. I apologize for the shoddy quality and my not-so-steady hand. If you get dizzy watching, feel free to check out the still images by clicking here. I am definitely not cut out to be videographer. I guess I should just stick with photos, but I still felt the need to share the clips.

Destinations, Turkey

Soaring Over the White Valley

One of the most amazing highlights of our vacation in Turkey was the hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia. Rob and I weren’t hot air balloon virgins as we have flown once before (technically twice, but that’s a whole other story you can read about here). But this experience was nothing like our experience floating above Virginia. Floating above Cappadocia meant amazing views of fairy chimneys as well as one of the volcanoes responsible for the unique landscape.

But this experience came at a price, and I am not referring to the actual cost of the excursion. I’m talking about the 4:45 AM wake-up and the 5:30 AM pick-up from our hotel! As many of you know, I am NOT a morning person and as I am sure my husband can attest, I am not pleasant to be around at that hour! But this was the experience in Turkey that I was most looking forward to and there was no way I was going to miss it. Our guides from Kapadokya Balloons picked us up from our hotel before sunrise and we headed to the launch site. Once we arrived, the crew already had things set up and we were just about ready to take off. These balloons and baskets were much larger than the ones we flew in before. Our tiny basket in Virginia just held the two of us, plus our pilot. But the baskets they used in Cappadocia were huge and held 20 people, plus the pilot!

We were up in the air in no time and we soared over the White Valley as the sun rose. The views were just spectacular! Our pilot told us there were about 60 balloons flying that day. With twenty-something balloon companies in the area, all charging about $200+ per person, 20 people per basket, flying 365 days per year (weather permitting), it is quite a lucrative business! It was by far the most expensive of the additional tours we booked, but it was well worth it.

Our landing was not quite as smooth as our prior ballooning experience. We touched down a tad hard and then the balloon continued to drag us and we all thought the basket was going to roll! But the pilot was amazing and he quickly adjusted to keep the basket upright. The thing to remember about flying in a hot air balloon is the pilot can only control the altitude of the balloon, they have ZERO control of what direction the balloon will fly. That is determined by the wind direction alone. So based on what direction the balloon is flying, the pilot must anticipate what will be the safest landing zone. In our case, we landed in a valley and the balloon caught a gust of wind that started to drag the basket. However, the other balloon in our group landed in an open field where there wasn’t much wind and the pilot was actually able to land the basket precisely on the trailer. Pretty amazing!

After our landing, the crew quickly packed up the balloon and we celebrated with a champagne toast. Our cocktails were actually champagne mixed with sour cherry juice (quite popular in Turkey). Personally, I would have preferred a mimosa, but the sour cherry juice wasn’t half bad. I’m not sure if this drink has an official name already or not. Any suggestions?

Destinations, Turkey

The Land of Fairy Chimneys

Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey known for its unique landscape. In all of my travels, I have never seen anything else quite like it! The landscape is the result of volcanic activity millions of years ago and erosion. Tuff (sometimes called tufa) is a rock made from consolidated volcanic ash and it can be found throughout the Cappadocia region. Tuff is a soft rock making it very susceptible to erosion. Over the course of millions of years the tuff has eroded into spectacular pillars that are commonly referred to as fairy chimneys.

This soft rock is also very easy to carve. The people of this region put the rock to good use and they carved out houses, churches and monasteries. The winters in this region could be very harsh, but the people learned that when their homes were carved into the rock they were well insulated against the elements and automatically maintained the perfect room temperature.

The Göreme Open Air Museum is one of the most popular tourist sites in Cappadocia. The complex contains more than 30 churches carved into the rock dating back to the 9th century. Many of the churches had beautiful frescoes painted inside, but there were photography restrictions so I wasn’t able to take pictures of most of them.

Interesting Fact: The cubby holes in the photo below are not places to store your shoes before entering your rock house. They are actually places for pigeons to roost. Apparently pigeon poop is the best fertilizer (or so I am told) so they intentionally carved out these spaces for the birds so they could collect “their offerings.”

Destinations, Turkey

State Department Says What?

While in Izmir, we just happened to stumble upon a protest in progress. The State Department strongly encourages citizens to stay away from such gatherings. In fact, according to their website “U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Turkey should be alert to the potential for violence. We strongly urge U.S. citizens to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.”

