Hotel Anemon Ege Saglik Izmir

... familiar to me, I find I need assistance more and am remarkably getting it!

So, for a little blip on the map overshadowed by the larger center Izmir, I think we did quite well for a few days. And for being sick, nothing beats warm blankets, hot shower and toilet nearby. Hopefully we'll be able to set out tomorrow, although it may be by bus. Nice weather on the days we're sick, and now it's raining when we feel better. Of course!

... and sheep being sold on the sides of the road and several pick up trucks complete with a cow and a sheep in the back. It was a bizarre and yet quite fascinating thing to see. Just thought I'd share.)
Back at the hotel we finally unpacked, having simply dumped all our stuff in our room, ransacked the case for our football shirts and dashed off to the match. The hotel is amazing. We've got a king size bed! It's huge! as well as floor to ceiling windows on one wall which overlook the ...

... on the plane for another hour waiting for a gap in the air traffic so we could take off. But hey, we were almost in Izmir, and we hadn't yet missed the match. Finally at 12.30 we arrived at Izmir airport. Only 4 hours after our scheduled arrival time. We had to take a trip round the airport to the International Arrivals baggage claim in order to find our (new spangly 4-wheeled) suitcase, but there it was in all its wheely redness waiting for us! One last trip ...

I felt asleep before 630 last evening, and got up at 5 this morning. What a sound sleep! And an amazing new noon arose outside my window. The prayer sound made the context really turkish.

Our lunch was at a resort with a lake. There were no other customers but us, the participants at the conference. It cost 20 lira, so maybe too expensive for local people.

Dinner was lighter, but i still couldn't finish it.

... into a new era of unknown freedoms and change... where one can find wildflowers covering the rolling hillsides that have become the graves of many lost soldiers...

Our last stop before catching our flight home was in Izmir, the most "European" of Turkish cities... bathed in the cool breezes of the sea and surrounded by coastal mountains... displaying couples holding hands and kissing in the park... a rare scene in many parts of Islamic Turkey...

... voyager en avion était beaucoup moins cher que de prendre le bus , et beaucoup plus rapide bien sur !! Vu que je trace en syrie, la route en bus était dans les 50e et plus de 16 h .. Billet d'avion ŕ 15e !!!!!! et j'arrive pas loin d'antakya.. Je le saurais pour la prochaine fois .

... to see Ephesus (Efes), the biggest ruins / tourist trap in Turkey, and then bus ourselves somewhere "cooler", like Norway. The ruins are indeed pretty cool, having never been to Greece, I have no basis of comparison, but the large amphitheater (seats 24,000 or so) did have very nice acoustics. There were also enough tourists there to sink a cruise ship, and a nice little tourist shop selling "Genuine Fake Watches" - truth in advertising! We biked another 40k in the heat ...

... I had dinner as darkness fell drinking two cartons of ayran and a litre of fruit juice (I'd had a headache for the last 2 hours). I cycled the last 5km along an ever rockier road to the bottom of Mt Olimpos. At 10pm I set off uphill. I swiftly walked past a desk with a sign reading 'entry 2.50YTL'. In my tired state I'd forgotten to bring any money. I'd have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you pesky kids, I mean, I heard a burly Turkish guy call me back. I said that I ...

... with our emails correspondence and updated the blog. The barber happens to be next door so we decided it was time for a drastic haircut. Mark chose to have his hair shaved off with the clippers which almost jammed a couple of times. Mine was not as drastic but still insisted to have it cut pretty short. You get sick of combing your hair every time you remove your helmet. For 4 bucks, you get the full treatment with not ...

Our cruise stopped off in Turkey for a day. We toured a bazar/casbah and drank some tea.
I remember on our land approach, being surprised at how deep green colour the hills were, popluated with so many trees. The city buildings were a beautiful cream white colour - sublime beauty.