Saturday 23 August 2014

#6 | Turkey 2014

Hey lovelies, here's the long awaited post for my 10D7N trip to Turkey! I'll be using the pictures to show the places that I have been and give brief description to the best of my abilities. It was not easy to pick out these few photos from the thousands that I have took. (I took nearly 2000 photos, not exaggerating). I'm going to be providing photos with no filters.

Before I begin, If you're not much of a person that reads text and likes motion, here's my YouTube channel, I've made a 4 part vlog on my trip there. Alternatively, you can search #Sharleentravels on Instagram or view my profile at SingingSpikes.

Some details about my tour is that we bought a package from Dynasty Travels and paid about $2300 per person inclusive of a hot air balloon ticket. I'll try to link up as much as I can on the details/hotels etc. So..

Welcome to Sharleen Tour Agency, lets go on an amazing journey to Exotic Turkey ;)

Day 1: Istanbul > Canakkale
After a long 11 hours flight from Singapore to Istanbul, you're taking a tour bus to visit the landmarks in the city in a tour bus with free WiFi! Isn't that the best news you can get after being lost in touch with the internet world? First up, we will be entering St. Sophia Church Museum.
Inside of St. Sophia Church Museum
Some information about the Hagia Sophia is that it was formally a church and then it was converted into an imperial mosque. It is now a museum open to the public. When I went there, half of it was under construction to restore some of the faint painting etc. It is one of the largest cathedral in the world.



Next up, let's enter the Famous Blue Mosque, a must see when in the city of Istanbul.


Inside the Blue Mosque, isn't as blue as how I thought it would be.
Reasons on why it is called the Blue Mosque is due to its blue tiles adorning the walls in its interior walls. It was built to reassert the Ottoman power (something like a dynasty) and it was the first imperial mosque built. I can remember clearly how high the domes were and was trying to count the six minarets (columns) and domes, but I could not find them all. Visitors are required to remove their shoes and they would provide you with a plastic bag at the entrance. Female visitors are required to have a scarf to cover their head to conceal their hair out of respect to the religion that is being practiced in the building. They would provide a blue scarf if you forgot to bring your own.

So after a tour around the Old Istanbul Sultan Ahmet area, visiting the Hippodrome, and the center of chariot races during the ancient Roman and Greco period, our tour bus went for a boat ride to Canakkale, crossing Dardanelles. We are able to get off and go up to the upper deck to soak in the Turkey Sea and Sun. They we checked into KOLIN HOTEL (Not too bad for a hotel, really liked the restaurant and food choices they provided.) and went to KIPA, a local hypermart after dinner.

In a local hypermart called: KIPA, almost like a giant.
Day 2: Canakkale > Troy > Pergamon > Kusadasi
Good Morning! How was your first night in this foreign place? After making a pit stop in Canakkale and enjoying your breakfast with the sunrise, we will now move into Troy to visit the great Trojan Horse and ruins of ancient Troy.



Resuming the tour with a 2 hours drive we shall now visit Bergama, located in western Turkey. The city is known for its cotton, gold and carpets and was the ancient Greek and Roman cultural center of Pergamon. We would now take a cable car ride and ascent to visit the Sanctuary of Asclepius, a temple dedicated to an ancient Greek god of healing.



Visiting one ruin is never enough. Going on a ruin-hop, we shall now see the ruins of Acropolis. This ruin will also be breathtaking and is also perched atop a high steep sided hill. Ruins that remains are the temples and theater. Be amazed with the public toilet that the ancients used to use and the (real) marble floor and fantastic workmanship of each block you lay your eyes on. (If you plan to visit there, this might be helpful: TurkeyTravelPlanner)

Library of Celsus




Theater of Pergamon, even Madonna held a concert here before, housing 10k people. But they no longer allow that as the loud noises have caused some of the ruins to topple.
Tour guide said that this was the best spot to have a whole view of the theater. 

Day 3: Kusadasi > Selcuk > Pamukkule
With the 2nd night spent in Grand Belish Hotel in Kusadasi, its time to wakey wakey and proceed with the tour to Selcuk. Starting of with the House visit to the well-respected Virgin Mary. There is no photography allowed inside her house. It is said that because the area is surrounded by red pine trees, it is easy for the area to get forest fires. There was a time where it fire was approaching the house but miraculously the direction of the fire changed and left the house intact and unharmed. There are 3 holy taps there that you can drink from for blessings and also a wall with papers where you can write your wishes to your love ones. Something like a love-lock that you see in Korea or Europe.

After that, we proceed to leather showroom where we got to witness a fashion show while sipping freshly brewed apple tea. Turkey is known for their affordable leather as compared to their Europe friends and this particular showroom that I visited actually supplies leather to big brands such as Gucci, Prada and Zara. I didn't buy any because the cutting and style of leather were not to my liking and honestly I would not have a chance to wear it in Singapore.

Lunch was at a nice restaurant which housed behind a Railway museum! (Camlik Locomotive Railway Museum) I could not help but to take a picture of the salad bar, it was heaven for me. Turkey food is palatable. After that filling lunch, we visited the Temple of arthemis. It was completely destroyed by an act of arson by Herostratus. There was really nothing much to see there. But we were grateful to our tour guide who added this into the itinerary  as he felt that we should see more of his beautiful homeland. What was left was only a column standing and ironically it became a nesting ground for some birds as they built their nest right on top of the column.  



