Trotters Excellent Adventure
Thursday, May 12 to Friday, May 13, 2011
Departed IAH Thursday, May 12 on Continental 46 bound for Frankfurt. Wonderful surprise—our friends, Dick and Betty McNairy, were on the same flight. It was an uneventful flight, except for observing the continuing deterioration of Continental Airlines’ service.
We arrived in Frankfurt at noon, about 30 minutes late, and rushed from Terminal A to B to catch Lufthansa 1300 to Istanbul at 1:05. (It’s amazing how much better the service is on the European airlines these days.) We arrived in Istanbul at 3:55 and were met by our guide, Serhan Gungor who whisked us away to the waiting bus.
Traffic was terrible and we arrived at the Marmara Taksim Hotel in Taksim Square around 6:30 p.m. There was just enough time to shower and change before meeting Tahire Akder and her Turkish friends in the lounge on the top floor for a welcome cocktail. It was great to have the opportunity to meet with several Turkish professional women, including a gynecologist and two bankers, who shared their views on the plight of women in Turkey and their concerns over the increasing fundamentalism in the Islamic faith.
After snacks and a glass of wine, I was too tired for dinner, and my roommate, trip organizer Kay Kendall, and I headed for bed.
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| The Blue Mosque |
Saturday, May 14, 2011—Istanbul 101
After a wonderful breakfast in the hotel dining room overlooking the city, we met our guide in the lobby at 9 a.m. and headed out for the Istanbul 101 tour. Our first stop was the Topaki Palace, residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Built in 1459, Topaki Palace was the place of government for the Ottoman Empire that ruled three continents. We viewed the imperial treasury, costumes, and Islamic relics and then toured the Harem section, which provided an interesting glimpse into the life of the Sultan’s family.
On our way to lunch, we walked along Sogukceseme Street, an area of well-preserved homes that still retain the latticed windows that allowed Muslim women to peek out into the street. These houses are now mostly small hotels. Our lunch was at a restaurant specializing in dishes from the Sultan’s kitchens and included ground beef and lamb cooked inside a melon. An interesting dish but not one of my favorites. Our lunch was interrupted by the noon call to prayer, which echoed across the city in a cacophony of sound. Even after two trips to Turkey, I still find the call to prayer unsettling.
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| Hagia Sophia |
Following lunch, we visited the Hagia Sophia, constructed as a Christian basilica n the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. Construction began on the church on December 23rd, 532 and was completed on December 27, 537. The dome remained the largest in the world until construction of the Vatican in Rome. Hagia Sophia was used as a church for 916 years and a mosque for 481 years. It became a museum in 1935. Once the Muslims moved out, the beautiful mosaics made in the 9th and 12th centuries were again uncovered and are on display today. During this visit, I had the opportunity to climb to the second level, which was reserved for women, for a magnificent view of the entire structure. I also visited the baptistery.
The Blue Mosque, located directly across the street, is famous throughout the Islamic world as the only mosque with six minarets. Built between 1609 and 1616 in the name of Sultan Ahmet, its name comes from the thousands of blue Iznik tiles lining its interior walls. We walked through the mosque; observing men at prayer and outside we saw the areas for cleansing oneself before worship.
We also observed two young boys dressed like little princes being paraded through the area by their parents. Serhan told us that this is part of the circumcision ritual with Muslim families. The boys are dressed up and spend two days partying and visiting various religious sites before being circumcised.
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| Obelisk of Theodosis at the Hippodrome |
Next, we visited the Hippodrome, the center for sporting events and political activities in ancient Constantinople, as Istanbul was previously known. The center of the Hippodrome is adorned by two obelisks, the Serpentine Column and the Obelisk of Theodosius, which originally were erected in front of the Karnak temple in Luxor by Pharaoh of Egypt in 1490 BC. Finally, we toured the archeology museum to see relics from ancient Turkey. By this time, everyone was exhausted, so many of us congregated at the coffee shop for a rest.
That evening, we were off to see a traditional Turkish show, which included belly dancers and whirling dervishes. It was much too touristy for my taste.
During the evening, one member of our group, Connie Smith, began a terrible nosebleed. Once we got back to the hotel, she called Kay to say she needed to go to the hospital. The hotel manager kindly went with them by taxi to help with any language problems. They were joined at the hospital by the head of Fest Travel, our agent for the trip. A specialist was called in who was able to stop the bleeding; however, Connie’s blood pressure rose to 240/190, which was of great concern. Fortunately, that too was brought under control and Connie and Kay made it back to the hotel around 3 a.m. Connie had nothing but praises for the hospital team; the entire visit cost 441 Turkish Lira.
