Results tagged “Turkey”

Several months ago, when I was in St. Petersburg, I came upon an invitation to
head to the Noviy Mariinsky Teatr (New Mariinsky Theatre) by invitation from
one of the couchsurfers I'd contacted. I took my host, Sascha, as a guest and had the great privilege of seeing the theatre and our host, a Viola player from the orchestra by the name of Liza.

After the show, the three of us headed to an Irish pub to talk about the show
and to get to know each other a little better. In the time it took to finish a
beer, Liza and I were closer friends than many people I'd known for years. We
just clicked and were able to talk for hours and hours.

The following day, I meet once more with Liza and am introduced to her lovely
daughter Tanya. The three of us start chatting and I find that Tanya is an
incredibly smart girl.

Liza and her Viola.

Since I'd started travelling, I didn't really bother with paying much
attention when I crossed the streets as cars would usually stop and let me
cross. Tanya and Liza had noticed this, Tanya had a suggestion as to why that
is. Perhaps, she said, this is because he is not from around here and so he
wields a different kind of magic to what we do. Other drivers sense the
presence of a different magic and so they leave him alone.

One of Liza's favourite movies is Amelie, a story about a girl who does good
deeds for everyone she can and decides to help her dad get over his fear of
flying by giving their garden gnome to her friend, a stewardess, to take
photos of it around the world.

In the same vein, Liza and Tanya gift me with ослик (Oslik) , a donkey salt and pepper
shaker that will protect me in my travels. When I finish my world trip and see
them once again, I can return the donkey to them. So begins the adventures of
Osslik around the World

Tanya with Oslik wrapped up.

Oslik in Tallin, Estonia.

Oslik, couchsurfing in Tartu.

In Pamukkale, Turkey.

Oslik meets his big brother in Northern Cyprus and the two party together.

Oslik relaxing on a beach in Nuweiba, Egypt.

Unfortunately though, airport security takes him away at Tel Aviv airport, despite being able to fly with him from Riga and Cyprus. They say he could have been used as a weapon.

The last time I ever saw Oslik.

It started some time in June 2009, I had already been on the road for three months when my dad suggested to join me for a few weeks. My older sister (Dasha) was also looking to join us for some time. Dad wanted to travel somewhere in Europe, Dasha didn't want to go somewhere she'd been before. We eventually decided on Turkey and Egypt via Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus as we didn't have time for Syria and Jordan.

My dad flew in from Australia, I flew in from Latvia three hours later. Dasha joined us four days later.

Was it tough to travel together with family? Sure, we had fights. We had different styles of travelling, my dad was comfortable with just chilling out and relaxing all day. My sister does research on countries before she arrives, plans out a full itinerary that involves seeing EVERYTHING and sleeping on buses between destinations. I tend to just wing it and not rush anything, I love meeting people and discovering things that can't be put in any highlight itineraries, a chance encounter at a restaurant, seeing how people live their daily lives, the sort of things that are mundane back home, but fascinating when you travel.

The secret to making travel with family work, or for that matter, travelling with friends of differing mindsets is always compromise and being able to put yourself in their shoes. Dad would never offer a suggestion for something he wanted to do, but I found out quickly how much he loved boats and being taken around places. Guess what, in the trip we took no less than five boat trips (day trips, ferries and a felucca trip).

My dad had stepped so far out of his comfort zone, my sister and I convinced him to stay in hostel type accommodation, he once couchsurfed with us at Dasha's friend's place in Ankara, Turkey. He rode on ATVs (quadbikes), motorcycles, camels and horses.

He would hike with us for hours in Turkey, sleep on a felucca boat in Egypt, pull silly faces all the time and never complain about what we were doing.

My dad would always be keen to meet new people and always had them laughing and having fun. They always told us how much they loved my dad "Mr Alex", but my sister and I didn't pay any attention at the time, we just thought it normal to have a dad that's so easy going and who can make friends with so many people so easily.

My dad is a bigger IT geek than me, we always caught him using the internet, logging onto his workstation.

My dad's workstation was named Osiris, after the Egyptian god, any time he saw a carving or a statue of Osiris, his eyes would light up and he would make us take a photo of him. Dad, here's to you and Osiris.

Dad, I loved travelling with you so much and I want everyone in the world to see just how cool you are.

