Showing posts with label turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label turkey. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
part VII - and back in Istanbul again
The last couple of days back in Istanbul were spent walking around Sultanahmet and shopping ... and walking some more and shopping again. We visited the Rustem Pasa mosque - my favorite one of all - where we sat through prayer and chatted with the Imam for a while, saw the train station where the Orient Express stops, went back to the Spice and Grand Bazaars where I got my second mixed scent and twelve meters of fabrics from a dear old man, ate more baklavas and tried the gullaç (special dessert only available during Ramazan), and visited the night stalls around the Hippodrome which was so festive I never wanted to leave. And for our last meal, lunch at Hamdi again. It was the perfect ending for one of the best trips we ever had.
I think it shows on all these posts I made how much we loved it there. Before we went I had read somewhere that Turkey is a country you can't visit just once. I now understand why :)

blue mosque

blue mosque

sultans' tombs

rustem pasa mosque

rustem pasa mosque

rustem pasa mosque

at eminonu

the orient express station

the blue mosque at night

the hippodrome stalls at night

carpet store in the baths of roxelana

carpet store in the baths of roxelana

outside the spice bazaar

lunch at hamdi
I think it shows on all these posts I made how much we loved it there. Before we went I had read somewhere that Turkey is a country you can't visit just once. I now understand why :)

blue mosque

blue mosque

sultans' tombs

rustem pasa mosque

rustem pasa mosque

rustem pasa mosque

at eminonu

the orient express station

the blue mosque at night

the hippodrome stalls at night

carpet store in the baths of roxelana

carpet store in the baths of roxelana

outside the spice bazaar

lunch at hamdi
Friday, October 12, 2007
part VI - Didyma, Priene, Sirince, Ephesus
(We're almost at the end of this trip, so next week the blog will be back to normal .. thanks for reading and accompanying our adventures these last two weeks. Have a great weekend !)
The next day started with early breakfast at the Venus Hotel, and the opportunity to take some photos by daylight. I particularly loved the little cosy corner with all the rugs hanging down.



Leaving Pamukkale, we went in the direction of Selçuk, but first we had planned a few stops on the way. The first stop was at Didyma, where you can see the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. Here we had lunch and checked the ruins, but apart from that the village itself is disappointing.

From Didyma we had planned to go to Miletos, but it was getting too hot so instead we decided to stop by the Migros market we'd seen on the way. We wanted to buy some Turkish tea to take home - the smaller size we could find was of half a kilo which just goes to show how much tea is drank around here (we got two different packs).
We skipped Miletos and headed out to Priene instead. These ruins are also quite worth seeing, especially the Theatre and the remains of the Temple of Athena.

Back in Selçuk, we went in search of our hotel in the nearby village of Sirince. This quiet and peaceful village is located in a beautiful mountain landscape, and it is perfect for a relaxing vacation.
We had made a reservation at the Nisanyan. This lovely establishment includes a five room inn but we stayed at one of the Ilyastepe cottages. I really can't recommend this place enough, the cottages are amazing, the location is stunning and the food is to die for (fabulous dinner and the best breakfast we had during the whole trip)







Melissa at the Nisanyan had advised us not to go to Ephesus until the afternoon, due to all the cruise groups that usually come in the morning. So the next morning, after a walk through the village of Sirince, we also went to explore downtown Selçuk for a while. We shopped for some souvenirs and even purchased a small carpet at Black sheep Carpets. This was another recommendation from Melissa, and Aydn, the owner, was really nice and very patient with me while I took my time deciding.
After that, we were ready for lunch, so we followed Aydn's suggestion and went to the restaurant at the Seven Sleepers site. The specialty was gozleme, a sort of pancake filled with whatever you want (mine was aubergine and meat, A.'s was spinach and cheese). It was delicious, of course, and the setting was also very relaxing, as you can see.



Finally it was time to visit the famous ruins of Ephesus. I'm glad we followed Melissa's advice, because the site was not very crowded so we were able to visit everything at ease. The most known attraction is the amazing library of Celsus, and the paved road leading down to it, but the whole site is pretty impressive.




Leaving Ephesus we drove to Izmir, quite a large city compared to the other places where we had been recently. Traffic at rush hour was chaotic but we eventually managed to reach the city centre and find the rental car office to drop it off (very conveniently located behind the street of the bus company office). After dinner nearby, we took the Varan night bus back to Istanbul, where we would spend the last two days.
More photos at Flickr:
Venus Hotel
Nisanyan
Priene
Sirince
Ephesus
The next day started with early breakfast at the Venus Hotel, and the opportunity to take some photos by daylight. I particularly loved the little cosy corner with all the rugs hanging down.



Leaving Pamukkale, we went in the direction of Selçuk, but first we had planned a few stops on the way. The first stop was at Didyma, where you can see the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. Here we had lunch and checked the ruins, but apart from that the village itself is disappointing.

From Didyma we had planned to go to Miletos, but it was getting too hot so instead we decided to stop by the Migros market we'd seen on the way. We wanted to buy some Turkish tea to take home - the smaller size we could find was of half a kilo which just goes to show how much tea is drank around here (we got two different packs).
We skipped Miletos and headed out to Priene instead. These ruins are also quite worth seeing, especially the Theatre and the remains of the Temple of Athena.