Sunday, May 15, 2011—Dolmabahce Palace, the Spice Market and a Bosphorus Cruise
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| Dolmabahce Palace from the Bosphorus |
Serhan was waiting for us in the lobby at 8:30 and we were off to see the Dolmabahce Palace, the last residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Built in 1856, it is a Turkish version of Versailles with 285 rooms decorated with ornate crystal and gold. The most famous room is the Medhal Hall and the Crystal Steps leading to the second floor. There was also a large harem for the wives and concubines of the Sultans.
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| The Spice Market |
After the tour, we headed to the Spice Market where we explored the stalls of dozens of vendors hawking spices and other wares. Its official name was the Misir Carsisi when it was ordered by Turhan Sultan between 1663 and 1664; however, it became known as the Spice Bazaar due to the large numbers of spices sold there. I also enjoyed exploring the back streets around the Bazaar. We lunched at a nearby restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus.
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| Bosphorus cruise |
In the afternoon, we boarded a boat for an excursion along the European and Asian coasts of the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus is 30 kilometers long and connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. Along the way, we saw magnificent homes, selling for more than $100 million US, castles, bridges and Turkey’s president’s summer residence. We disembarked on the pier of Sariyer and walked across the street to visit the Sadberk Hanim Museum. We enjoyed a private tour of the collection of costumes and archeological relics and then returned to our hotel by bus. It was an interesting ride through the suburbs back to central Istanbul.
Exhausted from the previous night’s events, we had a quick dinner at a restaurant next door and retired early.
Monday, May 16, 2011—Istanbul to Kayseri
A 7:20 a.m. flight to Kayseri required a 4 a.m. wake up call. Our guide kindly had breakfast delivered to our rooms and we were off to the airport early. We arrived in Kayseri in Central Turkey at 8:45 a.m. and headed to Cappadocia. We drove to Uchisar, an old village up a dead end valley with huge honeycombed cone fortresses.
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| The face of Cappadocia |
Here, we visited the home of a man and wife built in the rock formations. The formations are made of volcanic ash and mud that has been honed by the wind over many centuries. The rock is porous and light. The couple carved their home from one of the rock formations overlooking the valley over three years. We sat in their living room and sipped hot apple tea and then purchased some of the items laid out for sale.
We shopped at a market on the hill above their home and then headed to lunch. The specialty of the day was the local trout. The fish was supposed to be filleted; however, the head was still on, making for a bit of a turnoff to those of us who are squeamish about such things.
One of the highlights of Cappadocia is the subterranean cities. Because the area was subject to frequent raids, it is believed these underground cities were built to provide people with places to hide during periods of danger. Many of the cities were used by early Christians hiding from Roman persecution. The cities contain long narrow passageways which limited enemy mobility. The passageways were blocked by huge millstones which could be moved by those hiding inside. Each city contained hundreds of rooms; some were able to house up to 30,000 people. We visited the underground city of Özkonak, which is unique in that small vertical holes above the tunnels next to the millstone allowed those inside to spear or pour hot oil on those trying to get in.
Afterwards, we drove to the Aksaray Sultanhan on the Aksaray-Konya road. During the prosperous periods of the Anatolian Seljuks, the sultans built caravansaries every 25 miles along the well-planned road network to provide a resting place for the caravans. We visited the well-preserved Sultanhan Caravansary built in 1228 on the Silk Road. Here, we attended an evening presentation of Sufism and Sema, Mevlevi Dance—in other words, the whirling dervishes. This presentation is actually a religious ceremony in which the eight dervishes work themselves into a trance and begin to whirl. The whole dance lasts about an hour during which the audience is asked to remain quiet and refrain from photography. The evening made me reflect on all of the strange ways that mankind has come up with to worship in the name of God.
We ended our day at the Kapadokya Lykia Lodge where we had a buffet dinner and tried to unwind from a very long day.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011—Hot Air Balloons and Rock Churches
Once again, we were up early to drive to our launch site for a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. We arrived as the balloon was being inflated and watched as our crew blasted propane flames into the balloon. Then we all clambered—not so gracefully—into the basket, which held all 19 of us.
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| Early morning balloon ride |
The ride was magnificent as we sailed along with dozens of other balloons over the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia. The structures were formed as the result of the erosion of the tufa layer being worn away by wind and floodwaters running down the slopes of the valley. The fairy chimney with caps, which are mainly found near Urgup, hae a conical shaped body with a boulder on top. The cone is made of tufa and volcanic ash, while the cone is made up of hard, more resistant rock, such as lahar or ignimbrite.