Never was dad prouder than when talking about the accomplishments of my sister and myself and you could tell how much he loved travelling with us, even if it wasn't in the style that he was accustomed to.

A lot of us take our family for granted and think we could never travel with them. My suggestion, do it, you'll get so much out of it.

Dad, you're my Alexander the Great and I love you so much. I can't wait to see you and travel with you again. My dad is my biggest blog fan (he always comments with the name ak).

How do your family travel stories compare? Do you enjoy travelling with your family? Would you travel with your parents?

Falling asleep in Antalya, the bus attendant wakes us at 7am in Tasucu (Tash-oo-joo) and after hopping off I realise my laptop is still on the bus, though I manage to retrieve it before the bus leaves.

A taxi driver spots us and offers to take us to the ferry ticket office for five Lira. Instead, we go for three, on a bus, that wasn’t scheduled to start its rounds for another hour.

We buy tickets for the ferry, pass through customs/immigration several hours later in Turkey, arrive in Northern Cyprus two hours later and take a dolmus to the centre.

My sister leaves her BIG backpack on the dolmus (DOLE-moosh), and although I’m a fast runner, I’m unable to catch it. Ten minutes later, it returns on its route and drops off the backpack.

We check into a hotel and walk around the old town of Girne (Kyrenia).

Marina of Kyrenia from the top of  Kyrenia Castle, a 16th century castle built over a previous Crusader castle.

Church of St. George within Kyrenia Castle.

We arrive into Antalya and find the bus to take us into town. A guy hops on the bus and I overhear him ask in English if the bus heads to Kaleici (the old town). Great, another tourist to head to the old town with, I invite him to join us and we get talking.

Firas is from Syria, from one of the few Orthodox Christian  towns and is currently studying medicine in Chicago, he says he’s staying in the cheapest guesthouse in the old town and is happy to take us there.

In the morning we decide to take a two hour boat tour in Antalya to the big waterfall and head down to the pier to begin negotiating. The starting price for the tour is 40 Lira each (20 Euro) and we watch as Firas works his magic.

Turkish Tour Seller (TTS) #1: 20 Euro each.

Firas: No thank you, that’s too much.

TTS #1: How much do you want?

Firas: I am a  student, I will see if that guy can offer cheaper.

TTS #1: Ok, for you 15 Euro.

Firas ignores the offer and approaches the next guy.

Firas: We would like to take a boat trip.

TTS #2: Sure, for you 10 Euro for 1 hour or 20 Euro for 2 hours.

Firas: Yesterday we paid much cheaper.

TTS #2: Ok, for you only 10 Lira for 1 hour, 20 lira for 2 hours.

Firas: We’ll give you 30 Lira for all of us (remember it was 160 Lira to begin with).

TTS #2: *decides against haggling any more* Ok sure, hop on the boat and wait five minutes for another customer or for 40 we go now. 

We decide against paying the extra money and against waiting on the boat, so we wait on the dock. Five minutes later the guy gets two clients who he claims are paying 15 Euro each for the two hour tour, we offer 28 total, take it or leave it. He’s pissed off but decides it’s extra money anyway so he takes it, we climb on the boat and he decides to wait for some more customers. No one shows, the couple are pissed off at having to wait so long and leave, taking their money. We climb off the boat and take our money back.

Eventually we negotiate with another tour seller as a boat had just left, they get it to turn around and we pay 30 for all of us (half the price that the other people on the boat had agreed on).

We also visit the Antalya Archaeology Museum, where some kids happen to be on excursion.

How can the kids resist taking a photo with the tourists? I had the ugly kid take the photo so he wouldn’t ruin it.

Fethiye is another coastal town that’s popular with tourists for its temperate climate and for the remains of the Lycian city of Telmessos. Telmessos was the most important Lycian city and an old legend explains the naming of the city as follows:

The god Apollo falls in love with the youngest daughter of the King of Phoenicia, Agenor. He disguises himself as a small dog and thus gains the love of the shy, withdrawn daughter. After he reappears as a handsome man, they have a son, whom they name 'Telmessos' (the land of lights).

Read more of the history of Telmessos.

Most notable Lycian tomb in Fethiye, dated to the 4th century BC, dedicated to Amynthas, who is believed to be a king or governor of Telmessos during the Hellenistic period.

