And so our sojourn drew to an end. A short morning for some final exploration or shopping in the precincts of our hotel, very near to an imposing section of aqueduct under which endless traffic streamed and an equally imposing great mosque, before setting off via a scenic back route full of very old buildings to Ataturk Airport for our 2pm flight back home. We were sorry to say farewell to Canadian Rob who would be spending the rest of his birthday on his own. He along with Ghanian Rob proved to be such gentlemen throughout the tour, gallant to the ladies and always ready with a steady hand when needed! Erdal too was there to say goodbye and I look forward to many happy years of working with him.
Ataturk Airport was crowded with passengers but without too much ado we found our way to the lounge and after spending the last of our Turkish lira we took leave of this wonderful welcoming land.
Our flight took us over the snow capped mountains of Easern Anatolia and across the Middle East. The sun had set by the time we landed in Abu Dhabi where we had a 2 and 3/4 hour wait for our flight home. The cross-section of nationalities passing through this busy airport provided enough entertainment as did a long conversation with two families from India! A great tubular centre funnel curves up to form the roof of the terminal, all in blue, green and white tiles. I felt as if I was a denizen of the deep in a very large aquarium!
Turkey beckons again. As much as we saw, so much have we more to see. Second time round I have made more sense of its multi-layered history. Its people are warm and hospitable, infinitely proud of their country. Its cuisine is lip-smackingly delectable – and a vegetarian would never go hungry. Its landscapes are diverse and all very beautiful in their own way. Its culture and history fascinating.
Tesekkur ederim, my Turkish friends! I will be back!
(Tesekkur ederim - thank you!)
Resources:
Eyewitness Travel Guide Turkey, Struik New Holland Publishing (PTY) LTD, Cape Town
Lonely Planet Guide: Turkey
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Day 12:Sunday 9 October - Istanbul
The morning was spent wandering down to the Grand Bazaar, which fortunately was 
closed! It meant that we discovered some other delightful nooks and courtyards instead. There is so much to see and experience in Istanbul! Lunch was a quick snack from a roadside kiosk in the lines of a doner kebab, spicy and scrumptious.
Bidding Rob and Champs a sad farewell – their company was much appreciated andenjoyed – the rest of us joined a bus group of other tourists visiting the 30-roomed Beylerbeyi Palace on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
Built by sultan Abdul Aziz between 1861 and 1865 the sumptuous palace was used for entertaining dignitaries and royalty.
At the time of its manufacture, the giant crystalchandelier from England in the main hall upstairs was the largest in the world and is now the 3rd largest. Ostriches and tigers were kept in the zoo on the palace grounds which lie ubeneath the Bosphorus Bridge, the 9th longest suspension bridge in the world. The 3rd last sultan was kept as a prisoner in an anteroom of the palace for 6 years and died there, almost forgotten, after being deposed in 1909.
A pleasant photo and refreshment stop on a nearby hill with magnificent views
followed. Charmaine, Rob, my mom and I chose to be dropped off at the Spice Market(Egyptian Market), which was bustling with Sunday afternoon visitors, but still enchanting. Spices, teas, fresh vegetables, pickles, honeys, sweets, deserts....a mouthwatering feast for all the senses.
A slow meander back to the hotel took us almost 5 hours as we stopped to enjoy a snack and beer in a colourful alley full of cushioned exotic spaces to relax and smoke a hubbly (or in our case watch others smoke the hubbly!). Before getting too settled and loathe to move, we ambled up to the pool between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque where the windless but chilly 15 degree C evening granted us the superb reflections we had hoped for. A tasty bowl of soup at a pavement restaurant was another salubrious stop before returning to the hotel, somewhat sad that our last evening in Istanbul was over.
closed! It meant that we discovered some other delightful nooks and courtyards instead. There is so much to see and experience in Istanbul! Lunch was a quick snack from a roadside kiosk in the lines of a doner kebab, spicy and scrumptious.
Bidding Rob and Champs a sad farewell – their company was much appreciated andenjoyed – the rest of us joined a bus group of other tourists visiting the 30-roomed Beylerbeyi Palace on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
Built by sultan Abdul Aziz between 1861 and 1865 the sumptuous palace was used for entertaining dignitaries and royalty.
