Gobble Up Turkey

It’s time to bade farewell to Turkey after an unforgettable 38  days, but not before a final treat.

We both went to the Turkish bath and other than the dangly bits I think I had three people give me a going over from head to toe and that omits the barber.

Most of it was clad in a towel with some little rag for which I could find no use.

First of all it was laying on the hot and cold marble in the sauna section with a skyward view through a myriad of portholes in the roof.- treatment was self administered. 

That was followed by a towel clad guy give me a stern luffering for 20 minutes after which I am sure I lost one complete layer of skin. He even showed me the dead bits.

He followed that up with a soapy lathering whilst I was still  laying on the marble and then sitting upright at something resembling a baptismal font where soapy massage was followed by cleansing with buckets of warm water.

That was the end of that attendant and for some reason he kept showing me his badge number (30) with a ‘ remember me’ – after being that close and personal how could I forget.

Into another room for the oil massage. If I still have a sore muscle in my body that they didn’t get to massage I will be surprised. 

It was 30 minutes of sometimes gentle and sometimes painful as he worked on knots. It was a complete head to toe and he worked extremely hard, working up a pretty heavy sweat and some uncomfortable heavy breathing. Like the previous bloke number 27 gave me the ‘remember me’ message.

 I must say I nearly dozed off at one stage.

Next it was some bloke who directed me to the marble area and gave a few instructions on what I should do. No number or parting comment.

After about 25 minutes of unassisted bathing a sweaty  and slippery me was directed to the showering area. Degreased and less slippery I was then escorted to the rest and dress area where another unnumbered guy toweled me down and sent me upstairs to my relaxation and dressing chamber. Another unnumbered guy was my usher.

That ended the process and I was as smooth and soft as a baby’s bum from head to toe. Went down stairs to pay and who was there to greet me, none  other than number 27 and 30- ‘remember me and my number’ was about a gratuity, even after paying $100 for the treatment. Slightly euphoric from the experience I tipped them both and sat waiting for Jane.

In those moments I realised I still had a days growth so it was into the strategically placed barber for a shave and eyebrow trim. During the process he mentioned he would remove the pony tail I had accumulated from a poor head shaving routine.

Ever keen to please he grabbed a cigarette lighter and burnt hair off my ears which must have been plenty because it smelt like a small forest fire. Just when I thought it was over he had one more treatment to administer – the removal of hairs on the top of my nose tip – discernible only to an eagle eyed barber.

Who could resist a nose tip wax which when administered made one resemble a green nosed reindeer – if only I could have snapped a picture. Getting it removed didn’t tickle and he administered some pain numbing gel to nose and ears before taking my $15.

Celebrated with coffee and cake and with time and money running out our  last visit was to the rooftop garden restaurant near our hotel for a lunch snack. it was not until we got up there that we realised we were almost in the backyard of the Blue Mosque and also had a filtered harbour view in several directions.

Headed back to hotel and got picked up for our 520 flight to London, with a bagful of memories.

Trip to airport was fast and furious and saw our first traffic accident in a city where near misses are the norm.

The airport is magnificent and still undergoing more extensions. That said,  airports drinks are ridiculously priced , like everywhere else in the world – a beer and small bottle of wine was $40 and a croissant $15. Our purchases made sure we used our spare change.

Security was very strict. One full baggage and personal X- on entry, another when going through to customs and at the departure gate it was a full body pat down and complete check of your hand luggage, including Swabs of shoes, bags, phones and IPads.

My observation about Istanbul being a beautification destination was borne out by advertisements constantly running in the airport and 4 blokes on the flight having hair transplants – my treatment at bathhouse paled into insignificance.

The BA experience did not improve. Got there 3 hours early as requested and we’re about number 6 on the queue. After 35 minutes the 5 booths opened and 4 were assigned to Business Class. As were were waiting staff ran the line explaining it was a full flight and people would have to put baggage under their seats, that is despite paying full freight and conditions stating one piece of cabin luggage was available. Renegade Jane ignored the request and I checked mine through with luggage after another plea at gate to minimise cabin luggage,

It was not until we were about to board that we realised we were not sitting together, we had been assigned window seats a row apart. So much for being a Qantas Club member and Jane being lifetime Silver FF- seems code shared flights dont respect the fact.

Leg room was disgraceful , even with seat in upright position your knees touched the seat in front – could not really keep banging it with my knee  with Jane occupying it.  The other thing was seats could not recline.

On board the plane they gave you a mini sized packet of chips and bottle of water for a flight of almost 4 hours. Would appear they are mirroring the el cheapo airlines. After the 5 hour delay with first flight, i will be tossing up whether to use them again.

Arrived on time and pretty quickly got through Customs and collected baggage and it was on the train to Earls z court in somewhat cooler temperatures than what we had been experiencing.

