Around Turkey

Curti-Roma-Bucarest-Istambul

As usual we leave from Fiumicino and so we have to get up very early (4:00)...this time we are not alone but travel together with Peppe and Titti. Just enough time to load our suitcases into Peppe's already packed car. We leave; since today is Ferragosto we find the highway completely empty. Arriving at the airport we quickly check in; the first stop of our trip is Bucharest, we're flying with Tarom. The flight to Bucharest lasts only 1h and 35 min; after getting off the plane we enter the shuttle that will take us to the terminal and there I get stung by a wasp!!!! what pain!!! fortunately Peppe promptly applies the antihistamine to me. At the airport we head straight to the transit area where two Romanian police officers are waiting for us and check us in for the second flight, which leaves at 16:10. The second flight lasts 1h and 20 minutes and the time passes quickly.

Istanbul's airport is brand new and incredibly clean, we pay 10 euros for the visa and stand in line for the passport check where they stamp it. We quickly collect our bags and some cash and then with the metro (1.50 YTL) we arrive near the center. The stop is Akasaray, which is reached in about 30 min; from here a few meters and we arrive at the stop of the very convenient trams and in four stops we are at Sultanamet. We manage to see the beautiful outline of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, beautiful, a few steps and we are at our accommodation, namely the Nayala pension. The room for 4 people with a private bathroom is all in all comfortable; going up to the pension's terrace you can see Hagia Sophia, very evocative.

After settling in we take a stroll in the center, which is full of people, and we stop to eat something, but then everyone off to bed, it's 11 and the tiredness is making itself felt.

Istambul

After a nice shower we decide to wait for our friends on the terrace and together we have breakfast in our guesthouse. The first stop of the day is the wonderful blue mosque, at the entrance there is a guy who checks the clothing and decides what to cover (legs, torso etc.). After taking off your shoes it's possible to enter, the majolicas covering the interior of the mosque are beautiful. You don't pay a real ticket, but you make an offering at the exit (with an attempt at a receipt!!). After putting our shoes back on we head towards Hagia Sophia (10 YTL), the central atrium is truly very beautiful, very tall with a gigantic dome that seems suspended in the void. The Byzantine mosaics placed on the second floor are also beautiful. The heat is truly intense, so we decide to visit the basilica cistern...where we find a bit of refreshment.

This is truly an incredible place, there are columns that tower over a small underground lake...mystical!!. Every now and then a drop of water falls from the ceiling and the play of lights makes the atmosphere surreal. Worth seeing are the columns at the back located above blocks depicting Medusa heads. Once out we decide to eat in a restaurant right nearby (15 euros 4 people) with a beautiful terrace from where you can see both Hagia Sophia and the blue mosque. After the restaurant we head to the archaeological museum (5 YTL)..not very special, after visiting the museum we dedicate ourselves to a bit of rest in the park near the Topkaki. At this point we accompany Pippi to the nearest Hamman for a bath with massage (17 euros), while she relaxes, we have a very good Turkish tea. Obviously women and men are in separate rooms and according to our friend it's a bit of a...rough experience.

From here a few steps and we arrive at the ferry area (Eminonu), where we board for Kadikay. This ferry (0.75 euros) takes about 20 min for the entire crossing and you can admire a magnificent panorama of the golden horn with the blue mosque and Hagia Sophia. On the other side we go to eat at a restaurant with a beautiful terrace by the sea. On the way back we take the ferry to Karakoy (and not Eminonu the last one is at 20) which docks right in front of the pier from where we departed. From here with a tram we cross the galata bridge and arrive at sultanamet.

Istambul

The first stop of the day is the Topkaki palace (10 YTL), we visit the four courtyards including the sword museum. We also visit the hall of treasures belonging to the sultans, the spoon diamond is beautiful. After a nice ice cream we decide to take a guided tour of the harem (10 YTL), the visit lasts 30 min but it's nothing special. At this point we decide to go to the grand bazaar, terrible in my opinion, you don't breathe the typical air of these places...too commercial. You shouldn't go in the afternoon because the structure that houses it is closed with few windows...and here it's very hot.