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| Cappadocia's fairy chimneys |
Our talented female pilot—one of only two in Turkey—landed us softly on the trailer. The men lifted each of us out of the basket and we toasted our return to earth with champagne and orange juice.
We returned to the hotel for breakfast and then headed to a carpet weaving demonstration of Turkey’s traditional art in Avanos. This particular company helps women in the Turkish countryside earn money by teaching them to weave the rugs and installs looms in their homes. The rugs were beautiful and several women made purchases.
After lunch, we visited a small village where we toured a tiny Christian church built in 1729. It is sad to see the Christian churches in a state of disrepair when the Mosques are so well tended.
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| A master potter |
Then, it was off to a ceramics demonstration with one of Turkey’s premier potters. Martha Stewart had recently visited his shop and one member of our group purchased the same piece, selling for around $4,000.
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| Artwork inside the Rock Churches |
We ended our day at the Göreme Open-Air Museum. By the end of the second century, a large Christian community had formed in Cappadocia. The Great St. Basil and St. Gregory were two of the famous bishops who lived in the area. These monks and priests built rock churches carved out of the soft rock in the area. We visited Tokalt, one of the oldest churches, and several other churches, all decorated with early paintings of religious scenes.
Several of us chose to end the day with a glass of wine at sunset. Serhan took us to a friend’s hotel where we found the perfect spot on the terrace to watch the Cappadocia rock formations turn from white to a beautiful red. It was gorgeous!
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| The sun sets over Cappodocia |
Wednesday, May 18, 2011—Cappadocia to Ankara to Izmir
After breakfast, we were on the road again for the three-hour drive to Ankara, the Capital of Turkey. It was a beautiful journey along the Silk Road with treeless green hills and snowcapped peaks in the distance.
Once in Ankara, we walked around the castle above the city and had lunch overlooking the area. Then, we visited the museum of Anatolian Civilizations with its spectacular Hittite treasures. We ran out of time to visit Ataturk’s mausoleum and headed to the airport for our flight to Izmir. We arrived at 6:50 p.m. and were driven to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza overlooking Izmir Bay. A very late dinner at the hotel and then off to bed.
Thursday, May 19, 2011—Ephesus
Our first stop of the morning was at the home of a Turkish artisan who continues to make the famous evil eye using Stone Age methods. After observing his work and making a few purchases, we wandered around the village taking in village life.
Rain began to set in as we approached our destination for lunch, so we dined indoors instead of on the deck as Serhan had intended. Just as we sat down, the electricity went off, leaving us with candles for light.
We stopped at a leather shop which sells leather couture to some of Paris’ great names in fashion. We endured a fashion show and 90 minutes of shopping before we could head to Ephesus.
Our first stop was at the Virgin Mary’s house in the hills above Ephesus. I had been here before, but still found the little house in the hills very moving. On the way back to town, we encountered a bus accident—two large tour busses had sideswiped on the narrow road. Our guide got out to help them get things moving and we were soon on our way.
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| Ephesus library |
Serhan had chosen to have us arrive at Ephesus at the end of the day, which allowed us to have this beautiful place mostly to ourselves. One of the highlights was touring the step houses, which were not included on my previous tour there. These Ephesus homes are being restored by archeologists. The work is incredible. It was also wonderful to stand once again in the amphitheatre where the Apostle Paul preached. A moving experience!
Once again, we had a late dinner and packed for our final plane ride to Istanbul the next morning. However, the day wasn’t done. Just as Kay and I were dropping off to sleep, the bed began to sway.
I said, “Kay, do you feel that?”
She replied, “Yes! What is that?”
I said, “I think we’re having an earthquake.”
The next morning we learned that a 5.9 earthquake had occurred about 60 miles from Izmir. Three people were killed and about 100 injured.
Friday, May 20, 2011—Izmir to Istanbul
We departed Izmir at 10 a.m. and arrived in Istanbul an hour later. We were dropped off at the Grand Bazaar for shopping. With more than 4,000 shops selling antiques, jewelry, carpets, and more, it was overwhelming. We shopped for a while and then headed to the café for lunch. The lentil soup was laced with animal fat, so I drank my Coke and enjoyed a package of crackers from home.
Around 3 p.m., we gathered on the bus and headed to the Istanbul Airport hotel for our overnight stay. Our farewell dinner was terrific—a steak and potatoes.
Unfortunately, I ended the day with a bout of Montezuma’s Revenge. Two Imodium AD’s and a Pecid AC ensured that I got on the plane for Frankfurt the next morning.
