Dardanelles Crossing - Darn It's Almost Over

We are back in Istanbul after crossing the Dardanelles via ferry. Street vendors were ruthless this morning, even following us onto the ferry from our hotel. Traveling to our hotel in the pouring rain we passed by the remaining walls of Constantinople and the last remaining aquaduct - simply amazing. Our farewell dinner is this evening and tomorrow we see Topkapi Palace and take a Bosphorus River cruise.

Pergamum - Troy - Canakkale

Pergamum was very interesting, but not as excavated as Ephesus. We had lunch at a local restaurant and got word that because of the end of the holiday the site at Troy would possibly open too late for us to visit, so we headed for Troy and then to our hotel. Troy wasn't much but the horse used in the movie was right outside out hotel. Canakkale was a great city. Our hotel was right on the waterfront and locals were all along the waterfront cafes, as well as the street vendors (food, jewelry etc). Sunday we head for Istanbul by crossing the Dardanelles. The trip is winding down.

Amazing Ephesus!!

Ephesus (Efes) was our trip today. Fascinating ruins and only 1/4 of the city has been excavated. Almost 250,000 people are believed to have lived here. There was a governmental square, a theater, homes, a brothel, a library and an extremely large theater. We also went to what is believed to have been the last home of the Virgin Mary high atop a mountain overlooking Ephesus. Very moving if you have any religious beliefs at all. After dinner some ladies and I walked down to the waterfront and saw horse carriages and how some of the locals spend their Friday nights - playing scrabble, card games, smoking water pipes and drinking Efes beer. We were invited to join the guys drinking Efes but declined. Tomorrow takes us to Canakkale via Pergamum.

Antalya - Pamukkale - Izmir

Thursday our journey took us from Antalya to Izmir via Pamukkale, where we saw the ancient city of Hieropolis (which allegedly means "Holy City") and the excavated cemetery (Necropolis). The city sits atop the hot springs, which I stepped in without busting my rear end as some did. The hot springs served as thermal baths during the thriving time of Hieropolis. It is believed that the city had approximately 100,000 inhabitants. After we left Pamukkale, we had a real adventure - out tour bus blew a water hose clamp or coupling. Luckily we were near a gas station and able to pull in off the highway. It took about an hour for the mechanic to arrive with the part and make the quick repair. That put us an hour or more behind in getting to our hotel.

Did I Say I LOVE Antalya?

I LOVE ANTALYA - never want to leave!!!!! Spent the entire day in and out of the Mediterranean. So glad I passed on the trip to Perge - although the ruins would have been awesome. We've met so many nice people from all over the world. A gentleman from London, several guys from Israel (one of them has a summer house here), and a couple from Canada, just to name a few. Tomorrow we head for Izmir via Pamukkale (to see the hot springs).

I LOVE Antalya!!

We are now in Antalya, which is in the southwest part of Turkey right on the Mediterranean. Tomorrow the ladies I have met from Trinidad and I are going to hang out at the hotel and soak up the Mediterranean sun. Here is a photo or two from my room.

Cappadocia And the Fairy Chimneys

Cappadocia - Sunday we left for Cappadocia - sort of the desert area of Turkey (central Turkey). All kinds of extraordinary rock formations and underground cities. When we arrived we went straight to Kaymakli underground city. Pretty interesting. As short as I am I had to bend over to maneuver through the entry passage to the 2nd level. All kinds of different rooms, The animal stables are on the first level and then there was a church on the second level. Then living quarters and kitchen. At every stop there are people hounding you to buy things - yes, I have supported the economy here. Our hotel was out away from town and the wi-fi was worse than dial-up. Monday I woke in the dead of night to the LOUD reminder for Muslims to rise and eat before sunrise. Back to sleep I went (after recording it of course) and the day took us to Gerome Valley and the Fairy Chimneys. There was also a visit to a Turkish rug factory. Monday evening after dinner we attended a Whirling Dervish performance. It is actually a religious sect here in Turkey that whirls as part of their prayer ceremony. Perfect silence is required and no cameras allowed. Bummer because I wanted to record it.