Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Guest Post on The Working Traveller
The Working Traveller featured my Cappadocia trip on their website today. Cool.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Fairy Chimney Inn featured in The New York Times!
The FCI was featured in NY Times as their top "Why We Travel" destination. :)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Istanbul is not Turkey
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| View of Istanbul from Maggie's rooftop |
The next day I went to school. Remember my "little and gay" Turkish friend Arda? He attends Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and invited us for a tour. We met up with Arda and Hilal and they showed us around the building. It was once a hospital and didn't resemble a university at all. Even the classes were a bit strange, with students coming and going as they pleased. It's a beautiful location with waterfront views, only partially blocked by the nearby high-rise Ritz Carlton Hotel.
In the evening I went to another school, the Bosphorus University. A friend of a friend from Bellingham has been studying in Istanbul for several months now, and I contacted her about meeting up. It's always nice to see someone from home...even if you've never met before! Liv showed me around her part of town and introduced me to a couple friends, Eileen and Momoko. She was rather busy making travel plans for her visa, so I was presented with a dilemma. In Liv's words: "You can watch my boyfriend and me make travel arrangements, or watch two pretty girls making dinner for you. Of course, if you come with me there will be plenty of witty banter."
I may appreciate witty banter, but there are some things I appreciate more. The decision was an easy one :)
The girls prepared manti and çeg kofte for dinner - both Turkish dishes. Çeg kofte was traditionally prepared with raw meat and spices pressed together, then eaten in a lettuce wrap or durum. Nowadays it's more common to find vegetarian çeg kofte because of health concerns over raw meat consumption. I think they use bulgar or something. It's tasty.
I considered staying with Eileen and Momoko (their couch was a bit more civilized than Maggie's) but unfortunately wasn't allowed to. The girls live in a dorm.Visitors are required to check in with ID and leave before 1am. So I reluctantly caught a late bus back to Taksim and crashed once again on the ugly red couch.
The next day Riaki, Sarah, and I set out to meet our American friend Maggie whom we had met a week earlier at Fethiye Guesthouse. Yes, there were two American Maggie's and yes, it was confusing. Ria and Sarah wanted to take the bus and I wanted to take the metro. Solution? A race! We had thirty minutes to cross the city - north of Taksim to Eminonu - via our preferred method. It was close but I managed to win by about 3 minutes. Metro FTW!
Together with Maggie we explored Istanbul's cistern. Several people had recommended the cistern to us so we had to check it out. Descending underground, we found ourselves surrounded by pillars and water. It was eerie. In the back of the cistern we observed two giant pillars, each with the head of Medusa carved at their base. If looks could kill...
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| Cistern |
It was my last night in Istanbul. I wanted to go out with a bang, so we started the night out at Papillon. I met Sarah, Ria, and Toby, a German guy staying with them at guy-whose-name-I-can't-remember's place. Earlier I had purchased a small notebook to pass on to one of my fellow travelers. My idea: buy a notebook, write something about myself, where I am, and what I'm doing. Then give it to another traveler. They write in it and pass it on. I wrote my contact info and address on several pages, requesting that the notebook be sent back to me when it's full. We'll see what happens! Currently the book is in India with Ria...
After everyone wrote in my little traveling notebook we moved on to a CS meeting at Rouge wine bar. Istanbul has weekly CS meetings with 150-200 regular attendees. We stopped in for a few minutes and ran into a bunch of people from the walking tour. It was nice to see some familiar faces and say goodbyes.
Moving on, we found ourselves at the Araf rock bar. Back in Kas I briefly met a girl from Switzerland through our mutual CS host, Ümit. She happened to be in Istanbul on my last night and recommended that we attend this rock show. I'm so glad that we did. Daniela described it as Turkish gypsy rock. I would say it was Turkish Polecat. Regardless, the music rocked and we danced hard for a few hours. Eventually Sarah and Ria left and I had to say goodbye to my hitch hiking partners-in-crime. Sarah is still in Istanbul, heading next to Germany and then Morocco. Ria is traveling around India.
I caught a cab back to Sultanahmet with Daniela and her friends. Their hostel was just around the corner from mine, which turned out to be quite convenient for me. After saying goodnight to them, I tried entering my hostel and was locked out. At 2am. With a flight the next morning. Bummer.
I knocked on the door for awhile. Some guys across the street tried to help by yelling the owners name, but no luck. The place was closed up tight. I didn't know what to do...my bag was inside and there's no way I'm paying for two hostels in one night. So I went around the corner to Daniela's hostel and talked to the night manager. He was completely understanding and tried calling my hostel, but still nothing. He offered me a discounted room and I accepted.
