ISTANBUL
A morning tour of the famous Hagia Sophia, built
by the Roman Emperor Justianian and completed in 537, was the greatest
Christian church in the world for more than 1000 years. It was the head of the Greek Orthodox
patriarchy, and in 1453 became an Ottoman imperial mosque. In 1935 it was secularized
and became a museum. It is famous for its large dome. When it was built,
it was the world's largest building and an engineering marvel of its time. It
is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture
Hagia Sophia
– a building so enormous that a camera can’t begin to capture it. This is a
MUST SEE for any tourist to Istanbul.
And at the northern corner is a pillar known as the
“weeping column”. A number of legends surround it. One tradition is to stick your thumb in the
hole in the column, and if it gets wet, your wish will be granted.
At the northeast corner of the ancient cistern, two
Medusa’s head columns .
Then, the group loaded onto our comfortable and
spacious brand-new Mercedes bus and headed by road to Ankara.
ANKARA
The capital city of Turkey, decreed by Ataturk to be
the capital of Turkey in 1923, still shows signs of civilization built on top
of other civilizations.
Renovating the old city walls goes on, while people
live where they can.
Our first spice market – but dried fruits, beans,
Turkish delights – will greet us everywhere we go.
The Museum of Anatolian culture is well-curated and
a good place to get an overview of the many thousands of years of civilization
in Turkey. It contains relics from Çatal Höyük, one of the earliest
known human communities up through the Roman Classical period. It has a great collection of Seljuk and
Ottoman art, crafts work, musical instruments, weapons, folk costumers, jewelry
and household items.
It seems that there are more Roman ruins in Turkey
than in Italy. Here, in the garden path
leading to the museum, an old body gets a new head.
On the bus trip to the center of Turkey! We stop at a caravanserai. Located roughly one day’s journey apart, they
provided shelter for the camel caravans that were part of the Silk Road
commerce uniting Asia and Europe – via Turkey!
Next stop: CAPPADOCIA
Cappadocia is known for its unique landscapes of
wind-and-rain-eroded volcanic rock formations.
There are amazing underground churches and cities carved into the rocks
by early Christians.
Bora’s personally guided tours all stay at the
Cappadocia Cave Suites. It’s a
spectacular place I’ll never forget (bottom photo, above). We
stayed here 3 nights. But after I had a
claustrophobic reaction to being in a little room in a “fairy chimney”, I found
myself relocated to a lovely suite.
An evening’s entertainment was seeing a belly-dancer
and a Dervish exhibition at a tourist nightclub.
In this remote area, there’s a big industry of
hand-made “Cappadocia dolls.” We stop
to see a family shop, and then are besieged by dollmakers near a rest stop.
One of the nice features of Bora’s tours is that
they go off the beaten track. Here, for
example, we saw an old Christian church that has fallen into disrepair, with
frescoes and decorations crumbling.
Neither the village nor the government has the money for preservation.
In Cappadocia, caves are still used for housing of
families and animals.
A good use for a “fairy chimney”.... the local police station.
Church after church, monasteries, etc – and I
re-discover that I DON’T LIKE CAVES.
At the carpet factory, there is a demonstration of
Kilim weaving. Silk thread is extracted
from cocoons. And then that is followed
by the inevitable high pressure sales pitch!
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the anchor of
Turkey’s fabulolus fresh cuisine. Turkey
is where I remembered what food really tastes like.
The Turks love basketball…as seen in ads on delivery
trucks.
An artisan in training in the ancient art of ceramic
decoration.
On the next leg of our trip, we crossed the
beautiful Toros mountains, and headed in the direction of the Aegean.
Every arable bit of land is used. And there are lots of greenhouses too, supplying
Europe’s fresh product needs.
So many sites!
Always something to stop and explore… and many sites lie
half-excavated…. Or simply at the edge of a town, part of the everyday life.
TARSUS:
The current city of Tarsus is several meters above the old.
Tarsus is the birthplace of St. Paul. This supposedly is his “well.”
As we continue our travels, there are so many amazing things to see out the bus windows. Such as this old fortress near the seacoast, very picturesque
as we motor along the Aegean.
A refreshment stand at a remote site, NEOPOLIS.
At Neopolis, with its amazing charm and
ancient churches, Bora plays his traveling oboe.
Temple of Zeus Olbios has amazing stonework. (Zeus Temple, city of OLBA)
Harvesting, sizing, bagging soybeans, with antiquated
but ingenious equipment.
Near ANTALYA, known as the “Turkish Riveria”,
we visit ASPENDOS. This city
dates back to the time of the Hittites, yet the only visible remains are from
Roman times.
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The restored theater at Aspendos is the best in all
Turkey
PERGE
Perge reached its height under the Romans and
Alexander the Great. Today, what remains
are the ruins of a great theater, a stadium, and a colonnaded main street.
Lots of agriculture to look at in this enormously
productive country. Here, cotton farmers
do their harvest.
A lake with salt deposits gives a ready source of
Sea Salt.
Our next visit it to APHRODISIAS, a city of
art dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite. The
terrific museum at Aphrodisias
Continuing our tour, we came to PAMUKKALE.
A World Heritage site, the famous cliffs at Pamukkale,
are formed by travertine deposits of calciuim-oxide-bearing waters that tumble
from a mineral springs on the southern slope.
Ruins at HIERAPOLIS date from the late
Hellenistic age to early Christian times.
The Frontinus gate of the small byzantine Church, below.
At the nearby hot springs, you can swim in pools
with old Roman columns lying on the bottom
The grape harvest.
