Terra Encounters – Turkey

Cappadocia Turkey Itinerary

2018-01-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Cappadocia Turkey | Best Itinerary | Terra Encounters in-depth See all new posts for Terra Encounters on https://terraencounters.wordpress.com/; e.g.:

Central Turkey Itinerary
– from Antalya to Cappadocia to Istanbul

Golden Goreme

You should be very excited if you are planning a trip to Turkey. It is easy to travel on your own. For advice on how to plan and travel in an economical way, see the TripAdvisor page Turkey: Planning a Self-Guided Turkey Trip. Now comes the hard choice of deciding where to go. Even if you have a whole month, you cannot see everything. Turkey is the size of Great Britain and France combined!

The following suggestions are based on an actual 31-day trip, which was split into two parts. Stay-overs are shown in capitals followed by the number of nights. Each destination was assigned zero to three dots to give a sense of which sites are most worthwhile seeing. Hyperlinks will bring you to posts with more details. This itinerary gives the best places to go for a 14-day trip through Central Turkey from Antalya to Istanbul.

RECOMMENDED ITINERARY

See a map of Central Turkey Itinerary

ANTALYA 2 nights

Antalya is dissed by many travellers as just a big city but staying in an old Ottoman house in Kaleiçi (the old city) is worthwhile and it makes a useful base for nearby sights. Yes, Antalya is a big city but the old quarter, Kaleiçi, is a quiet oasis.

Ottoman Delight

Staying in an old Ottoman house is a beautiful introduction to Turkey. It is a much easier way to start your trip than overpopulated Istanbul.

Kaleiçi ● It is very touristy but there are not as many touts as in Istanbul. The old town has a very clean, restored look but it is still pleasant walking, as there are few cars. See the view of the sea framed by the snowy Taurus Mountains near the Hidirlik Tower, especially in early AM before breakfast – and few tourists wake up early so you'll have the park to yourself.

Antalya Archaeological Museum ●●● is one of the best arranged museums anywhere. Ancient Roman statues are set into Romanesque-style arches with romantic lighting (not good for photography)

Stupendous Aspendos

Day Trips:
Aspendos Theatre ●
is basically a large intact Ancient Roman theatre with lots of tourists. Climb up to the acropolis (included in the price) for more dramatic views of the theatre and the very green countryside.

Colourful Köprülü

Köprülü Canyon ●● is a spectacular green river visible from the country road. The Termessos ruins is another good place to go from Antalya. On the way east from Antalya along the old highway(there will soon be a new expressway), stop along the road for...

Turquoise Treasure

Turquoise Coast ●●●
for perhaps the second most beautiful turquoise coastal views.

KIZKALESI 1 night

Medieval Maiden Castle, on an offshore islet, seems to float just above the sea. It's OK but not a must-see. The beach is very small but the sand is so soft. Plus there were few tourists. It made for a pleasant stopover on the long drive to Cappadocia.

Sensational Sunset

CAPPADOCIA ●●●● 4 nights

The region of Cappadocia is probably the best must-see area for natural beauty in the country – so don’t miss it!!! Göreme is just one of the towns in this region but it is still a wonderful base due to its central location.

Göreme Sunset View ●●● is an easy walk up the hill to the east of the hotel area main drag for spectacular views at sunset of Rose Valley and Göreme.

Car or Dolmuş Trips:

Not a Fairy Tale

Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys ●●●● are extraordinary even the touristy Paşabagh site. There are too many hikes to list here. Most are fairly easy, at least at the beginning, or you could simple go for as long as you want and return when you feel like it. the best hikes were are Love Valley, Zemi Valley, and...

Kizilçukur

Rose Valley ●●●●
you could walk here on a car-less dirt road but you can drive on a parallel road. This area has many side trails. The best spot was the Kizilçukur Viewpoint, located between the "parking lot" and the dirt road below the hill. Again, it's best to come here for the late PM or sunset lighting

Çavuşin has a less touristy, old section of town at the end of the "parking lot" road to Rose Valley

Uchisar ● there is an excellent view of the volcanic plug/castle right from main highway into Göreme but this is a very touristy spot with stalls and even a camel. There also is good viewpoint of Göreme on the right just a short way towards the town.

Ogling Ortahisar

Avanos – overpriced pottery

Ürgüp – good food at local prices, except for the excellent but pricey ice cream

Ortahisar ●●
there is a spectacular view of the volcanic plug in the middle of town.

Day Trips: requires car or tour

Mustafapaşa ●● is an old Greek village with interesting architecture

Soganli Valley ●●

Soganli Surprise

is full of fairy chimneys, basalt columns, rock-cut churches and frescoes without the crowds in a country atmosphere. But the best part was getting there with spectacular wide open views of snow-capped mountains in early spring.

Ihlara Valley – is another place with rock-cut churches

SAFRANBOLU ●●● 2 nights

Super Safranbolu

Safranbolu Çarşı ●●
You can spend a day visiting and shopping in the old city with its restored Ottoman buildings. But the views from the ring road high above the market area (çarşı) were very special.

Ottoman Yörük

Car Trips:
Yörük ●●
it’s 10 km away to a fairy tale village full of timber-framed Ottoman buildings that are far more nostalgic and run down than Safranbolu.

İncekaya Aqueduct –
is very high and in mint condition. But it is Ottoman not ancient. It comes with a walking trail into the countryside.

Grand Fashion

ISTANBUL ●●●● 4 nights

Grand Bazaar ●
It is NOT the oldest bazaar as it was only built after the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans. But it is probably the first covered shopping mall in the world.

