May
16 & 17, 2002 Seattle/Amsterdam/ Istanbul ,
Turkey
By Cindy
Istanbul/Capadocia
Our room is amazing! We have a kitchen, living room, bedroom
and our own terrace. This is a very
special place. Attila, the owner’s son,
who is a geologist, has been very friendly.
He has invited us up for a beer.
May 19, 2002 Urugup, Capadocia
We awoke to chanting at 4:30 am this morning.
Had another carpet lesson and on our way to Avanos. A city full of pottery. But we managed to
find another few carpet shops. We almost
bought one, but the carpet from the night before was still in our minds….so
back we went to the original shop. 20
minutes later and a handshake we had a carpet ($650) and some pillow coverings.
May 20, 2002
Urugup to Kas (road trip)
On our way to Kas. A
long drive, eight hours. We went through
every kind of landscape. We saw many Shepard
watching over their sheep and goats.
There were also a number of nomads that set up camp off of the
road. Six hour into the drive and we
stopped at a cute resort area called, Kemer for a very relaxing lunch. We set seaside at a restaurant called
“X”. Really enjoyed it. Great people and a great lunch. Our waiter bought us a round of the national
drink, Raki. It is not so good. Much like Ouzo. We finally found our way into Kas for the
next few nights.
We got a charming little room for $17.00 a night, including
breakfast, at Hotel Linda. It has an
amazing 180 degree view of the Mediterranean . Kas is a cute little hillside town. Very romantic! We had dinner at a quaint little French
restaurant. We sat under a huge grape
vine with little candles on each table.
Very charming! We had yummy mushrooms stuffed with brie. We had trouble finding our hotel on the tiny
little dark roads of the town but finally did.
As we were driving we noticed some amazing tombs carved out of the
mountains above. Something very magical
about the area.
Time for lunch…we go to a little hillside town that can only
be reached by boat. Andy picks out a
fish for lunch and the man walks to the water’s edge and begins to gut and
scale it. 30 minutes later, lunch is
served! Just sitting and watching the boats go by is so perfect! What an
opportunity. Visited the sunken city and
enjoyed the sun. Decided to spend another
night in Kas. It is very nice to
relax. Made a quick trip to Kalkan. Another very charming hill town. We would very much like to stay if we had
more time. Dinner out tonight, a little
shopping and an early start tomorrow.
Kas/Olundeniz/Dalyan
First stop of the day was a funky little village where we
got some bread and cheese for breakfast.
Of course our traditional Snickers and Bounty bar too.J
We hit the beach in Olundiniz for a few hours. Nice beach, but not outstanding. Para gliders
were landing everywhere. Had lunch at a
cute little place overlooking the beach.
We sat in a cute little nook with lots of cushions overlooking the
beach.
Headed to George’s House.
In Butterfly Cove to see what that was about. Crazy dirt road on the
side of a mountain to get there. But as
the name promised….butterflies everywhere!
Sat down and had a beer. Met a nice English guy who had made the 45
minute hike up from the beach. He is
staying in a tent on the beach that is rented for $7.00 a night including
breakfast and dinner. There is a mattress
and linens provided. The cove and tents
look great from above. We would love to try it sometime. You can arrive by boat from Oluneniz. Finished up at George’s which by the way they
feed you till you say “I give up.”
On our way to Dalylan, a cute little riverside town. We actually got a room with an air
conditioner and TV. Got on private boat
with our captain, who up to a week ago was a soldier in the Turkish army. It immediately started to pour rain in
buckets! Thankfully we had a cover on the boat.
We visited the Carian Tombs. An
amazing site to see. Hugh tombs carved
into the side of a cliff about 300 feet up from the river.
Drove further north to Pamukkale to see the white, hot
spring terraces. The Romans bathed
here. It is a natural wonder in my
eyes. Just behind the terraces are the
thermal pools with roman columns where you can swim on and around them, very
unusual opportunity. Just on our trek back to the car we decided to go back in
to the restroom. Thankfully we did
because a hugh freak rain storm came from nowhere. It poured like crazy…it was the only cloud in
the sky!
