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Showing posts from March, 2015

Climbing the Cotton castles and terraces of Pammukale

Well as I sit here typing this I am tucked up in bed with two huge blankets on me.  We are staying in a family owned guest house in Koyakopa in southern Turkey and there is no heat in the rooms.  The weather is unseasonably cold in Turkey this Spring (of course) so it is darn chilly in here.  Ah well once I am tucked under the covers I will be warm and cozy - I will try not to think about nocturnal wanderings to the bathroom..... And tomorrow is a rest day!  Well for me anyway and a couple of others....there is a 6 km hike on the Lycian Way which I am opting out of.  It is rocky and steep - my favourite things...(not).  Due to the weather the hike itself may be canceled as it has rained for a good portion of the day and more expected for tomorrow.  The others who plan to do the walk may go to the Blue Lagoon by public transit but if it is raining it won't be that great....I need a day to relax and not worry about being on a schedule.  And obviously two of the other gals think so.

Trotting around Turkey

The call to prayer is going on as I type this....the mosque is quite close.  It starts up at 5 a.m. and I dare anyone to sleep through it!!!  The tour is going great and we are a small group of 7 who all seem to get along well.  Our tour leader Kemet is a doll - she is so full of knowledge and eager to please.  As we are pretty well on the go all day with a late dinner all I can do is maybe read a few emails and browse Facebook quickly and crash...no time for blogging or much contact with people online.  We have a free afternoon and I am pretty tired so decided to do a little blog.  I hope you appreciate that I am sitting on my bed sideways doing this.  This morning we visited Ephesus which was amazing.  The best preserved Roman ruins in the surrounding area.  Rain was forecast but luckily it never materialized as it was windy and I can't imagine trying to negotiate that place (and walking on wet marble) in those conditions.  I will post more on it later..much later...but her

Across the water to Asia for lunch

Yes today I was on the continent of Asia.  Istanbul is the only city in the world that straddles two continents - separated by the Bosphorus Strait.  I had wanted to get a boat across but I missed it because buying a ticket in a machine was too darn confusing...it's not like I can read Turkish!  So I ended up walking across the Galata bridge which turned out to be fun.  I must back up and say that this morning we did an orientation walk.  I had done most of the places but it was great to learn more about them from our guide.  We also saw the remains of the hippodrome but the funniest part for me was the stray dogs that live in the area (of course) who chase all big vehicles (they especially like garbage trucks) out of the area.  No doubt a few lose their lives that way - we were quite impressed with the speed of a black and white speciman going hell bent after a small truck.   It was funny as they didn't chase the police car that went through the square or a motorcycle - if I

Three mosques and a big big market

Today dawned cloudier than yesterday. After breakfast I wandered along the water front for a bit but resisted taking a boat on the Bosphorus as it was too hazy.  I headed over to the New Mosque which was another beauty...completed in 1663 if you can call that new.  Behind the mosque was a small (once again relatively speaking) market that I wandered through until I came across yet another smaller mosque.  I came to a smaller mosque in a market that was absolutely beautiful inside...it was not possible to get a photo of the outside - and let's face it they tend to look the same...but it was small but blue inside...they call it the real blue mosque. :)  Apparently it is considered one of the most possible mosques (inside) in the world... Next up was the Sulymaniye Mosque which is Istanbul's most important mosque completed in 1557.  It is absolutely huge with a stunning view of the city and nice grounds.   I must say things were much quieter today!  I had a hard

Palaces and mosques and ice cream

Yes it was that kind of a day!  Wow am I tired - I left the hotel at 8:30 and came back at 3:30.   Well just saying that sounds kind of pathetic as in the "old days" I wouldn't have been back until 6 or even later..ah well...old age sucks but the alternative sucks even more.... They provide a buffet breakfast here at the hotel so I had some scrambled eggs, goat cheese on bread, some yogurt and that was about it.  The selection was quite extensive so I will take better advantage of it tomorrow.  I just wasn't hungry - me, not hungry?  I know strange isn't it.  I think I felt a bit overwhelmed and I am not sure why as I have certainly been in more exotic locales... I got the front desk person to mark the hotel on my map and off I went...first stop was the park beside the Topkapi palace called Gulhane park.  It was lovely... The Topkapi palace opened at 9 so a couple of minutes before I headed over there...the line to get tickets wasn't too long (it w