Additional smaller tombs are dotted throughout the landscape. Fethiye has grown around the ruins of Telmessos. These tombs happened to be in the yard of some local residents who were very happy to have us take a look around.

Ancient amphitheatre of Telmessos.

Bodrum is a Turkish coastal town located not too far from the Greek Island of Kos and is built over the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus. Halicarnassus was home to the Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Settled in the 7th century by the Carians and the Dorians, the city then fell to the Persians until Alexander the Great came and took it from them. The Crusaders came and used some of the stones from the now destroyed Mausoleum of Mausolus to build Bodrum Castle.

Amir Timur (for those that remember Uzbekistan) comes along, destroys a similar castle in Rhodes which the Knights Hospitaller later rebuild thanks to Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I. Suleiman the Magnificent conquers that castle, forcing the Crusaders to retreat and surrender Bodrum Castle to the Ottomans.

In the 15th century, the Crusaders built Bodrum Castle and want everyone to know that giant's are prone to falling off rooftops.

Bodrum marina, including some of the MANY accommodation options. Given the place's popularity with British tourists, this is one of the few places in Turkey where you can find a traditional English breakfast with bacon.

In the 15th century, the Crusaders built Bodrum Castle and want everyone to know that giant's are prone to falling off rooftops.

The remains of the Mausoleum of Mausolus.

View of Bodrum's sail and fishing boats, perfect for weekend trips out to Kos.

Ephesus, not far from Selcuk, in Roman times had a population of 250,000 people, not only the second biggest city after Rome, but also the second largest city in the world.

Ephesus is home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, which was destroyed by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom as well as one of the seven churches of Asia from the Book of Revelations. It is popular opinion amongst scholars that the Gospel of John was written in Ephesus.

Main Street of Ephesus, leading to the harbour.

Temple of Hadrian, erected in 118 AD and dedicated to Emperor Hadrian, considered one of the Five Good Emperors by Machiavelli. Above the inner doorway, a relief of Medusa, to ward off evil spirits.

Library of Celsus contains the tomb of Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, governor of Asia minor. A statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom stood across from the tomb. Up to 12,000 scrolls and manuscripts were stored within the library, which also contained an auditorium for lectures during the time of Emperor Hadrian.

Tomb of John the Apostle, in the Basilica of St. John. The story goes that John wrote the gospel at the request of the other disciples and eventually lay to die in the church where he wrote the book. The Basilica was built over the tomb, replacing the church.

Pamukkale, Turkish for “cotton castle” is a city with two amazing draws for any visitor, hot springs and an ancient Greek city.

Hierapolis (Holy City), is an ancient Greek resort city, built in the 2nd century BC for medical treatment of patients in the hot springs. The main street and main gates still remain, along with a necropolis for burying the patients that weren’t quite healed (pictured above).

The theatre of Hierapolis, with seating capacity of 15,000 is currently being restored to its former glory.

The hot springs bubble out onto travertines, white terraces that look like snow fall from far away.

The springs bubble around some of the buildings of Hierapolis, enveloping them in a fog.

Konya, in Central Anatolia is one of Turkey’s more religiously devout cities and is best known for being the city where the 13th century, Persian poet and mystic, Rumi spent most of his life.

Mevlana Museum/Mausoleum of Rumi, known fully as Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi.

Following Rumi’s death, his followers founded the Order of the Whirling Dervishes.

One of the many mosques found in Konya.

Click image for full size.

“It’s like being on the moon.”

“It’s out of this world.”

Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s most beautiful places, dotted with fairy chimneys, cave churches and underground cave cities. There are myriads of accommodation and tour options in Göreme, including the highly rated sunrise hot air balloon tour over the region.

While hitch-hiking back from Göreme Open Air Museum, my sister and I encounter more of the amazing hospitality found in Turkey. The guys that give us a lift back invite us to join them for some drinks, a dervish show and give us gifts. How often does that happen back home?

Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia.

What better way to explore, than by quad bike?

The amazing thing about the area is how for centuries people have lived in the fairy chimneys.

There are plenty of amazing spots from which to take photos.

After Bursa, we get to Ankara. Although the intention was to pass through, my sister has a close friend currently there, so instead, we visit and spend the night.