In the morning I ran into Daniela and her friends at breakfast. They were surprised to see me and we enjoyed a quick meal together before I headed back to Hostel Lockout. I needed to retrieve my bag and had no intention of paying for a night's stay. Lucky for me there was no one at the front desk! I walked in, grabbed my bag, and walked out. Apparently it was no loss for them, as my bag had been moved and someone was sleeping in "my" bed.
On the way to the airport I reflected on Turkey. Overall I loved my time there, especially volunteering in Cappadocia and hitching along the Mediterranean. Istanbul was chaotic and fun, but Istanbul is not Turkey. It's a European city in a 97% Asian, Muslim country. A sprawling, maddening multi-continental metropolis. Like Turkish coffee - it's potent and best in small doses. Of course, Istanbul has to be this way. One could say Istanbul is the center of the world, where east meets west. Cultures mix and clash. There are as many Starbucks, McDonalds, and Burger King joints as baklava shops and historic sights. It's not Constantinople. It's not Turkey. It's Istanbul through and through: one of the greatest cities in the world.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Thanksgiving Turkey
From Selcuk we hitched to Balikesir, a convenient stopover on the way to Istanbul. The most interesting hitch hiking experience we had was with yet another Turkish trucker. This guy picked us up randomly...we weren't even signaling for a ride. We struggled to converse with him in Turkish, telling of our favorite places and foods in Turkey. He got excited when we mentioned menemen (scrambled eggs with veggies). A bit later he pulled over, went into a grocery store, and emerged with a bag of vegetables. " Menemen!" he exclaimed, holding the bag up for us to see. It was confusing.
About an hour later he pulled over again, this time ushering us out of the vehicle. He pulled down a flap on the side of the truck, revealing a fully-stocked mini kitchen. Working quickly, he started chopping vegetables and frying eggs. He made us menemen on the side of the road! Complete with çay and ekmek (bread). And it was damn good.
I arranged for a Couchsurfing host in Balikesir and his friend Yusuf picked us up from the city center. Yusuf is a schoolteacher. He took us to a restaurant, bought us a meal, and introduced us to his coworker Eyüp. Eyüp teaches math to high school students. We enjoyed listening to traditional Turkish music with him, watching a bad movie, and chatting about our travels. He found it rather amusing that I'd picked up a Turkish license plate on the side of the road while hitching. So we took some pictures with it.
Thanksgiving day: our last day of hitch hiking. In the morning Eyüp drove us to the highway where we were picked up after a few minutes. At this point we have ridden in so many random cars and trucks that I don't remember them all. One that stands out from Balikesir to Istanbul is the truck driver blasting Michael Jackson. I really never envisioned myself hitching in a semi to Istanbul on Thanksgiving, listening to the king of pop. For free. I may never ride a bus again!
In the end we hitch hiked approximately 1150km (more than 700 miles). I saved a few hundred Lira on bus tickets :) And we met some incredible people.
I celebrated Thanksgiving in Turkey (punny, I know) by Skyping my family. No Turkey dinner for this vegetarian. We checked into a hostel called Stray Cat. The name says it all: there were stray cats everywhere. The staff just let them in off the street, no big deal. We met some Germans, some Americans, and probably a bunch of other nationalities that I don't recall. After some much-needed R&R we went out the next evening to discover Istanbul's nightlife.
If Istanbul can be summed up in a word, I think the best candidate is "overwhelming". The city is massive. Population estimates vary, but I've heard everything from 12 to 32 million. Whatever, it's a lot. We ventured out to Taksim on Friday night, dodging cars, mopeds, and pedestrians on all sides. Taksim is the heart of Istanbul's New City on the European side and it never sleeps. Think Times Square. Or a newborn baby. Either way, it's stressful, dirty, and fun all at once.
Walking down Istikal is an experience in itself. You might get hit by a tram. You might buy some roasted chestnuts. You most definitely will be among hundreds of swarming bodies whether it's day or night, Monday or Friday. We managed to find the bar I was looking for after accidentally walking into a gay bar. The entire bar full of men turned to look at me entering with two women. I walked out immediately.
Two more levels up the stairs we discovered Papillon. Hands down my favorite bar in Istanbul. They play good music (generally American...I heard everything from Sublime to Fleet Foxes). The atmosphere is super relaxed, with low chairs and beanbags, candlelight, and fish tanks. The beer is pretty cheap, too. AND they have WiFi! Doesn't get much better than Papillon.
A group of Turkish students sitting nearby invited us to join them. Their English was good and I enjoyed their company, particularly Arda and Hilal. They are studying design at Istanbul Technical University. Someone later described Arda to me as "little and gay". Precisely. They led us to another club, Peyote, and eventually we all turned in for the night.