Booked into our hotel for our third visit here and then out for dinner at a local Italian restaurant before braving the chill and getting to bed at 11, which was 200 am Istanbul time – little wonder we were zonked

Up at 545 to be ready for pick up for our 4-5 hour drive to Gallipoli.

Picked up on time and collected the remaining crew before snaking through backstreets onto  a freeway  packed in both directions.

A couple of pit stops along the way as we tracked Sea of Mamara, with its ports at places like Botas , where huge gas and oil reservoirs serviced the ships. Many were anchored just a couple of 100 metres offshore.

Swung away from coast through some rolling rural territory mainly with crops and dotted with electricity pylons. Roads were absolutely fantastic.

Around 50km mark from Gallipoli the pine plantations started  as we started to go down other side of the peninsula.  We did not cross the huge suspension bridge over the Dardanelles. 

Back close to water and seaside dotted with shipyards, with huge vessels just off shore.

The closer we got the steeper and taller the mountains became and they were covered in dense pines. 

Close to shore were different versions of mussel farms, some lease stule and others stand up, similar to what farmers in Coffin Bay are using.

Arrived at  town just short of starting point  around 12, had a typical lunch m, then  o walk along seashore , where there was a representation of the trenches at TheNek, before getting onto bus for the Gallipoli Peninsula Anzac Tour.

We had an amazing guide whose wartime history knowledge was amazing and I am sure we both walked away more informed about the Gallipoli campaign than before we arrived.

Ironically today was the 108th anniversary of Turkey deciding to join the Germans after Churchill reneged on a ship building contract. Another irony was the first and only naval invasion by Allies  which resulted in the loss of a third of of that fleet and resultant defeat,  was on Matt Lee’s birthdate ie 18th March – thank God something came out of that date.

We got a complete rundown on each significant battle in which Anzac’s were involved and the successful and failed tactics of both sides. When you think that the landing at Anzac Cove North Beach resulted in gaining just 1 kilometreof territory  in 8 months before evacuation, it was a clear win to the Turks.

The better trained , led and acclimatized locals who were hardened sildiers  fighting troops who were basically 60% volunteers made a major differences.

The terrain also helped with Turks holding high positions and Allie’s faced with barren cliffs and gullies with no cover.

In such a beautiful beach setting it’s difficult to comprehend how the men felt jumping off and seeing what challenges lay ahead.

The loss of lives in 25th April is mind boggling , as was the 8000 odd soldiers who died from both sides on an area no bigger than a football field at Lone Pine. The Nek was nothing short off carnage and plain bad man management by both British and Aust commanders.

At several places trenches were less than 10 metres apart and many were tunnelled under as another form of attack. With trenches and tunnels main defence and attack mediums it’s little wonder our soldiers were named Diggers.

Wandering through the War Cemeteries was very sobering and emotional looking at how many young Aussies lost their lives in the line of duty. It was a very different situation in the Turkish memorials where many were in their 30’s.

Ataturk was a fabulous tactician and leader of men, but post war as President reflected beautifully on the futility of war.

Today was a day to remember, where lots of tears were shed and fittingly it finished at the top of the hill which was the pinnacle at the start of the campaign, but ended up the last battlefront, where NZ lost half of their total campaign casualties.

One ironic fact was that hardly a casualty was experienced during the evacuation because it was so well planned – oh had such thought gone into planning the assault.

Finished around 530 and endured the 4.5 hour trip home, for us to finish up packing and say farewell to Turkey and head for London.

Well at least today the feet got some respite for part of the day with a boat trip on the Bosphorus.

Up, fed and watered and out the door by 930 to get to wharf by 1015 for an appointment with what looked like a lovely cruiser.

Having now mastered the transport we were there on time and boarded a beautiful 20 metre cruiser and had the whole top floor to ourselves.

 Fully guided trip with commentary the entire way from the wharf in Europe and under two bridges to alight in Asia on the other side of Bosphorus , albeit only for 15 minutes- but enough time to get the famous red yoghurt.

Suffice to say we saw our fill of castles and palaces, some which mow operate as museums, government buildings ( like Egyptian embassy)  , schools or with one a $100m purchase by a Saudi Prince just to sit there under a bridge unattended, but with tag of the most expensive waterfront in Istanbul.

It’s an interesting way to see the place and recognise just how hilly Istanbul is and how so many waterfront houses of Ottoman design still exist. We were one of a flotilla of cruise boats. Often accompanied by tankers and the groups of small fishing boats trying their luck. We did see one bloke land a decent sized fish. An all men cruise with about 200 aboard floated past at one point and our guide must have noticed something because he mentioned ‘not peeing over the side’.