At the time of its manufacture, the giant crystalchandelier from England in the main hall upstairs was the largest in the world and is now the 3rd largest. Ostriches and tigers were kept in the zoo on the palace grounds which lie ubeneath the Bosphorus Bridge, the 9th longest suspension bridge in the world. The 3rd last sultan was kept as a prisoner in an anteroom of the palace for 6 years and died there, almost forgotten, after being deposed in 1909.
A pleasant photo and refreshment stop on a nearby hill with magnificent views
followed. Charmaine, Rob, my mom and I chose to be dropped off at the Spice Market(Egyptian Market), which was bustling with Sunday afternoon visitors, but still enchanting. Spices, teas, fresh vegetables, pickles, honeys, sweets, deserts....a mouthwatering feast for all the senses.
A slow meander back to the hotel took us almost 5 hours as we stopped to enjoy a snack and beer in a colourful alley full of cushioned exotic spaces to relax and smoke a hubbly (or in our case watch others smoke the hubbly!). Before getting too settled and loathe to move, we ambled up to the pool between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque where the windless but chilly 15 degree C evening granted us the superb reflections we had hoped for. A tasty bowl of soup at a pavement restaurant was another salubrious stop before returning to the hotel, somewhat sad that our last evening in Istanbul was over.
Day 11: Saturday 8 October - Pergamum and the Asclepion
A leisurely breakfast stocked us up for our visit to Pergamum and the Asclepion, a two hour drive from Selcuk. With us to day was our delightfully eloquent and informative guide, Sevim, a retired school teacher and director of Wonder Tours who like Guray, brought our imaginations into play and re-created ancient history with verve and humour.
Passing Izmir on the outskirts, a great city full of low rise apartment blocks, we reached the shores of the Aegean, flat and waveless, and bordered in places by industry. Large refineries process oil brought by shipping tanker from Iran, Iraq and Russia and a great metal recycling factory unfortunately are blights on the landscape, creating air pollution, acid rain and dryness in an area once extensively cultivated.
Pergamum is wondrous. Perched high on the mountain above present day Bergama, the
sheer size of the temples, the theatre overlooking the green slopes of the hills across the valley and the ingenuity of their creators are mind-boggling. Its first inhabitant were the Aeolian Greeks who settled here in the 8th century BC. It flourished under the rule of Eumenes I who ruled from 263-241 BC. During his time, Pergamum was one of the greatest centres of learning in the world. Attulus III bequeathed the kingdom of Pergamum to Rome in 133 BC and it became the capital of the Roman province of Asia.
Most inspiring is the Temple of Trajan, built of white marble in the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian II and used to worship them and Zeus, the god of Thunder. The temple is supported on huge sturdy arches to gain level ground for its foundations. The library once held 200 000 parchment scrolls which were sent to the library at Alexandria by Mark Anthony as a wedding gift to Cleopatra.
After lunch we spent about 45 minutes in the region of the Red Basilica, an enormous and glorious building, originally a temple to the Egyptian gods Serapis, Isis and Harpocrates in the 2nd century AD. St John described it in the Book of Revelations as one of the seven churches of the Apocalypse and the throne of the devil.
The displays of carpets at the shops across the road enticed us in and some of our group went home with beautiful reminders of their time in Turkey!
Once world renowned as a healing centre, the Asclepion fascinated us. Its most
famous physician, Galen, was born in Pergamum, studied in Alexandria, Greece and Asia Minor and then became physician to Pergamum's gladiators. Treatments at the centre included massage, mud baths, healing waters, ointments and herbs, dream analysis and suggestion. We were shown the holes in the roof of the tunnel leading to the sleeping quarters where it is reputed that the doctors spoke down to their unwitting patients as if they were gods. We were told that only patients bound to be “cured” were admitted to the hospital, which flourished for over a 1000 years – the seriously ill were turned away!
We had elected to spend us much time as we could in Bergama so we had a long wait at Izmir airport for our 10.30 flight to Istanbul, which took all of 45 minutes. It was raining in Istanbul - and cold - and we were grateful to find our driver waiting for us. Upon arrival at the Grand Washington Hotel we had drama when one of our group discovered that he had lost his passport – which thankfully was located at the lost property office at Ataturk Airport and retrieved the next day. Our grateful thanks to Erdal for the effort he went to to find the lost document.