On Saturday we joined a walking tour of Istanbul organized by Couchsurfers. Istanbul is the most active Couchsurfing city in the world, with weekly meetings and tons of events. I love it. We walked around for 5 or 6 hours in a group of 35 people, meeting foreigners and Turkish folk. We also tried Boza, traditional drink. It's weird. Made from fermented grain, it has a sweet, thick consistency that's hard to choke down. But you've gotta try it once, and try it we did.
Devrim, our wonderful host from Antalya, was in town for a couple days. She joined us partway though the walking tour and showed us some of her favorite places. Seeing Devrim again was really refreshing - she is always glowing and optimistic. We enjoyed some Sahlep together, then parted ways and met with our new CS host, Maggie.
I've heard several people refer to Maggie as the party queen of Istanbul. Originally from America, she has lived in Istanbul for three years working as a lawyer. Her schedule is as follows: work all day, party all night, sleep a few hours, repeat. No one knows how she does it. Her roommate Ryan says she is not human, and I am inclined to agree. We had a difficult time finding a CS host in Istanbul as three people traveling together, so when Maggie said yes we were there.
She first took us to a bar called Darkness. It's nothing special, just a dark underground hole full of smoke. Not my favorite. We moved on to Peyote again and danced a bit. Around 3am I was ready to call it a night. The bars back home close at 1:30am. But this is Istanbul! Maggie told us about her favorite club, Machine. Apparently it doesn't "get going" until after 3am. Seriously?
Seriously. The descent into Machine was electrifying. I found myself surrounded by a sea of people, music, smoke, and strobe lights. Once again, sensory overload. It was essentially a rave. I think you have to be on X to appreciated it, and I most certainly was not. The only thing I could think to do was whip out my camera and take a video. Maybe I'll upload it when I have a chance. After being processed by the Machine we stumbled home at 4am and I fell asleep on an ugly red couch, using something reminiscent of a tablecloth as a blanket. It did the job.
About an hour later he pulled over again, this time ushering us out of the vehicle. He pulled down a flap on the side of the truck, revealing a fully-stocked mini kitchen. Working quickly, he started chopping vegetables and frying eggs. He made us menemen on the side of the road! Complete with çay and ekmek (bread). And it was damn good.
In the end we hitch hiked approximately 1150km (more than 700 miles). I saved a few hundred Lira on bus tickets :) And we met some incredible people.
I celebrated Thanksgiving in Turkey (punny, I know) by Skyping my family. No Turkey dinner for this vegetarian. We checked into a hostel called Stray Cat. The name says it all: there were stray cats everywhere. The staff just let them in off the street, no big deal. We met some Germans, some Americans, and probably a bunch of other nationalities that I don't recall. After some much-needed R&R we went out the next evening to discover Istanbul's nightlife.
If Istanbul can be summed up in a word, I think the best candidate is "overwhelming". The city is massive. Population estimates vary, but I've heard everything from 12 to 32 million. Whatever, it's a lot. We ventured out to Taksim on Friday night, dodging cars, mopeds, and pedestrians on all sides. Taksim is the heart of Istanbul's New City on the European side and it never sleeps. Think Times Square. Or a newborn baby. Either way, it's stressful, dirty, and fun all at once.
Two more levels up the stairs we discovered Papillon. Hands down my favorite bar in Istanbul. They play good music (generally American...I heard everything from Sublime to Fleet Foxes). The atmosphere is super relaxed, with low chairs and beanbags, candlelight, and fish tanks. The beer is pretty cheap, too. AND they have WiFi! Doesn't get much better than Papillon.
A group of Turkish students sitting nearby invited us to join them. Their English was good and I enjoyed their company, particularly Arda and Hilal. They are studying design at Istanbul Technical University. Someone later described Arda to me as "little and gay". Precisely. They led us to another club, Peyote, and eventually we all turned in for the night.
On Saturday we joined a walking tour of Istanbul organized by Couchsurfers. Istanbul is the most active Couchsurfing city in the world, with weekly meetings and tons of events. I love it. We walked around for 5 or 6 hours in a group of 35 people, meeting foreigners and Turkish folk. We also tried Boza, traditional drink. It's weird. Made from fermented grain, it has a sweet, thick consistency that's hard to choke down. But you've gotta try it once, and try it we did.
Devrim, our wonderful host from Antalya, was in town for a couple days. She joined us partway though the walking tour and showed us some of her favorite places. Seeing Devrim again was really refreshing - she is always glowing and optimistic. We enjoyed some Sahlep together, then parted ways and met with our new CS host, Maggie.
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| In Istanbul with Devrim |
She first took us to a bar called Darkness. It's nothing special, just a dark underground hole full of smoke. Not my favorite. We moved on to Peyote again and danced a bit. Around 3am I was ready to call it a night. The bars back home close at 1:30am. But this is Istanbul! Maggie told us about her favorite club, Machine. Apparently it doesn't "get going" until after 3am. Seriously?
