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Ok, here are photos you may actually like

Monday, July 24th, 2006

Here are some photos of recent travels in Turkey.

Cappadocian valley
We traveled 12 hours by overnight bus to visit Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey famed for unusual rock formations created from erosion of layers of volcanic tuff and basalt. Definitely worth the 12 hours (24 hours really, counting the ride back to Istanbul…)

Underground room
In Cappadocia there are a number of underground cities carved by the locals as a place to hide from invaders and for storage in times of peace. This particular underground city we visited was eleven stories deep.

D in passageway
The passageways between rooms were built for only one person to pass at a time. This was a strategic move in that it allowed them to pick off the invaders one at a time as they descended into the city.

East meets West
East meets West. D and I took a ferry ride out on the Bosphorus River on our last day in Turkey. This bridge connects the European side of Istanbul (left side of pic) with the Asian side.

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The one thing I don’t like about Turkey

Tuesday, July 18th, 2006
  • The rug salesmen all seem to have better Japanese than I ever did. boo hoo

-s

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Things I like about Turkey (besides the abundance of baklava)

Tuesday, July 18th, 2006
  • Healthy looking, friendly stray cats roam around the city (and thanks, Kathy for the hand sanitizer – it certainly comes in handy after petting stray cats).
  • The overnight bus has drinks and snacks served to you by a bus host or hostess. Counteracts the horrors of having to sit through two hours of a Lance Henriksen movie dubbed in Turkish.
  • Rosewater is sprinkled on your hands after meals (or after using public toilets — public toilets should probably also be on this list. Almost always has toilet paper and you can usually take your pick between a western and squat toilet depending on your mood).
  • St. John the Baptist’s arm bone and top of his skull are located in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Very cool.
  • And the best one yet — everyone thinks we are French!

-s

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Sightseeing in Istanbul

Saturday, July 15th, 2006

We made it to Istanbul at 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning and we figure by now people are beginning to wonder what might have happened to us. Have we kept you in suspense long enough? Sorry, we didn’t mean too – we’ve just been too tired to blog. Although the hostel we are staying in has wireless we can only access it from the lobby which makes it a lot less convenient than blogging while sitting around your room watching BBC Prime, the only English-language channel we can get.

We’ve done the touristy stuff for the past two days as well as just wandering around the city trying to get lost. While walking around we’ve run into some fantastic sites and smells (there’s a kebab stall on every corner – yes, it’s all about the food for me). Here are some pictures we’ve taken in the past few days.

Mosaic Museum

Large piece of mosaic from the Great Palace Mosaic Museum which Derek took me to. The mosaics were part of a palace built around the 6th century which no longer exists, although the mosaics have been excavated and put into their original position 20 feet or so below current ground level. The mosaic floor runs at least 100 feet long, although I’m horrible with dimensions so maybe it was longer, maybe it was shorter. Seemed pretty darn big to me.

Inside Suleymani Mosque
A highlight thus far – the Suleymani Mosque.

Blue Mosque

Outside the Blue Mosque. We went during prayer time so we couldn’t go inside – maybe we’ll try to visit it again today.

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