2geonomads

Friday 15th June 2012
Gail’s birthday!
Blue skies again after wild thunderstorm during the night to clear the humidity and car arrives to take us to the airport at 7.00 am ( looking forward to a lie-in when we get to Italy )

Flight to Istanbul uneventful but the fun really starts when we take the onward Turkish Airlines flight to Milan. Firstly the flight is delayed by almost 2 hours with no announcements as to the reasons. Eventually bus takes us out to the plane and we start getting on board.what followed next was pure farce. Apparently , everyone was getting on the plane bound for Beirut and the bus driver was to blame. As I commented to a Turkish Airlines captain who was also boarding as a passenger we should all have been grateful that the driver was not flying the aircraft.
Gail and I have been laughing ever since about the incident. Imagine sitting on a plane and saying to your fellow passenger ” I’m really looking forward to going to Beirut”and the guy replies ” we’ll, so am I one day but this plane is going to Milan today!”
However, we have to say that apart from this TA have been very impressive with great cabin staff and meals better than on most airlines.

Arrive in Milan with temp at 31 degrees and I have a little altercation with a ‘lady’ at the Bureau de Change when I’m charged 35 per cent interest when changing 70 Turk Lira to Euro! It’s amazing but my Italian goes up a notch in such situations. I didn’t win, of course and I don’t really remember much of what I said except that the words, corruption, Berlusconi and prison came into it somewhere.
Rental car upgraded to Peugeot 508 at no extra cost so off in a very impressive car to Modena where we spend the night before heading further south.

Receive upgrade at Hotel Una and a lovely surprise when a bottle of champagne and choc cake arrives in room for G’s birthday.
A great end to an eventful but memorable day.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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Thursday 14th June 2012

If the alarm on both our mobiles hadn’t done the job the Imam calling the believers to prayer at 4 am would certainly done the trick.
Balloon flight with Kappadokya Ballons duly took off at 5.30 and for the next 1 hour and fifty minutes we were treated to an unforgettable experience, made all the better by the skill and personality of the pilot Serhan. Seeing the valleys and rock formations from the air after we had seen them from the ground the previous day was extra special.
What seemed to be of particular interest to many of the ladies on board was Love Valley with its ‘ impressive’ phallic rock pillars. Gail will be able to send a selection from the hundreds of photos taken of this valley when we get back.

The flight was neatly rounded off with a glass of champagne and then it was back to our various hotels for breakfast.

A clapped-out rental car arrived for us at 9.00 so an hour later we were ready to head first south past the rock castle at Uchisar, then west towards Aksaray before finally driving south to the beautiful Ihlara Valley. Tucked away at the bottom of a gorge Belisarma was an unexpected delight, as was a 4 kms walk along the valley floor.
Lunch was a snack of the local dish ,goremes cooked over an open fire by local villagers.
Last visit of the day is to the fascinating underground city of Kaymakli. It’s on such occasions that it’s quite an advantage to be a dwarf and the very tall Dutch group in front of us came out very Quasimodo-like after negotiating the maze of very low tunnels built by the Hittites close to 2000 years BC.
Our car is now sounding decidedly sick and is proving to be very thirsty . Petrol in Turkey is about $2.50 per liter so it’s a sobering thought that our Prado would cost $450 to fill in this part of the world.
The car holds on long enough to get us back to Goreme and after yet another lovely meal we turn in early, partly to make up for the 4.30 am start and also to prepare for a 7.00 am taxi to the airport the next day.

Tomorrow should see us in Modena, Italy,ahead of a week in northern Tuscana with my brother Tony and his wife Marg.

We leave Turkey full of fond memories of a country that has far exceeded our expectations. We have been met with kindness throughout our trip and it comes as no surprise to learn that Turkey currently has the second fastest economic growth rate in the world after China. Hopefully they will not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by joining the European Community!

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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Tuesday 12 th June 2012. ( yes I know I said yesterday was Tuesday but it wasn’t. Don’t blame me I’m only the blogger )

As our flight to Istanbul doesn’t leave until 5.20 pm we use the morning to check out Antalya,or at least the Old Town, and the city does not disappoint. The old yacht harbour still looks stunning in the daylight and one can easily understand why the city attracts huge numbers of tourists. It is easy to cover on foot and for the most part is kept spotlessly clean.
Antalye airport surprisingly large and very modern and the flight with the Turkish budget airline, Pegasus , to Istanbul very smooth.
Another amusing moment as we approach Istanbul. As you may know I have always been a bit of a nervous flyer so you can imagine my concern when I notice what I think is the airport and runway.
I comment to Gail that the main runway seems a bit short and furthermore that the other runways seem to be unusually ‘bendy’. Not surprising really as we were staring down at a car racetrack and the main runway was the home straight past the pits. I think I need a holiday!
Short delay for the flight from Istanbul to Kayseri in Cappadocia, again on Pegasus, and it is evident that we are flying to a more traditional Muslem area of the country, judging by the garb of the ladies on board.
Worrying delay at airport as our bags do not show up. However, a quick-thinking young fellow amongst the ground staff checked with the International Terminal ( incredible that such a
small town has two terminals) and sure enough they have them there.
Very quick trip with the Turkish Vettel and arrive at Hotel Sultan Cave after midnight.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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Wednesday 13th June 2012
Wake up to the astonishing sight presented by the amazing rock formations throughout this lovely town.
Usual high standard breakfast after which we plan our first day in Cappadocia.

Given the already high temperature and our relatively slow start we decide to visit local sights on foot . First stop is the remarkable Goreme Open-Air Museum with its collection of rock-cut chapels and monasteries dating from the 9th century AD onwards. Deservedly, Unesco has declared the Goreme Valley a World Heritage Site.