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SARDIS has two interesting historical points: it was where money was first minted. And it has one of the world’s oldest synagogues.
These are photos of the tiles on the entry hall of
the synagogue. It is hard to get
perspective on these magnificent and large (five-foot square) art works.
Of course we had to inspect the plumbing at every site we went to, and Sardis was no exception. Like it? It's old Roman style!
The Sanctuary of Artemis is a huge temple, one of
the biggest in the world. Building it
began in 300 B.C.
IZMIR
Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and a
major shipping port. It was built in the
4th century B.C. by the order of Alexander the Great.
At this site (below), the Virgin Mary is supposed to have
lived out her final days. After the
crucifixion, St. John brought her here, near Ephesus.
EPHESUS
ne of the best excavated and most
popular sites in Turkey, known in particular for its colossal Greek Theater. This
Greek theater is still used for performances (at least it was still used in
2002….)
The bottom figure is “Nike”...
The public toilets at Ephesus, obviously had the Greeks and then the Romans dancing “cheek to
cheek”!
Celsus Library, assembled by Cleopatra, who was
devastated when it burned.
THE AEGEAN COAST
A beautiful coast, where Sand Lilies grow! We drove to Canakkale to visit the legendary
city of Troy.
TROY
This is the absolute best
part of the trip for me! Touching the
same walls that Helen of Troy touched.
My high school Latin teacher, Mrs Julia Milne, would be proud!
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| Barbara of Troy, shall we say? |
To date, nine different Troys have been discovered,
each one built on the top of the other. In
2002, the site was still in the process of excavation.
We looked at the famous (infamous?) Schliemann Trench (below), a huge gash in the center
of the site. Heinrich Schliemann, a German businessman and an amateur archaeologist who had no formal
education in the field of archaeology,
used dynamite in the mid 1800’s to blast through nine levels of archaeological
remains. He was much criticized for his
destruction of of significant historical artifacts,
including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy.
A pistachio vendor and his wares:
We took an early morning ferry to GALLIPOLI
Gallipoli: this is the battle that assured Ataturk’s
place in history. A fiercely fought WWI battle...
A close look at some World War I trenches, below. Being there physically, looking at this battleground, makes an impact when you hear the words "trench warfare"... or "being in the trenches"...
The Anzacs (Australia and
New Zealand Army Corps ) took heavy losses here at Gallipoli
BURSA
Bursa was the ancient Ottoman Empire’s first
capital.
Ten women in our group went to the Turkish bath in
the Kervansaray Termal Hotel during female hours – a wonderful “girlfriend” thing to do. Of course,
no photos in the area where first we were scrubbed vigorously with loofa, and
then after washing off, we dipped into the cool pool and then the warm
pool. And then, tea and snacks!
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| the outside of the Bath; it's a BIG facility! |
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| Entrance Hall to Baths (from brochure) |
ISTANBUL – still more to see!
Once called Byzantium in the 7th
Century B.C., the city was renamed Constantinople in the 326 A.D. by
Constantine the Great when he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to what is
now Istanbul. In 1453, Mehmut II gave
the city its current name.
Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans
two continents! (Asia and Europe)
What can you say about Istanbul? It is a delight! Scents, colors, masses, markets! Fresh cheeses, nuts of all kinds, fishes, and
what is clearly the most interesting apothecary I’ve ever seen, in the Spice Market
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| A great place to get a prescription filled ... herbal remedies, anyone? |
Teas and spices. Baklava. More Baklava – and Turkish delight too!
A visit to the Rustem Pasha Mosque, near the spice
market. This is the most beautiful small
mosque I’ve ever seen! In a window
niche, the Quaran. Prayer beads.
Everywhere in Istanbul are shops that sell a famous
Turkish pudding, “Lale”. This is one of
the many wonderful snack restaurants, located near the grand square.
We cruise on the Sea of Marmara and through the
Bosphorus Strait. This info ((Wikipedia)
explains why this strait is so important: “The Bosphorus
is also known as the Strait of Istanbul. It is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway. It forms part of the
continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and divides Turkey. It is the
world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. The Bosporus
connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, via the Dardanelles, it then leads into the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
At the military museum, and afternoon display of
Ottoman pomp and music.
In the museum, lots of interesting display. Here, a tent used in military campaigns during Ottoman times.
In the Hippodrome area, an ancient monument shows
how the big obelisk was raised.
The many roofs of the “Blue Mosque”.,
commissioned by Sultan Ahmet in
1603. It
was constructed with the deliberate intention of rivaling St. Sophia.
Topkapi Palace,
always undergoing restoration. It was
first built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 and was the home of the sultan
until the 19th Century. It
includes many museum rooms, and also a harem room where the sultan could meet
his favorites.
This Turk stopped his work long enough for a photo.
The many buildings of the palace are overwhelmingly
beautiful with tile work on the sides and ceilings.
I was fascinated by the Talismanic shirts, which
were believed to protect the wearer from enemies and misfortune or all kinds,
and to restore health to the sick. Made of fine white cotton that was sized
like paper, and then charms and magic formulas were inscribed in red, blue,
black and gold ink inside geometric shapes.
These were made for high-ranking members of the Ottoman dynasty...
We saw the terminus of the famous train, the Orient
Express.
The Suleymaniye Mosque, considered one of the
greatest mosques in Istanbul, was built in 1557 on one of the seven hills of
Istanbul for Suleyman the Magnificent. It is located at the highest end of the city
of Istanbul.
We had a great fun farewell dinner at an outdoor
restaurant.
After 18 days in Turkey, homeward bound~ only 6700 air miles to get there!
