Istanbul

Istanbul, capital to one of the world's greatest empires for over 1500 years, is today a buzzing, cosmopolitan modern city. Too crowded for my liking, but I must admit it is full of breathtakingly elegant architecture and wonderful surprises. It kind kind of grows on me little by little with each visit.

It is famous for the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque because of its interior blue Ottoman tile works. This imperial mosque built in 1609-1616 is an example of classical Turkish architecture and it is the only mosque that was originally built with six minarets. I do not particularly like going there in the day as it is always crowded, but its the best time to have its photos taken. But I do enjoy the countless quiet moments that I have spent sitting on one of the many old wooden benches just in front of this majestic mosque.

Another favourite touristy place of mine is the Hagia Sophia Museum, one of the most impressive and important buildings ever constructed. It served as a church for about 1000 years, a mosque for about 500 years and finally now a museum since 1935. The interior still leaves me gawking, even after visiting numerous times.

There are, of course, other places to visit like the Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, Egyptian Bazaar, Suleymaniye Mosque, Ortakoy, Pierre Loti, the Bosphorus, Dolmabahce Palace and the list goes on. All these are a must see. But the most important thing for me when I am in Istanbul is to just sit among locals where I can enjoy a cup of tea while witnessing the sun setting beyond the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace. Away from the hustle and bustle of the other tourists. Drop me an email if you want to know my secret place :) but then again, it might not even be a secret place anymore.

Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia

I have heard countless times that the best place to experience a hot air balloon ride is in Cappadocia. And I have tried to ride twice before but because of the weather conditions, it was cancelled both times. But it was third time lucky for me because the day we were scheduled to go for the ride, the weather was perfect, calm and clear day.



We flew with Mike Green from Kappadokya Balloons, the pioneers who brought hot air ballooning to Cappadocia. It was an amazing feeling as we took off from the ground. As we were the first to fly, we could see more than twenty balloons on the ground, backdropped by the very scenic Goreme. Mike's an amazing pilot!! He is the best pilot in my opinion as he brought us to nook and corners.....he floated us intimately among the fairy chimneys, as close as touching one. There were oohs and ahhs from fellow passengers as we went along. If only I could describe the way I felt at that time!! Maybe the photos will......so enjoy folks :)

Ajeeen - Travelogue Turkey Cappadocia

Food, food and more food

Smoked meat from Kayseri, broad beans, cracked wheat in tomato paste, iskender.......

chicken kebab, grilled tripe in bread, lahmacun, manti, kofte......the option is endless....

I enjoyed almost all the food I encountered in Turkey so far, be it cold dish, hot main course, grilled tripe or sweet sweet dessert......I love them all. The above are some mouth watering photographs of what I have devoured on this trip.....enjoy looking folks!

Ajeeen

Turkey - Travelogue Istanbul Adiyaman Sanliurfa Cappadocia Antalya

Cappadocia

We stayed in Aravan Evi Family Hotel Ayvali http://www.aravan.com/ , a small village about 20 minutes from Urgup central. It is a traditional Turkish village-style hotel and restaurant. It was built and hand-crafted with the natural stone of Cappadocia.

We immediately fell in love with Ayvali and Aravan Evi, quiet and peaceful....away from the hustle and bustle of town. The hotel is nice and rooms beautifully decorated. Even the bathroom was impressive, made of marble from top to bottom.

After a delightful breakfast, consist of cheese, olives, home-made strawberry and apricot jams, smoked meat, honey and bread....yes, yummmy....my sister and brother-in-law went on a day tour around Cappadocia while I planned on going to town. It was my 5th time in Cappadocia so I didn't feel like going on the tour again. Okan, the owner's son, told me that I could take a dolmus (shared taxi) to town. It cost me about 4YTL for the joyful ride with the other villagers. The dolmus was filled to the brim....grannies and grandads, mums and small kids...all looking forward to go to the bazaar, apparently held every saturday of the week in town. I was so looking forward to the shopping.

You could get everything that you need at the bazaar....from fruits to meat, from socks to undies, plants to tools....you name it and they've got it. I got some turkish scarves with embroideries at the sides for myself. And after walking around for about an hour and a half, enjoying the colours of the people of Cappadocia, I went to the shops along the bus terminal. I totally enjoyed myself looking at stuff....the shops were like treasure coves.....beautiful antique jewellery, hand-made carpets, hand-made silver earrings.....shopping haven.

After shopping, I went to a nice looking restaurant at the corner and had two lahmacun http://www.anatoliarestaurant.com/ and an ayran for lunch....so sedappp.

Ajeeen

Travelogue-Turkey Cappadocia

Perge & Aspendos

Today, I am gonna let you enjoy the photos that I took of Perge.....

and Aspendos.

Ajeeen

Travelogue - Turkey Antalya

Perge & Aspendos

We did not want to join a tour so we decided to just get on a taxi to get to Perge and Aspendos. We paid Mustafa, the taxi driver, 100YTL to take us to these two attractions. It was 0930hrs when we started our 'own tour'. First stop was Perge, about 20km from Antalya. Entry was 10YTL per adult. The Hittites had settlements in this area around 1500BC and St Paul stopped here on one of his journeys during the time when Perge was an important city of ancient Pamphylia.

The stage of the theatre has a very nice marble relief work. On the outer wall is a three-sectioned memorial fountain. Some of the reliefs from the city are displayed in the stadium for easy viewing. Other ruins worth mentioning are the handsome city gate flanked by two lofty towers, a long collonnaded street that was once lined with shops and mosaic pavements, a large agora, and buildings that used to house the baths and gymnasium.