Seriously. The descent into Machine was electrifying. I found myself surrounded by a sea of people, music, smoke, and strobe lights. Once again, sensory overload. It was essentially a rave. I think you have to be on X to appreciated it, and I most certainly was not. The only thing I could think to do was whip out my camera and take a video. Maybe I'll upload it when I have a chance. After being processed by the Machine we stumbled home at 4am and I fell asleep on an ugly red couch, using something reminiscent of a tablecloth as a blanket. It did the job.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
To Efes
Hitch hiking from Fethiye to Selcuk, we first encountered an air force officer on the street. The girls were standing in the road with their thumbs up as he approached me. We chatted for a bit and he offered to give us a ride to the highway. We accepted and he slowly taxied us around for 10 minutes or so, pointing out places and offering information. He also offered to take us for some tea. A nice gesture that I would normally accept...but we were running late and had a lot of ground to cover. Fortunately Riaki spoke up and asked for a ride to the highway, which he provided while explaining his views on Islam.
Our next driver was a barber. Nice guy with very limited English. Seems to be the norm. He drove us for awhile and left us with some fresh tomatoes to devour beside the road. Next up: trucker! These guys travel long distances alone so they tend to be a bit lonesome and curious. I'd say nearly 50% of our rides were from Turkish truck drivers!
A couple and their toddler picked us up in the afternoon. They were headed to Kusadasi, near Selcuk to look at an apartment. They dropped us off by the beach and promised to come back in one hour to take us to Selcuk. I stole some sand from the beach, grabbed some food, and waited. The guy showed up an hour later as promised and drove us to Selcuk.
We met our CS host, Serkan, at his carpet shop in the city center. Serkan runs the shop with his uncle/flatmate, Aydin, and a bunch of cats. He took us out to try nargile, Turkish water pipe. It was interesting but I don't really get the appeal.
In the morning we set off for Ephesus, a quick 2.5 km walk from Selcuk. It's worth the price of admission. We wandered through the ancient Greek/Roman city ruins, tripping over cats and dodging hordes of tourists. There were literally bus loads of tourists. Gross. But there's a reason everyone goes to Ephesus: it's awesome.
After Efes we hitched a short distance to Sirince. Some locals recommended that we check out the town for it's fruit wines and charm. I wasn't all that impressed with the wine - it was too sweet - but we had a nice time wandering around and trying free samples.
In the evening Ria and Sarah decided to get a haircut. Serkan took us to his barber and the girls got the Turkish flag shaved into their heads (Ria has a crescent, Sarah has a star). Allah Allah!
Our next driver was a barber. Nice guy with very limited English. Seems to be the norm. He drove us for awhile and left us with some fresh tomatoes to devour beside the road. Next up: trucker! These guys travel long distances alone so they tend to be a bit lonesome and curious. I'd say nearly 50% of our rides were from Turkish truck drivers!
We met our CS host, Serkan, at his carpet shop in the city center. Serkan runs the shop with his uncle/flatmate, Aydin, and a bunch of cats. He took us out to try nargile, Turkish water pipe. It was interesting but I don't really get the appeal.
In the morning we set off for Ephesus, a quick 2.5 km walk from Selcuk. It's worth the price of admission. We wandered through the ancient Greek/Roman city ruins, tripping over cats and dodging hordes of tourists. There were literally bus loads of tourists. Gross. But there's a reason everyone goes to Ephesus: it's awesome.
In the evening Ria and Sarah decided to get a haircut. Serkan took us to his barber and the girls got the Turkish flag shaved into their heads (Ria has a crescent, Sarah has a star). Allah Allah!
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| Before |
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| Our host, Serkan |
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| After! |
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Kas - Fethiye
(I am currently en route to Istanbul, arriving tonight just in time for Thanksgiving in Turkey. Here's the story from our last week or so of travel. Unfortunately I can't upload photos right now. Later!)
Leaving Antalya, Sarah and I decided to hitch hike. Seriously. I have never tried before and thought it was a bit crazy, but Sarah hitches around Canada often and she insisted that we try in Turkey. Well, I'm down for just about anything so why not? Devrim took us in a taxi to the highway out of town, by the beach. She even paid for the taxi and wouldn't take no for an answer. She's too nice.
After about 40 minutes of attempted hitching we were picked up by a nice German couple traveling to meet the woman's sister-in-law in Kas. Again, really nice people! They drove us about 120 miles in their spiffy rental car, stopping to buy us tea along the way. Their daughter is traveling abroad and this was their first vacation without kids, so I think they were excited to pick us up and have some company.