Charmaine's reflections:
For me Pergamum and the Asclepion were highlights and spectacular locations. Our guide, Sevim, truly brought 3000 years of history alive. Again it's barely comprehensible to imagine pulling mountainous marble steps to the top of a high hill as temples and aqueducts, libraries and secret passages, fountains and tombs took shape over the centuries. To have walked the same road as Alexander the Great (without the “hail the conqueror' salute!) is indeed peculiar. As Viv said, layers upon layers of civilization, history, unearthed, with aeons more to be discovered is very humbling.
Day 10: Friday 8 October - Selcuk, Ephesus and surrounds
A few early birds ventured out in 15 degrees C weather to stroll before breakfast, a simple affair in the courtyard or characterful dining area. Our fellow hotel guests were a group of French hikers doing a variety of day hikes in the area.
The bus arrived at 9.30 to take us to Ephesus, Guray again our guide, much to our delight. Ephesus was predictably crowded but it was still a very special excursion. Once the centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess (around 800 BC), who under the Ionians became Artemis, the virgin god of the hunt and the moon, Ephesus became the capital of Roman Asia, and Artemis became Diana. The sea, now 5 miles away, once lapped at the commercial centre of the city, the agora just below the theatre. The wealthy lived within the city walls while the general populace
lived under bamboo, wood or straw on the hills surrounding. Ephesus itself moved several times, being demolished by earthquakes and marauding Goths. The ruins we see today are of the city founded in the 4th century BC by Alexander the Great's successor, Lysinachus.
The visit to Mary's House after lunch, situated high up on the mountainside and
surrounded by tall trees in which squirrels chatted loudly, was a special experience even for the non-religious amongst us. St John the Evangelist brought Mary, mother of Jesus to Ephesus in AD 37 and it is in this little stone house which looks and feels like a small chapel inside that she spent the last years of her life. Outside, a priest was conducting a service for a small congregation and the singing which reached us inside sent goosebumps up my arms. Devout practitioners, both Muslim and Christian, stopped and prayed, bought candles and religious icons or holy water from the little kiosk outside and some added written messages or prayers of supplication to the wall full of them, knitted and knotted with handkerchiefs, shreds of fabric and ribbon. Emotive and tranquillising.
Instead of another visit to a workshop, we elected to be dropped at the St John's
Basilica after a visit to the one columned remains of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The friendly Imam at the imposing13th Century Bey Mosque below the Basilica proudly gave us its history before we ambled back to the hotel past characterful homes. Outside one were two women laying out a sour dough called tarhana, made from flour, yoghurt and tomatoes and other ingredients, then left to dry on large trays before being crushed and used as a flavourant in cooking.
Some of us mellowed out in the hamam this evening, a wonderful experience which left us feeling scrubbed and pummelled and very relaxed! We sought an indoor restaurant for supper, the first snow having fallen on the mountains in the east and the wind carrying its chill across much of Turkey.
Reflections from Charmaine:
Teeming and overwhelmingly busy, Ephesus is quite simply unbelievable. Steeped in history and a quite wondrous beauty. Hard to comprehend that democracy took its first infant steps in this city and that all lived side by side in tolerant acceptance of their differences. ...for quite some time. There is something to be said about following in the footsteps of St Paul and St John 2000 years later. Very spiritual experience....even for one with not a religious cell in her body!
Selcuk remarkably friendly, courteous and full of tempting goodies to buy!. The aqueduct still stands in ruined splendour in the heart of this small town. Pomegranates bulging from every tree, courtyards crowded with chairs and children and chatter...
The local markets at Karahayet were the best and spring to life as the locals strolled, shopped and chatted in numerous tongues. We chatted to an elderly retired school teacher, Syrian, who spoke lovely antique English and carried with him a pocket dictionary dated 1948! I would have loved to sit and sip tea and learn so much more of his life and experiences. His face was a picture to behold and aged 77, his eyes were piercingly blue, intent and wide.
