The trip through Turkey was originally just a way to get to an airport to fly back to Australia, albeit a long winded way. We only scratched the surface by travelling up the west coast but it was enough to get a good feeling for the place. We both found the people amazingly friendly, well the guys really because you don't come across many females working in the shops or behind the reception desks, or even in cafe's etc. I had always heard good things about Turkey. It is definitely a place that would be good to come back to, to travel more into the mountains of the east and the lesser travelled parts.
One of first stops on the travel up the west coast was Selcuk, home of some ancient Roman Ruins (Ephesus) that are better kept than the ones in Athens or Rome. It was easy to vividly imagine yourself walking down the streets back in the time.
The nice thing about Ephesus is it is a more natural setting, nestled in some hills rather than a big city.
Also, a little lesser known fact, well to me anyway, but the area around Selcuk was where Mother Mary and St John came about 8 years after the death of Jesus to get away from it all.
One thing we did learn quickly in Turkey was that they definitely know how to cook up a storm. While they haven't been so adventurous with the meat side of the things, not really advancing past cooking meat on skewers, they definitely know our to make delicious vegetarians dishes. They have a turkish starters called mezes, which are there version of tapas really. We gladly had a few. This is the cabinet at our hotel in Selcuk.
Just before we left Selcuk, we were given the privilege of an adhoc airshow above the town as it was Independence day. It was just as good as any I have seen. At times it came within 100m of the top of the building we were standing.
The next stop up the coast was Gallipoli, a mandatory stop for any Aussie traveling through Turkey. At first, we thought it would be easy to pass by if we were in a rush but lucky we didn't, the guide was excellent and told stories which gave us a more in-depth perspective of what happened in 1915.
Our guide had been doing the tours for 12 years now, he grew in the area and his grandfather also fought at Gallipoli but on the Turkish side. Both sides knew then that it was a losing battle with an unnecessary loss of life but there was still a bond that still exists. While there are about 20 odd different cemeteries for the Australian, NZ, British and France forces, it is only recently that they started building memorials for the Turkish side. While walking through the Turkish memorial, I passed a Turkish man, probably about 60, a quick glance and nod said it all. There was still a respect from both sides.
One story that came out of Gallipoli is that after the Turks mounted an attack on the Australian and NZ trenches in which nearly 4000 Turks died but only 160 ANZACs. There was a cease fire for a day to allow the Turks to remove the bodies and give them a burial. This was within 10m of the Aussie trenches. They have a statue of a Turkish solider carrying a wounded Australian solider to safety.
The commander of the Turkish side, Mehmet Ataturk, and a celebrated hero in Turkey, said this to the first visitors back to Galipoli from Australia and New Zealand in 1934.
"Those Heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now living in the soil of a Friendly Country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side. Here in this country of ours... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."
And after meeting the friendly Turks now, it is easy to imagine the words are heartfelt.
The following is the Lone Pine memorial, a battlefield where the ANZAC's were on one side and the Turkish were on the other. It is hard to walk around the memorials, looking at the headstones of the soldiers with ages typically in their young twenties and not feel your eyes watering a little. The pine is 3rd generation from the original pine which stood during the battles (thanks to a soldier who carried some seeds with him for 4 years during WW1).
Still, while it was in the past, the feelings are bought home stronger by the fact that some of my own flesh and blood has experienced war in the current day.
The same night we traveled on towards Istanbul with constant coverage of the floods on the Bus' TVs. It wasn't noticeable where we were staying but the bus station was flooded. The shuttle bus driver who took us from the bus station to our hotel relished in driving through the deep puddles and driving very erratically.
Istanbul is huge, and while we pretty much stuck to walking distance from our hotel, you could get a sense of the size when looking out over the river to the Asian side. It covers both the Europe and Asian Continents.
We just wandered the streets and visited the main sightseeing Mosques etc. but Mosques are a bit like museums and churches to the weary traveler. You've seen one you've seen them all. It was good learning a little bit about Islam and getting woken up at 5am every morning with the sounds of wailing through city speakers. On Fridays, all men have to go to a Mosque for their daily prayer. (Still don't know where all the women are hiding).
Here are just a few general photos from around Istanbul. A kitten getting a clean from his friend in the palace gardens.
The Blue Mosque from the outside.
The blue mosque from the inside.
Krishni in the Blue Mosque. She had to cover up.
One of the cool things we did in Istanbul was go to one of the traditional baths. This bath as been used continuously for the last 500 years - used by Sultans and Tony and Krishni alike. We started in a sauna type room made of marble. I am still unsure on how the heat was generated but it definitely got the pores open. Just when we could not take any more, we got summoned in for our scrub and soap massage. It was really just in a little marble room adjoining the main room so it was still in a sauna type environment. I won't go into to much detail but the following were the tea towel type garb they put you in at the end.
Well, this is it. We are just getting ready for our 2 day journey home. They didn't have any direct flights so we first have to fly to London and then back towards Sydney and Melbourne. That is flying 12 hours just to get back to where we started from.
Anyway, this will probably be the last post, so hope you have enjoyed the photos and a few stories.
Till next time!
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