Real estate on waterfront ranges from $15m to $ 100m and it’s mainly big business owners, actors, movie stars or footballers who call them home. The President just happens to have three mansions. Off course there  are the hotels like Four  Seasons  and Kempinsky where a nights stay in Sultans room can cost $40k.

Naturally several of the 3200 mosques in Istanbul have absolute or near waterfront positions , including the biggest mosque in Asia with its six spires and one which provides separate prayer facilities for Muslim, Jewish 

and Christian faiths.

Waterfront living has its dangers with one house being severely damaged by an out of control freighter not long back and still under repair.

The only island on Bosphorus has a swimming pool, cafe and a partly demolished disco. The owners didn’t get permission to build so Govt arrived one day and demolished it. 

The Bosphorus is an interesting stretch of water 750 metres at its narrowest point and 3200 metres 

at its widest. It’s quite bumpy and because Black Sea is higher than Sea of Mamara there are different currents at different depths going in opposite directions. One of the two major bridges, supposedly a Golden Gate lookalike , crosses at the narrow point.

Plenty of money invested into rebuilding historical sites including a seaside  castle, which was supposedly built in 4 months in days gone by. None being invested in the Military school, from which young bucks  initiated the most recent coup. The old waterside police academy turned into a money spinner being sold and now housing the most expensive restaurant in Istanbul, which along with Sortie nightclub are the places to be seen. Interesting that a hospital, cemetery and university have prime waterside positions.

Universities charge no fees, but entry requirements are apparently quite stringent. From our experience a lot of women study architecture.

The main feature on Asian side is the new 550 metre telco tower in which you can take a lift to the top. There are decidedly less high rise buildings, with larger homes more prevalent. One palace was unique, being only one with a pool.

Not sure if it’s because  of 99th birthday but flags, including one 1400 sq metres, adorn most buildings along with pictures of Ataturk.

After 3 hours it was back to port, I visited local football stadium of Besitkas ,but no tours available.

Back on tram and down to wharves in search of the famous fish sandwich, so Jane could tick it off her list of things to do and taste. Found and enjoyed after a long search and then headed for the meat market.

On he way we passed the square next to our bath house  we will visit you n Friday and it was full of armed police, riot squad guys with shields and a huge water cannon. There was a group of protesters waving yellow flags, but their cause remained a mystery. 

We moved on quickly to the meat market, situated behind an enormous aqueduct in pristine condition, which was full of the traditional cuts of meat and every other edible, or what in some cases looked inedible, bits of cows and lamb bodies. Not sure about hygeine regulations, but most people covered noses when they went in. One goat owner was tempting fate tethering his animal in the meat market square

Finished the tour and headed downhill towards the tram station. Had an interesting incident with a guy avoiding the 1 lira WC entry fee who tried to squeeze through turnstile simultaneously with me – only one persons private parts were damaged in the process.

On way back to tram had the usual battle at traffic lights with signals meaning little to drivers or pedestrians – love to see the statistics on car/ people accidents.

On the tram and again noticed the number of men and women who had undergone cosmetic medical procedures. Women mainly had surgery on noses and top lips, whilst blokes looked like hair transplants. Interestingly the car we came from airport in was sponsored by some Clinic, so perhaps Istanbul is the home of beautification.

 Jumped off tram at earlier riot scene and it had disappeared.

A little afternoon gelato fix and walked back home to pack our bags as much as possible, given tomorrow was a 14 hour round trip to tour Gallipoli. Also needed to know if everything would fit into suitcases.

On the way back all of the hawkers had given up on us and just waved us by . Poor old Bananaman had a miserable day as council was digging up road right where he sat. Only happy hawker was restaurant man who we assured we were coming for dinner.

Everything did fit in bags and dinner was fabulous and I ticked off the drink called raiki , a bit like Ouzo. Only thing left is whether we try a Hookah – the type you smoke.

Obviously needed the sleep , rising from the dead after 9 hours.

Down to the basement for a pretty good  buffet breakfast, dropped off the washing and headed off for another day of being a tourist.

Same people who accosted us last night repeated the dose and walking on roads was a bit scary as it moved back to a working day.

The crowds were still big with plenty of flag and umbrella waving guides leading packs of people along with big avenue with its mighty obelisks and pretty garden beds and fountains.

Headed for the Topkapi Palace passing snaking lines at the Sophia Hagia and basilica Cistern  which we would visit later. Found the Palace entry after more local guides tried to lure us in to private tours to miss the queues.

We persevered and whooshed through security and only had a 30 minute wait for tickets audio devices. Like every Palace we have visited there is a real sense of opulence with huge gardens, statues, Fresco’s, ornate tiling and a real difference between how the royalty and others lived.

