Who's up for Turkey?
Shawn here.
I recently went to Turkey for business (I believe our little friend Claire would say "Toi-key"), and decided to take the opportunity and stay a couple days to explore. I left on a Friday night, arrived in Ankara on Saturday night, and stayed in Ankara for business until Wednesday morning. Afterward, I flew to Istanbul, stayed for two days, then flew to nearby Izmir, and toured to the ancient ruins of Ephesus, and the volcanic calcium deposits in Pammake for a couple of days... A bit of a whirlwind tour and by the end I'd had 8 flights, almost as many bus rides, taxis, drivers, trams, subways, and I was pretty spent.
Anyway, here are a few pics:
The streets of Turkey's capital, Ankara. The traffic is wild, and the pedestrians are crazy! Not much to see in Ankara, it's more of an economic and bureaucratic center, with far less history than Istanbul.
The 'Blue Mosque' in Istanbul. I visited during Ramadan, where the Muslims fast all day, and feast and celebrate in the evening.
Aya Sophia - a fascinating contrast between Islamic and Christian symbolism. Originally a church, butilt in 60 A.D, it was declared a Mosque in the 1400s by a Sultan conquerer. The Christian mosaics were covered over, but has since been converted into a museum and the Christian mosaics are being painstakingly restored. Very cool.
Took a half-day cruise up the Bosphorous, the waterway that separates Asia from Europe. Istanbul straddles the Bosphorous. The Sultan's summer palace is shown here, on the European side...
I stayed in a hostel and visit the Grand Bazaar. Below is a pic from a different, but equally crazy place called the Spice Bazaar. This must be the only no smoking sign in all of Turkey!
Roman ruins in Ephesus. Who's that stud in front of the bibliotheque?
Here is Pammake. The white is all calcium salt deposits from volcanic activity. Beautiful pools with aqua blue water. I figured since all the Russians were in Bikini's, I'd try to fit in.
It was definitely a different experience traveling like this by myself, especially in a land where the language is so foreign and the culture can be so different. Awesome experience, but I missed Kristin, and was very happy to come home and see my beautiful wife... who then left two days later for Atlanta :)
Pic of me in the hostel before venturing out into the streets of Istanbul.
-st-
I recently went to Turkey for business (I believe our little friend Claire would say "Toi-key"), and decided to take the opportunity and stay a couple days to explore. I left on a Friday night, arrived in Ankara on Saturday night, and stayed in Ankara for business until Wednesday morning. Afterward, I flew to Istanbul, stayed for two days, then flew to nearby Izmir, and toured to the ancient ruins of Ephesus, and the volcanic calcium deposits in Pammake for a couple of days... A bit of a whirlwind tour and by the end I'd had 8 flights, almost as many bus rides, taxis, drivers, trams, subways, and I was pretty spent.
Anyway, here are a few pics:
The streets of Turkey's capital, Ankara. The traffic is wild, and the pedestrians are crazy! Not much to see in Ankara, it's more of an economic and bureaucratic center, with far less history than Istanbul.
The 'Blue Mosque' in Istanbul. I visited during Ramadan, where the Muslims fast all day, and feast and celebrate in the evening.
Aya Sophia - a fascinating contrast between Islamic and Christian symbolism. Originally a church, butilt in 60 A.D, it was declared a Mosque in the 1400s by a Sultan conquerer. The Christian mosaics were covered over, but has since been converted into a museum and the Christian mosaics are being painstakingly restored. Very cool.
Took a half-day cruise up the Bosphorous, the waterway that separates Asia from Europe. Istanbul straddles the Bosphorous. The Sultan's summer palace is shown here, on the European side...
I stayed in a hostel and visit the Grand Bazaar. Below is a pic from a different, but equally crazy place called the Spice Bazaar. This must be the only no smoking sign in all of Turkey!
Roman ruins in Ephesus. Who's that stud in front of the bibliotheque?
Here is Pammake. The white is all calcium salt deposits from volcanic activity. Beautiful pools with aqua blue water. I figured since all the Russians were in Bikini's, I'd try to fit in.
It was definitely a different experience traveling like this by myself, especially in a land where the language is so foreign and the culture can be so different. Awesome experience, but I missed Kristin, and was very happy to come home and see my beautiful wife... who then left two days later for Atlanta :)
Pic of me in the hostel before venturing out into the streets of Istanbul.
-st-
posted by Thinker 2.0 at 10:38 PM
2 Comments:
turkey looks amazing....I hope we see it sometime. K is going to mail you some questions about your trip... he is so jealous. Hope eveyone is well. Will call soon.
yes Claire would say 'toi-key'. Great pics. would love to retrace your steps someday. maybe in about 25 years i can do it.
k
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