Istanbul and my last stop in Turkey

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  Istanbul, Turkey
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

As I sit down to write this it's difficult to think that I just got into Turkey a little over a month ago, it oddly feels like I've been here much longer. Actually it was on the Fourth of July when I entered from Syria and surprisingly fireworks weren't on the agenda. The reason it feels so long is due to my pace of travel and the amount of the country I've covered in my time here; and not an indication of my feelings about Turkey. As I get ready to leave, I already know I will miss it. I'll miss the muezzin blaring from the minarets calling the faithful to prayer five times daily (I won't miss the dawn call to prayer). I'll miss the helpful and friendly people (carpet sellers excluded). I'll miss the myriad types of kebabs. I'll miss the cay bahcesi's (tea gardens) occupying open areas in every city where old men and couples come to just sit, drink tea and while away the hours. Mostly I'll miss the busrides and the dramatic landscape that unfolded through the window. Buses are how you travel here, and they come in every variety and size

01 Mosaics from Antakya Museum

. I have been on huge, luxurious, air-conditioned Mercedes Benz coaches and I've melted on 12 seat dolmuses with my bag in my lap. I've had children throw-up on me and I've been sprinkled with perfume (still undecided on which is worse). Only once was it practical to take an overnight busride, which simply served to remind me that I do not like overnight busrides. But regardless of what it was like inside the bus, outside my window was always an amazing, often surprising and totally captivating view. Moonscapes, rock covered hills, wheat covered fields, gray granite cliffs, moss covered rock piles, alpine forests, red and gold mountains, seas of sunflowers, neatly lined rows of orchards, purple salt lakes, turquiose waters crashing against golden sandstone walls, gray and brown mountains sloping into vivid blue waters, ships sailing on the horizon, snow covered peaks, and sandy shored islands. Every destination on these busrides proved as diverse as the scenery on the way.

From Syria I came into Turkey overland into Antakya. My goal was to travel through the east of the country before coming back through the center to the coast and then up to Istanbul. Basically making a figure eight. This seemed simple enough, except I had no map and once again no guidebook. I wasn't too worried, thinking Turkey is well travelled and they use Latin letters in their alphabet, so of course I would have no problem

02 One more

. This would have been somewhat true if I had gone solely to the more travelled areas of Western Turkey. Eastern Turkey is a different story. The first thing I learned about Turkey is that few tourists means few people who speak English. Getting a map to plan my route taxed all my non-verbal communication skills. On the second day I made it safely to Sanliurfa (just Urfa for Turks) and found a great room in an old 19th century palace. The city was extremely conservative, as was most of Eastern Turkey, and headscarves were the norm. I lingered for a couple of nights and got my first exposure to Turkish television and hospitality. "Come, sit, have some Cay (tea) and watch T.V.." What I learned from the tube: 1.Baywatch is far more enjoyable when you are forced to make up your own dialogue. 2.Desperate Housewives is pretty popular and Turkish men find Eva Longoria just as attractive as American men. 3. "Oriental Dance" is their own unqique version of American Idol with belly dancing instead of singing. Great show. 4.They love music videos and often sing along. The song about "gasoline" (?) seems to be one of the most popular. (If someone hipper than I could please clarify the lyrics it would be appreciated.)

I left Urfa and travelled up to Khata to explore Mt. Nemrut and the amazing collosal statues from the small Commagene Kingdom. Upon disembarking from the minibus I was accosted by my first Turkish tout trying to sell me a sunset tour to Mt

03 Moonscape between Antakya and Sanliurfa

. Nemrut. After 2 hours of him magically reappearring I got him to drop his price from 60YTL to 30YTL and include one nights accomadation. I was patting myself on the back until 500 flies woke me at 5a.m. the next morning in my "free" room. The tour was great though and I was accompanied by 2 Korean med students and a Turkish man and his mother. I was very happy to see another tourist (my first in quite awhile) even though their English was limited and my Korean non-existent. The sunset from Mt. Nemrut was worth far more than 30YTL and I was extremely pleased that I had made this little detour. From Khata I went to the golden hillside city of Mardin, where I learned a valuable lesson. While I am not allergic to North American wasps, I am apparently allergic to their Turkish cousins. So in addition to Mardin's gift of amazing views into Syria, I was given the unique souvenir of a swollen man-boob and a painful third nipple.