Naturally our first visiting place was the harem where the Sultan had his pick of between 300-500 concubines. They contend they were not slaves, just people stolen from other countries. Most famous one who ended up one of his wives was the daughter of a Ukrainian priest.

The harem was under the control of a black eunuch and other  eunuchs provided all of the services for the harem.

The bathrooms for concubines were very basic compared to those provided to the Sultan and his family, particularly his mother.

Huge greeting rooms were spread through the palace with the level of guest being greeted determining their level of decoration. There were huge fireplaces and thrones in each of them and the tiling, often with quotes from the Koran overlaid, was absolutely magnificent. 

Visited the library and then the Circumcision Room, which was under renovation and access cutoff you might say.

There was a heavy presence of ‘no photos’ signage which everyone ignored and the guards in every room didn’t bother enforcing,

Wandered the gardens and took in the views over the Bisphorus with 300 school kids who wanted to be your best friend with high fives and fist pumps. When you told them you were from Australia, you got the kangaroo hop impression.

Wandered down to the kitchens with their huge dome and chimneys filling the sky. My dear old Dad would have been proud that the Confectionery one held pride of place. 

With kitchens sometimes serving up to 10,000 people the size of platters etc were big to say the least.

Three hours was enough to satisfy the curiosity and we headed for the exit and hauled ourself up some steep stony roads to a lunch spot.

The next assignment was the y Cistern which was an architectural and engineering marvel. A water source under the city which was probably 20-30 metres high and the size of 2-3 football fields with its roof suspended with ornate pillars. It was fed from the Black Sea. The lighting and recently added sculptures gave it an eerie feeling.

Entry prices were interesting, with signage saying overseas guests over 65 were free on presentation of passports. Our ticket seller must have missed the email and we paid full freight. Got to say Istanbul is a very expensive City when compared to other parts of Turkey with some things two and three times dearer. VAT doesn’t help.

Out for another peek at line into Sophia Hagia and it was still ridiculous like most other major attractions, it seems as though tourists are catching up on time lost to Covid. One thing about all major attractions is security, as well as armed Army people at front gates you go through several layers of security.

Headed off for a stroll and managed an ice cream without the show and sat with the usual collection of relatively healthy stray dogs, which you can feed courtesy of coin operated feeders for them and cats.

Later on headed to local bar for a drink, another $10 a beer joint and had our quiet time interrupted by a pretty heated argument between the owner and a cranky customer, which nearly came to blows. The embarrassed owner apologised and gave us one drink free and invited us back for a freebie next time we were near. 

Popped over the road for some ceramic shopping and got some good bargains, until owner realised he had done a bad deal and reneged on the deal saying come back tomorrow.

A bit of a break and it was off to dinner,  wandering down the street recommended by Lonely Planet. Top spot had 100 seats and no customers which wasn’t a great sign, so wandered along getting coat tugged by every spruiker. One guy gave an impassioned plea not to break his heart and offered a free Mezze plate , so after a quick rendition of ‘don’t go breaking my heart’ we went in.

It was a great choice and the theatre with which Jane’s was presented validated the decision. Mine was less spectacular but delicious.

Finished dinner and it was back to the Sophia Hage for a late night effort to get in. We joined a much smaller line, navigated security and then entered the mosque.

It was middle of prayer time so access was restricted, but what you could see was magnificent, especially the dome.

Lots of people sitting around obviously awaiting prayer time to finish, so we followed suit and 10 minutes later had full access to the remainder of the area , with exception of the prayer altar.  It was overlooked by balconies presumably for visiting Imam’s or special guests.

Ticked off another highlight and headed home, without any hydration stops knowing tomorrow’s visit to the Bazaar and Spice Market will be crowds and shopping, my two least favourite things in life.

How unAustralian, we can’t even get to see the Cup here because none of the betting agencies or racing authorities have a broadcast deal.

Today was markets day, so out on the usual route, now on first name basis with all of the touts. We took a slightly different route to check out the Turkish Bath we are going to on Friday morning before heading off to London in the evening.

Baths look amazing based on promotional films out the front, I am just hoping I don’t get the giant who was massaging the client with such gusto he was nearly coming off the table.

We made our appointments and headed for the Grand Bazaar. Grand is an apt description, it rambles on in a grid fashion with so many shops selling the same products you needed to check the faces to see whether you were retreading old ground.

Gold, silver, ceramics , watches, clothes and any Turkish based trinket you can imagine. Pretty sure each and every designer bag, perfume, clothes or watches were knock offs and assessing the quality of jewelry was anyone guess.

The two stand outs were that there was no prices shown, the hawker would turn the item over and quote a starting price and then the haggling began. Looking at the back of some products there was only a barcode no value, so effectively they were imaginary prices.

We had a bit of fun haggling but probably paid overs, as we found some products cheaper in local markets.

