Home and hosed

Well it's over and the washing is nearly all done, all I have to do is go back to work on Saturday and Turkey will be in the distant past. Have been watching the sad news about the Earthquake and sending all my love to the lovely people we met and hoping all will improve soon.

We did stop in at Singapore on the way home for a bit of R & R but was slightly disappointed by all the high-rise and very familiar shopping malls - could have been in Sydney except for the heat and humidity !!

Our hotel lobby




And shopping, you can just hear the husband's groaning in the background !!!




That's all till next time

Love Wendy and Graeme

Istanbul again and again

Back here in the Golden City Hotel we are given our old room back with it's beautiful view of the mosques and water.




Almost feel like we could stay here but not quite - it is good to be heading home

See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Goodbye Yuvacali Village No 1

Almost back in WiFi land and 3 days have passed very quickly. We have thoroughly enjoyed our farm stay experience and the peace and quiet of the countryside after busy Sanliurfa. Our day tours were in a private fiat car/ van which are very popular here in Turkey, and our drivers all part of the family - first Mustafa ( Alison of Nomad Tours husband )and then his brother Mehmet. They are part of a family of 16 surviving children, grown up in Yucavali. Our hostess is their sister Pero and with her husband Halil and boys Faruk and Fatih and daughter Aylin made up our extended family.




We ate and slept in their main room (except when we slept on the roof under the stars ) . On the first day our tour was to the ancient city of Harran, famous in the old testament and for it's beehive shaped houses and many layered castle ruins from Roman times.







In the evening we visited with the neighbours ( more uncles and the grandmother ) and they showed off Graeme with the many sheep ( average around here is 15 - 100 per family ) apparently he is rich and important enough to be a member of Parliament here and also have many more wives !!!! Although they generally only have one at a time these days but good luck to those who have more as the women do most of the work around here.

This is Pero making the bread - it is blurry because she moved so fast !!!



And these are the sheep going off to sleep with their shepards watching and Halil treating one of his for mastitis.




See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Goodbye Yuvacali Village. No 2

Day 2 was off to Mt Nemru by heading North with Mehmet and over the Euphrates via car ferry and then winding to almost the 2400 m summit until we walked up and up to the statues in the clouds. It was freezing and very windy - and somehow my thermals brought all the way from Bathurst for the occasion got taken out of the backpack before we left the village and repacked by Mr Busy in the big bags. Almost bearable until it started to sleet and my legs in their thin skirt went blue - but the experience was worth it.









Back down it was almost warm in the sunshine and we dried out as we walked around a Roman ruin on the top of a cliff with amazing tunnels into the limestone mountains. No one said to bring a torch !!!




Home was past an almost intact Roman bridge at the end of a deep ravine - and no tourists to be seen except an intrepid German couple who we had met a few times over the course of the day.

The rain fell on the plains too and the farmyard turned to mud - but inside was warm and the food lovely and plentiful and there were many cups of Turkish tea.

See you sooner than before

Love Wendy and Graeme

It's easy to get lost in Sanliurfa Bazaar !!!

The castle was easy enough to find - it's on top of the hill ! We wandered amonst the rubble up top for a while and peered into the dusty moat and then clambered out via a long, steep and windy tunnel. Not good after seeing ones husband standing on the brink of the castle walls to take photos and of course no railings in sight. The tunnel went down and down from stone block to rough hewn walls and finally we found the sun again.



It is Saturday so everyone was out for some sunshine and to visit the pools of Abraham, where legend has it he was saved from the fires of King Nimrod - now there are some very well fed fish in a pretty park and a very big mosque.


Heading back to the guesthouse after buying some presents for the village school we visit tomorrow, we ventured into the labyrinthine bazaar area - full of shoes and scarves and nicknacks as well as sheeps testicles ( and other assorted bits ) and blacksmiths and furniture makers - and ventured out via another door altogether into narrow lanes between stone houses and backs of shops that seemed to go on forever. Luckily we are not wandering there still !! But the people here are so friendly we would only have had to ask and we would have been shown the way.

As we were when trying to find the mosaics museum - well marked on the map if only it was correct and the mosaics were in a building as indicated not under a very large tent !!! Thank you Turkish old guy and truck driver man.


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Ganziantep to Sanliurfa

We thought that Ganziantep was a bit too busy and grey when we arrived yesterday but then we found the baclava and all was ok.
After sleep we happened apon the market place and enjoyed the small shops and windy streets.


Some school boys found us amusing and followed chatting in Turkish and saying hello hello for quite a while - I was telling them they would be late for school, but Graeme was sure they had no intentions of going - a wagger from way back !!!
The copper smiths and blacksmiths were busy with their hammers and fires and the place was busy with shoppers - and not a tourist to be seen !!!
Sheeps head soup for lunch anyone ??