In Kas we met our next CS host, Ümit. He is a diving instructor. We met at a cafe in the town center, then walked up to his place. Ümit's apartment is located above the town with a fantastic view of Kas. We went for a walk and met our friend Riaki, as she was traveling a day ahead of Sarah and me. Kas is a nice little town on the coast that would be absolute paradise in the summer. It was pretty cold during our stay, though. We spent our time eating, drinking, and talking with Ümit and his German friend Anna.
In the morning Sarah and I met Riaki and we all took a bus to Fethiye. Too rainy for hitch hiking. The city is much larger than Kas (Fethiye is about the size of Bellingham), but for whatever reason we couldn't find a CS host. So we found a hostel instead: the Fethiye Guesthouse. It has a great location near the marina. We planned to stay one night and ended up staying three! The showers were cold and we slept in dorm beds, but the people were great and it was dirt cheap.
During our stay in Fethiye we made friends with locals and fellow travelers at the hostel. Every night was spent socializing with the friendly staff. Mustafa, the manager, was easy to talk to and he made us breakfast each morning. There's seemingly no end to the Turkish hospitality around these parts!
We took a day trip from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz, one of Mediterranean Turkey's popular beaches. It was a sunny and cold November day and we had the beach to ourselves. However, we had. Lot of ground to cover in only three hours. We started walking south toward our destination: Butterfly Valley. The distance is about 15km...uphill. So we hitched. We were picked up by three different cars throughout the afternoon, each, traveling 3km or so to their destination and dropping us off. The most interesting experience was being picked up by a man and 4 kids...we managed to fit 8 people in a 5-seat car! His English was rather limited and he misunderstood our destination, driving a couple kilometers too far. Oops. We walked back to Butterfly Valley, checked out the view, and met some nice travelers hanging out in the area.
Later we went to catch the bus back to Fethiye and our friend with the 4 kids drove up again. We piled in the car and all headed back to his cafe in Fethiye, where we enjoyed some tasty Turkish food and left a nice tip. Heading back to the hostel we discovered two things: my new favorite Turkish beer and a giant lemon. The beer, Marmara Gold, is complete rubbish. Think PBR, or even worse, maybe Busch. But it's CHEAP. A huge bottle costs 5TL. And it's actually pretty good with a slice of lemon. Corona style :)
Next day we took a minibus to Kayakoy, a nearby ghost town. The place really was a ghost town - we were the only tourists around. Kaya's 4000 stone houses were abandoned during the Turkish - Greek population exchange in the 1920's and later damaged by an earthquake. The remaining ruins are set in a picturesque valley next to the sea. Totally gorgeous and surreal.
Leaving Fethiye, we snagged a "free" shuttle ride to the bus station. Technically it's only free if you buy a bus ticket through the agent that picks you up. The guy picked 6 of us up from the hostel...3 girls had bus tickets and the rest of us did not. At the station he ushered us into the office to buy a ticket. We had no intention of buying one, so I told him we needed a minute to decide. The second he left us alone we bolted. Lowest point of my trip so far: running from the bus station to save 40TL. This is the life of an unemployed traveler :P
Leaving Antalya, Sarah and I decided to hitch hike. Seriously. I have never tried before and thought it was a bit crazy, but Sarah hitches around Canada often and she insisted that we try in Turkey. Well, I'm down for just about anything so why not? Devrim took us in a taxi to the highway out of town, by the beach. She even paid for the taxi and wouldn't take no for an answer. She's too nice.
After about 40 minutes of attempted hitching we were picked up by a nice German couple traveling to meet the woman's sister-in-law in Kas. Again, really nice people! They drove us about 120 miles in their spiffy rental car, stopping to buy us tea along the way. Their daughter is traveling abroad and this was their first vacation without kids, so I think they were excited to pick us up and have some company.
In Kas we met our next CS host, Ümit. He is a diving instructor. We met at a cafe in the town center, then walked up to his place. Ümit's apartment is located above the town with a fantastic view of Kas. We went for a walk and met our friend Riaki, as she was traveling a day ahead of Sarah and me. Kas is a nice little town on the coast that would be absolute paradise in the summer. It was pretty cold during our stay, though. We spent our time eating, drinking, and talking with Ümit and his German friend Anna.
In the morning Sarah and I met Riaki and we all took a bus to Fethiye. Too rainy for hitch hiking. The city is much larger than Kas (Fethiye is about the size of Bellingham), but for whatever reason we couldn't find a CS host. So we found a hostel instead: the Fethiye Guesthouse. It has a great location near the marina. We planned to stay one night and ended up staying three! The showers were cold and we slept in dorm beds, but the people were great and it was dirt cheap.
During our stay in Fethiye we made friends with locals and fellow travelers at the hostel. Every night was spent socializing with the friendly staff. Mustafa, the manager, was easy to talk to and he made us breakfast each morning. There's seemingly no end to the Turkish hospitality around these parts!
