Day 1: Istanbul
We take an early direct flight to Istanbul (this was Jyoti's first visit to Europe) and check into the hotel by noon. When you visit a place like NY, London, Rome or Bangkok, you know whats in store for you. But Istanbul seemed such an unknown quantity. The place is as exotic as any (besides Tokyo I feel): a eclectic blend of cultural and modern, beautiful mosques everywhere but a secular ethos, magnificent buildings two millenia old and modern shopping centers.
Though a guided tour overall, the first day was free for us to explore the city. Our hotel was situated just off Taksim square, the hub of activity in probably all of Turkey. Reminiscent of Times Square or Piccadilly Circus. "Except that here, centuries-old domes rise above Burger King billboards, and head-scarved girls on cellphones share the sidewalk with Istanbul's growing population of punk rockers." (Frommers). After wandering aimlessly for a bit around the square, we walked down along "Istiklal Caddesi", which was like Broadway, Park and Fifth Avenue put together, lined with places to eat, shop, party, national embassies. En route we passed through Cicek Pasaji, a rococo arcade full of beer halls and fish restaurants, and the Galatasaray fish market.
Istiklal Caddesi then merged onto Galip Dede Caddesi, a narrow, winding and sloping street, full of small book shops and musical instrument stores besides antique shops and eateries. This was as pretty a walk as it gets through a city. We then walked past the Galata tower, a pretty Synagogue and ended up at the Karakoy square. We then crossed the Galata bridge to Sultanahmet (old city) and visited the Spice Market, which was an enchanting interplay or scents and colors.
We then took the 1 hr Bosphorus (the body of water seperating Europe and Asia) cruise, admiring the beautiful waterfront estates and gardens on both sides of the water. Up there with a romantic cruise on the Seine or a speedboat cruise on the Hudson. On the way back to the hotel, we sampled the multifaceted public transport system of the city. We took a tram back to Karakoy square, then the underground "Tunel", and then the "Nostalgic Tramway" which ran along the length of Istiklal Caddesi. Dinner was awesome hummus, falafel and bean soup at a roadside cafe.
Day 2: Istanbul guided tour
This morning we met Hussein, who would be our tour guide for the rest of the tour.
The tour mainly consisted of Kiwis and Aussies, mostly in their fifties or older. The plan of the day was to check out the top sites in Sultanehmat. We started off at the Hippodrome, a public arena which hosted Roman, Byzantine and then Ottoman celebrations. Next was Sultanehmet (Blue) Mosque, one of the oldest and most well known mosques, now converted to a musuem due to the secular constitution of Turkey.
It is known as the Blue Mosque due to the blue tiles adorning its interior. We then visited the Topkapi Palace, the royal residence of the Ottoman Sultans. The palace had beautiful manicured gardens and one got a great bird's eye view of Istanbul, dominated by the towering minarets of old mosques around town. The room which contained the royal jewels was the most impressive, eliciting a lot of ooh and aahs from the women.
We then had a lunch break. I skipped the meal and instead went to the Yerbatan Sarnici, the underground cisterns built by the Romans supported by hundreds of marble columns. The highlight of the day however was the Ayasofya, a Byzantine cathedral, then a mosque, now a museum. Its dome was probably just as big as that of St pauls in the Vatican. After all this architectural overload, it was time for shopping at the Grand Bazaar, which certainly lived upto its name. Right outside the bazaar, we bought a set of seven interlaced Turkish lamps, which currently is the piece de resistance in my room. We then went to the rooftop bar at the Pierre Loti, where I tried "Raki", the Turkish national drink made of anise. Very very strong. You sip a bit of raki, then drink some water and repeat.At the end of the day, we were too tired to explore any nightlife, and just had a quiet dinner at Taksim square.
Day 3: Ankara, onto Cappadocia
We crossed over the Bosphorus to the Asia side of the country and headed to the capital, Ankara, which is much smaller than Istanbul. At Ankara, we visited the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kamal "Ataturk" (father of the Turks), a World War era military man who then became the leader of the secular Turkey. Cant think of too many people who single handedly shaped the destiny of their country for the better. He made Turkey into a secular republic, worked for women's rights, developed infrastructure and invested in education of the masses. The Mausoleum was perched atop a hill providing a commanding view of the city. On our arrival at Cappadocia, we checked into our cosy cave hotel (the rest of the group was staying in a more expensive and swanky hotel, but we were happy to stay in a more authentic family run place). The owner of the place, a charming old gentleman, cooked us a delicious veg meal.
Day 4: Cappadocia
Early morning wake up for a balloon ride. I had taken one 15 years back in San Diego, for Jyoti it was a first. Quite an experience as dozens of balloons soared over Cappadocia's lunar landscape.
