We`ve been seeing lots of exciting and interesting things here in Turkey. Meeting new friends, experiencing new activities, and all around having a great time - when we`re not freezing, that is.

Turkey photos:

Istanbul:
A mosque along the Bosphorus

Robin with a view of the Blue Mosque

Matt with a view of the Aya Sofia

A mosaic inside the Aya Sofia

A mummy case on display at the Archelogical Museum

Us at the Harem area of the Topkopi Palace

Cappadoccia: Central Turkey
Robin in one of the Underground Cities

A group of "fairy chimnies"

In the Goreme open air museum

Us in Cappadoccia

Another of us

Robin

Matt inside a fairy chimney

Meditteranean Coast: Olympos
Mt. Olympos

Matt after a quick dip

Olympos arch

Olympos ruins

Gang of fellow travellers at Kadir's Tree Houses

Upon arrival in Turkey, we started off with five consecutive nights at Servas hosts`s apartments in the newer part of Istanbul around the Sısli neighborhood. Thanks to the friendship and generosity of Tugrul, Betul, and Tugba, we got a unique introduction to Turkish hospitality. We were able to watch Tugrul and Betul play volleyball at one of their weekly matches at the fitness club, we went to a nargile (water pipe) bar and smoked apricot flavoured tobacco and played Tavla (backgammon); we stayed up late chatting with friends over take out and home made rice pudding; and we wandered around workaday Istanbul neighborhoods, and rode the Metro with local commuters - definitely stuff off the tourist track.

One of the most shocking events was our first taxi ride in Istanbul: at the end of the ride, we paid our fare and tried to give a tip, but the driver gave us back the extra money! After so many times being overcharged, or driven out of the way to go to a "better" hotel or "cousin`s" shop, it was very refreshing.

We spent some time going around the old city seeing the sights: we went to the Topkapi Palace (on Easter weekend, it was pretty crowded, and we ended up waiting in lines several hours just to get inside the high-light spot there, the Harem; it felt like Disney), we saw the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofia, and wandered around the Grand Bazaar.

After nearly a week in Istanbul, we took a night bus to the heart of Anatolia (Asian Turkey) to Cappadocia. Here we took a two day tour around the enchanting landscape and saw ancient churches and monestaries carved into the rocks and cliff sides, underground cities, and the famous fairy chimnies. It was quite beautiful and romantic. Our hotel in Urgup had "cave" rooms and was really cozy. We left just in time, on the way out of town, it began to snow!!!

From Cappadocia, we took another night bus to Antalya, on the Mediterranean Sea, then another bus down to Olympos. We stayed a few nights at Kadir`s Top Tree House resort. We were very thankful for the electric blanket we had on our bed, since there was no heat in the room and the temp was down to near 5 degrees celcius. We visited the ancient ruins of Olympos city, which reached it`s peak around 3 B.C. The ruins were in the valley on the way to the beach from Kadir`s. Matt went for a swim on the one day we had sun here - just a quick dip since it was still a bit chilly.

We were scheduled to take a four day, three night boat tour around the coast, but it got cancelled. We decided to go to Kas (pronounced Kash), a quaint little town on the coast. That is where we are now, enjoying the peace and quiet. It is still early for tourists, and we are the only guests in our hotel. We have been taking in the sun and drinking Turkish tea and playing backgammon and reading books on our hotel room balcony.

Our next stop is Selcuk and visiting the ruins of Ephesus.

(Note: we tried to type in the Turkish characters for people and place names, but the program doesn`t recognize them.)