After one night in Mardin (where I once again had a room in a restored 19th century palace) I travelled all day to Van near the Iraqi border. This might have qualified as my favorite busride in Turkey. Leaving the hot plains of the south and moving into cooler mountainous regions was a welcome change. Each of the towns and villages we passed had that pleasant, gritty feel of places that spend more time covered in snow than not. As the bus followed the curving contours of the mountains, the sea-like Lake Van would appear and dissappear from between the steep snow-covered peaks

04 Rizvaniye Vakfi Camii and Medresesi...Sanliurfa

. This was mirrored by the shyly curious girl who performed a dissappearing act of her own from behind her mother's shoulder in the seat in front of me. The pleasure of the scenery came to an abrupt end when the constant curves took their toll on the little girl, causing her to projectile vomit on me from over the security of her mother's shoulder. I made it to Van just in time for a quick shower and dinner, before settling in to watch the World Cup Finals. Unfortunately Zidane lost his cool, France lost the game and I called it a night. The next day I took several dolmuses and hitched rides to Lake Van where I took a ferry to an Armenian church located on an island. Back in Van I learned that walking into an opened man-hole on the sidewalk isn't just reserved for cartoon characters and Inspector Clouseau. Note to self: watch where you are walking. That night as I was looking for a place to have dinner, this Kurdish man approached and introduced himself asking if I wouldn't mind his company as he would like to practice his English. For me it was a great opportunity to learn about the Kurdish conflict in eastern Turkey while gaining some valuable practice at speaking Turkish. After two nights in Van, I travelled to Dogubayazit at the base of Mt. Ararat. While I didn't go trekking to see the remains of Noah's Arc on the mountain, I did go visit one of the most fantastic buildings I've seen on my trip. Ishak Pasa Palace is situated on a rocky plateau surrounded by sheer cliffs with views back over the valley

05 Another view

. The scenery was astounding and the building had great Armenian reliefs and Russian influenced domes. Back in Dogubayazit, I spent the afternoon discussing obtaining a visa for Iran. I hate to be told "no" so I thought I would give it one more chance here. Mehmet felt confident that he could obtain a visa for me, so I gave him some money and we exchanged emails. I gave up on hearing from Mehmet about a week ago, so it looks like Iran is not possible. Even if I had gotten the visa, I am not sure I could have justified going based upon current events in Lebanon and the cloud from the UN resolution concerning their nuclear program. Of course most disconcerting was Irans recent announcement outlawing certain western words. I just don't think I can call "pizza" by its new government approved name, "elastic loaf". Luckily however, I was able to get a guide book for Turkey and I once again had my security blanket.

I followed my original plan of travelling back towards the center of Turkey along the Black Sea coast from where I would drop down to central Turkey and then on towards the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. After Dogubayzit, I spent two uneventful days in Erzerum. From there my first stop on the Black Sea coast was Trabzon, a fairly large port city with a quaint central square overrun by Russians on holiday. I really enjoyed Trabzon, partly because it was the first place I had been in Turkey where I could enjoy a cold beer while sitting outdoors people watching

06 Castle overlooking Mosque in Sanliurfa

. On my first full day, I walked over to Aya Sofya, an old church overlooking the Black Sea. On the walk back I encountered a small demonstration of about 400-500 people. This was right after Israel had started bombing Lebanon, and since the only words I could make out were "Israel", "America", and "Bush", I figured this was what they were demonstrating against. Just as I was debating the safety of taking a few photographs, the crowd in unison began chanting "Yankee Go Home! Yankee Go Home!" While I'm not vain enough to think they were referring specifically to me, I was clever enough to take this as a good signal to leave and go enjoy one of those cold beers. On my second day, I took a tour up to Sumela Monastery perched on the side of one of the alpine mountains south of Trabzon. The monastery housed some absolutely amazing frescoes and provided unrivaled views out over the surrounding mountains. As the bus arrived at the bottom of the trail leading up to the monastery, and everyone started to get out, I hear "Jun, Jun" from behind me and turn around to see my Korean friends who I had met while touring Mt. Nemrut. I also met a cool young couple from Denmark, Mathius and Nanna, who met me for beers later that night where we talked until the place closed.