And the long await part of the trip, the place that I am most excited to visit, COTTON CASTLES! As we drove up to Pamukkale, the most significant thing you will see is the white looking mountain. I was wondering why there was snow in the middle of summer and my tour guide said that that was actually the mountain where the cotton castles were located. The reason why it is white is due to the carbonate minerals (lime) left by the flowing water from the top of the mountain. Shoes are prohibited in the waters to protect the deposits. This area have now been claimed as a Word Heritage Site. The magnificent cascading lime pools reminded me of the Barbie Mermaid movie that I have watched a few years ago.

Parents soaking their legs
 



City of Hierapolis that was built on top of the "White Castle" 



Though only given a short 1.5 hours there, I would very much loved to see the sunrise and sunset on that gorgeous mountain. We proceeded to check into Richmond hotel in Pamukkale, which gave us a treat by having a stunning backdrop of the outlines of the mountain far away with the sun setting at the back, giving picture of an iridescent sky. After which we went for turkish bath and massage. I woke up even earlier the next day for the sun rise.


No filters used, i swear.


Day 4: Pamukkale > Konya > Cappadocia
Embarking on the journey the next day, we started by having a break at the gas station. What was interesting there was the man selling yogurt with opium/poppy seeds, yes you read that right. It tasted great! We traveled for quite a while then stopped at the Horozluhan in Konya. Its an ancient caravanserai restored restaurant with an exotic setting and ambiance.



Omg the Kebab and mushroom.. YUMZ

We then went to the Mausoleum of Mevlana who was a great philosopher, poet and also the father of the Mevlevi Order. He was also known as the Whirling dervishes, which we began to understand when we watching the night show the next day of the folklore dances. My tour guide described him as a man who had the heart to want to eradicate hate and racism and promote love through music and dancing. Much inspiration.



We then checked in to Suhan Hotel in Cappadocia, and I was lucky to be able to witness a joyous occasion, a Turkish Wedding that was taking place in the backyard of the hotel. It was so fun to watch all of them blasting their songs and just dancing.

Day 5: Cappadocia
Being such a beautiful place, we would be staying in Cappadocia for 2 nights. Finally a break from the nomad life. We started the long day early at 4am by venturing into the fields of hot air balloons. (There are many companies that deal with this, it came in the package when I bought it, but i picked out a company that might help if you are doing your own booking, here.)

With much anxiety that I bring with me, I was excited and could not wait to be up in the air. We drifted gently over the fairy chimmeys and pigeon houses in the caves and not to mention the rose valley and many settlements. This is definitely a MUST do if you are planning to visit Cappadocia region. Without further or do, let the pictures do the talking for me.









Feeling princessy, hehe
Narrow pathway to the backyard of Suhan Hotel


A side note, there are about 10 valleys you can visit here, just a little FYI.

Although the hotel exterior looks lavish, the rooms were average and small. Rather poorly lit. But the good points would be the restaurant and its buffet spread. IT IS TO DIE FOR. #saladsforever #dontforgetcakeandcereals Next up was the Kayamakli underground cities visit. There are around 100 underground cities in the area and only a few were open to the public. Kayamakli is the biggest one and it is estimated to have housed 3,500 people in the past. The city is dug deep in the soft volcanic rocks using caveman tools. It was hard to imagine how they managed to create such an amazing place let alone them living here for good without seeing sunlight. Areas that we were allowed to visit was the stable area (housing their animals), kitchen, praying area, storage rooms and living areas. The pathways to each level was narrow and was meandering quite a bit, we all had to squat to walk through the passageway. It was a breeze for me though (perks of being short, hehe).





Hi. 


Stuffed, I'm stuffed.


So after the underground cities visit, we went for a carpet show and saw how real carpets were made. It was fascinating to see how each yarn is twisted and put in place to create an art piece which requires at least 3 months to complete. We then had lunch at a restaurant with the amazing view of the Goreme Valley. A region created from the erosion of volcanic rocks with the iconic fairy chimneys. Now its time to see these rocks up close, and we are going to the Goreme Valley Open Air Museum! It's said to hold the region's best collection of painted caves-churches that are already thousands of years old. When entering these caves, most of them are empty except for the paintings on the ceiling and walls. Some have been vandalised, but they have now built a baracade and even probhit phototaking in some of the more nicer ones.







After that long hike of in and out of the caves, it was time to visit a current and existing one that house people. We went to Uchinsar first, which is an old village carved onto a huge rock and then we went cave house visiting. The villagers have to rent the cave houses from the government and they are very hospitable and friendly. They made us apple tea and even allowed us to take photos with them, and of their house.





Camel rock from Dervent Valley we saw on the way out of the area

Supposedly its called the Mushroom Valley.. But since my mum said it out loud, I guess its alright for me to say this. IT LOOK LIKE DICKS. hahahah (not PG)
Ending the long day was a visit to the Avanos famous pottery and ceramic showroom and of course the folklore performances.


