So, we safely arrived in Turkey, navigated Istanbul, flew to Antalya, and negotiated a dolmus, a mini-bus, and a van ride to Olympos. The trip started well when we realized Turkey was one of the few countries with open airports. Thank you volcano (I mean, seriously, what would an Ashbrook vacation be without something like a catastrophic geographical occurance?) Our flight was non-eventful, other than we both noticed an incredibly overbearing mother checking on her children a few rows in front of us and then saw the family--not once, but twice--in Istanbul.
Istanbul is a beautiful city. It is very large and cosmopolitan, but it also has a feel of being somewhere different than flying into someplace like NYC. Perhaps the most noticeable difference to these Western eyes is that the skyline is dotted with minarets. Also (and this may be more meaningful for those of you who have visited Athens--just as a point of comparison), Istanbul's streets are filled with prowling, wild (i.e. feral) beasts of the feline persuassion. They are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Just like the dogs that keep Athens "safe" guarding the Parthenon and various other ancient sites, the cats lounge, fight, and clean themselves in parks, the harem of Topkapi Palace, the court yard of the Blue Mosque, and every street and alleyway in the city. If the call to prayer does not awaken you in the morning, the howling of a love-sick Tom cat outside your window surely will.
HIGHLIGHTS: Hagia Sophia--unbelieveable. You read about these architectural wonders and so often they do not seem to fully live up to your imagination, but this one (for us) certainly did. The view over the Bosphorus & Golden Horn from the Topkapi Palace is also phenomenal. The people of Turkey who have helped us out (more on this in a later post).
LOWLIGHTS: Rocky beaches and Claire confusing March and April (while booking hostels). These are from our newest stop in Olympos.
We will give you the scoop on Antayla and Olympos in a later post. Tomorrow we head back to antayla and then on the Pamukkale and Ephesus and Izmir, where we will catch a flight to Istanbul for a couple more days.
PICTURES TO COME LATER
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6 comments:
Sounds like a wonderful and exotic trip. Hope the April/March dilemma did not leave you sleeping under a bridge again, or in the most expensive hotel in Turkey--again. I am enjoying spring the second time around, and it is late and beautiful as there have been no March winds to do in the blooms. Have fun, and we will look forward to great stories and pics on the porch one of these days. BTW--met Corrine, and she is darling.
so glad to see you are enjoying life half way around the world!
I certainly love living such a fun life vicariously through you two.
I'd say you girls did pretty well avoiding a travel disaster with all the volcano craziness over there right now! I can't wait to see your pictures.
Beautiful description of your trip so far. Square, you are turning into quite a writer. What a treat that you have a travel companion this time. I look forward to the pictures and most of all, seeing you both in person again for the stories - on the porch, of course. May God grant you travel mercies.
Thanks for taking us all along on your trip! I really need to hear about the "sleeping under a bridge." Have loads of fun! I also can't wait for stories on the porch. Love Ya both!!!!
square... confusing "dates" isnt so uncommon but march vs april is quite a bit different than am vs pm : )
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