We took a day trip from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz, one of Mediterranean Turkey's popular beaches. It was a sunny and cold November day and we had the beach to ourselves. However, we had. Lot of ground to cover in only three hours. We started walking south toward our destination: Butterfly Valley. The distance is about 15km...uphill. So we hitched. We were picked up by three different cars throughout the afternoon, each, traveling 3km or so to their destination and dropping us off. The most interesting experience was being picked up by a man and 4 kids...we managed to fit 8 people in a 5-seat car! His English was rather limited and he misunderstood our destination, driving a couple kilometers too far. Oops. We walked back to Butterfly Valley, checked out the view, and met some nice travelers hanging out in the area.
Later we went to catch the bus back to Fethiye and our friend with the 4 kids drove up again. We piled in the car and all headed back to his cafe in Fethiye, where we enjoyed some tasty Turkish food and left a nice tip. Heading back to the hostel we discovered two things: my new favorite Turkish beer and a giant lemon. The beer, Marmara Gold, is complete rubbish. Think PBR, or even worse, maybe Busch. But it's CHEAP. A huge bottle costs 5TL. And it's actually pretty good with a slice of lemon. Corona style :)
Next day we took a minibus to Kayakoy, a nearby ghost town. The place really was a ghost town - we were the only tourists around. Kaya's 4000 stone houses were abandoned during the Turkish - Greek population exchange in the 1920's and later damaged by an earthquake. The remaining ruins are set in a picturesque valley next to the sea. Totally gorgeous and surreal.
Leaving Fethiye, we snagged a "free" shuttle ride to the bus station. Technically it's only free if you buy a bus ticket through the agent that picks you up. The guy picked 6 of us up from the hostel...3 girls had bus tickets and the rest of us did not. At the station he ushered us into the office to buy a ticket. We had no intention of buying one, so I told him we needed a minute to decide. The second he left us alone we bolted. Lowest point of my trip so far: running from the bus station to save 40TL. This is the life of an unemployed traveler :P
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Antalya
Leaving Göreme, my hosts and I piled into the car and drove down to the bus station with Panda running alongside. The bus to Antalya was jam packed already and I was the only passenger boarding at Göreme. When the bus pulled in I began to say my goodbyes, hugging my hosts and exchanging last minute thank-you and will-miss-yous. Two Turkish men hopped off the bus as it was rolling to a stop, grabbed my bags and began ushering me frantically onto the bus. Goodbyes were cut short and off to Antalya we went. For 9 hours, overnight. It was snowing on the way and of course I couldn't sleep. Absolutely miserable!
Arriving in Antalya, my first order of business was getting some sleep. Unfortunately,I arrived at 7:30am. An hour or so later I found myself in the old city of Kalieci searching for a place to stay. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to check in so early, but the first place I walked into accepted me. My 35TL room (about $20) came with breakfast and mediocre WiFi. Sweet. I tried to nap but couldn't sleep. So instead I walked another hour across town to meet my new travel buddy from Vancouver, Sarah.
Sarah and I started exchanging emails a month or two ago on Couchsurfing (CS). For those not familiar, CS is a network sort of like Facebook, but for travelers. You can meet people and go stay in their home for a night or so. Sounds crazy, but it's safe if you're smart about it. I have hosted people in Bellingham from the US and Australia. It's a great way to meet people and make connections around the world. When two CSers meet, the most natural way to travel is by surfing couches. And that's exactly what we've been doing!
Several weeks ago in Göreme I met a girl from Tokyo at a CS meetup. Riaki was traveling with her boyfriend through Turkey. Now her boyfriend is traveling through Iran and Pakistan while she travels Turkey. Long story long, we were in Antalya at the same time and she invited Sarah and I to a CS dinner.
Enough context already! At dinner we joined our lovely Turkish host, Devrim, and a couple from Holland. Dinner was delicious and lasted for hours. Tea, dinner, tea, dessert, tea. Devrim was incredibly hospitable and invited Sarah and I to Couchsurf at her house the following night. And so we did :)
During my two days in Antalya I enjoyed walking along the Mediterranean sea; the fresh air, history and culture. But most of all I enjoyed the people. Devrim really made Antalya for us. Wish we could have stayed longer, but it was time to move on to Kas.
To be continued...
Arriving in Antalya, my first order of business was getting some sleep. Unfortunately,I arrived at 7:30am. An hour or so later I found myself in the old city of Kalieci searching for a place to stay. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to check in so early, but the first place I walked into accepted me. My 35TL room (about $20) came with breakfast and mediocre WiFi. Sweet. I tried to nap but couldn't sleep. So instead I walked another hour across town to meet my new travel buddy from Vancouver, Sarah.