Day 9: Thursday 7 October - Hierapolis
The bus only coming for us at 11.30, we had time for another wallow - this time in pools that were empty, the large coaches having left early in the morning.
Thursday is weekly market day in Karahayit so we had a glorious morning shopping with the locals on the field where goods of all types were being sold - clothing, plasticware, spices, olives and olive products, nuts and seeds, Turkish Delight, great round feta and other soft cheeses, an iced chilli drink which was spicy hot ….Our suitcases had to expand yet again!
The travertine terraces at Pamukkale, another World Heritage Site, could not fail to
impress, despite the cloudy weather and the chill wind blowing. The terraces from which Pamukkale gets its name, meaning “cotton castle”, are formed when the hot spring water flowing downhill loses its carbon dioxide, leaving behind deposits of limestone and pools of turquoise water.
Guray our guide is a great story teller and his commentary re the ruins of
Hierapolis was interspersed with the myths and legends of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Hierapolis was founded in about 190 BC by Eumenes ll, King of Pergama and
was ceded to Rome in 133 BC. Destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD, it was rebuilt and as a cure centre flourished under the Romans and the Byzantines when it had a Jewish and early Christian community. Successive earthquakes eventually took their toll and after a major one in 1334, the city was deserted. Water and deposits of travertine covered parts of the city. It is a fascinating area that requires more than an hour or two! The large necropolis contains more than 1200 tombs of varying shapes and sizes and it alone takes time to explore. The crystal clear pools with their sunken columns attract a large number of people who wish to take to the 'curative waters”.
We left Pamukkale just after 4pm and had no sooner reached the main Antalya- Izmir
highway when the radiator hose of the minibus blew and we had an unscheduled 1 ½ hour stopover at a roadside centre. It gave us the chance to fraternise with our fellow travellers, a young couple from German-speaking northern Italy. With two degrees under his belt , the young man was studying Mandarin and the Chinese culture so that he could understand the difficulties that the emigrants arriving in his area experienced, settling within a culture so very different from their native one. Lovely people!
At 9.30pm the Artemis Hotel in Selcuk came as a bit of a surprise. Not quite what we anticipated from recommendations on Trip-Advisor, but the helpfulness of hardworking Berkant and Simson supplying endless cups of tea and making sure that we were happily fed made up for shortcomings of the building itself. While we had a delicious supper at a nearby restaurant some of the problems were sorted out. Our table was outside but we were plied with jackets and pashminas to keep out the cold – re-affirming my impression of the warmth and courtesy of the Turkish people.
Thursday is weekly market day in Karahayit so we had a glorious morning shopping with the locals on the field where goods of all types were being sold - clothing, plasticware, spices, olives and olive products, nuts and seeds, Turkish Delight, great round feta and other soft cheeses, an iced chilli drink which was spicy hot ….Our suitcases had to expand yet again!
The travertine terraces at Pamukkale, another World Heritage Site, could not fail to
impress, despite the cloudy weather and the chill wind blowing. The terraces from which Pamukkale gets its name, meaning “cotton castle”, are formed when the hot spring water flowing downhill loses its carbon dioxide, leaving behind deposits of limestone and pools of turquoise water.
Guray our guide is a great story teller and his commentary re the ruins of
Hierapolis was interspersed with the myths and legends of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Hierapolis was founded in about 190 BC by Eumenes ll, King of Pergama and
was ceded to Rome in 133 BC. Destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD, it was rebuilt and as a cure centre flourished under the Romans and the Byzantines when it had a Jewish and early Christian community. Successive earthquakes eventually took their toll and after a major one in 1334, the city was deserted. Water and deposits of travertine covered parts of the city. It is a fascinating area that requires more than an hour or two! The large necropolis contains more than 1200 tombs of varying shapes and sizes and it alone takes time to explore. The crystal clear pools with their sunken columns attract a large number of people who wish to take to the 'curative waters”.
We left Pamukkale just after 4pm and had no sooner reached the main Antalya- Izmir
highway when the radiator hose of the minibus blew and we had an unscheduled 1 ½ hour stopover at a roadside centre. It gave us the chance to fraternise with our fellow travellers, a young couple from German-speaking northern Italy. With two degrees under his belt , the young man was studying Mandarin and the Chinese culture so that he could understand the difficulties that the emigrants arriving in his area experienced, settling within a culture so very different from their native one. Lovely people!