After the balloon ride, we had breakfast and then proceeded to visit the Goreme open air museum, consisting of cave churches and living quarters for the monks. Some of the Byzantine frescoes dating back to 4th Century AD were extremely well preserved. Thereafter we visited the Kaymakli underground city, inhabited around the 1st century AD. It was built underground, with its own water supply, sanitation etc. in order to save persecution from the Romans. It went as deep as 5 storeys underground.
We had lunch at a local restaurant. Tasted Ayran, a local drink, very close to butter milk. Also tried the Turkish pizza (pide), and the Gozleme, a pancake filled with potatoes, cheese or spinach. After lunch we visited the "fairy" chimneys, and then proceeded to the Turkish Carpet Museum, run by the Government. We saw 1000 knots per square inch silk carpets that takes a person a decade or more to make!! Some of the them were more than a 100,000 Euros!!
Back at the hotel, we chilled out at the sitout with a glass of wine, with a gorgeous view of rock formations as the sun went down!
Day 5: Konya, Pamukkale
After breakfast, we left for Konya. En route we stopped at a medieval Caravenserai, with its infrastructure for water, cooking and storage, stables for the horses and resting areas for tired travellers. Konya is the birthplace of the founder of Mevlevi Order (whirling dervishes), the Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. We visited his Mausoleum, now converted to a museum, to get a glimpse of the Sufi culture. I have read some of Rumi's poetry and it indeed was a solemn moment for me to be visiting this place. We reached Pamukkale in the evening, checked into our spa hotel and spend the evening in the hot water baths.
Day 6: Hierapolis, Pamukkale, Temple of Artemis
In the morning, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Hierapolis, an ancient Greco Roman city (difficult to believe, but there is less Rome in Rome and less Greece in Greece than Turkey). We saw the necropolis and the Roman baths, which would be close to the entrance in order for travellers to freshen up before entering the city.
The Hierapolis ended close to the beautiful calcite formations of Pamukkale, which were the source of the hot water springs we had back at the hotel. Behind the calcite formations was a huge amphitheater, part of the Hierapolis complex. We then drove towards Kusadasi on the Aegean Sea. En route, we stopped at the remnants of the Temple of Artemis, One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. There is just one solitary pillar still standing and it takes some imagination to realize what an achievement of architecture this place would have been in that era. The hotel at Kusadasi was situated by the sea and afforded a very nice view.
Day 7: House of Virgin Mary, Ephesus
The next morning we headed to the House of Virgin Mary in nearby Selcuk. This is where she is supposed to have spent her last days after her flight from the Middle East. We then headed to Ephesus, first a Greek city and then the third largest Roman city after Rome and Istanbul. The most impressive monument within the complex was the Library, I think the largest in the world at one time after the Alexandria library. As with most Roman cities, there was an impressive amphitheater, where one of the group members enchanted us with a rendition.
We saw a sculpture of Nike, the Goddess of Athletics: the Nike swoosh was inspired by this pose of Nike suggesting energy and agility. Another interesting building was the communal lavatory, where the Romans discussed politics while performing their daily chores.
In the afternoon, we visited a Silk leather factory. The visit kicked off with a fashion show, and thereafter the store manager impressed us with a demonstration of properties of silk leather: superlight, superthin, waterproof, fireproof etc etc. In the evening we went for a walk along the waterfront, and did some clothes shopping.
Day 8: Pergamon, Troy, Canakkale
We checked out after breakfast and headed to the Greek city of Pergamon, perched atop a hill with a commanding view of the adjacent countryside. Not much remains of the city, except some imposing rows of columns. After Pergamon, we headed to the ancient city of Troy. Archaelogists have divided the history of Troy in some nine broad periods, Troy I to Troy IX. Troy was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times (fire / invasion etc) and thus in the same spot you can see how a newer version was built over an older one. From Troy, we headed to Canakkale, on Dardanelle Strait. Our modern 5 star hotel had a sweeping view of the water and of the Gallipolli Peninsula beyond.
Day 9: Gallipoli, back to Istanbul
The battle of Gallipoli was one of the key battles in World War I, as the Allied forces (Britain, Australia, NZ, France) battled the Ottoman Empire, siding with the Germans. A prolonged event, it remains the predominant military event in ANZAC history. The ANZAC soldiers won worldwide admiration for their tenacity and to this date, visiting Gallipoli for Aussies and Kiwis is like a pilgrimage. We visited various sites such as ANZAC cove, WWI trenches, and were narrated heartwarming tales of how the warfare was carried out with a lot of dignity, both from the Allied and the Turkish site. We then drove back to Istanbul to end the guided tour.
Day 10: Shopping in Istanbul, back home
We did some shopping on Istiklal Caddesi before heading to the airport to catch our flight back home.
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