Istambul-Izmir-Selchuk

Yesterday we bought at our guesthouse the ticket for the shuttle that will take us to the airport (4 euros). In about 30 minutes we are at the airport where we have a quick breakfast. Our plane leaves at 8:30 and in 1 hour we arrive in Izmir. From here there is little choice either the taxi to Selchuck which costs 40 euros or the bus to Izmir which costs 9.5 YTL each. We decide on the last solution and in 30 minutes we are in Izmir a stop in the center, so we have to take a taxi to get to the otogar (which is far from the center!!!) and we spend 3 euros each. Here for 6 YTL we take the bus to our destination, if it hadn't been for the taxi we would have saved 1 euro per person, but I must say it was more "adventurous"...even though then we discover that the dolmus..passes by the airport...

but did you understand after I had spent more than an hour asking the airport staff if you could go to Selchuck directly without going up to Izmir...did you understand..anyway I learned the lesson... they want to make the taxis work...I'll try not to take even one!!!. In 1 h we arrive at the otogar of Sechuk it's very hot and there's strong humidity we stop at our accomodation the ANZ pension (free internet) with very nice rooms. We take the free transport to the ruins and have ourselves dropped off in the upper part, the farthest (3km) since we have to return at our own expense. The site is very beautiful (10 YTL), the famous library of Celsus and the theater are beautiful, it's really very hot. Once out of the site you have to pass by the taxis disregarding them (not this time!!) and further ahead hidden you see a sign that represents the dolmus stop that for 1.5 YTL takes you home.

In the evening we eat some very good chicken skewers the sish kebab.

Selchuk-Denizli-Pammukkale

We have breakfast in our hotel (hotel price 11.50 euros per person) and we go to visit the small but nice museum of Ephesus (5 YTL). Among the most interesting finds obviously the statue of the god Priapus cannot be missing (it doesn't go unnoticed), the boy on the dolphin and the statue of Artemis that was located at the center of one of the seven wonders of the world namely the Artemision. After the museum we sip a nice cold drink in the little square of Selchuk and then we go see what remains of the Artemision, that is only a column!!! but it is very tall the temple must have been gigantic. At this point we go to the otogar to take the dolmus direct to Denizli, there are several companies with the same prices and times 12 YTL, 3h. I must say that the landscape along the way is not very interesting and bored at 16:00 we arrive at the otogar of Denizli.

As soon as we arrived a guy from the company that manages the dolmus with which we came approaches us saying that they offer a free shuttle service to Pammukkale, great!!! we follow him together with other tourists and get on the minibus that in 20 minutes takes us to Pammukkale. Along the way the minibus guy tries to ask for tickets from two tourists who came like us from Selchuk, but after my heated protests he immediately backs off....these Turks, there's nothing to be done mass tourism "pollutes" people's minds. Once we arrive at the destination we go to the Venus Pension..very nice it has a pool (10 euros per person).

Pammukkale

This morning we have breakfast in the hotel and shortly after we discover that the two Italians met yesterday (Davide and Anastasia) will spend the second night in our same accomodation, at this point we go to visit the local beauty namely the travertine pools. You have to go to the central square of the town and from here there is a small road that goes up, you arrive at a crossroads and on the right after a bit you meet the ticket office (5 YTL). From here begins a path under the blazing sun, at a certain point you have to proceed barefoot (go in beach attire!!!) and from here the pools begin where you can swim, the panorama is surreal as you go up you arrive at the stop of the tourist buses from there you enjoy an exceptional spectacle, on the left there are much nicer pools and there is a place where you can swim. The sacred pool is nothing special considering that you pay 18 YTL.

The theater is nice but the climb with the heat is very hard!. Bring bottles of water because up here it costs a lot 3.5 YTL against 1 YTL in the center. On the way back we take a dolmus to Pammukkale that takes us back to the center. We take the opportunity to take a nice dip in the pool and ask for information on how to reach the Denizli airport which apparently is very far (85km!!!!!) and you have to take a taxi.

Pammukkale-Denizli-Istambul-Kayseri-Goreme

Today is a hard day at 7:00 our taxi comes and we leave the guy says that to reach our airport it takes about 1h and 30 minutes and our plane leaves at 9:00, without traffic we arrive in 50 minutes. The Turkish plane lands after 50 min in Istanbul, at 13:35 we leave for Kayseri where we arrive 1h later. After collecting our luggage we go out and obviously there are only taxis and when you ask they tell you that to get to the otogar you only have to take taxis, but going a little further ahead (and enough!!), following the locals in practice, you will notice a small shelter where you can take a comfortable bus (1 YTL) that takes you near the otogar. At the otogar we find the bus that takes us directly to Goreme (7 YTL) in about 1 h.

During the journey the landscape quickly changes (finally), we have arrived in the mythical Cappadocia!!! already towards Urgup it's possible to see the famous fairy peaks!!!. At the otogar of Goreme we notice a small travel company (Goreme Travel) that rents us a minibus for the whole day (120 YTL). We go to our hotel the Paradise Pension and discover that they didn't consider our reservation and that they accommodate us in the nearby Ufuk (40 YTL)...whatever they are all the same. After settling in we take a walk around the small town, very nice, with this surrounding landscape...spectacular.

