Fethiye, Ephesus, Cappadocia and Istanbul, Turkey (May 31 - June 6)

On May 31, I met up with Olive and my sister-in-law, Bert in Fethiye, Turkey. The women had just returned from a fabulous week-long cruise along the coast of Turkey while I spent the week in Greece (see last blog).

Sculpted sea-life shrubs in park in Fethiye

Trees with unique tree trunk along promenade in Fethiye

For the early part of the afternoon we strolled the promenade in Fethiye then caught a late afternoon bus to Izmir. The 6 hour bus ride went well, buses were comfortable, even had intermittent wi-fi. From Izmir, we planned to catch a connecting bus for a 1.5 hour ride to our destination of Kusadasi but contrary to the advice we received in Fethiye, buses were no longer running at that time of night. This left us with the dilemma of either staying overnight in Izmir (and losing our hotel reservation) or trying to catch a taxi. After a bit of bargaining, we opted for the taxi and with a set price, the taxi driver decided to shorten a 1.5 hour trip into a 1 hour trip, reaching speeds of 160 kms/hr. At one point a dog ran out in front of us, the driver swerved and braked and then chuckled as if he was expecting that, however for the 3 of us, it was not a laughing matter and we were thankful that we arrived safely at our destination.

Next morning we joined a tour group to see the sites around Ephesus. What an amazing place, full of Biblical history. Our knowledgeable guide made the day fascinating and well worth it. We visited the archaeological site of Ephesus, the temple of Artemis, a colourful pottery factory, the house of the Virgin Mary and the Isa Bey Mosque. Later that evening we caught the overnight bus to Goreme, Cappadocia.

Exploring the ruins at Ephesus

Library at Ephesus

Touring Ephesus with Bert

Next morning we met up with Bert's husband Ed, and son Nathan to spend a couple of days together in this region. We toured the Goreme Open Air Museum, then followed a narrow gully on a hike through the Red and Rose valleys. This hike turned out to be a highlight of our time there as we took numerous side hikes into mountainous cave dwellings trying to follow them as far as we could. Nathan was the most agile of our group and managed to squeeze through all kinds of narrow openings!

Fascinating rock formations in Rose Valley, Cappadocia

Hiking the caves near Goreme with Nathan and Ed

The next morning we had hoped to take a hot air balloon ride (very popular & picturesque thing to do here with 50+ balloons in the air at sunrise) however, the weather conditions were not suitable so the trip was cancelled. We opted to rent a car for the day and explore the countryside. We followed the route of one of the suggested tours of the area (Green tour) stopping at the Pidgeon Valley, exploring the underground city of Kaymakli, driving through the Ilhara Valley with the Selime Monastery at the end, and then zigzagging our way through the countryside to end up at the Nevsehir airport where Olive and I caught a late evening flight to Istanbul.

Pidgeon Valley

Exploring the underground city of Kaymakli

Cave Hotel we stayed at in Goreme

Ed, Bert & Nathan returned to Goreme and were fortunate to have suitable weather for a hot air balloon ride the next morning. Olive and I meanwhile set out to make the most of our 2 days in Istanbul walking to see numerous mosques (including the Blue Mosque), the Topkapi Palace grounds, the Basilica Cistern, the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. The following day we met up again with E/B/N and took in two evening performances, the first a Whirling Dervish spiritual ceremonial dance followed by a cultural love story drama called the "White Rose". There is so much to see and do in Istanbul that, like many places we have visited, we hope we can one day return.

One of many mosques in Istanbul

Turkish Delight was delightful!

Evening cultural presentation in Istanbul

We flew from Istanbul to London on June 6, stayed overnight and caught a connecting flight to Shannon, Ireland where we plan to housesit and tour until June 20. We have booked return flights to Canada for June 22 so our Sabbatical year is rapidly coming to an end!