But, our curiosity got the best of us! And it just so happened that the protest was marching in the same direction we were headed. We were still a decent distance ahead of the march, but I was able to rely on my mega-zoom camera to get a glimpse of the action while maintaining a “safe” distance.

Our tour guide had actually mentioned the protest to us before dropping us off at our hotel (a tidbit of information that I apparently slept through), so Rob did a bit of research before we headed out. According to this article, they were protesting a change to the Turkish Constitution that would lift the ban on turbans at Turkish universities. Ok, so this protest had nothing to do with Syria or the American Government…sounds safe enough to me! Does someone want me to carry a sign or something?

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to encourage others to defy the State Department. We did so at our own risk. That’s how we roll!

Destinations, Turkey

Izmir Up in Smoke

Rob and I spent 2 nights in Izmir, which is Turkey’s 3rd largest city (behind only Istanbul and Ankara). The ancient city of Izmir was called Smyrna, but it was officially changed to Izmir in 1930 (according to our tour guide, the name “Smyrna” was difficult for the Turks to pronounce). We didn’t get to see too much of the city because our days were spent touring two different ancient ruin sites (more on that later). But our hotel was a short walk to the waterfront along the Gulf of Izmir which feeds into the Aegean Sea. So we spent our evenings cruising along the waterfront.

It seemed as though the entire coast was lined with waterfront cafes. It was the perfect spot to enjoy a beer and people watch.

Most of the cafes provided board games upon request and we saw a lot of people playing backgammon. I really wish I remembered how to play because it looked like a fun way to relax and enjoy the scenery with good company.

Most of the cafes also offered hookahs. Hookahs are water pipes used to smoke flavored tobacco called shisha. I had never tried a hookah before and since I couldn’t play backgammon, I figured I would give this a try instead. The only problem was the Turks don’t call it a hookah, as we so ignorantly assumed they would, so trying to order one was a bit of a challenge. But our waiter finally figured out what I was trying to order and flipped the menu open to the nargile (NAR-gee-lay) options. I decided to try the vanilla shisha and I must say I quite enjoyed it!

Destinations, Turkey

Can You Pronounce Çanakkale?

After visiting Troy, our first overnight stay in Asia was in the port town of Çanakkale (pronounced Cha-knock-ka-lay). We stayed at the Hotel Akol which was right across the street from the waterfront and we even lucked out and got a room overlooking the water.

Çanakkale is the nearest major town to the ancient city of Troy, but even then, I wasn’t expecting it to have its very own Trojan Horse! But there it was, smack dab in the middle of the busy waterfront walkway. If you ask me (which you haven’t, but I’m telling you anyway!) this Trojan Horse is way cooler than the cheesy rendition at Troy itself! Çanakkale’s horse is the actual model used from the blockbuster movie Troy. That’s right ladies…Brad Pitt touched this one! The model was gifted to the city in 2004.

Çanakkale lies along the coast at the narrowest point of the Dardanelles Strait. The lively waterfront in this quaint town is filled with street vendors, happenin’ bars and restaurants, and is the perfect place for people watching. We even happened upon a bride and groom.

Unfortunately, our time there was short as we were scheduled to depart early the next morning. But we very much enjoyed our brief stay, capping off the evening at the Hangover Bar with a refreshing Efes (Turkey’s delicious local beer!)

Destinations, Turkey

Maybe Troy, Maybe Not

Our first stop after crossing into Asia was Troy, or the area that they believe to be Troy. While these ruins are generally identified as the site of the legendary Trojan War, the evidence is not 100% conclusive. However, most historians and archeologists are convinced that this was in fact the ancient city of Troy, which apparently was enough for this area to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998. Sounds good enough for me! Let’s call this place Troy!

According to the Iliad, the ancient city of Troy sat atop a hill, across the plain of the River Scamander. But today, Troy is about 3 miles from any body of water (you can see the water if you look closely at the picture below). Historians believe that 3,000 years ago, the field shown below was actually a large bay that has since been filled with sediment. Geological evidence supports that this location would have matched Homer’s geographical description of Troy.

Troy was a city that was continually built upon and expanded. For this reason, archeologists have uncovered several “layers” of Troy. These layers are called Troy I – Troy IX and they cover the periods of 3,000 BC – 500 AD. You can see placards in the picture below marking different layers of the ancient city.

