We loved Turkey…. and kebabs. Turkey is one of the few places we have been where we could easily see ourselves living. Istanbul is a vibrant, classicly modern city with culture spewing out its ears. Turkey has so much to see that our measly 13 days barly even scratched the surface. Turkey shot right to the top of our list of places to return to.

Syria, on the other hand, was too complex a society to even begin to get a handle on in the few days passing through so I will reserve my opinion until the next time…

(Be sure to check out the Turkey and Syria photo gallery here)

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June 22, 2009 – Day 179 – Istanbul, Turkey

Rolled into Istanbul in the early morning, too early to check into any hostels so we waited in the public park area between the two grand mosques until the city began to wake up. Slow day of getting ready for our flight to London tomorrow.

Saben getting ready for the flight

June 21, 2009 – Day 178 – Izmir, Turkey

Spent much of the day hanging around the pier and enjoying the carnival atmosphere down by the water’s edge. Kids playing, food vendors strolling by, a string of colorful balloons bobbing in the sea awaiting someone’s good aim with a BB gun, young couples giggling at each other, plenty of unsuccessful fishermen and men selling everything from baby bunnies to cotton candy to kites.

(We forgot the camera so you will just have to pretend)

We’ve decided to skip the beach in Izmir (it seems that they are not very great, according to several locals and a few other travelers; you decide for yourself though) and are heading back to Istanbul tonight on a rather long night bus.

June 20, 2009 – Day 177 – Izmir, Turkey

Travel day from Pammuakle to Izmir (3-4 hours). Hoping to catch a good beach in Izmir tomorrow or next day. Nothing for posting today but a travel tip.

Travel Tip:

When planning a visit to Izmir, you will likely find it extremely difficult to secure lodging. For some reason, places like hostelworld and hostelbookers have only a few places online but in reality, there are literally piles and piles of places to stay. We took a city bus toward downtown and just walked around price checking 5-6 places. We finally found something to suite us and it was very cheap, about TYL 17. It can be a bit frustrating not knowing where you will be sleeping for the night but rest assured that, in the right area of town, you will definitely find many cheap hotels (no hostels really).

June 19, 2009 – Day 176 – Pammukale, Turkey

Sitting in a gritty calcium pool is a surprisingly nice way to spend an afternoon. After an over night bus and most of the morning spent traveling we arrived in Pammukale to see the famous calcium deposits. The views from the natural pools are amazing, with mountains lining the horizions in all directions. Despite the massive tour groups and sagging, sun-wrinkled bodies wearing smaller than desired bathing attire, Pammukale is actually a fun place to visit.

Lindsey enjoying the pool

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Through the tunnels of Cappadocia
Be sure to turn your speakers on.

June 18, 2009 – Day 175 – Istanbul, Turkey

With such an important location in the Old World, Istanbul brags a wonderful Archaeology Musuem that holds massive amounts of fascinating bits of history. We spent most of the day going through floor after floor, building after building of incredible artifacts.

Tiles in the hall

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June 17 2009 -  Day 174 – Istanbul, Turkey

The air rose up and stung our bones with a damp chill. We switchbacked down, down, down into the Basilica Cistern on stone ramps to see what remains of Justinian’s savior of Constantinople.

Inside the cistern

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June 16, 2009 – Day 173 – Istanbul, Turkey

Quite a busy day today! This morning we sat on the carpeted floor of the Blue Mosque watching the hoards of tourists pour in one side and back out the other within seconds. There were only a few local people there to actually pray and I have no idea how they could have done so with all the noise!

The (massive) Blue Mosque

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June 15 2009 -  Day 172 – Istanbul, Turkey

Somehow we managed to get ourselves into another 16 hours of traveling and after a long, hot search for lodging we broke down and took the cheapest place we found.

Down by the sea

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