Sarah and I started exchanging emails a month or two ago on Couchsurfing (CS). For those not familiar, CS is a network sort of like Facebook, but for travelers. You can meet people and go stay in their home for a night or so. Sounds crazy, but it's safe if you're smart about it. I have hosted people in Bellingham from the US and Australia. It's a great way to meet people and make connections around the world. When two CSers meet, the most natural way to travel is by surfing couches. And that's exactly what we've been doing!
Several weeks ago in Göreme I met a girl from Tokyo at a CS meetup. Riaki was traveling with her boyfriend through Turkey. Now her boyfriend is traveling through Iran and Pakistan while she travels Turkey. Long story long, we were in Antalya at the same time and she invited Sarah and I to a CS dinner.
Enough context already! At dinner we joined our lovely Turkish host, Devrim, and a couple from Holland. Dinner was delicious and lasted for hours. Tea, dinner, tea, dessert, tea. Devrim was incredibly hospitable and invited Sarah and I to Couchsurf at her house the following night. And so we did :)
During my two days in Antalya I enjoyed walking along the Mediterranean sea; the fresh air, history and culture. But most of all I enjoyed the people. Devrim really made Antalya for us. Wish we could have stayed longer, but it was time to move on to Kas.
To be continued...
Monday, November 14, 2011
Paring, Parting, Partying. Not necessarily in that order.
Today is bittersweet. Today, I leave Goreme.
Living here for five weeks has been a blessing that I am incredibly thankful for. Fairy Chimney Inn is my home away from home. No one can replace my true family, but my hosts here have done a fine job of making me feel at home and part of the fam. Leaving Goreme is like leaving home again.
That's the bad news. Good news is: I'm hitting the road! The season here has slowed down tremendously and I am more or less ready to move on. I'm off to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, home of historic ruins, warm(er) weather, hiking, and beaches galore. Photos and blog post coming soon...hopefully.
Here are some photos from Andus' birthday party on 11/11/11. I abandoned the camera in favor of raki once guests started showing up, so these are "before" shots.
Oh, and I shaved the beard monster. No Shave November is officially off.
Living here for five weeks has been a blessing that I am incredibly thankful for. Fairy Chimney Inn is my home away from home. No one can replace my true family, but my hosts here have done a fine job of making me feel at home and part of the fam. Leaving Goreme is like leaving home again.
That's the bad news. Good news is: I'm hitting the road! The season here has slowed down tremendously and I am more or less ready to move on. I'm off to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, home of historic ruins, warm(er) weather, hiking, and beaches galore. Photos and blog post coming soon...hopefully.
Here are some photos from Andus' birthday party on 11/11/11. I abandoned the camera in favor of raki once guests started showing up, so these are "before" shots.
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| Duran, grillin some kebap |
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| Beer and raki |
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| FOOD! |
Oh, and I shaved the beard monster. No Shave November is officially off.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
FCI IT
A couple things I've created during my stay at Fairy Chimney Inn...
Andus and I created a new web page for the nomad tent. I took all the photos in HDR (except the vertical shot, provided by Andus).
I also created a Fairy Chimney Inn Facebook Page. We already have 70 fans!
Last but not least, I created countless JibJab videos of the staff here. They loved it.
Andus and I created a new web page for the nomad tent. I took all the photos in HDR (except the vertical shot, provided by Andus).
I also created a Fairy Chimney Inn Facebook Page. We already have 70 fans!
Last but not least, I created countless JibJab videos of the staff here. They loved it.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Cold Turkey
Much has happened since my last post. I've met dozens of travelers, taken hundreds of photos, and failed to comprehend thousands of Turkish words. There was a massive earthquake in the east which fortunately did not affect us. Now, after over three weeks in Cappadocia, I have adopted the lifestyle. Reckless driving no longer sways me. Words that I cannot pronounce are the norm. And living in a cave isn't all that different from living in a house - it's just cooler (pun intended). Actually it's not cold in the caves - they have heated floors. The temperature outside has been dropping though and I find it quite appropriate to label this post "Cold Turkey".
So what has been keeping me so busy these last few weeks, you ask? I will show you...
Unal and I hopped on his motorbike and cruised over to Love Valley last week. I will let the photos speak for themselves - it's called love valley for a reason!
Another day, Gulcan, Panda, and I took our Palestinian guest on a walk through Rose Valley. Gulcan showed us some rock-cut churches that we probably would have walked right past without a guide.
These churches can be freely entered and explored at your own risk.
This week I joined a tour to visit the underground city of Derinkuyu, the largest and deepest underground city in Cappadocia. A shuttle picked me up from the hotel at 9:30am, then we met with the rest of the group and hopped on a bus. My fellow tourists were a Russian couple, an Italian couple, a man from South Korea, and a girl from Canada. I quickly befriended the Korean and Canadian since we were the only solo travelers. Our guide, a knowledgeable woman from Cappadocia,wasted no time explaining the history of the area and answering every question we threw at her. Normally I don't like tours - or rather I don't like paying for them - but I got a discount for working at the hotel, and our guide was great so I actually had a very enjoyable time.