Troy VII (1300-1200 BC) is the layer associated with Homer’s story and the Trojan War. The picture of the wall below is a part of Troy VII and a likely site of the Trojan War. Our tour guide pointed out that the lower portion of the wall was designed with a slight slant to make it appear like it would be easy to climb. But towards the top of the wall, the slant disappears leaving potential wall jumpers at the mercy of the Trojans. Our guide informed us the Trojans would pour boiling oil onto invaders and then light them on fire! Scalded Spartan, anyone?

Remains of the Temple of Athena

Well built in 300 BC

Ramp built for chariots to enter the city (on the friendly side of course)

Sacrificial grounds (with built-in wells to drain blood)

Believed to be the tomb of Achilles

Theater

Not convinced this is Troy?

Well surely the placement of this Trojan Horse replica will be the only remaining proof you need!

Destinations, Turkey

Turkey’s geography is interesting because it spans two continents. The northwest corner of the country is in Europe, but the vast majority of the land is in Asia. The continents are separated by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus Strait, and the Dardanelles Strait. The Bosphorus Strait feeds into the Black Sea in the north and the Dardanelles feeds into the Aegean Sea in the west. Despite the small portion of land that is actually located in Europe, Turkey is a member of the European Union.

Our tour bus departed Istanbul and headed west towards Gelibolu (spelled differently on the map below).

Gelibolu is a quaint little port town on the European side of the Dardanelles. This would be our launch point to cross over to Asia. But first, we had time for a lovely lunch at a waterside restaurant.

After lunch, our tour bus drove onto the ferry and we were ready to make our voyage (about 20 minutes) to Asia!

Leaving Europe

Entering Asia

Welcome to Asia

A Tale of Two Continents

Destinations, Turkey

Bargaining at the Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world! It is comprised of over 3,000 shops spanning 61 covered streets. The Grand Bazaar used to be where the locals did all of their shopping, but today it is basically a tourist trap attracting up to 400,000 visitors a day. But it is a fabulous tourist trap! As soon as you enter, you are overwhelmed with sights, sounds, smells and even tastes (as shop owners quickly offer you samples of their tasty Turkish Delight!). You can probably find better deals elsewhere, but it is an experience that you shouldn’t pass up. Even if you don’t plan to buy anything, it is fun just to walk around and take it all in. The place is huge and you could easily get lost inside. Rob and I barely scratched the surface, but I feel like we got a good taste of what the bazaar had to offer.

One of my favorite parts was all of the lamp shops. I thought these mosaic lamps were absolutely beautiful! I didn’t end up buying one, but I definitely enjoyed looking at them (and apparently photographing them as Rob harassed me for taking yet another lamp photo over and over again!).

It is quite easy to get sucked into the shops that sell Turkish Delight. This stuff is well deserving of its name (DELIGHTFUL!). Clearly, Rob is the proverbial “kid in a candy shop!” (The shop owner was smiling because Rob actually paid him full price without even an attempt to barter!) Rob’s shopping privileges were put on probation after that.

The bazaar is filled with fabulous aromas from a wide variety of spices and teas. We didn’t buy either, but it made for some colorful photography.

The bazaar has an abundance of textile shops as well. You can find clothes, scarves, and carpets…and everything in between. Rob and I were thinking about buying a few scarves as gifts, so I took the lead on bargaining. The shop owner refused to drop his price below a certain point which led to me leaving the store a total of 3 times. He chased after us a couple of times and managed to get us back in to the shop, but then held steady on his price. It was a time-consuming process, but eventually he agreed to my price. Needless to say, the shop owner was happy to have made a sale, but he did not have the same shit-eating grin as Mr. Turkish Delight! Rob decided that the good cop/bad cop scenario worked best for our bargaining purposes. I don’t think there is really any need to point out which one of us was the bad cop. : )

I could have easily spent a lot more time at the bazaar, but my patrol partner has a much shorter attention span when it comes to shopping. All in all, he was a really good sport and we picked up a few nice things.

Where In The World Is Dayna…

Bordering on Travel Junkie?

Category Archives: Turkey

Guess What Day It Is!

Soaring Over the White Valley (videos)

Soaring Over the White Valley

The Land of Fairy Chimneys

State Department Says What?

Izmir Up in Smoke

Can You Pronounce Çanakkale?

Maybe Troy, Maybe Not

A Tale of Two Continents

Bargaining at the Grand Bazaar

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