Turkey!!!!

I'm back from Turkey, from my wonderful holidays, and to reality....(snif snif)
Turkey offered us more than what we expected! We want to come back there to discover more because it has such rich history and culture, and so many places to see and experience! 10 days were too short for this great country.

Our schedule was very tough:

Day 1-Tokyo to Istanbul. 12 hours flight by Turkish Airlines. (A mystery: why does it take 12 hours while it takes also 12 hours to fly to Paris or Frankfurt??? Turkish magic to fly slower?) Basically that was it for the 1st day. In the middle of the flight (above Siberia!), all the personal bells to call flish attendents suddely alarmed non-stop for about 5 minutes, and then some people's personal lights turned itself on and never turned off...I really prayed at that time for he engine not going on and off crazily lile that above Siberia...(Even there's only one company fly Tokyo-Istanbul direct, I will hesitate to take Turkish Airline again...)

After this very first "Turkish Experience", I was wondering how it was going to be our trip...but it turned out that everything else about Turkey were way more wonderful than I imagined.

Day 2-1st tour in Istanbul: visit Blue Mosque, Topcapi Palace, and moved to Canakkale (near Troy) by a ferry crossing Dardaneles. We officially crossed from Europe to Asia.

Day 3-Visit Troy and Belgama. Troy was a bit disappointment, to be honest, but Belgama was very beautiful, well preserved up on the hill. I almost felt the same wind that ancent people might had felt.

Day 4-Visit Efes. Efes was one of city mentioned in Bible (finally my 14 years fo Catholic eduation paid off ;)) and one of the most well preserved remains around Aegian Sea. We could imagine how it used to be. It was simply impressive!!

Day 5-Pamukkale experience. I was really looking forward to see the miracle of the great nature, but it was half destroyed because of us people. Hotels around Pamukkale want to get the natural spring from there, they took it from the origin, so now Pamukkale is dried up and only a tiny space allow us to enter, nothing like how we see on the guidebook...so sad to actually see with my own eyes the fact of people causing a lot against nature.
Left Pamukkale to the religious centre of Turkey, Konya. There, we saw mythtic Islam ritual of Mevlana. They turn round and round for 10 minutes x 3 times, doing that they try to reach spiritual enlightment. We all tried to do the same in our hotel room but we could turn only 30 seconds!! How they do THAT??? It's not human!!!

Day 6- leaving Konya to Cappacocia through Silkroad. Amazed by the landscape of deep Turkey. Cappadocia was like another planet. People had lived in a digged cave houses and they even had cave city with B8 in the early Christian era, and people are still living their modern life in such houses with caple TV and proper kitchen and bathroom.
We also went a cave reataurant, eating and seeing Turkish ethnic dance.

Day 7-Still in Cappadocia, seeing many weird shaped stones and houses.

Day 8-Took domestic flight (!!) and back to Istanbul.
Second tour in Istanbul, went to Ayasofia and Turkish Military Museum. Ayasofia was amazing! It really represents Turkey and its history. It was built as the biggest Christian cathedral in the 4th century but repainted and redecorated by Muslims afterwards. Mosque in a Cathedral exterior. I somehow didn't feel strange about the idea. I rather felt nice to see the two religions shared same place. Bizantine style can hold both Christian and Muslim style, and that sybolizes Turkey's rich history.
We stayed in a palace hotel just in front of Bosphorus. The restaurant, pool, and bar are all amazing! Wanted to stay more!!!

Day 9-Last dasy in Turkey. Cruise at Bosphorus. Could see so many great mosques in both Asian and European sides. Istanbul is really the cross of Asia and Europe!
Went to Grand Bazaar to shop ;)) but it was quite tiring to ignore people talking nonsence to everybody anyway and to negotiate price with descendant of Silkroad merchants...but we got nice things from there and it's what7s important ;))

Day 10-another 12 hours worst-than-BA Turkish flight to back to Tokyo. I received meal which I couldn't even recognized what it was...thank God we ate a looot before we took the plane!


You can see some of my favorite photos on my Facebook which you can go through the link on the right ;))
Go to Turkey!!