The second thing was most sellers were not particularly aggressive and seemed more interested in drinking tea. The guy running around with a tray full of tea was probably busiest person in the market.

After a few hours we journeyed out into the adjacent streets where more of the locals shop and prices were definitely cheaper. The crowds were even bigger and as usual there was lots of argy bargy as there is no protocol for what side of the footpath or car free road in this instance, that you walked on.

I think I saw the smallest adult ever when a man swished past at just over waist height.

We did a little bit of shopping, with Jane now the expert haggler – think I will call her Marvin after the boxer – then headed down the hill to the Spice Market.

What a fascinating place, much smaller than the Bazaar but selling an amazing array of spices, sweets and food based products.

Prices were a bit more evident and owners more engaging . You could have filled up just on the samples. We bought some wares and were treated to some very tasty pomegranate tea.

It was amuch different experience to the Bazaar.

Armed with our bagful of bargains, at least in our minds, it was off on another tram before heading to local cafe for what proved to be another expensive dining experience. Think we are now convinced it’s time to ‘suck it up Susan’ and just eat and enjoy.

A little rest and we reset the compass to head over to the other side of town with a train ride over the bridge , followed by a funicular ride up into the Beyoğlu and Kasimpada areas.

The huge square with magnificent statue and a quaint ancient tram cloaked the fact this was the trendier part of town. A much younger crowd dressed more modernly and every second shop was high end. The cafe’s were smarter in decor and staff dressed immaculately.

The cafe’s had a selection of sweets to turn you into a diabetic just looking in the window. No window shopping for us , we were in having a late afternoon coffee and cake that were scrumptious.

We walked the length of the avenue side stepping a sea of people heading in the opposite direction and got serenaded by the swag of street performers along the way.

A bit more retail therapy , including a stop at potato food shop with great butter sculpture and we were on the downward trip of the funicular and another tram to the start of the bridge.

The place was packed with camera operators filming a Turkish soapier, so maybe we will end up on TV.

We popped down to an underhang of the bridge full of restaurants with magnificent views of the Bosporus . We popped back up halfway along to be greeted by wall to wall anglers all dangling lines about 50 metres down to the water. Looking at their buckets it was difficult to asses whether it was a catch or spare bait.

Another tram ride to the Sultanate area which was still abuzz with people visiting Sophia Hagia and wandering around the avenue. We now know it was the ancient hippodrome where chariot racing was conducted.

Thete will be different racing there on Sunday when the Istanbul Marathon finishes. It’s the only marathon which crosses two continents , starting in Asia and finishing in Europe.

Off home to sleep and dream of tomorrow’s boat trip on the Bosphorus.

Today was moving day and it started with driver dragging both our bags about 800 metres on cobblestones  to board a minibus  with a bunch of Russians, packed in like sardines, all headed for Kayseri to fly onto Istanbul.

Could not see out the windows for the dust, so just watched the clock hoping we would get there by 1030 which was 90 minutes before flight.

No need for worry made it with 5 minutes to spare and after usual security check found there were only a couple of flights due to leave in next 90 minutes.

Ran into a lot of Aussies on a whirlwind 12 day tour with Trip A Deal. Not many seasoned travellers among them and they created mayhem going through front door of plain to get to back seats, despite being told to use back stairs. They then struggled with seating allocation and getting bags into overhead lockers. 

A very smooth flight into Istanbul and Captain dipped the wings to give us our first sight of the Bosphorus before landing and taxiing for about 15 minutes. It was reminiscent of our last flight here and we actually landed very close to where our running race occurred – this time with less urgency.

Got through to pick up area and ended up in a luxury VW transporter for an 80 minute drive to town.

It was fine for first 30 on the freeway where we were flanked by lots of forests. After that it was driving in ever diminishing circles as we wound our way through streets just wide enough for one car, despite being two way. Lots of tooting and yelling and incessant directions from the GPS whilst we dodged cars and people in the amazing old town.

We were in a nice hotel which was very close to the popular tourist spots, with a close up view of the washing from over the road.

Unpacked quickly and headed out for the Blue Mosque about 10 minutes walk away. Got fronted by everyone from restsuranters, to fur sellers  to men selling bananas before reaching the huge avenue leading to the Mosque. It was packed with tourists, hawkers , roving tour guides and stray dogs, all under the watchful eye of the tourist police.

Got into the mosque and was disappointed that most of it was under wraps due to renovations, but along with 500 others we got a filtered view of the famous ceiling dome.

Shoes back on and we thought we would try our luck at the Sophia Hagia. It was prayer time , so no access which created a 500 metre queue to get in. 

We decided to wait till tomorrow to try our luck and headed off to have our first Yeeros of the trip, which we enjoyed under the watchful eye of one of the many mutts in the square. Thought about an ice cream, but the vendors go through an entertainment ritual which means a 5 minute wait for each customer.

