Dropping Friends at the Syrian Border
A beautiful followsummer memory! Sunday, May 23rd, 2004: Sanliurfa to Istanbul, Turkey N 40 ° E 029 ° We leave Sanliurfa about 9 a.m. – this will be a long day on buses for Greg and me. The first part, which takes 4 ½ hours...
Following the Coast of the Aegean, Southward.
We follow the coast of the Aegean southward, towards Selçuk, Turkey the sea as beautifully blue as every photo of it shows.
Touring the Grand Mosques of Istanbul
Today is Mosque day, and we set out to see a number of them. I am still battling my cold which has left me sneezing and coughing through the last week of our Turkey tour, and now I bring it to Istanbul. It is very hard when you...
An Early Morning Visit to Ephesus
Our tour group is quickly figuring out each other’s quirks and quarks: who is an early riser, who likes to stay up for that extra Efes beer at night. Who eats breakfast and who doesn’t. The loners and the outgoing...
Traveling The Silk Road
from the followsummer archives Follow my blog with Bloglovin This morning seems a little warmer and Haluk has promised temperatures of up to 31° when we arrive at Mt. Nemrut. We are heading farther east today and have an 8-9 hour...
A Travel Day: Pamukkale to Dalyan, Turkey
A travel day – 3 different buses, 8 hours in all, with a 90-minute break for lunch in Fethiye, on the Mediterranean. Haluk takes us (by another bus) into the town centre of Fethiye, famed for its ice cream. We have reached the...
Idyllic Views Toward Greece in Kas, Turkey
3 more buses, another 5 hours, and we arrive in Kas, a beautiful town on the Mediterranean. We stroll the streets, lounging in the waterfront cafés, and we think this could be the Italian Riviera. It is really quite romantic....
Exploring the Ancient City of Hierapolis in Pamukkale, Turkey
What makes it stunning and different is that the springs have, in flowing down the mountainside over millennia, have formed travertines – calcified formations that cover the side of the mountain – from the road yesterday we...
Feeling Like Sultans at The Topkapi Palace
Topkapi is organized into 4 courtyards that go from most public to most private, which was the suite of the Sultan himself. Only the 1st and 2nd courtyards were accessible to the public, and the Sultan used to receive visiting...
At the Throne of the Gods, Atop Mt. Nemrut
Over 2,000 years after Antiochus died and almost as long after his tiny kingdom was conquered by and absorbed into the Roman Empire, Mt. Nemrut stands as a beautiful and powerful reminder of a brilliant, if somewhat egotistical,...
Raki Attack in Cappadocia, Turkey
Greg gently shakes me at 7:00 a.m. The bus is at the station. I discover that Greg and I have had the best night’s sleep of our group. Others have gotten off the bus are various stops through the night, have watched the police go...
Blaming The Gods
We have our Turkish breakfast this morning in the garden of the hotel. I say breakfast but it is more like lunch for us westerners. Black olives, a slice of feta, a hard boiled egg, cucumber, and tomato slices, all washed down...
Looking Down the Dardanelles Towards Gallipoli
There is confusion at 6:30 a.m. Haluk tells us this is the Turkish way. The shuttle that has arrived to take us to the public bus station is too full to fit the 8 of us. We stand around waiting while mobile calls get made and...
A Last Night in Mykonos
We sleep in as late as possible today, for 2 reasons. First, we indulged last night in our normal Mykonos routine. Second, we are traveling today to Istanbul, where we hook up with the small tour of Turkey that we are taking, and...
Diving Day in Dalyan, Turkey
Saturday, May 15th, 2004: Dalyan, Turkey A free day. Most of the group head for the beach, followed by the mud baths. They collectively decide to take a pass on the ruins – we have all been feeling a bit ruined out, and there are...
Antalya: The Jewel of the Turquoise Coast
Monday, May 17th, 2004: Kas to Antalya, Turkey N 36° E 030° We head today to the jewel in the crown of the Turquoise Coast, the city of Antalya, for a full two days of sightseeing and some downtime. Antalya is a big city nestled...
No Schedule Today Except Updating the Blog and Reading the Herald Tribune
Thursday, May 20th, 2004: Cappadocia, Turkey Yesterday was cool and wet. Today is sunny and, protected from the wind, warm – but we are on the Central Anatolian Plateau, which ranges from 800 to 1,200 metres above sea level, and...
Returning to Istanbul: Dinner Out in Taksim
After our 23+ hour bus ordeal, we arrive at our hotel at 8:30 this morning. We have said goodbye to all of the group except Haluk, and when we arrive it is time to say goodbye to him. Haluk has been a joy to travel with: his...
Up the Bosphorus, Almost to the Black Sea
Wednesday, May 26th, 2004: Istanbul, Turkey At 10:00 we are at the ferry piers along the Golden Horn, the long, narrow bay that bisects the European side of Istanbul into 2 parts, and forms a perfect natural harbour. We have...
Bye Bye Istanbul: Hello Athens
Friday, May 28th, 2004: Istanbul to Athens N 37° E023° Turkey has been wonderful, beautiful, inspiring, angering, frustrating; in other words, all of the things that make a voyage interesting. But all good things must end, and it...