Yipeedoo from Turkey

Yipeedoo - a free hotel internet with an English keyboard!!! A traveller’s idea of heaven!!!
Hi Everyone

After many hugs, goodbyes and promises to 'keep in touch' to cement friendships made on the road, the travellers on our Interlude in Turkey Tour 2008 yesterday dispersed to different destinations from Istanbul airport. With official tour escorting duties over, I have five days to relax in my spacious suite (yep upgraded) in the Spina hotel situated in the beautiful old Sultanahmet district of Istanbul.

 From the hotel rooftop terrace it is almost possible to reach out and touch one of the six minarets of the Blue Mosque with one hand and the dome of the Sophia Haghia with the other at the same time overlooking the site of the ancient Hippodrome where chariots raced in Byzantine times. Today the square is the centre of cultural, historical and touristic activities. It is like being in the middle of an open air museum surrounded by delightfully restored 18th century houses with a view of the three remaining historic monuments, the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine. On the other side of the terrace is a commanding view of the stunning and all important Bosphorus.

Since I last emailed from our fabulous gullet while cruising on the Agean Sea, we have experienced a variety of adventures and explored many breathtaking and scenic areas of this diverse and beautiful country.

Ancient Tlos

View from Tlos

Included in the many highlights was our exploration of the amazing Lycian, Byzantine and Ottoman ruins and home of the winged horse Pegasus at the ancient city of Tlos and Olympos, another Lycian Lycian city with a great beach and pirate’s cove. Most of the beaches here are pebble beaches so my ungainly red Crocs have been a Godsend and have had lots of use. The Mediterranean water is absolutely magic, so sparkling clear and stunning colours.

Resting in the ruins

One of my favourite and a truly breathtaking excursion on this trip was to the natural wonder of the Saklikent Canyon or Gorge, about 50 KM from Fethiye. This canyon is 300 meters deep and 18 km long and was created by the rushing torrents of icy cold water which cut a narrow gorge through the mountains over thousands of years. The walls are so high that they cut out most of the sunlight and it is fun to hitch up ones trousers, skirts or whatever and wade carefully over the rocks and pebbles (Crocs to the rescue again) through the bracing fresh spring water. Little local kids are only too keen to grab your hands and 'help' you along. It appears that 'no thank you' translates to 'OK' and in their eagerness and with their sights set on a healthy tip, they tend to unbalance rather than assist the unfortunate tourist! This canyon reminded me a lot of the entrance to Petra but of course Petra does not have the water and is more colourful.

Saklikent Canyon

Wading through the canyon

We stayed in and wandered the streets of the picturesque old centre (Kaleici) in Antalya where the Emperor Hadrian visited in 130AD and the decorated three arched gate erected to commemorate his visit still stands. Enjoyed a hamam here again. Same place and same masseur as my last visit in 2006! Hamams (public bath houses) have a long history and are in old magnificent buildings with arches and columns. You sit or lie on marble slabs in the very humid room called harara (heated to 40-50 degrees Celsius) for about 20 minutes to open the pores and then your body is subjected to scrubbing with a coarse mitt to rub off the dead layer of skin followed by a frothy soapy scrub while you are slipping and sliding around on a marble slab. Then something resembling a tablecloth is wrapped around you like a sarong and you are sent to a waiting room to relax with a glass of apple tea followed by a full body oil massage. Absolute bliss! All for about $30 AUD. Not recommended for those who are self-conscious about being naked in front of either sex.

Perge

Onto more serious historic stuff - We visited Perge, the city settled by the Hittites around 1500BC which is fascinating as the ruins of the Roman city provide a very complete picture of the past, so it is easy to imagine this city in its glory days - the wide colonnaded street that most likely served as a gathering place for the inhabitants bordered by shops on both sides with a water canal lying in the middle of the street used for the purpose of cooling the atmosphere, the pre Roman gateway and walls were built in the 2nd century A.D, the agora (market place),the well conserved stadium or arena built in the 2nd century with seating for at least 12000 spectators and 30 rooms under the rows of seats used for admittance as well as shops; the marble bath complex is absolutely amazing since marble was not available in Perge and had to be shipped from Marmara across the Marmara Sea! Like many other historic sites in Turkey, restoration at Perge is slowly progressing. I could see a difference since my visit in 2006.

Aspendos amphitheatre

Aspendos is another marvel we visited being one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world with astounding acoustics and seating for 15000, it is still used today.

I think it if fair to say that after all the above and more, most of the group was 'ruined out', so a complete change of scenery was timely and Cappadocia was the perfect spot. The unique landscape of this designated national park in the centre of Turkey which was formed as a result of two very ancient volcanic eruptions has to be seen to be believed. It is no surprise that come Star Wars films were shot here.