Not speaking Turkish here is a bit of a problem - in restaurants and bus stations, but sign language is pretty universal as well as having a map to point to . Our hotel guy in Antep must have thought we would never make it so he sent the lobby boy to drive us to the otogar and then show us how to buy the tickets and which bus to get on - sure we would have made it ourselves eventually but who can turn down such service !!!

See you soon

Wendy and Graeme

Fairy chimney's of Goreme

Beautiful Goreme, so glad we braved the bus to come back here. Graeme is convinced he can now drive his tractor around town and it would be cool !!!
We walked out of town and up one of the valleys this morning and it was just delightful - away from the crowds we picked wild grapes and walked in the grasses and looked up at the chimneys and climbed as high as we dared.







Back in the village we walked lots of narrow streets and admired the cave hotels, big and small. Our host Mustafa tells us that 80% of town is involved in tourism in some way, but this is good for the locals and business is great.

We have met a few Australians here, the Turkish men must be appealing as there are a few women who have married and stayed, and then a lovely young girl who was waitressing after only being here 2 weeks - when we talked about the women who stay she smiled and said she should leave soon, but perhaps it's already too late !!

One last photo before bed - doesn't do the scene justice though and i'm not good at night shots.


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

The Night Bus

The sun arrived in Pamukkale the day we left so got some shots from the bottom of the Travertines looking up at the dazzling white slopes.



Then the dreaded night bus was easy enough to book and catch in Denizli but the lovely modern coach then broke down about 40 km out of town - many men later we transferred to another coach in the rain and commenced our 10 hour trip at midnight. It is a bit bizarre pulling up at 3am to a pitstop with 13 other coaches and the smell of fresh cooking gozlame and trays of Turkish tea. Chocolate was a good alternative !!!! Surprisingly enough we then got a bit of sleep and woke for the next stop somewhere in Turkey and finally reached our destination at 8am - not quite sure how they made up the time but who questions such things !!

It was a delight to be picked up at the bus stop by our host from the Arch Palace Hotel and let into our room then invited to complimentary breakfast - never happens in a big hotel!!!

View from our window is pretty special.


The village of Goreme is a tourist heaven but with locals living as well, drying their chillies and tomatoes in the sun and driving their tractors to backgammon in the afternoon. We ventured to the Turkish Bath - about time too as it was delightful to be scrubbed clean although I looked like a lobster afterwards care of the sauna and hot marble slab. Not to my husbands taste but he did have a hot swarthy Turkish man to look after him, not the nice young ladies as found in the woman's Hamman

No photos here.......


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Pamukkale - blowing a gale one minute, raining the next !!!!

Said goodbye to our good traveling friends and the good weather and now we are off in the wilds of Turkey on our own. Managed the tram - train - plane - coach - minibus transfers with no drama and the Melrose House Hotel is small and friendly.

Woke to a blustery, dusty gale forefeet wind this morning a bravely set off for the ruins of Heiropolis and the Travertines as the weather looked like it would not improve over the day - how right we were. The guide books don't fully explain the white marble hillside so as much as I was prepared to take off my shoes to walk over the formations I was not prepared for the water to be flowing over them as well !! Imagine a flowstone formation in a limestone cave, then make it as big as a hillside and running with clear warm water and that is what this place is almost like.





There was a path to the top which was sort of protected from the wind and we paddled up and then met the tourist hoards who arrive from the top bus park in well, busloads. It is surprisingly not slippery at all and the hot spring water is lovely to walk in. At the top it started to rain so luckily we had already seen our fill of Roman ruins so we found our way to the Ancient Baths which had a large covered cafeteria to shelter under.



We had thought to visit these pools tomorrow but discovered that as they were on the inside of the ruin complex we would have to pay entry again to visit later so despite the lack of swimmers or towels and the rain we of course went on in ( for extra Lire and me in my shirt and knickers ) Those rain coats we had carried around for the last 2 sun filled weeks finally came in handy when we got out and needed dry things to wear !!!! The water was 36 degrees and clear to the gravel and marble columned bottom and Cleopatra used to swim here as well ( but perhaps not in her undies !!!!!) We swam until we were wrinkly and then braved the rain again to paddle back down the Travertines and back to the village.

It is still raining so a quiet day might be in order tomorrow before the dreaded night bus back to Goreme in Cappodocia.

See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Leaving Istanbul ( for now !!!)

It was sad to wave goodbye to all our travelling friends this morning and a bit scary to be heading off on our own. Graeme will miss his shopping companions although he hasn't found the shops near our hotel all that bad .....


We travelled on the underground tram to get to the Galeta Tower and join the queue to reach the top. The view over the whole city was magnificent but why are there always those people who despite the signs and narrow walkway always want to swim against the tide - so didn't linger up top and now we are preparing to book out and then leave for the airport. Going to catch the train and see how it goes !!!!