With the temperature now soaring we brave ( or foolish ) souls decide to walk along The Rose And Red Valleys just a few kms from Goreme town centre. The couple of hours in the heat were well worthwhile as the scenery was truly breathtaking.
Return to the hotel for a bit of relaxation before dinner at the hotel.
Great meal although Gail sabotaged my attempt to try a traditional Goreme wedding soup by explaining to the virtually non-English speaking waiter that SHE would
make do with just bread and some dips for a starter. ( I had already placed my order for the soup )Whether he thought we were both too old for either of us to be having a wedding soup or just didn’t understand we will never know. In any event I didn’t get my soup and I am not keen on dips anyway. After years of intimidating me she has now started on the Turkish waiters!
Off to bed early as we have a 4.20 am start for a balloon flight.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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Saturday 9th June 2012
Cross Roads Travel arrive on time for us to join about 12 other tourists for a tour of Ephesus and other monuments in the area.
Before the main course we have for a starter a visit to the 14th century Isa Bey Mosque which inevitably suffers by comparison with such as the Blue Mosque and that of Suleymaniye the Magnificent.
Ephesus is all that we had hoped for and although crowded, not unbearably so. Amongst so many impressive ruins the Library of Celsus is a real stand-out and is reminiscent of the Treasury at Petra.
Difficult to imagine that so long this city was home to over 250,000 people, using the 10 to 1 ratio applied at that time against the capacity of the theatre of 25000.
After a 2+ hour walking tour of Ephesus on Avery hot day we all retire to a standard local eatery frequented by all of the tour groups.
There is supposedly strong evidence that the Virgin Mary spent her later years in this area and her house is in a beautiful, tranquil location high up in the hills above Bergama. The home has now become a chapel which pleasingly has none of the opulence of so many other catholic places of worship.
Back in Bergama we have to run the gauntlet of vendors at a carpet and leather clothing factory. Although we encountered none of the aggression of our ‘friend’ in Morocco we could all have done without this futile ritual.
A very informative and enjoyable day is rounded off by visits to the excellent Bergama Museum and what remains of the Artemis Temple ( one of the original seven Ancient Wonders of the World )

The hotel swimming pool beckons so a quick dip then a leisurely stroll around the town,during which I buy a T-shirt for $ 6 ( a bargain, I think !) and we stock up on a half kg bag of nuts for the long bus trip the next day ( at $12 probably a rip-off but we are both too tired to negotiate too much )
Dinner at hotel , minus the green pepper, and watch Germany beat Portugal 1-0 in Euro 2012.

Cheers
The Obese Ferret

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Collected from the excellent Anil hotel by Crossroads Travel and together two American guys, Dan and Jerry, we head off to the spectacular acropolis of Pergamum which is perched above Bergama and which we had been able to see clearly from our hotel room.
Our guide, Pinar, was LAN attractive young lady but fell short of the standard which had been set by Murat at Gallipoli.
Nevertheless, with a fair amount of self-help we were able to glean plenty of information on what is one of the post dramatic sites in Turkey.
Our next port of call was Asklepion, which was the first medical and healing centre in history,
Fascinating to see that so many of the principals applied so many centuries earlier are still very much part of modern-day medicine.
More than adequate served at local restaurant then the 3 hour drive to Selcuk, home of the world-famous Ephesus ruined city.
The Akay Hotel in Selcuk is one of the best of our trip with two girls at reception, Ria and Elis,who speak excellent English.
Decide to freshen up with a swim in the pool before a fine meal in the hotel restaurant. Quite apart from the quality of the food the evening was memorable for another of this blogger’s ‘ spicy food moments’. My nephew, Andy has often taken delight in my discomfort with very hot dishes but on this occasion it was Gail’s turn to be entertained when I swallowed whole a very hot green pepper which I had mistaken for a green bean! At first I think she assumed that the tears streaming down my cheeks were due to my emotional response to such a romantic dinner but when I couldn’t get any words out from my scorched throat she just cracked up. She would probably have put the fire out but had no idea of the Turkish word for fire extinguisher.
Off to bed having spent time memorizing the Turkish for ‘ very spicy’ and ‘ green pepper’

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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Tuesday 5th June

Something of a whistle-stop visit to the amazing Grand Bazaar,the oldest shopping mall in the world ( 1453 ). Far more orderly and less confronting than expected with the vendors pushy but affable.
Collected from hotel to the Kenkapi Wharf, from where we take a ferry to Bandirma on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara.
Meet up with very friendly couple Atilla( no Hun jokes please ) and his wife Halime. Halime lives in Frankfurt and Atilla works in the travel business in Antalje on the Turkish Mediterranean .
They both make life much easier for us as we take the the ferry and later the bus from Bandirma to Canakkale. In fact, on arrival in Canakkale a friend of Halime, there to meet her kindly drives us to the bus terminal and makes sure we are safely on our way.

Canakkale is a pleasant town whose main claim to fame is as the port from which the ferries leave for the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Our evening dinner at a seafront restaurant introduces us to a problem which we had not really anticipated. I have never been one to expect all other nationalities to speak good English but nothing had prepared both of us for waiters in high profile tourist restaurants to understand not a word of English. As my Turkish consists of ” hello, goodbye,thank you and please”. ( not the basis for a deep conversation ) and my French , German and Italian were met with stunned looks we had a very difficult couple of hours.
This was to be repeated frequently over the coming days and I have at various times been called upon to moo like a cow to explain the need for milk in my coffee, do an impersonation of a CFA member to ascertain whether the food was hot( as in spicy) and have tried to replicate the Pohutu geyser to stress that I wanted SPARKLING mineral water, not still.

Gallipoli tomorrow.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret

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