Back in Selçuk, we went in search of our hotel in the nearby village of Sirince. This quiet and peaceful village is located in a beautiful mountain landscape, and it is perfect for a relaxing vacation.
We had made a reservation at the Nisanyan. This lovely establishment includes a five room inn but we stayed at one of the Ilyastepe cottages. I really can't recommend this place enough, the cottages are amazing, the location is stunning and the food is to die for (fabulous dinner and the best breakfast we had during the whole trip)







Melissa at the Nisanyan had advised us not to go to Ephesus until the afternoon, due to all the cruise groups that usually come in the morning. So the next morning, after a walk through the village of Sirince, we also went to explore downtown Selçuk for a while. We shopped for some souvenirs and even purchased a small carpet at Black sheep Carpets. This was another recommendation from Melissa, and Aydn, the owner, was really nice and very patient with me while I took my time deciding.
After that, we were ready for lunch, so we followed Aydn's suggestion and went to the restaurant at the Seven Sleepers site. The specialty was gozleme, a sort of pancake filled with whatever you want (mine was aubergine and meat, A.'s was spinach and cheese). It was delicious, of course, and the setting was also very relaxing, as you can see.



Finally it was time to visit the famous ruins of Ephesus. I'm glad we followed Melissa's advice, because the site was not very crowded so we were able to visit everything at ease. The most known attraction is the amazing library of Celsus, and the paved road leading down to it, but the whole site is pretty impressive.




Leaving Ephesus we drove to Izmir, quite a large city compared to the other places where we had been recently. Traffic at rush hour was chaotic but we eventually managed to reach the city centre and find the rental car office to drop it off (very conveniently located behind the street of the bus company office). After dinner nearby, we took the Varan night bus back to Istanbul, where we would spend the last two days.
More photos at Flickr:
Venus Hotel
Nisanyan
Priene
Sirince
Ephesus
Thursday, October 11, 2007
part V - KayaKoy, Aphrodisias, Pamukkale
After all that excitement, we needed to recover our energies, so we went back to Villa Rhapsody and had our much needed breakfast by the pool. This family hotel is one that I really must recommend. Located in a quiet and peaceful village, and yet just ten minutes away from the most beautiful beaches. Again, I was sorry to leave so soon ...



After saying goodbye to our lovely hosts, we drove around KayaKoy for a while (the ghost village on top looks really eerie) before heading out to Pamukkale.
Again, the road trip was safe and without major problems (apart from a speeding ticket, but quite well deserved). We took the road up to Denizli, and from there we detoured to Aphrodisias. We had been told that these ruins were almost as nice as the ones in Ephesus (Efes) which we would be visiting soon, but much less crowded (quite true). The ruins are very impressive, there's a well preserved Theatre and Bouleuterion, and the beautiful Temple of Aphrodite, but I was particularly blown over the stadium (the only one I've seen so far) which had a capacity for 30000 people.





It was late afternoon when we finished exploring everything, so we drove off to Pamukkale almost at once.. We wanted to see it by sunset, which seems to be the best time of the day. Pamukkale, or cotton castle, is one of the most known tourist attractions in Turkey. It is a natural formation of white travertine rock, caused by the hot water that falls from the springs above (water temperature of around 35ºC) and which causes calcium salts to be deposited on the hillside and harden to form white pools of varying dimensions. The site was badly damaged by tourism up until a few years ago, when it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and restoration slowly started.
Another attraction are the ruins of Hierapolis above the pools. Since we arrived so late we didn't go up to see them, and we would be visiting so many ruins during the next couple of days that we decided to skip these. Overall it is an interesting site, but I can't say that it's worth visiting on purpose. But since it was more or less on our direction, it was a great stopover on the way to Ephesus.






For that night we chose to stay at the Venus Hotel, run by friendly Karin and Ibrahim. The rooms are very spacious (we had four beds in our room, and I loved the touch of the bright pink covers ;) and dinner was again delicious. This is another small family hotel, maybe not as good as some of the others we stayed in, but it was also much cheaper and therefore a good value for money. Ibrahim even convinced us to buy one of the tablecloths they had for sale, a great souvenir to bring back home.



After saying goodbye to our lovely hosts, we drove around KayaKoy for a while (the ghost village on top looks really eerie) before heading out to Pamukkale.
Again, the road trip was safe and without major problems (apart from a speeding ticket, but quite well deserved). We took the road up to Denizli, and from there we detoured to Aphrodisias. We had been told that these ruins were almost as nice as the ones in Ephesus (Efes) which we would be visiting soon, but much less crowded (quite true). The ruins are very impressive, there's a well preserved Theatre and Bouleuterion, and the beautiful Temple of Aphrodite, but I was particularly blown over the stadium (the only one I've seen so far) which had a capacity for 30000 people.





It was late afternoon when we finished exploring everything, so we drove off to Pamukkale almost at once.. We wanted to see it by sunset, which seems to be the best time of the day. Pamukkale, or cotton castle, is one of the most known tourist attractions in Turkey. It is a natural formation of white travertine rock, caused by the hot water that falls from the springs above (water temperature of around 35ºC) and which causes calcium salts to be deposited on the hillside and harden to form white pools of varying dimensions. The site was badly damaged by tourism up until a few years ago, when it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and restoration slowly started.
Another attraction are the ruins of Hierapolis above the pools. Since we arrived so late we didn't go up to see them, and we would be visiting so many ruins during the next couple of days that we decided to skip these. Overall it is an interesting site, but I can't say that it's worth visiting on purpose. But since it was more or less on our direction, it was a great stopover on the way to Ephesus.






For that night we chose to stay at the Venus Hotel, run by friendly Karin and Ibrahim. The rooms are very spacious (we had four beds in our room, and I loved the touch of the bright pink covers ;) and dinner was again delicious. This is another small family hotel, maybe not as good as some of the others we stayed in, but it was also much cheaper and therefore a good value for money. Ibrahim even convinced us to buy one of the tablecloths they had for sale, a great souvenir to bring back home.
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