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Ballooning in Cappodocia

We are back in Istanbul now and have spent our rest day wandering about the town enjoying the sights. We visited an amazing underground cistern from roman times with 160 massive columns holding up a vaulted ceiling and fabulous reflections from the lights on the water - I'm sure one of the Sean Connery James Bond movies was filmed here. No photos as we didn't carry the camera but did buy the post card so you will have to wait.

But yesterday in Cappodocia was the best - ballooning high above the rocks and exploring one of the underground cities 8 levels down below.




We were with the Royal company, one of about 80 balloons that morning and it was breathtaking and not a bit scary!! Cappodocia is apparently the best place in the world to balloon with 300 flying days a year and according to Sven our Swedish pilot our day was perfect. We had 16 ( plus Sven ) in our basket and were up for about 80 minutes flying over the various valleys and villages that make up the region.




And landed without a bump straight onto the basket trailer ( with a bit of help from the ground crew ) and were carried out of the basket to the awaiting champagne and a medal to celebrate our flight !!!!




Didn't think anything could ever top this off but the underground city went pretty close. Built by the Christians for hasty retreats when the marauders were passing through this city was huge and like a rabbit warren with many interconnecting tunnels and then kitchens, living rooms, stables and even a 9km tunnel connecting one city to the next!!! It was pretty crowded to start off with but the tours thinned out the further down you went and 30m below the surface we could roam about pretty much by ourselves with the guide just keeping an eye on us.


Graeme and Barry having fun in the winery and one of the tunnels - crouching room only.


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Cappodocia

Bus finally fixed and a nice drive today after visiting home of Whirling Dervishes out over the plains of Konya and up to the rolling hills and stone formations of Cappodocia. We past sugar beet and harvesting wheat and many different tractors and trucks and ploughs - very interesting for the farmer who was able to keep the bus up to date with the many different implements and techniques we saw out the windows . Even a few sheep and cattle and donkeys. No ruins today but an intact Caravanarasi - a fortified camp ground for the camel trains which travelled down to the Antalyain coastal ports. Tall walls and indoor and outdoor camping ( for the snowy winter) as well as kitchen, baths, store and mosque.



The men fixing the bus








Didn't splash out at the carpet show as I couldn't find one I liked - strange but true.

See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Bus broken

So some time to kill at fancy hotel but no one online to chat to and unable to txt for some unknown reason. All the men have been helping the MAN Service van man but to no avail and now we are waiting for another bus to take us on our way.

So maybe some more photos



Hotel lobby




See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Back to the big smoke

Did I mention the ruins , well today we went to the best of the amphitheaters by far. All intact and massive seating 15,000 in it's day with singing tourists to test out the acoustics.







And of course there are also the mad cyclists, you run into them everywhere.


We had a lovely bus ride today up and over the Tauros Mountains, left the coast behind and are heading off into the centre of the country and are in a luxury hotel tonight in a big dusty city - for the one night only. So what to do with the two showers ..........


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Just cruising

Yes another boat trip, this time on the open sea and out to a quiet cove with sunken ruins in the clear turquoise waters. This brief moment as Kate and Leonardo spoilt only by Leonardo's very annoying habit of tickling me under the arm whilst I am balancing precariously on the end of the boat - not the romantic moment I was imagining !!!!





Also more ruins with amphitheater today and then some tombs carved into the hillside - and lots more Russian tourists. They come here to party and visit the church of St Nicholas and speak very loud in Russian .











And a crazy husband swimming in the sea - deep and with a good swell onto the rocks !!!!


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Free time

Yep it's a hard life



See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Another hard day at the office !!!

This place is hard to take - a view of the Mediterranean and a bailey's on ice. Even went in the pool !!!!

Took a bit to get here in the bus and another ruin on the way but the best was the boat trip down this rock hill and reed lined long lagoon. We went in the boat to the ruin and rode a tractor trailer to the hill top and then walked back down to the lagoon and waiting bus.


The boat then went to the end of the lagoon to see the home of the Logger Head turtle. We saw one being tempted by a crab on a line but it is breeding time so we are not allowed on the beach.


Can you see it, pretty hard to catch on camera but the trip was worth.

Now we are at Kalkan enjoying the sun and then more food !!!!!


See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme

Marmaris

OMG we have discovered the Ibiza of the Eastern Mediterranean - that is if you're over 50 and Russian or English and want to dance the night away to music of the 60's 70's and 80,s Thank god for my earplugs that's all can say. The beach is grey gravel but the water is beautiful clear blue and almost warm enough to swim. The trip here was through pine forested mountains and past cotton fields and fig orchards. On the way we visited three sets of ruins, Priene, a walled hill town which we explored up and down, an amazing roman theatre with tunneled walkways and marble stairs at Miletus and the Temple of Apollo in Didyma. The temple was enormous, set in the middle of the village where we had lunch. Helped Janice haggle for a lovely silk carpet and perhaps would have bought my own except stangely enough I couldn't find my husband with the money!!!











See you soon

Love Wendy and Graeme