At 9.30pm the Artemis Hotel in Selcuk came as a bit of a surprise. Not quite what we anticipated from recommendations on Trip-Advisor, but the helpfulness of hardworking Berkant and Simson supplying endless cups of tea and making sure that we were happily fed made up for shortcomings of the building itself. While we had a delicious supper at a nearby restaurant some of the problems were sorted out. Our table was outside but we were plied with jackets and pashminas to keep out the cold – re-affirming my impression of the warmth and courtesy of the Turkish people.
Day 8: Wednesday 6 October - Karahayit
Grateful for the chance to enjoy a leisurely breakfast for a change, we were picked 
up by Zeynep at 9am and taken to the otogar, bidding her and Antalya a fond farewell. The 4-hour trip to Pamukkale was luxurious – tea, biscuits,a private tv screen to each seat for those who could tear their eyes from the beautiful scenery we passed through....olive groves, fields of vegetables, small villages encompassed by the mountain ranges. The staggering mountains around Antalya are rivalled by those surrounding the large city of Denizli where we were met by our driver who transported us by minibus to the Pam Hotel situated above the characterful little village of Karahayit, a few kms beyond the travertine terraces.
After checking in, it was time to wallow in the hot pools. With mud on our faces and little caps on our heads, we rendered ourselves unrecognisable in our quest to derive the beautifying properties from the mineral-rich spring waters!
Karahayit was bustling with later afternoon strollers, mainly locals shopping. We
joined them, buying jewellery, roasted mealies, t-shirts, pomegranate juice (tart but refreshing and apparently very beneficial to the innards!).....The sun was stetting by the time we wandered back to the hotel for the overwhelming buffet meal at 7.30. The large dining room was crowded and although the meal was a good experience some of us would have preferred to have dined with the locals in the little village. Heartily fed, the next stop was bed.
up by Zeynep at 9am and taken to the otogar, bidding her and Antalya a fond farewell. The 4-hour trip to Pamukkale was luxurious – tea, biscuits,a private tv screen to each seat for those who could tear their eyes from the beautiful scenery we passed through....olive groves, fields of vegetables, small villages encompassed by the mountain ranges. The staggering mountains around Antalya are rivalled by those surrounding the large city of Denizli where we were met by our driver who transported us by minibus to the Pam Hotel situated above the characterful little village of Karahayit, a few kms beyond the travertine terraces.
After checking in, it was time to wallow in the hot pools. With mud on our faces and little caps on our heads, we rendered ourselves unrecognisable in our quest to derive the beautifying properties from the mineral-rich spring waters!
Karahayit was bustling with later afternoon strollers, mainly locals shopping. We
joined them, buying jewellery, roasted mealies, t-shirts, pomegranate juice (tart but refreshing and apparently very beneficial to the innards!).....The sun was stetting by the time we wandered back to the hotel for the overwhelming buffet meal at 7.30. The large dining room was crowded and although the meal was a good experience some of us would have preferred to have dined with the locals in the little village. Heartily fed, the next stop was bed.
Day 7: Tuesday 5 October - Perge and Aspendos
A slightly later start to today – 8am! Ray wrote up the following:“
Set out by bus and joined by our guide Achmet, who led us through some of the most significant archaeological sites with a fact-filled commentary along the way. The sites included the theatre and the town centre (agora) at Perge, its main road with colonnades, public baths and water reticulation system. The highlight of the day was perhaps the enormous and impressive theatre at Aspendos, largely restored using original materials, and in which performances are still being staged.
After lunch we stopped at the Koprulu waterfall which is in a nature reserve and the more energetic amongst us climbed down umpteen stairs to the base of the falls- a
very pretty area.
Finally, we stopped at the well-know “Alice” leather works and were entertained by a glamorous fashion show and were given the opportunity to purchase leather garments.”
Perge was once near the sea, which is now about 11 kms away. It was one of the most important towns of ancient Pamphylia, had its heyday under the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. It declined in Byzantine times and was abandoned in the 7th century.