Probably should have waited because our alternative was an Aperol Spritz at a local bar  costing us just on $40 for two drinks. Must have been Mosque and dance tax based on location and waiters doing an impromptu folk dance. 

Worn out from the two days of early rising and the trials of dealing with huge crowds again we headed home to bed.

Got an unexpected wake up midway through our slumber when the TV let out a loud pop and died- if that’s what a missing red light means, because we have watched no TV whilst away, other than that showing in background at rural restaurants.

No sleep in today, it was a 500am rising to get ready to be ferried to the balloon takeoff point.

A long, winding journey on a rough road as part of a caravan of buses had us arrive at a field where you could not get any idea of how many people or balloons were about. It was a sea of headlights and for some reason several police vehicles with lights flashing.

Got fed a packaged snack while waiting and then offloaded to watch the balloons get unloaded off trailers and then inflated. As the sunrise neared it was time for the 28 passengers to be loaded on board, which is not a simple exercise. Clambering on board is not full of grace.

All aboard, briefed on landing protocols and it was burners on full blast as we and 100 other balloons took aloft and deftly jostled for air space.

In full sunlight it was amazing to see the brightly coloured balloons at all heights ducking in and out of rock formation so cleverly , where in some instances you could touch the rocks.

Some of the cliffs were lined with sightseers and on the flat ground a raft of young women in long flowing dresses posed for pictures with an amazing backdrop. There was even two wedding groups taking photographs.

As we soared  higher all of the sites we visited yesterday became visible, albeit at a different angle. Again it was photo taking heaven, but deciding on what is a keeper proved difficult.

After an hour we gently floated down to earth, with everyone in the brace position. A very smooth landing was followed by some amazing maneuvers to slightly reinflate the balloon and mount it on the trailer. Then it was a repeat of the earlier exercise this time to get out of the basket. We both made it safely.

Post flight we had a celebratory champagne and got issued our certificate of completion. It will sit neatly next to my 22 Yard Swimming  Certificate issued as a youngster.

On reflection it’s a pretty big exercise which is done daily, weather permitting, for 7 months of the year. With 100 balloons, 6 crew for each and 2800 passengers, along with bus drivers and guides there are oround 3600 people engaged for 4 hours requiring a military precise exercise. At about $400 a ride it generates great revenues for the operators.

It was back the hotel, a quick breakfast and then a transfer to join our tour in Goreme.

With 10 others we set off, firstly travelling to the worlds biggest stone carved monastery. It was huge and multi tiered. It’s thought it was for monks with the mirrored image one across the valley for nuns. The nun’s version has experienced caveins over the years and is not accessible.

There were many different areas including kitchen, dining, prayer rooms/ churches and of course a wine cellar.

Access was via some steep dirt paths and then stairs both modern and ancient. The churches had some well preserved Fresco’s. Some of the connecting tunnels were low , narrow and poorly lit.

Finished there and headed to the Hidden Valley, where 300 steps put you on the canyon floor aside a lovely stream. The mountains along both sides were again carved out and in ancient days used by Christians as hiding places. Some of the lower level ones are still used as tea houses and operators have decorated them with lots of scarecrow like figures.

Wandered for about 4 Kms to the finishing spot , a riverside restaurant where we enjoyed lunch.

Another 40 minute drive then to the Underground City a place where locals took refuge in wartimes etc. With a maximum height of 130cm and a metre wide in some spots it was not built for me. I enjoyed a coffee and watched all of the distressed faces, including one of our group who returned after discovering he was claustrophobic. 

A much svelter Jane did the whole lot  and whist it was interesting she agreed I made the right decision.

The trip to the next spot showed a couple of things about Turkey. One – don’t go into prison unless you want to experience what looked like prison camps during the war, with rows of barbed wire and multiple observation towers with several armed guards.

Two- there will never be a brick shortage, as in the space of about 10 kilometres there was a dozen , each with acres of stock.

Next was two visits to boost the earnings of the guide, an expensive jewelry store like the other day and a specialty food store. Suffice to say she didn’t earn much commission from our spending.

Tour finished with visits to two places we visited yesterday, so we re-enjoyed the views.

Back home for a little bit of rehydration and then dinner at the Barbarian Restaurant,  where plattered  medieval  styled food was served. It was plentiful and we had to reject the free dessert, as we couldn’t get through the main course.

Took our last night time view of the town and headed back home after a fascinating couple of days. Next stop Istanbul and it’s 20 odd million people.

The patter of little feet in the room above had us awake at 400am waiting for the 5 o’clock alarm so we could head off to airport bound for Cappadocia.

Driver arrived early and we were away in a Mercedes and with no traffic at all and in the airport terminal at 630.