We were not all that impressed with the town so we decided
to move on to Kusadasi, another charming waterfront town. Found a great hotel, Kismet. Feels like a private villa on the coast. The room overlooks the Mediterranean . Rushed up to see the sun set. Had a great meal at Ali Babas on the
water. Yummy ice cream!
Kusadasi/Ephesus/Istanbul
Had a leisurely morning at Kismet. The ankle is finally doing much better. I am able to put some weight on it. Making our way to Ephesus in a few minutes….just enjoying the
last few moments of the waves crashing outside our bedroom.
Great visit at Ephesus . Very powerful and moving as you touch the
pieces that were once touched by great Romans.
Visiting tip: Park at the bottom and take a taxi to the top and walk
down. Walking down takes about 3 hours.
Highlights: The library, theater, bathroom (slaves kept the marble seats warm
in the winter and music played to cover noises), the brothel where there is a
sign carved in stone (a left foot, a heart and a woman).
Flight back to Istanbul
tonight. We can’t get on an earlier
flight so we are going to take a side trip to Cesame, another town on the
water. We got a snack at a beautiful
little restaurant on the water called Papillion (butterfly in French). The staff was so friendly. They even bought us a round of almond
flavored liquor. They all agreed that
Andy looks Turkish and gave him the name Amet.
Rushed back to the airport.
Almost missed our flight. Had a
crazy cab driver from the airport to out hotel in Istanbul .
Basically told us that he sells cocaine and his nickname was coco. Wild ride!
We are in a wonderful hotel, Fehmi Bay Hotel. Very charming! Our room is perfect, it overlooks the
Bosphorus. They also have a great
rooftop terrace with the same view plus the Blue Mosque. Up early and off to the Grand Bazaar. We were
offered discounts on everything. They
say the first sale of the day brings them good luck for many more
customers. We got some great treasures.
Then we visited Topkapi Palace Africa who were castrated (because men were not allowed). These women were released at age 30.
Last event of the day-Turkish bath! The bath is
over 300 years old. This was built for the Sultan who would take his harem here. There are separate entrances for the men and women. Off I went on
my own to the women’s. First you are
taken to a private room where you remove everything and put a towel on and some
crazy wooden slippers that are so slippery on the wet marble. Then you are taken to a giant marble, domed
area that is very hot! There are small glass stars in the dome celing, very mesmerizing. Then they give
you hot tea too! I mean scorching. They take your towel (like it or not) and that is the last you see of it for an hour! You sit at your own wash basin and pour hot
water over yourself using a cooper bowl.
An older naked woman came over and took me into the center marble octagon in the middle of
the room and started to scrub me everywhere, then back to the basin to
rinse. Again she took me to the center
and now soaped and massaged me. I was hydroplaning on the marble at this point - no joke. After
another rinse I was done. Back to the
room I rushed for some clothes! Andy was
lucky he got to keep his towel! This was
one of Andy’s favorite things we did! Finished the night on a street cafe (literally
the tables were in the street).
A great night of sleep!
Of course we heard the chanting at 4:30
am . A quick breakfast of
tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, bread and a hard boiled egg on the terrace
overlooking the Blue Mosque. Peaceful
comes to mind.
Now on the 10:30
am ferry up the Bospherous.
We had a nice lunch at a small fishing village where again the people
could not have been any nicer. A cab
ride back, an ice Cream on a bench in the Hippodrome and a few peaceful moments
overlooking the water from our room.
May
27,2002
Coming Home!
1st Memorial Day after 9-11
Up at 3:00 am. We
have a 6:00 am flight to Amsterdam . This has been a trip that offered everything:
history, culture, food, beach and wonderful, warm people! Some final thoughts: Flying first class,
amazing bread, police everywhere, tomatoes…tomatoes and more tomatoes, $4.00 a
gallon for gas, lots of gas stations, crazy drivers, Turks like Americans, men,
men, men, chanting 5 times a day starting at 4:30 am lots of Bounty and Snicker
bars for breakfast.
Lessons for buying a carpet:
-Double knots
-natural dye
-shinny spring wool
-burned pieces crumble, not hard
-tight weave
-thick carpet is not good
-many knots per inch
A TRIP TO REMEMBER!