Turkey by born2travel.it

taken from

04.06.13 Istanbul (TURKEY)

[Stefy]: 'We put the clock forward an hour: we have just landed in Istanbul! We withdraw Turkish lira and take the last two seats on the Havatas bus, heading for: Taksim (the centre of the revolt these days)! As soon as we approach the centre we begin to smell the strong odour of tear gas, stadium chants hail the revolution against the dictatorship. Everywhere flags and banners, buses and cars destroyed and set on fire! At first we felt like two war correspondents but soon everything began to seem normal to us, we adapt quickly to new situations!

We spend the evening wandering along Istiklal Caddesi tasting the first Turkish delights, first a simit (a soft sesame ring), then a big kebab and finally a tasty baklava (a sweet with honey and pistachio).'

05.06.13 Istanbul (TURKEY)

Istanbul 13 years later... The last time I was here I was a boy frightened by the majesty of this city with its Oriental charm.

Now I find it so normal to wander its little streets without a goal, to take its buses instead of taxis, to drink an apple tea among the old men playing tavla and to chat with university students about their discontent and their desire to change things.

Istanbul. Just the name fascinates you... it makes you imagine stories of pashas from 1001 Nights, adventures of Oriental sultans or Ottoman warriors...

5 city names with a magical charm: 1. Timbuktu 2. Istanbul 3. Bombay 4. Bali 5. Baghdad

We spend the whole day in the Galata area, trying to experience it our own way: we close the Lonely Planet, throw away the map and let ourselves be guided by the flow... We stop in antique shops or old philately shops, drink freshly squeezed orange juice or stand enchanted listening to the story of the dervishes...

Stefania, from the top of the Galata Tower, admires the frenetic life of this wonderful city of ancient Anatolia. Barges plough the waters of the Bosphorus, fish sellers shout, 'taksi' honk their horns to make their way...

The Turks are an exceptional people; it surprises you when, sitting in the waiting room of the bus station, another traveller, without asking you anything, brings you two hot teas, almost as if for him it were a sacrilege to drink it alone.

06.06.13 Goreme (TURKEY)

After eleven hours on a bus during which I felt as though I were wandering forever within Istanbul, we arrive at Nevsehir, but by now we are in the magical region of Cappadocia.

Its pinnacles from another era bristle like the quills of an immense porcupine... We are exhausted but the desire to plunge into it and lose ourselves inside it is too great... hardly time to leave our backpacks in the storeroom of our hotel carved into the rock - it's too early for check-in - and our trekking day begins...

On foot we reach the open-air museum of Goreme, a UNESCO world heritage site, and admiring the frescoes found inside the caves, damaged by Muslim vandals, I think that UNESCO should have 'protected' them a little earlier...

As we wandered enchanted among those wonders created by Mother Nature we felt small in the presence of those majestic and severe giants... The day is long and still full of surprises... We decide to follow a path of some ten km that will lead us near the 'Red Valley', the 'Rose Valley' and the so-called 'Fairy Chimneys'. I was moved several times when, like two little explorers, we slipped into steep paths, sometimes dusty, sometimes muddy, topped by those majestic stone mushrooms...

After several hours of walking we reach the outskirts of Cavusin, a small village... sparse, very modest little houses can be glimpsed; we walk alongside the cemetery with its white gravestones just as the muezzin intones his call from the village's only minaret...

[Stefy]: 'Despite our tiredness we decide to go on as far as the Kalelar (Fairy Chimneys); these artistic creations of nature were formed when erosion swept away the layer of lava that covered the tuff, leaving isolated pinnacles behind. Everything seemed to take on magical shapes, everything around us seemed enchanted!

In the evening, after a hitchhike, we lose ourselves among the alleys of Goreme and end up at the home of an old lady who shows us the inside of a real dwelling carved into the rock!'

07.06.13 Goreme (TURKEY)

[Stefy]: 'On our scooter... First stop: Uchisar Castle, located between the 'Valley of Roses' and the 'Pigeon Valley'. An imposing mass of volcanic rock dotted with rocks and little windows.

25 km further on we come across Kaymakli. We visit the underground city made up of a series of tunnels sunk eight floors deep; here Christians fled and hid when in the 6th and 7th centuries the Persian armies hunted them. Time flies and we have to reach Mustafapasa, and we do so by crossing numerous small villages frozen in time. It was really lovely to savour a bit of that Cappadocia so far from tourism.

At Mustafapasa we are welcomed by its pretty little square and we treat ourselves to a romantic apple tea among its people. We stop to watch life flowing slowly, groups of cheerful old men sitting chatting in the square's cafes, children chasing one another, bakers pulling every sort of good thing out of the oven, and we of course don't refuse their invitation and eat a delicious Turkish 'pida'!

It's time to head back. We reach Urgup, passing along the town's lovely, refined streets up to a wonderful viewpoint.

Tonight we set off for Pamukkale, we'll travel all night. For now we take the chance to relax a little, listen to music and drink a tea while our eyes are gratified by the lovely sunset over the fairy chimneys.'

08.06.13 Pamukkale (TURKEY)

After a whole day out on the scooter and 12 hours of sleepless overnight travel, instead of enjoying this delightful room at the Hotel Ozturk and resting a little, we set off first to explore the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis and then the thermal pools of Pamukkale, at midday and with a sun that was splitting the stones!

Hierapolis is enchanting, not so much for what it presents now but for what it has been... the ruins bear witness to an ancient splendour. It is the example of an old, very flourishing Greco-Roman city: here is the main street all paved in cobblestones, the thermal baths, the majestic theatre, the church, the necropolis and so on.

Finally, before us are the 'white' valleys of Pamukkale with the water at 36 degrees... never seen anything like it before... what imagination Mother Nature has!

A few hours later we are sprawled on a big Persian carpet stuffing ourselves with gozleme, pida, doner and a thousand apple teas....

09.06.13 Kusadasi (TURKEY)

The journey towards the Aegean coast lasts only 4 hours and is very pleasant. We cross another lovely stretch of this Turkey that day after day conquers us more and more.

The sun shines high in the clear sky... we run towards the port crossing a whole district of tourist stalls...

In the afternoon we treat ourselves to a couple of hours of relaxation in our hotel's pool before plunging back into the nightlife of Kusadasi until late evening!

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