Goreme-Ihlara-Selime-Kaymakly-Uchisar-Goreme

Today there's the big tour of Cappadocia!!!, at 8 we are at the otogar and off we go, first stop is the Ihlara valley where we arrive 1h and 20 min later. Before entering the valley we stop in the square to have a tea and chat with some elderly people. The village of Ihlara is truly rural, there are many curious children who always greet. We pay 5 YTL each and go down into the valley, the landscape at the bottom of this gorge is lush and there is a very nice little river that cools the air. Here and there you can see the beautiful churches that are 1500 years old!! not bad. Walking we arrive at the town of Belirsima where our driver waits for us, but first we eat an excellent pita. After refreshing ourselves we ask to be taken to the Selime monastery, very photogenic basically a mountain with many niches where the monks lived.

From here we go to the underground city of Kaymakli which is about 1h from Selime. The entrance costs 10 YTL, the intense cool is something wonderful this is the ideal place to spend the hottest hours of the day.. Slipping into the very narrow tunnels is very simple even if it requires a bit of flexibility and you also have to watch your head!!!. It's all very beautiful the tour lasts about 40 minutes. The next stop is Uchisar where we stop in a little square where you can admire the beautiful valley of the pigeons, with the suggestive hill of Uchisar, today was truly a beautiful day.

Goreme-Ankara

Today we visit the very nearby open-air museum (10 YTL); as usual it's very hot and the view is beautiful. The churches are fantastic with domes and columns carved into the rock, and then the painted ones are incredible!!!. The Apple Church is beautiful, and obviously here the frescoes are much better preserved than those we saw yesterday in the Ihlara valley. The cathedral outside the museum is also beautiful (but included in the price). Unlike the others, where red dominates, here blue is the boss. Now we go back to the hotel to get our luggage and head to the otogar, destination Ankara (23 YTL), with a connection in Neveshir; we leave at 12:00. We arrive in Ankara in about 5 hours and the impact with the city is shocking; right away you feel the heavy air typical of a big city.

The bus drops us off at the gigantic otogar (ASTI); from here we take the metro (Ankaray) for 1.30 YTL to the connection for Ulus; a few steps and we're at the Hotel Mithat.

Ankara

We begin our outing through traffic-ridden, dusty Ankara. The first stop is Ulus, and after seeing the Byzantine Column of Julian, wittily known as the kebab column, we laboriously head to the citadel. The citadel is charming with its cobbled alleys and people smiling at you; the children especially are adorable (we even manage to improvise a soccer game). Heading down, we visit the mosque with the wooden colonnade, then walk a few steps among the little craft shops and reach the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (10 YTL). The museum is very interesting: the beautiful statuettes of the Mother Goddess, the treasures from the 13 tombs, as well as the tablets with Hittite cuneiform writing. From here we take the metro to the Ataturk Mausoleum, but it's 6:00 pm and it closes at 5:00 pm. We take a walk toward the new Ankara Mosque, the largest in the world and the city's new symbol.

We pay our hotel (30 euros per room) and book the taxi for tomorrow (50 YTL).

Ankara-Istambul-Edirne-Plovdiv(Bulgaria)

Today is truly a hard day. We wake up at 4:30 am and at 5:30 am we leave by taxi for the airport, where we arrive in 40 minutes. We catch our plane to Istanbul, where we arrive 1 hour later. After collecting our luggage, we take the metro and get off at the otogar stop. Of course the Istanbul otogar is immense, with lots of offices (about 200), each with different destinations (or almost). By asking around, I manage to find the company that goes to Plovdiv in Bulgaria (it's Oz Varol); I discover that the bus has already left (departures at 10:00 and 21:00)... we won't get discouraged; we'll try to cross the border on foot. So we take a bus headed to Edirne (Volkan) departing at 11:00, and apart from the air conditioning blasting, everything goes smoothly (16 YTL) and in 2 hours and 30 minutes we're at the Edirne otogar.

With a smaller city bus (1 YTL) we get dropped off at a point where we can catch the bus to Kabikule. We catch it just in time (2.5 YTL); the bus is microscopic and the four of us barely fit with all the suitcases. Arriving near Kapikule (which isn't a city but the border), we notice endless lines of cars waiting their turn. Fortunately, not having a car, we manage to get smoothly through the Turkish border and the two Bulgarian ones, and we arrive in Bulgaria.