Leaving Trabzon after three nights brought me along the coast to Samsun. While the trip along the coast was splendid with it's views of the Black Sea, not as much could be said for Samsun which was another overgrown port city with none of the charm of Trabzon

07 View back over Sanliurfa from Castle

. After one night I started heading south and stopped in Amasya for a couple of nights. This was a truly charming place situated on a river with quaint old Ottoman houses lining the streets and Pontic Tombs cut into the cliffs towering over the valley. Next I headed to Ankara, the capital of Turkey and one of its' biggest cities. Quite a contrast from Amasya. The main reason I visited was to visit the US embassy and get more pages in my passport, which my friend Richard had researched for me. The visit to the embassy was quite a surprise as I wasn't expecting to be shuttled to the front of the line and get preferential treatment over all the people waiting in lines both outside and inside the embassy. Unbelievably they put 20 new pages in my passport while I waited for 20 minutes. It took longer than 20 minutes just to find the embassy. Ankara was much better than I had expected and the Ataturk Mausoleum and Museum was fantastic. Ataturk is an interesting character and everywhere you go in Turkey you see statues and photos of him. The story of the Turkish Republic is the story of Ataturk and all he did to force Turkey into a more modern, democratic age. Whithin 10 years of establishing his secular, republic he created a new Latin alphabet, outlawed religious head coverings (no more Turbans), gave women rights previously non-existent and tried to turn Turkey towards the West. In doing so he created an environment where certain personal freedoms were abolished while creating others that fit his idea of what Turkey should be

08 Watching the sunset

. The result is a country that is still divided between the conservative east and the more liberal, European leaning west.

On my trek south I stopped in Goreme in the Cappadochia region for a few nights. This is easily the most bizarre region of Turkey and also one of the most beautiful. This lunar landscape is covered with cave dwellings, ancient curches, underground cities and amazing charm. Stupidly I opted for staying in a cave, which I would never reccomend to anyone I liked unless you are fond of sleeping in a cool, clammy, humid hole. Otherwise, Goreme was incredible. The Goreme Open Air Museum with its collection of Byzantine, rock-cut churches displaying fantastic frescoes was one of the highlights. Goreme was also the place where I lost resistance to the lure of the carpet dealers and blew a months travel allowance on carpets. My last night in Goreme also brought me the good fortune of meeting two good friends from New Zealand, Jeff and Helen. I was waiting to board the night bus to the coast and stopped into a cafe for a little dinner. I was checking out the menu to find something I hadn't tried yet whem their order was brought to their table. Luckily for me, it was the wrong order so I told the waiter I would take it. I had wanted to try Testi Kebab ever since I learned it wasn't a kebab made from a singular, unappetizing part of the anatomy. It is actually a bunch of meat and vegetables cooked in an enclosed clay jar that is broken open at your table and dumped on to your plate

09 On the road from Khata to Mt. Nemrut

. Very good. I learned that Helen and Jeff were on the same bus as I and we ended up spending the next few days together. The night bus was as awful as it always is, leaving me feeling exhausted once I arrived in Olympus. Jeff, Helen and I looked for a place in nearby Ciraeli, as oppossed to staying in a treehouse and listening to all night parties in Olympus, which proved to be a good idea as we found an amazing place tucked into an apple orchard about a 5 minute walk from the beach, even though it surprisingly took us over an hour to find. The lady who owned it was easily one of the most angelic people I have ever encountered. She served us amazing breakfasts every morning and prepared for us one of the best dinners I have had. My two days included a lot of lounging around on the beach and swimming in the temperate Mediterranean. I did manage a brief walk through the ruins of Olympus and one long walk with Helen and Jeff up to Chimeara to see tha flames shooting out of the rocks where the Olympics started.

