A taste of Turkey

Jacks and myself just spent 3 weeks exploring Western Turkey. We started with 5 days in the bedlam of Istanbul; a massive city of around 18 million where East meets West and old and new coverge. One things we realised fairly quickly was that we'd come across a new winner when it comes to public bus transport. These guys are absolute maniacs! There is the likes of the Topkapi Palace, the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque but the beauty of the city and it's real charm is best encountered by exploring the streets and waterways. The ferries are cheap and efficient, taking you to all over the show, up the Bosphorous (the arm of water that splits the European and Asian sides) and into the Sea of Marmara (that joins up with the Mediterranean). The city can be a bit intense and overwhelming so to get some peace for a day we caught a ferry out to Buyukada, one of the Prince's Islands. We hiked around the island which took an hour and a half and then had lunch at the harbour. Along the walk we dodged a number of horse-drawn carts but never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the extent of the equestrian attraction. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Hashim that visits the place jumps on and has a ride. There must have a been a few thousand horses!   

The Blue Mosque

Inside Aya Sofya

The Galata

One of Galata Bridge's fish restaurants (see rods above)

Turkish coffee

The Sea of Marmara, from Buyukada

Mmmm, food!

Turks in general are a friendly bunch but wow can their attempts to get you into their shops and restaurants get irritating. Here is an example of an everyday pavement conversation.

Restaurant owner (RO), "Hi, where you from?"
Brad (B), "South Africa, where are you from?"
RO "Istanbul, South America is great place"
RO "Come and look at my menu"
B "No thanks, we've had lunch"
RO "Then have coffee"
B "No"
RO "Beer"
RO "You want carpet?"
B "Bye"

We met some great Turkish folk but you can't help feeling that those involved with tourists, especially in and around Istanbul, are beyond irritating and generally stuffing it up.

After some time in the big city we jumped on an overnight bus and made our way off to Goreme, in Cappadoccia. The bus was incredibly comfy, with reclining seats and thoroughly comprehensive 'turkish' music and film attractions. A couple of stewards man the isle, dishing out water and coffee and making sure no passengers are left behind at one of the frequent stops. If they're good, they not only get to the start the bus but are also allowed to get involved in a bit of casual road talk up at the front. Cappadoccia is home to valleys of weird and intriguing rock formations, that are affectionately known as fairy chimneys. This term is lovely and poetic but possibly a description that is too family friendly and slightly off the mark. The place is breathtaking and ideal for those with hiking boots and common sense. There is also the option to view the landscape from a hot air balloon and even though it's probably Turkey's number 1 tourist activity we decided to join the masses. We were glad we did, it was amazing. After each flight you get some local champagne, a piece of chocolate cake and a certificate telling you that you're still alive. Your name is read out and you are handed this by your pilot. I was summoned and then they called for Jackie Ozturk. We all looked around for a bit and then realised that they had decided to rename Jacks. Ozturk, if anyone is interested, means 'genuine Turk'.

Somewhere near Goreme

Trying to get a lift back into Goreme

The 'Love' Valley

'Fairy chimneys'

A church between Red and Rose Valleys

A bit of early morning ballooning

Around the time of the name change episode Jacks developed a touch of fresh Turkish flu. After my nursing duties were done one morning I decided to head off to Urgup, a nearby village, to acquaint myself with the local wine industry. I tasted a good few wines and can conclude that I'm glad to be South African.

Sarikaya Wines

 
Another overnight bus and were found ourselves on the South Coast, in the city of Antalya, for all of about 5 minutes, before we squashed into a dolmus (minibus taxi speed-demon) and made our way west to Cirali. Well to the Cirali turn off at least, where the dolmus dropped us and gave a friendly hoot as it vanished into the distance. The little village is about 7km down the hill, on the coast. Lucky for us there was a smiling taxi driver at the turn off. I've become slightly stubborn in my old age, and when he told us what we had to pay for the short ride I told him where I thought he short rather go. We saddled up our backpacks and started the walk down towards our destination, deciding to try and hitch. Five minutes later we were sitting in a truck and were dropped off about 3km's out of town. We marched the rest of the way at a rapid pace, encouraged by the possibility of a big breakfast and a good cup of coffee. We enjoyed 4 nights in this beautiful little place and we both agreed that it was the highlight of our time. Turquoise ocean and fresh fish, soaring mountains, scattered Roman ruins and a truly chilled out and friendly community. Hotel Villa Monte was superb and if anyone visits it's definitely the place to be. The hosts are great people and their food is superb.  The Lycian Way, a long distance walk, passes through Cirali and we spent a day taking in a tiny portion of the route. When I asked about the trail up to Ulupinar I was told that we must eat at one of the restaurants in the village because they had great views of the waterfall and some nice fresh trout. Well they were spot on with this description. After a 2 hour hike along the river and up the mountain side we came across Ulupinar and a restaurant called Selele (waterfall). I can only describe it as 50 metre natural cascade of water, with a wooden restaurant of tables and platforms built around, along and on top of it.

Cirali

Back down to Cirali

Cirali's beautiful beach

The ruins of Olympos

A brief stop in Fethiye showed us why a certain type of British tourist is frequently seen as being the worst in world. The beach and lagoon of Oludeniz is on the cover of 99% of Turkish guide books, on most postcards and apparently one of the most popular UK package destinations.

Next stop was Selcuk and the nearby ruins of Ephesus which we enjoyed but I would say that it's not an absolute must see. Our hostel was pretty good, nicely decorated and with some OK food. The piece de resistance however was the free glass of wine served on the roof terrace at sunset every evening, around the time of the muezzin's second last call to prayer. As one would expect, therer are mosques wherever you go in Turkey and 5 times a day the Muezzin does his thing, calling everyone to pray, which booms out the towers or minarets. These calls were a tad strange in the beginning but they became a welcome tune, even at 4:45am.

Selcuk and one of it's many nesting storks

Ephesus

The Library of Celsius

We had got to know the road transport pretty well at this stage so for the last bit of internal travel, from Izmir back to Istanbul, we chose to go in fast forward with Atlas Jet.  After a 1 hour flight, a 50 minute tube/tram ride and a 5 minute walk, we were back in Sultanahmet, the old part of the city for 1 last night. It was fantastic to spend a bit more time in Istanbul and enjoy our favourite things all over again. A great Turkish coffee and baklava just outside the spice market. Lunch at Namli in Karakoy; the best place to eat. A walk from Taksim back down the hill along Istanbul's Oxford Street, over the fisherman filled Galata Bridge and back to a spot between the beauty of the Aya Sofya and one of the best night sights in the city, the gulls circling the illuminated towers of the Blue Mosque. A ferry across to Kadakoy, on the Asian side, and dinner at Ciya Sofrasi, the place that takes the cake when it comes to sweet stuff. Their butternut pudding with peanut sauce is unreal, no jokes. 

Butternut heaven