Several layers of security later we were sipping coffee waiting for our flight with Pegasus Air, humming away the Ross Ryan song I am Pegasus.

Had the front row seats and a smooth flight over more mountainous country with farmers making most of the flat spots. There was a remarkable number of large lakes and dams which looked pretty full. One significant thing was the distinct lack of trees.

A big left turn around a snow capped mountain and we landed at Kayseri airport which is equivalent of maybe Hobart. Two luggage carousels probably illustrates the size. The cats never disappear with one into and out of the carousel feeder. 

Kayseri was again a city dominated by high rise units – mainly 8-10 stories- and mosques. 

It had a mixture of industry and agricultural. With the latter dominant, it was mainly cropping, with little or no hothouses which had been the case closer to the coast. Looked to be pretty rich volcanic soil and plenty of irrigation.

Within an hour the landscape changed remarkably as we entered the hills and rock formations for which the Cappadocia region is famous. We were staying in Urgur which was  almost abandoned up until the 60’s. It’s now a thriving tourist spot famous for its hotels built into the mountain side.

Ours was amazing with a bath you could do laps in and generally beautifully decorated. Their little Golden Retriever pup got plenty of practice sharpening his teeth on your hand and later in the afternoon became the hotel sweeper.

Wasted no time organising our programme, with a tour  in our own taxi hastily arranged and bookings made for hot air balloon tomorrow, plus a hiking tour.

Our taxi driver was great and we visited the  Fairies ,which are three remarkable structures with delicately balanced stones. Then off to an outdoor museum with a myriad of churches and dwellings carved  in to the rocks, including pigeon houses which were integral to living as food source, fertilizer source and they even used there droppings to create the base for Fresco’s painted on the walls of the churches. Next we were off to the Uchisar Castle which was the main fortress in the area. It was a rambling area leading up to a  castle perched on a rocky outcrop with views as far as the eye could see.

Up more than 300 stairs to the top and it was a postcard panorama. 

I don’t think it matters how many snaps you take here  – it’s a matter of embracing the moment.

Then we headed off to a horse farm where the owner ,who is Turkey’s endurance riding champion, takes in retired racehorses and uses them  for his own eventing, plus a trail riding business. It used to be a home to wild horses, but they have slowly disappeared. He even stables his horses in caves during the winter.

Off to some more panoramic spots where the landscape changed as you looked in different directions, with huge craggy spires, dug  out houses, pigeon houses, huge stone boulders and the occasional flat spot.

After 5 hours we headed home to soak in the atmosphere of our room, try out the bath and enjoy a taste of the local wine and a cheese plate, which we found out was gratis when we tried to pay on the last day.

Went for a stroll through the steep and winding cobblestone streets later in the evening and found a superb restaurant tucked below a floodlit mountainside pockmarked with caves. Won best food on tour mantle.

Early to bed in preparation for our much awaited hot air balloon ride on Turkey’s 99th birthday.

Got serenaded till about 100am by the local disco, before a reasonable sleep where legs finally stopped twitching after the walk.

 Met our tour  group outside Macca’s and from that time on they referred to as the McDonald’s.  

Bus took a taxi driver route heading to the first point of interest, the spot where Dunden Falls cascade into the sea.

Pretty spot and upstream they conduct rafting – there is a reasonable safety net for anyone who goes astray. On the other hand not too sure that the stuffed teddy bear cum  air bag at the end of zip ine would provide a soft landing.

The local ducks seemed to have all the the currents worked out using the eddies to chase food and swim out.

The area was full of hawkers and guys with colourful parrots taking staged pictures. Jane managed to have one popped on her head, but declined the photo.

Wandered further up stream and a group of graduating students could not have picked a better place for photos to farewell life at school.

Just across the stream was a 10 storey government building that  looked to be no more than 5 years old which was being gutted and appently turned into a hotel. It will fit in well with the others that line the seaside beaches all the way from Antalya.

Back in the bus and we headed back into town for an abbreviated Old City tour which started exactly where we left – Hadrians ’ Gate – next door to Macca’s.

Unlike  the last group of kids we saw,  the next were at the other end of the spectrum. More than 40 toddlers dressed in National costume were performing in the gate area as a precursor to Turkey celebrating its 99th anniversary  this morrow after Ataturk gained them independence in 1920’s.

Tour basically covered all of the places we visited yesterday and even used our hotel as an example of how old Ottoman houses had been repurposed.

Back on the bus we headed for the new port to take an hour long boat trip in a similar styled boat to what we were on when visiting the sunken city. It paled into insignificance to tne huge super yachts and cruisers that were moored in the marina.

Trip gave us a chance to look back at the mountains that had been our home for much of the last month. It also gave us some first hand exposure to the navy undertaking live firing exercises only a Km of the coast.

