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Izmir Slideshow
Travel Blogs from Izmir, Turkey
Cycling in Turkey
This is a top pick! At first we were a little concerned about what this might be like. So far our experience is that there is very low traffic, usually shoulders, and drivers give you lots of space. The road surfacing could do with a little improvement. ...
Iron Gut to the Test
This is a top pick! ... few days were Brian's turn and today it's mine. Best guess is that he picked up something in Athens or on the boat over to Turkey. So we've been in Urla. Not a tourist town in the least. I did a little internet search that came up ...
Random Acts of Kindness
This is a top pick! ... few stories here. *One particularily rainy and miserable cycling day we decided to stop for a warm up and get some tea. Luckily in Turkey these places abound. In one little town I pulled over the bike to do a quick scan of the main drag to see ...
Ruins, Turkish buses and used car dealers
This is a top pick! ... ran the Venus Hotel were unbelievably helpful and gracious. Actually, our experience with pretty everyone we have encountered in Turkey has been glowingly positive. People here have been universally warm, cordial, and helpful and really made our ...
We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto...
This is a top pick! ... do you get friendly waves and honks while cycling? Where can you go into a shop to buy something they don't stock ad the shop owner runs out to get it for you from another shop? Where do old men eat more mandarins than they sell? . . . . . TURKEY!!!!! ...
Return to Selçuk
This is a top pick! The bus journey from Istanbul was a shocker. Really long and very uncomfortable. But there was a bus boy who served as much cold water, coke, tea or coffee as you wanted!!! AND he makes sure you get kicked off at the correct stop! Brilliant! We ...
Night Bus
This is a top pick! İ presume a lot have you have seen the Harry Potter movıes. Do you remember the scenes wıth the Night bus? (BTW Im typıng on an arabıc key board so bare with mistakes) SO we left the Istanbul hostel on a dolmus (15 seat mini van) to the bus ...
More Ruins
This is a top pick! ... lumpy) and they don't seem to be able to clean it properly. We are still enjoying all the fresh food available in Turkey. At breakfast this morning (the cost of your hotel room usually includes breakfast) we had newly baked warm bread (the bread here ...
Which Way to Turn?
This is a top pick! Getting to be an expert at getting lost in different countries. Takes some practice, but I’m getting better and better as this trip continues. It wasn’t for want of trying though. I must have asked in almost every store in ...
Hey Aussie, You Want Carpet ?
This is a top pick! ... carpet seller in Turkey. Good for you sunshine, maybe they'll make an Olympic sport out of it and you'll win a gold medal. Turkey 1, Australia 0. God I can whinge, let's get back to Ephesus shall we. In fact, let's not. If you would like any historical ...
Ephesus and the Mystery woman
This is a top pick! ... woman again, who some of you will remember from travels in Egypt, which promises to make the trail through southern Turkey to Cappadocia a pleasant and pleasurable experience indeed. It should also entail some very interesting sights so I hope you stick ...
Getting Stiffed in Selcuk
This is a top pick! ... there were calls from the shops and pushy sales tactics. Here's looking forward to moving away and seeing some 'real' Turkey again. We had a great time going through the museum and seeing some interesting sites. As well, the food's ...
Off the beaten track
This is a top pick! ... is a superhighway and travelling was quick. However, when we got to Izmir we descended into the most polluted city we've seen here in Turkey. We wanted to get through as quickly as possible, but that's not so easy. It was not a pleasant drive for a while ...
Morgans Bad day
This is a top pick! So we arrıved ın Selçuk got off the nıght bus and after ıt drove off Morgan realızed he had left hıs favourıte hat (a blue baseball hat from Quıck sılver--hınt hıs bırthday ıs comıng up....) on the bus. Then on the way to our hostel ...
3 lunches but why?
This is a top pick! Leaving in the morning we headed South and soon found ourselves in Troy. This was a pretty cool place and we wandered around for a while learning about the history of the city. I climbed inside a giant Trojan horse and photo-bombed a bunch of tourists. ...