The main attraction of Ankara, the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, commander during WWI, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president. The guy is a national hero and on major holidays, the tomb is filled with Turks coming to pay their respects.

Much pomp and ceremony goes into the changing of the guard, you can see and hear them quite some distance away.

The Ataturk museum is located underneath the main square and gives a detailed outline of the history of the man, of the founding of Turkey and of WWI.

Though Ankara was intended as a planned city, a lot of people built their homes illegally and now face losing them to construction.

In other places, people have done their own home extensions.

Leaving Istanbul, we take a boat to Yalova and a bus to Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire after its capture from the Byzantines in the 14th century. 

Interior of Ulu Camii (The Great Mosque), built in the late 14th century, it consists of twenty domes in a 4x5 matrix.

The mosque is adorned with close to two hundred calligraphic inscriptions on its walls.

Bursa Tower (the Clock Tower of Bursa).

The Bursa museum shows how people ate kebab two hundred years ago…

Yeşil Camii (The Green Mosque), the first Turkish style mosque. Prior to its construction, all Turkish mosques were built in the Seljuk style. The great mosque is a great example of the Seljuk style of building.

Tomb of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I, located in Yeşil Türbe (The Green Tomb).

Seen as a sign at the Archaeology Museum:

Psyche, the youngest of the three daughters of the king of Miletus, is renowned for her beauty. Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love does not like this. She cannot accept the fact that a mortal is more beautiful than herself. Therefore, she tells her son Eros, the god of love, to take Psyche to a mountain and give her to a very ugly dragon.

When Eros stealthily approaches to take Psyche away, he falls in love with the girl, sleeping in her bed, and with the help of Zephyros (the west wind) flies the girl to his own palace and takes her as his beloved wife.

Psyche is happy, but she has to abide by one wish of Eros. She must never see his face. Otherwise the magic of their love will be undone and their love will end. Psyche agrees to this, but her sisters lead her astray from her promise. They say that her husband is very ugly, therefore he wants to meet her in the dark, so she should one night look at him secretly. Actually, Psyche is also very curious about Eros.

One night when Eros falls asleep, Psyche wants to look at her beloved under the light of the oil lamp. When she sees how handsome this god of love is, she is much surprised, and in her confusion a drop of oil falls on the naked shoulder of Eros. He suddenly awakes and the magic is undone. So he flies away never to be seen again.

In great pain because of this separation, Psyche looks for her beloved everywhere. She succeeds in all the calamitous and difficult tasks Aphrodite gives her, but always she is given another difficult job. At the end, Zeus makes them come together again. Finally, love and spirit find each other...

Sunset cruise over the Bosphorus, overlooking the Ortaköy Mosque.

First order of business after arriving in Turkey, sightseeing Sultanahmet, the main tourist area of Istanbul.

1. Sultanahmet Camii (Sultan Ahmed Mosque aka The Blue Mosque)

One of two mosques in Turkey with six minarets. After building the mosque with six minarets, the Sultan ordered a seventh minaret to be built at the Ka’aba in Mecca.

2.  Aya Sofia

A byzantine cathedral, built in 532, converted to a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul in 1453, and finally converted to a museum in 1935 by Atatürk.

One of several mosaics that was covered in plaster when the cathedral was converted to a mosque. After conversion to a museum, restorers painstakingly removed the plaster to reveal the hidden mosaics.

3. Topkapi Palace

The palace of the ruling Ottomans from 1465 to 1856. It currently contains many sacred treasures, including the cloak and sword of the prophet Muhammed.

4. Archeology Museum

Formerly a part of the Topkapi gardens, this was the first museum in the world to house Turkish art.

After close to nine months of travelling, I once more need to hop onto a plane. I’m due to meet my dad and older sister in Istanbul. I haven’t seen dad since the start of my trip, and I haven’t seen my sister since she left for her own trip a year earlier.

The plan is to travel Turkey and Egypt together for the next six weeks. First order of business, a feast fit for kings.

Since we have a couple of days together before the older sister arrives, we do a bit of sightseeing around Istanbul while we wait.

While on a boat to Buyukada Island.

The taxi rank on Buyukada Island.

A view of waterfront properties on the Bosphorous.

Castle located at the end of the Bosphorous boat trip.

A view from Galata tower. 

Miniaturk, a park with models of all of Turkey’s greatest sights.