No sooner left and we were back and heading to the cable car ride, up some 450 metres to give a panoramic view of the area.  

The city is a sprawling metropolis of 2.5 million which grows to almost 6 Million at the peak of tourist season. We have been blessed  to be here at very tail end of the season.

Next it was to a local restaurant for food the McDonal’s namesakes could have bettered, with the ‘ not included’ drinks selling at a 1000% markup.

Then it was off to a special location – a jewellery manufacturing plant with five showrooms , each about 50×20 metres full of product and sales staff eager to assist with purchases. The prices were ridiculous, illustrated by the fact they were immediately happy to knock off 50% and give you a $US price – they didn’t quite get currency differences. 

We left empty handed, but not before they shepherded us through another Duty Free  like section, which we traversed at a record rate. The whole exercise was about selling things to tours at inflated prices and the guide getting a cut.

Last leg of the journey was to go  to the head of river where Dunden  falls started. It was a carbon copy of the other place with hawkers and restaurants. The river itself was pretty and dropped over a waterfall before heading down stream. You got a chance to walk beneath the falls and get a different perspective.

Out the front gate and passed up on horse and camel rides and took the more convential transport mode back to town.

Enjoyed dinner in a street side restaurant, serenaded by a solo singer guitarist, who played What A Wonderful World which was quite appropriate given our tour to date and it being a signature song of the crew we walked Portugal with several years ago.

Solved the mystery of our missing laundry, packed and headed to bed early to ready ourselves for a 525 start to go to airport for trip to Cappadocia.

Welcome to life as a tourist. No boots, packs or walking poles for us today, we were officially tourists.

Out of bed at 830, a lovely couryard breakfast, where cereal was available for the first time in a month and a Specsavers moment for me when I added beautifully diced pineapple to my muesli only to find out it was potato.

Spent the entire morning doing a Lonely Planet walking tour of the Old City with guide Jane in charge.  Visited a fabulous Museum with recreations of Ottoman history and an attached information centre where they contend remnants of society dating back 500,000 years were found locally.

Some beautifully restored ruins and a magnificent gate and city wall built by Hadrian were the highlight. The houses with there extended upper deck terraces are amazing.

Found a little vely old Labrador minding the fort who lives bed a  pat and actually started barking when I stopped- proves my theory most of the dogs here just crave attention. At this stage I cannot get as enamored with petting the cats which are more nuisances than anything else,

Wandered down Kebab Alley which was absolutely packed with quaint little eateries before buying a few Turkish yummy things to sample latter in the day.

Headed along the cliff top to the restaurants with wonderful harbour and sea views. The sea was covered in an eerie mist, from which a couple of navy boats emerged and what I though was a mini submarine entered. The min sun turned out to be some sort of mobile diving platform.

Got some lunch with little plastic forks supplied to eat the chips. Jane still does not know whether the chips or the tip of one tines of the fork tasted better.

Headed towards the harbour and jumped into a glass elevator, with a slight shatter in window of one wall , along with 8 other passengers. Hoped the cables held as sign suggested 4 people and 360kg limit and none of the occupants were jockeys.

Got to bottom safely where about 100 people were waiting to go up. Who knows how many trips would  be needed to clear the crowd.

The docks were full of ships all with mythology or marine themed statues on the aft deck. The number tied up suggested not much business.

The area was full of people selling trips, ice creams and trinkets with a tout outside every restaurant trying to lure you in. There was the odd beggar to boot.

Went for a walk along the sea wall which was as wide as two aqueducts – this time with my fears overcome. One side of the wall was the boat harbour and the other the Public beach. They could not have crammed another person onto the beach which was rows of chairs and pontoons. The water was sparkling clear and again amazingly deep just metres from the edge.

Found our restaurant for dinner tonight which will supposedly, 

as the waiter said ,  give us a wonderful sunset view.

Rest  of afternoon spent planning tomorrow’s activities and lazing around before heading out for a pre-dinner drink at a funky little bar and then down to the restaurant.

Sunset had passed but we had a choice balcony seat overlooking the beach were people were still swimming and also magnificent views of the harbour with cliffs illuminated and a laser show.

In the distance we could see the hills where we had walked  with lights sparkling and almost replicating our way down.

Dinner was probably best on tour and local Turkish wine a great complement.  Our waiter and new best friend was very attentive, but I am sure if you looked in Oxford Dictionary under ‘swarmy’’ his picture would appear.

Wandered home through very quiet streets with most  of the day trippers gone and only those staying in the Old City and a few locals eating out. Spied a great spot with excellent live music for dinner tomorrow night. 

Tomorrow booked on an all day tour to see the famous waterfalls, a ride on the cable car and another city tour.