Aspendos was once the eastern most city of the kingdom of Pergamum and an important trading centre in Roman times. The magnificent theatre was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180) and can seat 12 000 people. It is said to be the best preserved theatre of the ancient world. It was restored in the 13th Century and after several centuries of neglect was brought to life again by Ataturk.
The remains of the Roman aqueduct nearby once again left us awed by ancient ingenuity and skill and led to a profound discussion on engineering, Rob from Ghana being a civil engineer!
Before lunch we also visited the quaint village of Side (“pomegranate”) which is
surrounded by Roman ruins and boasts the Temples of Apollo and Athena on its shores, dating from the 2nd century. Perfect photo opportunities! Side was first settled by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC and became a centre of the slave trade and piracy in the 2nd century BC. It was burned by Arab raiders in the 7th century, revitalised by the Seljuks and resettled by Muslims returning from Crete during the population exchange of the 1920s.
My mom and I hoped to have a swim below the harbour walls when we returned to Antalya but the sea was very choppy so instead we had a lovely start to the evening watching the sundowner boats see-sawing (sea-sawing?!) out of the harbour. After supper a few of us went down to see the harbour lit up and browsed through the shops in the narrow streets in the vicinity of the hotel.
Charmaine's reflections on Antalya:Exceptionally modern merged in ancient. A sleepy-time warped town now a centre of tourism and light industry. A delightful place. Kekova Island and beyond can only be reached by boat or on foot. Magic place to escape to some time! St Nicholas Church a place for devout pilgrims and despite the crowds of followers it felt very special to be there. The theatre nearby and the beautiful tumbled marble carving and statuettes- magical!
Set out by bus and joined by our guide Achmet, who led us through some of the most significant archaeological sites with a fact-filled commentary along the way. The sites included the theatre and the town centre (agora) at Perge, its main road with colonnades, public baths and water reticulation system. The highlight of the day was perhaps the enormous and impressive theatre at Aspendos, largely restored using original materials, and in which performances are still being staged.
After lunch we stopped at the Koprulu waterfall which is in a nature reserve and the more energetic amongst us climbed down umpteen stairs to the base of the falls- a
very pretty area.
Finally, we stopped at the well-know “Alice” leather works and were entertained by a glamorous fashion show and were given the opportunity to purchase leather garments.”
Perge was once near the sea, which is now about 11 kms away. It was one of the most important towns of ancient Pamphylia, had its heyday under the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. It declined in Byzantine times and was abandoned in the 7th century.
Aspendos was once the eastern most city of the kingdom of Pergamum and an important trading centre in Roman times. The magnificent theatre was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180) and can seat 12 000 people. It is said to be the best preserved theatre of the ancient world. It was restored in the 13th Century and after several centuries of neglect was brought to life again by Ataturk.
The remains of the Roman aqueduct nearby once again left us awed by ancient ingenuity and skill and led to a profound discussion on engineering, Rob from Ghana being a civil engineer!
Before lunch we also visited the quaint village of Side (“pomegranate”) which is
surrounded by Roman ruins and boasts the Temples of Apollo and Athena on its shores, dating from the 2nd century. Perfect photo opportunities! Side was first settled by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC and became a centre of the slave trade and piracy in the 2nd century BC. It was burned by Arab raiders in the 7th century, revitalised by the Seljuks and resettled by Muslims returning from Crete during the population exchange of the 1920s.
My mom and I hoped to have a swim below the harbour walls when we returned to Antalya but the sea was very choppy so instead we had a lovely start to the evening watching the sundowner boats see-sawing (sea-sawing?!) out of the harbour. After supper a few of us went down to see the harbour lit up and browsed through the shops in the narrow streets in the vicinity of the hotel.
Charmaine's reflections on Antalya:Exceptionally modern merged in ancient. A sleepy-time warped town now a centre of tourism and light industry. A delightful place. Kekova Island and beyond can only be reached by boat or on foot. Magic place to escape to some time! St Nicholas Church a place for devout pilgrims and despite the crowds of followers it felt very special to be there. The theatre nearby and the beautiful tumbled marble carving and statuettes- magical!
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