Here's a quick blurb from Wikipedia on Derinkuyu: "Derinkuyu Underground City is an ancient multi-level underground city in the Derinkuyu district in Nevşehir Province, Turkey. With its eleven floors extending to a depth of approximately 85 m, it was large enough to shelter tens of thousands of people together with their livestock and food stores. It is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey and is part of a network of several underground complexes found across Cappadocia.
It was opened to visitors in 1969 and to date, only ten percent of the underground city is accessible to tourists."
We descended 85 meters, ducking through low-clearance tunnels and claustrophobia-inducing passages. It was quite the trip.
After Derinkuyu we hopped back on the bus and headed for Ihlara Valley, the deepest and longest canyon in Cappadocia. We hiked along the river, then enjoyed lunch beside the water. Have I mentioned that Turkey is absolutely gorgeous? Well, it is!
After lunch we headed to the Selime monastery, which was of course carved out of the rock by monks in the 13th century. Naturally...
That's all for now. Tomorrow morning I am meeting my friend Charlee at the bus station. She's traveling through Turkey with a friend and they've opted to spend two nights here at the hotel. Here's to a great cave Halloween! Cheers.
So what has been keeping me so busy these last few weeks, you ask? I will show you...
Unal and I hopped on his motorbike and cruised over to Love Valley last week. I will let the photos speak for themselves - it's called love valley for a reason!
Another day, Gulcan, Panda, and I took our Palestinian guest on a walk through Rose Valley. Gulcan showed us some rock-cut churches that we probably would have walked right past without a guide.
These churches can be freely entered and explored at your own risk.
This week I joined a tour to visit the underground city of Derinkuyu, the largest and deepest underground city in Cappadocia. A shuttle picked me up from the hotel at 9:30am, then we met with the rest of the group and hopped on a bus. My fellow tourists were a Russian couple, an Italian couple, a man from South Korea, and a girl from Canada. I quickly befriended the Korean and Canadian since we were the only solo travelers. Our guide, a knowledgeable woman from Cappadocia,wasted no time explaining the history of the area and answering every question we threw at her. Normally I don't like tours - or rather I don't like paying for them - but I got a discount for working at the hotel, and our guide was great so I actually had a very enjoyable time.
Here's a quick blurb from Wikipedia on Derinkuyu: "Derinkuyu Underground City is an ancient multi-level underground city in the Derinkuyu district in Nevşehir Province, Turkey. With its eleven floors extending to a depth of approximately 85 m, it was large enough to shelter tens of thousands of people together with their livestock and food stores. It is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey and is part of a network of several underground complexes found across Cappadocia.
It was opened to visitors in 1969 and to date, only ten percent of the underground city is accessible to tourists."
We descended 85 meters, ducking through low-clearance tunnels and claustrophobia-inducing passages. It was quite the trip.
 | |
| Down the ventilation shaft |
 | |
| Levitating! |
After lunch we headed to the Selime monastery, which was of course carved out of the rock by monks in the 13th century. Naturally...
That's all for now. Tomorrow morning I am meeting my friend Charlee at the bus station. She's traveling through Turkey with a friend and they've opted to spend two nights here at the hotel. Here's to a great cave Halloween! Cheers.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
HDR 1.0
Andus asked me to take some photos of their new nomad tent for the website. He wanted to experiment with a photography technique known as HDR (High Dynamic Range) which involves taking 3 bracketed shots of the same scene and combining them. Basically, I took the same photo 3 times and changed the exposure (light levels) in each of the 3 shots. Then combined them in Photomatix and voila! HDR coming at ya from Turkey.
I got a little carried away. Some of these are a bit over processed - but it was an experiment, after all. Click the photos for a full-size slideshow.
I got a little carried away. Some of these are a bit over processed - but it was an experiment, after all. Click the photos for a full-size slideshow.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Pigeon Valley, Uchisar, Honey Valley
Yesterday Gulcan and I took Panda on a walk to Uchisar. It was epic. Gulcan's family owns much of the surrounding area and we walked through Pigeon Valley, munching on grapes and apples from their orchard. We climbed to the top of Uchisar castle, which has perhaps the best views in Cappadocia. We then stopped for lunch and enjoyed some Pide (basically Turkish pizza). Gulcan convinced me to take the long way home through Honey Valley, and at sunset we stopped at her friend's home for dinner. They made "Turkish Italian pasta" and gave us no less than three rounds of tea. We arrived back at Fairy Chimney Inn around 11pm after being out for 10 hours. I'm not sure who was more exhausted, us or Panda.
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