Three days four nights
This is a top pick! ... guys?, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Malaysia, England (that's me ;)), Australia, America, and of course Turkey). We caught the luxurious Nilufer coach from Istanbul late on Friday night and said goodbye to chaotic Istanbul in search ...
No Turkey in Turkey, Police, Turkish Bath, Jobs
This is a top pick! ... the war in Iraq, representatives were from local companies protesting the effect it could have on the economy for businesses in Turkey. Then finally visited a hamam, turkish bath - this I must explain. Only women allowed and we decided to visit a ...
Dalyan to Selcuk, Visit to Sirince
This is a top pick! ... would try and stay in one of the pensions. Unfortunately they are more than double what we have paid for better accommodation elsewhere in Turkey so we gave them a miss and headed back to Selcuk. I decided that the best action would be to park the car and ...
Nik turning 13 in Turkey!
This is a top pick! Can’t believe we are almost at the end of our trip. I’m both excited to go home and see family and friends but I'm also sad that the trip is coming to an end. Its strange that I feel so much more comfortable being on the road than ...
Turkish Men with Bubbles and Razor Blades
This is a top pick! ... is something I usually do in the shower and then do it again when I get out because it was crap the 1st time! But here in Turkey it is a pleasure and more a standard part of life for the men (and looking at some of the women - them too)! Using the ...
Ephesus- day two
This is a top pick! ... We learned that if you show up on your own without a guide that everything is 50% off! So, folks, if you ever come to Turkey, never shop with a guide! The good news is that I was still more impressed with the ceramics that I saw and bought in Capadoccia ...
Selcuk......A backpackers vllage in the mountains
This is a top pick! ... ,and looks beautiful, its expensive but seems to be the backpacker thing to do here so we booked on....means we shall be in Turkey longer than originally planned.....but we dont need to be in Cairo until the 24th september for a flight so we have a ...
Ephesus and Efes
This is a top pick! ... arriving in large A/C busses! Ephesus is called the best preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean and Turkey's premier tourist site. The city had running water, public toilets, a renowned medical institute, brothel and roman ...
Selcuk
This is a top pick! ... to a pension she knew well, and which in retrospect was probably the most wonderful location we stayed in in all of Turkey, complete with antique furniture, good food and charming hosts. Selcuk used to be a sleepy little town a few decades ago, but ...
Meat and Egg Pide
This is a top pick! 1) Kneed the Pide 2) Place the meat into the Pide 3) Place the Pide into the wood fired oven 4) Once the dish is nearly done, pull it out and place an egg on to it 5) Place it back into the oven 6) Pull out after a couple of minutes. 7) ...
Chapter 45: Turkish history lessons
This is a top pick! Yay! I found a rare Western keyboard, which means my "i"s have dots and it's time for an update! Turkey is lovely except for the typing. Last Monday after breakfast I walked to the Sultanahmet tram station, took the tram to the subway station, rode the ...
Blip on the Map
This is a top pick! Bit of a blip on the map today. We had heard that Izmir had one of the best traditional bazaars in all of Turkey, so we bought a bus ticket there from Pamukkale. What a big waste of time! Izmir is a bit of a hole and the bazaar? Well we didn't think it ...
Selcuk's sights unveil themselves
This is a top pick! We had a very full agenda today, first to visit The Virgin Mary's house, then to see Ephesus and see what else we could fit in. The guys at Jimmy's place gave us some advice on the best way to see the sights. One piece of advice was particularly useful. ...
A Virgin, a Turk, and a Saint Walk Into a Bar....
This is a top pick! I took a night bus from Instanbul to a town called Selcuk. The town itself is somewhat unremarkable, but is only three kilometres from one of the greatest ruins of the ancient world, Ephesus. When our bus was leaving the Sultanmanet area of Istanbul last ...
Busing It
This is a top pick! As if the six hour bus ride departing at 2:30AM wasn't going to be uncomfortable enough, I entered the bus to find a very robust women sitting in my seat asleep and overflowing into me the entire ride. It didn’t help that there were two women with ...