Leaving Chiraeli was hard because I wasn't ready to leave the Mediterranean, so I moved down the coast to Fethiye. The ride along the coast was fantastic and every village we passed looked lýke the perfect place to stay. I stupidly chose Fethiye, which had no beach but a large Marina with boats taking Europeans on holiday up and down the coast. Fethiye wasn't for me so after 2 nights I moved on to Pamukkale

10 Roman Bridge going to Nemrut

. Pamukkale has the second strangest sight in Turkey, the snow white travertines beneath the ruins of Hieropolis. The travertines are stark white calcified rock formations that make up the better part of the hillside going up to Hieropolis. It was an amazing sight made even more bizarre by the scantily attired foriegners bathing in the pools and then walking through the ruins above. See the photo attached for an idea of what I am talking about. The bizzare part is someone walking around in a thong while passing muslim women covered from head to toe. Adter one night in Pamukkale, I moved on to Selcuk to see the ruins of Ephesus and catch my first glimpse of the Aegean Sea. On arrival, I headed straight to Ephesus to see one of the largest ancient ruins from Pre-Roman and Roman times. It was a huge sight with some amazing ruins like the Library of Celsus. On the way out of the ruins I bumped into Helen and Jeff again amd we agreed to meet later for beers. On my second day in Selcuk I went to the beach for what I thought would be a nice, quiet day of reading and swimming. Wrong. I didn't know what day of the week it was and the beach was packed with Turkish families spending their Sunday together enjoying the cool waters. It always surprises me when I loose track of the day of the week. Like waking up in Syria on a Friday and finding everything closed or Sundays in Turkey. I did manage to find a small plot of sand to sit, but instead of reading I just people watched as children buried their fathers in the sand, grandfathers struggled to blow up inflattable rafts, grandmothers fussed over grandchildren and mothers tried to prepare food while finishing what the grandfather started and admonishing their husbands for tracking sand onto their blanket fortress

11 Notice the castle at the top

. It turned out to be a fun day, though the Aegean is much colder than the Mediterranean.

On my way up the coast to Istanbul I stopped in Canakkale for a couple of nights to visit Troy and possibly the Gallipoli battlefields. I made it to Troy the first day and while their wasn't too much to see beyond some ruined walls and foundations, it was still exciting to stand in the shadows of Achilles, Hector, and Paris. Troy was discovered and excavated in the 19th century. What is amazing is that Homers account of the Trojan War was thought to be legend, but Homer's description of its location in the Iliad is how the archeologists found it. What they discovered and continue to excavate is actually nine cities one on top of the other dating back to 3000 B.C.. The Troy of King Priam from the Trojan Wars is thought to be Troy VI. Because it took the better part of the day to get to and from Troy, I decided to skip Gallipoli, even though it was easy to see across the Dardenelles from Canakkale. The next day I took the first bus to Istanbul. This was supposed to be a 5 hour trip but we somehow managed to strech it out to a full 8 hours. This was the worst bus ride I had im Turkey. The first seven hours were filled with a muppet faced little girl screaming what sounded like the lyrics of a Ramones song. "Gaba Gaba WEEE, Gaba Gaba GOOO." Unfortunately the mother and father had given up any efforts at trying to quiet her, and gratefully the got off before Istanbul