Belly dancing was the highlight of the show. Her bod is wow.

Day 6: Cappadocia > Ankara > Bolu
Leaving Cappadocia with much sorrow, I really cant bear to leave that gorgeous place, every rock was a piece of art by nature. During the 4 hours bus ride to Ankara, the capital of Turkey (Yes its not Istanbul that's the capital), we took a break at the famous Salt Lake Tuz. We were allowed to walk on the lake, a regret that I will always have as I wore stockings on that day.. And it was inconvenient to remove them. Tip, wear shorts there! There is a shop there that sells salt products and some other souvenirs, I don't really advise to purchase the products because you can get it for free by bringing your own bag there and take a bit of the salt. I kind of took some and bought some, there really isn't much difference in the effects it brings about.


Walking on water, anyone? 

You're so fine.. Hahah

Raw salt on the ground!

Shiny hands after rubbing and cleansing it with salt

We continued the journey to Ankara and visited the Ataturk Mausoleum, also known as the resting place of the father of modern Turkey. The place is heavily guarded with national security and the place is rather huge. A must visit place in this area would be its TOILET. I'm not kidding you, its full marble. The walls, the sinks and floors, marble everywhere!


All guards must be at least 1.9m tall.
We then had a mini city tour around the city, nothing much to post about, but you will see more religious people, people that wear cover ups and head gears as compared to the other cities that we have visited. We took another ride, 3 hours long, to Bolu to have an early check in and dinner. The hotel that we stayed in, Koru Otel, had no air conditioning. Before you freak out and scream, "how did you survive?!" Calm yo tits down. The reason why it have no air conditioning is because the hotel is located 1000m above sea levels, it is surrounded by pine trees forests and thus it was very cooling and refreshing. (My mum however felt that they room was stuffy as the air is rather still, but cool).

We took an evening walk around the area, realised that they have their own mart, rather deserted and eerie, so we left after a while. I mean its only normal to feel that I'm in a horror movie because we're sleeping in the middle of the mountains. Plus while walking in the forest, some mysterious old lady appeared from no where and asked us to follow her, we followed her a bit and realised that she was leading us into a house, there were other people there. It looked suspicious so we turned around and just kept saying no and left. We picked up lots of pine cones though and brought them back to SG as props for my cousin's wedding.




Day 7: Bolu > Istanbul 
We set off early the next day as well hoping to be able to spend as much time as we can shopping in Istanbul. We decided to go for the Bosphorus River Cruise, additional charges, rather than to sit in the coach and wait for the rest. On the cruise, we got to see the Asian side and the European side, being in the middle of the 2 different banks and compare the difference in architectures. My knowledgeable tour guide fed us with lots of information which I truthfully have forgotten most of it, but you can always google that or hire a guide when you take a ride.







We then headed to the Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman Sultans for nearly 400 years. It is now a museum and a major tourist attraction in Istanbul, there are a few courtyards and the basic entrance fee would only allow you to enter a few, not all. It does provide you a view of the Bosphorus river.


And now, I present to you my favorite time, SHOPPING! After a hearty lunch, we went to the Spice Bazaar or also known as the Egyptian Bazaar. My guide told us that the locals Turks would usually visit this place (Hazer Baba) over the Grand Bazaar as things are more authentic and much cheaper here. He introduced us a shop that he often buy Saffron and other delights from, and it was a good shop as it provides you with air tight sealing of your purchases, making it easy for you to being back home. I did buy 3 strips of Turkish delights.


Entrance 1 of Spice Baazar



Inside the Spice Baazar
Then we went to the Grand Bazaar, surrounded with many beautiful ornaments and pretty things. Though it looked clean, but as I have sensitive skin, some of the things they put out have not been cleaned have my hand immediately became itchy and small red bumps appeared. There are also many exits, its good to know which on you have entered as they all lead to different alleys upon exiting. There are also shops outside the bazaar, most of them you can bargain with. Imitations of branded goods, trinkets, ceramic, dried food and tea shops are common sights,







Leaving the shopping districts with a heavy heart, we went for dinner at Kebap House, and then headed to our final hotel stay at Ramada Plaza Teksstilkent . The place and room is decent and more spacious as compared to the other hotels, except for the toilet which their drainage clogged up in many of our rooms, resulting in having very wet floors. We had to ask for more towels to soak them up. The restaurant buffet provided us with decent amount of food, varieties were more limited though. Plus point is the free WiFi! 

Day 8. Istanbul > Singapore
And you thought you would never see the end of this post right? Haha so here you go, my 2014 trip to the Amazing Turkey. I would definitely come back again and hope to stay longer in each place. Being the furthest country  that I have been , the 11 hour flight is really not for me. Will be bring more things to do on the plane next time, and honestly when its long flights like this, I would advise to not scrimp on their airplane ticket as good leg space is important for a pleasant flight. (I took SQ btw, it was acceptable)


My guide, Sinan.

With that, thanks for reading up till here, hope that it helps with your trip to Turkey. I went with the perception that it would be a middle east like country, because I didn't have time to do m y research. It was a surprise that it turned out to be such a beautiful country that makes me want to go back for more! X

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