pinkbirdflies

A absolutely beautiful day cruising around the bays of the Turkish coast from Kekova on a lovely boat hosted by a Turkish family. The water was sublime in colour and temperature for lots of swimming in the bays and inlets. Fresh fish barbecued for dinner! So relaxing…my kind of day!

Drove along the coast to the Lycian city of Phaselis now just ruins set around three picturesque bays in which we swam in the warm clear water! Lunch was fresh trout in the mountains at a ‘waterfall’ restaurant. We reached Kas (pronounced Karsh) which was originally a fishing village and now a lovely holiday town with bougainvilleas and fish restaurants….you can see across to a Greek Island.

Visited the Mosque and tomb of Mervlana the founder of the Sufi and Whirling Dervishes which was just lovely but no photos allowed. Passed through flat farmland and crossed the Mountain Range to the Mediterranean coastal plain which was immediately more humid and the land quite fertile. Passed may crops of citrus, pomegranate, corn, stone fruit, vegetables and cotton which is amazingly all still handpicked here in turkey! Called in to see the ancient Roman amphitheatre of Aspendos which was stunning. Also saw an Aqueduct which are incredible feats of construction. Arrived in the city of Antalya and strolled the Mall before dinner near the main square where Muslim women were protesting in regards to a massacre in Syria they feel is being ignored. Walked home to the sound of the call to prayer again!

Travelled through the Cappadocia region to the Village of Belisirma (where the women wore amazing pants!). The group explored the incredible underground city of Derinkuyu where the whole town lived when under seige…kitchens, chapel, school, food storage and stables, water supply, hospital and morgue, it was all there…absolutely amazing. We hiked through the Valley of Ilhara following the Melendiz River passing caves and Byzantine cave chapels with biblical frescoes.Called in to a Caravanserai which were the ‘hotels’ for travellers and traders on the old silk routes  We arrived in the city of Konya and dined near the Mosque walking back to the hotel to the sound of call to prayers for the Muslims.

Rose Valley…Gozleme…Middle Castle…Turkish Dinner…Apple tea…Cherry Vodka…

A unique landscape of small valleys, cones, peaks and ‘fairy chimneys’….Ancient Christian Byzantine cave chapels…Whirling Dervishes…local ceramics…cave houses and villages….the Red River…fruit and vegetables growing in all sorts of places…

Explored the Anatolian Civilisation Museum of Ankara exhibiting a rich collection of archaeological artifacts from Anatolia. We then visited the Mausoleum of Turkey’s much revered leader Ataturk responsible for secularisation of Turkey, kind of like the war memorial in Canberra with a good depiction of the battle of Gallipoli. We drove to the region of Cappadocia through treeless, hilly to flat country with a lot of wheat production. A highlight was the massive Tuz Golu, a salt lake and one of the richest salt producing beds in the world. We then entered Cappadocia which was formed a millennium ago as volcanic ash first settled then hardened into soft rock, finally eroding forming the strange but fascinating spires, domes, pinnacles, gorges and “fairy chimneys”. Tried out the Turkish Hammam which was an interesting experience of scrubbing, sauna, massage on a large circular stone slab and wash down followed by apple tea which is quite delicious. Went to a ‘cave’ restaurant for meze, a Turkish beer and the traditional Pottery Kebab which we all had to break open.

Walked through the old town area of Istanbul to the Hippodrome and its obelisk and snake pillar before visiting the iconic 17th century Blue Mosque with its unique six minarets and 20,000 Iznik tiles. We then journey in our little bus to the capital city of Ankara. The development and new infrastructure was incredible and extensive as we left Istanbul and finally entered some fertile agricultural land adjacent to a mountain range before crossing through forested area into flatter drier country and reaching Ankara late.