12 Mithridates I & Hercules in Arsameia

. The bad news is they were replaced by another family, whose mother had bathed in garlic and sour milk before boarding the bus. She had the seat behind me. Great. I did finally make it to Istanbul and after 2 hours I finally found the hotel I had booked online. With my fortunes improving I set out to see some of Sultanahmet and promptly bumped into Jeff and Helen again. I thought they had already left to return to New Zealand, but they had one more day so we had dinner together and went to the sound and light show at the Blue Mosque. The following morning we met up to tour Topkapi Palace (very cool) and have some lunch before they departed to the airport. Unfortunately I think I ruined their last meal in Turkey as I had a bit of a row with the waiter, who refused to show the menu (with included the prices). Sorry Jeff and Helen. The last few days have been great and Istanbul has left a very favourable impression on me. It truly is one of the greatest cities you could ever see; infused with great culture, splendid old buildings, charming nieghborhoods, paths of water that dividing the city up into seperate quarters and breathtaking views. I won't list all the great buildings and sights but I will say that Aya Sofya is amazing beyond reasonable description. What was first considered the greatest church in Christendom, when it was completed by Emperor Justinian in 537 A.D., and what later became a mosque under Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, still holds sway over all the other buildings that have tried to compete with it's grandeour.

As I said earlier, I know I will miss Turkey and now I will miss Istanbul. Turkey can easily be considered one of my favorite places on my trip. Oh yeah..I'll miss the evil eye charms everywhere you turn, the abundant availlability of cherry juice, neverending offers of tea, red-tiled roofs, but mostly the busrides.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

13 Dork and head of Mithra (Apollo)	14 Fortuna on Nemrut	15 King Antiochus	16 Steles on Nemrut
17 Sunset	18 Two boys in Mardin	19 View up to Mardin and Castle	20 Man and donkey in Mardin
21 Sunset across the plains below Mardin	22 Ataturk statue in Mardin	23 On the boat in Lake Van	24 Akdamar Kilisesi in Lake Van
25 Ishak Pasa Palace in Dogubayazit	26 View of Mosque and fortress wall from Palace	27 Detailed carvings in Palace	28 Me in Ishak Pasa Palace
29 Inside first courtyard of Palace	30 Mt Ararat of Noahs Arc fame	31Minaret of Yakutiye Medrese in Erzurum	32 Cifte Minareli Medrese from 1200's in Erzurum
33 Looking out over Erzurum from Castle	34 Armenian tombs in Erzurum	35 Aya Sofya in Trabzon with Black Sea behind	36 Frescoe from inside Aya Sofya Trabzon
37 Trabzon	38 Mehmet the Conquerer in Trabzon	39 Mountains around Trabzon	40 Sumela Monastery near Trabzon
41 Frescoes inside Sumela	42 My Korean friends at Sumela	43 Amasya with Pontic tombs in background	44 Cobbled streets and Ottoman houses in Amasya
45 View of Amasya from Pontic Tombs	46 Amasya main square	47 Correctly colored Longhorns? in Ankara Museum	48 Tour guide Ankara
49 View from Castle above Ankara	50 Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara	51 The cave room in Goreme	52 Walking to Goreme Open Air Museum
53 Goreme Open Air Museum	54 Frescoes inside church cave	55 Dying yarns for carpet in Goreme	56 Making carpets
57 Just for Dave	58 Goreme panoramic	59 Olympus	60 Flames of Chimaera
61 Travertines at Pamukkale	62 Are you Kidding? Roman Theatre at Hierapolis	63 More travertines	64 Still more
65 Great Theatre at Ephesus	66 Library of Celsus at Ephesus	67 Fertility godess Cybele/Artemis in Selcuk Muze	68 Crazy stork outside bathroom window in Selcuk
69 Trojan horse at Troy	70 Looking to the Dardanelles from Troy	71 Looking across to Gallipoli from Canakkale	72 Another Trojan horse in Canakkale
73 Blue Mosque Istanbul	74 Whirling Dervish in Istanbul	75 Sultans toilet in Topkapi Palace	76 Inside Topkapi Palace
77 Prince's room in Tokapi	78 Helen and Jeff at Topkapi Palace	79 Blue Mosque up close	80 Inside Blue Mosque
81 Aya Sofya Istanbul	82 Inside Aya Sofya	83 Aya Sofya is Big	84 Aya Sofya at night
85 Blue Mosque at night

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