BACK TO ISTANBUL
Turkey turned out to be my favorite travel destination. Istanbul was exciting, with so much to be seen. Obviously the
Blue Mosque,
Aya Sofia, and
Topkapi Palace are highlights, but I also really enjoyed a short cruise up the Bosphorus to where it dumps into the Black Sea. The
Grand Bazaar was overwhelming, as were the numerous street vendors. I tried unsuccessfully to pretend I spoke only French, but it turned out that they were all multi-lingual. In addition, there were several people sitting on the sidewalks with bathroom scales before them, willing to take your money to tell you your weight.
Selcuk was an astonnishingly friendly town. After eating dinner at a restaurant once, our waiter said hello to us every time we passed by after. Then we ate at a different restaurant three nights in a row; I highly recommend Turkish pizza!
From Selcuk, we visited
Pamukkale and
Ephesus, both definitely worth the time, although it was frustrating to have the restraints of a group tour at Pamukkale. We also hiked 6k up to Mary's House (accompanied by several,
'What are you thinking?' looks) and sort of found a way to sit on the ancient city walls of Ephesus. That involved some, uh, off-trail hiking. One day began rainy, so we took a train to Sirence to see the train museum (where we were the only two patrons and proceeded to climb on all the trains) and spent the afternoon at a Turkish bath.
After a nausea-inducing bus ride into Goreme, Meredith and I spent a hot afternoon at the
Goreme Open-Air Museum, a collection of churches carved out of the soft rock and decorated with fading frescoes. The next day we hiked up one of the many valleys to
Uchisar, originally accompanied by two playful dogs. The dogs abandoned us in favor of a group of French tourists however when they (in a comical effort to discourage the dogs from following them) threw food away from their group. Obviously the dogs were smart enough to follow the people who fed them! After the ascent to Uchisar we ascended to the top of the fortress for an awesome view of the area. While searching for a place to eat lunch we ran into a French speaking tour guide who recommended a tiny restaurant with an open air deck facing the valley and excellent Turkish food.
Meredith and I had discussed renting a moped to explore more of Cappadocia on our own, and while asking for information at a small rental company, the owner convinced us it would be fun. The fact that he served us
apple tea while we talked business didn't hurt, so the next day we found ourselves on a bike - despite the cold rain. Our first stop was
Derinkuyu, an eight-level underground city. From there, we attempted to go to Urgup, missing a turn and adding 20 minutes to our trip. This is when the hail began. I was so happy to arrive at a nice warm restaurant and to drink several more cups of tea. Fortunately the sun came out after that misadventure, so we felt better about continuing on the bike to Avanos and Zelve.
Food was definitely a highlight of Turkey! I accepted all offers of apple tea and found that I could buy freshly squeezed orange juice on the street in Istanbul for just
1.5YTL. Kebabs are best in Turkey, of course, and Turkish pizza is very tasty. In Goreme I had an excellent meal cooked in a sealed pot and then broken to pour the food on my plate.