Our beautiful cave hotel

Cappadocia means 'the land of beautiful horses'. I wish I could describe the landscape which is riddled with gorges, ravines, spectacular valleys and fairy chimneys and tall irregular shaped rock pillars. Small towns and cave villages are nestled between the valleys. The rocks were formed from the volcanic ash so they are soft and porous making it is relatively easy to carve into and create homes, shops and hotels of weird shapes, many are quite luxurious and ever so interesting. On this trip we stayed in some lovely boutique hotels run by interesting people but the gorgeous boutique cave-hotel with all mod cons in Göreme was a special treat.

Our fantastic guide and driver

Another real treat was our spectacular early morning hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia. What a way to see this remarkable and awesome area. Our pilot thrilled everyone in the basket by dropping the balloon into various valleys and daring his passengers to lean out and pick apricots off the trees and skimming close to crops. He had everyone holding their breath and the side of the basket tightly before roaring the burners for the hot air needed to rise out of the valleys to hover over the village so we could see our cave-hotel. The landing was perfect with the basket coming to rest directly on the support vehicles tray, followed by the inevitable group photo session then the regulation champagne spray and toast.

Firing up our balloon

Ready for take-off

Celebrating a safe landing

I'm sure you know that Cappadocia has around 30 or so underground cities some nine stories deep which have been uncovered and many excavated. Only a few are open to the public whilst many of the other caves are now used as cool storage depots for produce such as lemons, grapes and potatoes which keep dry and fresh for months. We visited the largest of the open cities called Kaymakli believed to be dug out by the Hittites in 1200BC. Those Hittites were sure a busy bunch! It is thought over 5000 people lived in Kaymakli.

Entrance to Kaymakli

Kaymakli Communal toilet

The entire community lived in hiding from invaders, the entry blocked by a massive stone door. We explored four levels of an elaborate maze of tunnels and rooms such as living, dining areas, churches, nursery, wine cellar and the large communal kitchen, latrines and stables. One has to bend over to pass through passages in many places but it is not at all claustrophobic due to the sophisticated 45 metre ventilation shaft.

Now very soft electric lighting is dotted throughout the city and one can only imagine how the Hittites managed with cloth dipped in oils and lit. We wondered what the electrician said when asked to quote for the job to install the wires and connect the electricity to this city - something like 'you want what????' Surprisingly this is a rich agricultural area with many vineyards and local wineries. There is a beautiful big valley called 'The Pigeon valley' which indeed has many pigeons nesting. Their droppings are collected and used to fertiliser the volcanic soil.

The Pigeon valley

A few of us paid about $45 to go and see the Whirling Dervishes ceremony which lasts about 1 1/2 hours. The fascinating Whirling Dervishes trace their origin to the 13th century Ottoman Empire. The order of the Dervishes are a branch of the large Sufis spiritual offshoot tradition of Islam which focuses on love, tolerance, worship of God, community development and personal development through self-discipline. The whirling dance is a seven century old ritual and one of the physical methods they use to try to reach religious ecstasy. The ceremony was really a bit of a mystery to me. Six men seem to go into a trance and begin twirling to the somber Sufi music and they twirl and twirl and twirl- all at the same not-too-fast pace. Apparently the effect is intended to be mesmerizing and it was - I have to confess I was so mesmerized that I nodded off several times (along with many others I might add) and each time I awoke those little Dervishes were still twirling! Tick-seen that - or at least some of it!

Whirling Dervishes figurines

In total contrast to our night of the Whirling Dervishes, the next and last night off our tour our group thoroughly enjoyed a special Turkish night being entertained during dinner by a spectacular very bright and lively floorshow of belly dancers and an Anatolian Cultural Folklore group. That was a really great show.

Turkey has again proved to be a wonderful and safe destination to visit. Apart from the varied and spectacular scenery, the stunning coastline, historic and ancient ruins and fascinating culture, the Turkish cuisine is delicious - so varied, healthy and fresh and the Turks are friendly and welcoming.

Turkey has wonderful water and lots of it. For me there are other plusses here too; like having a traditional hamam. I love hearing the Muezzins singing their call to prayer from the minarets of the Mosques five times a day. I love the fact that the shopkeepers can leave their wares outside the shops overnight without fear of them being nicked. I love seeing the children laughing and playing skippy, hopscotch and ball in the streets (revives sweet childhood memories) and the grown-ups playing board games outside their homes and shops. I love seeing families out walking together in the evenings. I love haggling in the bazaars and the friendly banter with the carpet merchants as they try to entice you to step inside their shops where the carpets are 'a special price just for me.' It is a gentle community way of life here that many in our country I'm sure would envy.

Enough for now.
Cheers to all and Up the mighty Swannies
Jeanette 20.6.2008