We spent about 3 hours walking around the vicinity and taking numerous photographs. And it helped that we bumped into Mehmet, who was our accidental guide. He brought us to some 'out of bounds to tourists' area. On the hill that we went to, we could see the entire settlement. It was a great 'tour'. Thanks Mehmet Abi.

Our next destination was the ancient city of Aspendos, a site which is dominated by the bes-preserved theater of antiquity with seating for 15,000. The galleries, stage decorations and acoustics all reflect the ability of the architect Zenon. Close to the theatre, basilica and agora lie the remains of an aqueduct, one of the largest in Anatolia. This theatre is also known for holding live classical concerts.

Entry fee was also 10YTL. A guide was not really necessary as information on each ruin was displayed everywhere. And also we took our time looking for nice spots for our photo taking sessions. No one to hurry us so we just took our time. One of the plus points of not joining a group.

Ajeeen

Travelogue - Turkey Antalya Perge Aspendos

Still in Sanliurfa

Sanliurfa province is in southeast Turkey. We visited the Mevlidi Halil (Prophet Abraham's Cave) Two caves exist on the northern side of the Castle of Sanliurfa and one of these, was where the Prophet was born. The climb up to the Castle is a must. It cost about 2YTL to get in the old Castle. We could see the whole town and it was definitely a place to hang out to enjoy a magnificient view.

The ponds of the sacred carp is located in the center of Sanliurfa, teeming with tens of thousands of holy carp, and bound by trees and a mosque complex. Around the compound of the Birket Ibrahim Mosque, you can also find a bazaar selling scarves, carpets and little souvenirs. They may not be as fantastic as the ones in Istanbul, but if you look hard enough, you may find little treasures among the many things sold there. For tourists, the streets of old Sanliurfa, with their overhanging medieval houses and warren-like bazaars, are the greatest attraction, but there are, inevitably, several interesting old mosques and a good local Archaeological Museum.

Sanliurfa

After our tour, we were brought back to our hotel where we had a hearty breakfast. Then we went back to the room to pack and get ready to leave for Sanliurfa, a city an hour from Adiyaman http://www.enjoyturkey.com/info/sights/sanliurfa.htm . We took a dolmus (shared taxi) and paid 10YTL each person. It was a comfortable ride and better than we expected. We passed beautiful sceneries and Ataturk Dam, the fourth largest dam in the world. The dolmus took us straight to the Central of Sanliurfa and from there we took a taxi to our Cevahir Konukevi , http://www.cevahirkonukevi.com/default_uk.asp formerly known as The Governor's Guesthouse. It is located within walking distance to the places of interest.

Adiyaman

Sorry for stopping abruptly on my last post...I had to leave for Hong Kong. Anyway, yes we were at the lobby at 2.30am sharp and our guide cum driver, Evren, was already waiting, dressed just in jeans and a white cotton shirt....hmmmm...'Were we over-layered?' we thought. We were in thermal, long sleeved t-shirt, shirt, cashmere sweaters and scarves. In our hands were jackets and one thick hotel blanket....yes, definitely over-layered. So, we started our journey to Kahta www.allaboutturkey.com/kahta.htm , a 45-minute drive away from our hotel. The road got bumpier after that and we were lucky because Evren was doing daily tours to Mount Nemrut www.allaboutturkey.com/adiyaman.htm , so he knew the roads well. We stopped for tea in a small cafe for about 30 minutes before carrying on our drive.

And finally when we reached the place where we were to start our climb, it was 4am and Evren advised us to have a 30 minute snooze as it was still early. He planned for us to reach the summit just a few minutes before the sun rise as he did not want us to wait too long in the harsh wind. He planned it perfectly as we found out later.

When we saw Evren reaching for his jacket and blanket, we knew it was time. We got our final layerings on and off we went. It was a windy morning and it was blowing against us. It was a terrible climb for me, because of both the altitude and strong wind. I had difficulty breathing halfway through and Evren had to literally drag me up all the way to the top. Thank God for him or else I do not think I would have made it. Once we were up, he chose a spot just behind a wall, to protect us from the wind, to wait for the sun to rise. As we were waiting, other groups of tourists started streaming in. We realized we had the best view, as well as, protection. Thanks for everything, Evren.

We just sat there quietly, enjoying every moment of the sun rising. No words came out of my mouth....either due to the beauty of mother nature or just from pure exhaustion hahaha. But it was worth the climb. Simply breathtaking, but due to the coldness, my photos did not really turn out well and i only realized, that I did not have my picture taken up there, upon my return to Singapore......sigh.....

Turkey

Over the past 12 years, I have been to Turkey nine times. On each visit, I add a different city to my itinerary. Why Turkey you ask? Well, it was love at first sight. The country, the history, the culture and the people, of course....everything fascinates me. So here in ajeeen-travelogue, I hope to bring Turkey to you. And do check out some Turkish products on sale on http://www.ajeeen.com/

I spent my first day in Istanbul, visiting close friends. And in the evening, we made our way from Eminonu to Uskudar by ferryboat, just in time to watch the sunset at Kiz Kulesi. We drank sahlep and ate toast with sausage, roasted tomato and mayonnaise fillings. Just a simple dinner while enjoying the magnificient view.

The next day, we took a flight to Adiyaman www.adiyamanli.org/main . It is located on the eastern side of Turkey and it took about 1hr 50mins by plane. After our arrival, we took an old airport bus, which was waiting outside the arrival hall, to the city centre. We had to change to another bus to get us to Bozdogan hotel. The hotel is clean and nice, with a pool and a big dining area.

After check-in, we walked around the area to look for a tour agency to book for our tour of Mount Nemrut, but none was available. So we decided to just book with the hotel. It cost us 200YTL for a van and driver cum guide. We were told to be at the hotel lobby at 2.30am. Oh my God!! 2.30am??