Turkey

Turkey remains an enigma for many. Recent events don’t help. Yet everyone we know who had ever visited Turkey raved about it. We now understand why.

It is a beautiful country with amazing history. More than anything, the people are lovely – possibly the friendliest we have met in our travels. Turks are warm, friendly and super-hospitable. They were always willing to help and look after us.

Istanbul

Istanbul is an iconic city, straddling the Bosphorus Strait linking Europe and Asia. We were in awe at the size of some of the mosques. The Blue Mosque and the Suleymaniye Mosque are both inspiring to visit. We enjoyed ourselves getting lost in the maze of alleyways in the Grand Bazaar where you can buy anything. Hagia Sophia, built in AD 360, started out as a Greek Orthodox Cathedral. During the Ottoman Empire it became a Mosque and is now a Museum. We barely scratched the surface of Istanbul. We can’t wait to go back.

Izmer

Izmir is a large port city on the Aegean Sea. It was the starting point for our visit to the Aegean region of Turkey. We arrived on Republic Day, celebrating the Turkish Republic, proclaimed in 1923. It is equivalent to July 1st in Canada. Lots of Turkish flags, music, food and fireworks. Very memorable.

Selçuk and Ephysus

Selçuk has been our favourite place to visit so far. You’ve probably never heard of it; we hadn’t either. Greek, Roman, Christian and Ottoman histories intersect in Selçuk. More than the history, we loved the town and its people.

The best part of travelling off-season is it is quiet and easier to get to know the locals. The crowds are gone for another year and the locals are more relaxed. Our house was in a quiet neighbourhood. It was surreal to think that within 100 metres was the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The tomb of St. John the Apostle was about 200 metres away. Ephysus, one of the great cities of the Classical Greek era, and later the Byzantine Empire, was 2 kms away. Antony and Cleopatra visited the city in 33 B.C.

The House of the Virgin Mary, where she purportedly lived out her last years, was about 9 km away. We had a brainwave to rent bikes and ride there. Seven kilometres of the route is straight up an 8% incline. We both thought we would die but with lots of encouragement from the locals, tour bus drivers and local dogs we made it.

Ephysus

Pamukkale, Hieropolis and Afrodisias

Denizli, the last stop in Turkey, was our base to visit Pamukkale (“cotton castle” in Turkish) and the adjoining ruins of the Hellenistic spa town of Hierapolis, dating from 190 B.C. Pamukkale is a stunning mountainside covered in brilliant white calcium carbonate formed when the mineral-rich waters from the hotsprings above trickle down the mountain and evaporate.

Afrodisias was a few hours drive away by the local mini-buses. It is another impressive ruin of what was a magnificent Hellenistic city. It is a testament to how many Hellenistic and Byzantine ruins there are in Turkey that we had the entire site practically to ourselves for the day. Few other tourists bother making the detour to visit.

Pamukkale

Hierapolis

Afrodisias

Next Up: Greece

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