Chapter Twentytwelve: August 2012

Get ready for a long read on my awesome trip to Turkey!

Turkey was never on the top of my list of places to travel to but after hearing numerous stories from people, as well as getting a good deal from the TNT travel show, I decided to sign up with Travel Talk on their 12 days 'Best of Turkey' trip.

Day 1: Istanbul
I arrived in Istanbul in the afternoon and was picked up by Travel Talk to the Prince hotel. I was actually impressed with the hotel, especially when I went with a tour company. It was a 4 star hotel with Internet and all the basics, so no complaints there. The only thing was the poor soundproofing but caused a bad night's sleep due to a noisy neighbour! We met downstairs for a briefing on the trip before we headed out for dinner. The tour guide called Yavuz took us to this awesome lane way where we sat down to have my first Turkish dinner.

Day 2: Istanbul
I started off with a buffet breakfast hotel with Olives, eggs and other Turkish foods. Then we headed to our first destination which was the old town square where the German fountain was. We then walked to the Blue Mosque. I was expected the Blue Mosque to be a structure covered internally and externally with Blue tiles, but that was not the case. When I arrived, the first thing i saw was the six imposing towers surrounding the domed roof. Yavuz told our group that this was the only mosque in Istanbul with 6 towers. A condition to enter the mosque was that shoes had to be removed before entry. And what would you expected if 100's of people entered all at once on a hot day? Stinky feet smell! Putting the smell aside, internally the blue mosque was beautiful! Surrounded by low hanging lights, there were blue tiles in several areas, hence giving it the name.
After we visited the Blue Mosque, we went to a bigger and more beautiful mosque/ church called Hagia Sophia Museum which was not as famous. This structure had such an interesting history to it relating to both the Islam and Christianity religions. You really need to be here to learn all about it.

Day 3: Gallipoli
Hearing stories about Gallipoli in primary school, I always wanted to travel to this place to pay respect to those who lost their lives in the war. Our tour group left the hotel early in the morning for a long drive to the different sites relating to the Gallipoli war. The first stop was North Cove, where the Anzac Day ceremony was held each year.

Day 4:Troy and Pergamum
We work up early to visit Troy. The only thing I remembered about Troy as a kid was the wooden horse that was brought into the city. Arriving at the site was a bit underwhelming, as I thought the horse would be bigger. In addition the ancient city of Troy was also a lot smaller than I thought it would be and there really wasn't much to see, apart from a few small ruins.
After visiting Troy, we went back on the bus to our next destination: Pergamum. Although Pergamum was less famous than Troy, the site was a lot more interesting and bigger. Now this was what I call an ancient city! Looking at the pillars and underground tunnels, it showed how creative and smart the early settlers were.

Day 5: Ephesus
Ephesus has to be one of the biggest and best preserved ancient cities in the world! After being underwhelmed by Troy we went to this ancient city with so many different areas to see. The creators of this city is so smart in considering so many things such as having a waterfall in the communal toilets to counteract the 'sounds' made by other users! Ephesus really would have been a beautiful city in terms of architecture if all buildings remained intact.

Day 6: Fethiye
We woke up later than usual after a long night out in Fethiye. With the remaining people hungover and exhausted, we went to our first adventure of the day and properly the most interesting yet: The Saklikent gorges. It was not what I expected at all. We basically went through a deep crack formed by an earthquake. The gorge had a stream running through it, and at times the water went past our knees.

Day 7 to 12: Marmaris, Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Ihlara and Istanbul.
I can continue going on and on about what I did for each day of the trip but I'm sure you are probably sick of reading and I believe the pictures below will speak a thousand words! (It also is my old self being lazy as well typing up my travels) There were so many amazing sights and things I experienced for the remaining duration of the trip but definitely some highlights included the Fairy chimneys, hot air balloon ride and the underground city in Cappadocia.

I cannot say enough on how amazing this country is and how much more I appreciate Turkey and its culture. Travel Talk really has impressed me with the accommodation, sights, our knowledgeable travel guide (Yavuz) and the people I met on this trip! I'm going to wait for the next airfare specials to fly back to Turkey again!