Don't Look at Medusa

Basilica Cistern ●●
is an underground forest of Byzantine columns surrounded by a pool of water. Make sure that you do not look at the head of Medusa or you will also turn to stone! The ancients were very superstitious. For instance, getting up on the left (sinistra) side of your bed was a very bad omen. This is very much part of Western culture – you don't believe it? Guess where the English word sinister comes from?

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia Dome-ination ●●
had the highest dome built since the Pantheon in Ancient Rome until the Duomo in Renaissance Florence. It was the model for most major mosques in the Ottoman Empire.

Hippodrome –
How did a horse race end with 30,000 dead? How is this related to Hagia Sophia? That's your homework for tonight! Hint: check the web sites below.

the not so Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque ●●●
is not really blue; it’s pastel patterns and graceful symmetry and definitely worth seeing.

Music in Kadıköy

Kool Kadıköy ●●
is the real Istanbul where the locals work and play. It's a great place to hear Turkish folk music on the streets.

Bosphorus on a Budget

Bosphorus on a Budget ●
Choose the cruise or the non-cruise (i.e. use the cheap ferries) to see the Bosphorus

Spice Bazaar, Spicy Istanbul ● come here for the spices, the Turkish Delights, and buy the Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi kahve (coffee) beans.

RESEARCHING WHERE YOU WANT TO GO

There are many travel sites on the Web. It is very useful to see what other tourists think are the best sites. Each city, region and country in TripAdvisor has a Things To Do section. However, tourists have their own bias that may not match your interests. Also many tourists have not travelled around the world to be able to compare places or know what is unique. For more detailed information on each location, you can also review the Thorn Tree Turkey Forum, Turkey Travel Planner and Terra Encounters - Turkey web site. For other countries around the world see our Terra Encounters WordPress web site.

Fall of the Ottoman Empire

2015-11-11T10:17:00.000-05:00

Tulips and Fountain

On Remembrance Day, this is a post about the Fall of the Ottoman Empire as a result of World War I…

Dolmabahçe – Palace on a Binge

For a long time, the Ottomans no longer raided neighbouring states during annual campaigns to benefit the treasury. Sultan Ahmed II was the last to wage a campaign and he did not fare too well.

To improve morale and national pride, Sultan Ahmed II spent millions on one of the most famous and beautiful mosques in the world, appropriately named Sultan Ahmed Mosque but better known as the Blue Mosque.

Dolmabahçe – Palace on a Binge

Between the years 1843 and 1856, Sultan Abdülmecid I built the Dolmabahçe Palace. The post Bosphorus on a Budget, Palace on a Binge discussed how the $1.5 billion Palace bankrupted the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman finances were further depleted due to the costs of the Balkan Wars in 1912-13.

The Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain

Fountain in the Hippodrome

By the turn of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire was under threat. The Ottomans lost a war with Russia in 1878 in which the Russians supported nationalist movements in the Balkans and Caucasus. Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro freed themselves of 500 years of Ottoman rule. The United Kingdom took over Cyprus (which landed in more conflict later).

The British and French wanted to divide the Ottoman Empire between them. For that reason, the Ottomans sought an alliance with Germany. The German Fountain ("Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain") an octagonal domed fountain in neo-Byzantine style, which was constructed by the German government in 1900 to mark the German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898, is located at the northern entrance to the Hippodrome - Off to the Races area, right in front of the Blue Mosque.

Neo-Byzantine Dome

It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. Think of it as how to flatter your sultan into an alliance with Germany. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled in its current site in 1900. The neo-Byzantine style fountain's octagonal dome has eight marble columns.

Ribbed Roof Holds
Golden Mosaics Better

The dome's interior is encrusted with gold mosaics made famous by the Byzantine artists. As described in Chora Church's Amazing Mosaics, the gold is gold leaf sandwiched between two layers of clear glass. The extensive use of gold evoked the spiritual splendour of the Kingdom of God.

There are eight monograms in the arch stonework and they represent the political union of Abdülhamid II and Wilhelm. In four of these medallions, Abdülhamid II’s tughra is written on green background, and in other four Wilhelm’s symbol, "W" is written on a Prussian blue background. In addition, over the "W" there is a crown and below it an "II".

Water not Oil

The Emperor's primary motivation for visiting the Ottomans was not water, it was oil. The Germans wanted to construct the Baghdad Railway, which would run from Berlin to the Persian Gulf and the oilfields in Mosul – part of Iraq now but part of Ottoman Empire then.

The Ottomans lost a big battle in the Balkan War in 1912 leading to the loss of 85% of their European territories. As World War I loomed, the Ottomans sought protection but were rejected by Britain, France, and Russia. That was because the British and French had designs on the Middle Eastern part of the Ottoman Empire. They made the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement defining their proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East.

School Kids in the Hippodrome

Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina as a result of the 1878 conflict ending their dream of independence. This is significant as Austria-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef's assassination in Bosnia supposedly triggered World War I. This was not the real cause of World War I but that was the view then and something still taught in school. The real reason was the desire for resources and territory by the imperial powers.

Ottoman Kaş

The Ottomans finally formed an alliance with Germany that committed them to support Germany during World War I. This led the 17,000 ANZAC troops (Aussie and Kiwi Army Corps) to attack Gallipoli in Turkey. Even though the Turks suffered higher casualties, they successfully defended the Dardanelles Strait and thus Istanbul.

During World War I, the western Allies and especially Britain, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. But Germany lost and this led to the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of modern Turkey as described in the post Tracing Your Talisman in Kaş.

How interweaved we are. So as we reflect on Remembrance Day, let us remember that World War I was fought to make certain countries richer and more powerful but also lead to the birth of a new country, Turkey.

Last Post: Rise of Venice Fall of Byzantium

Next Post: almost the end

Rise of Venice Fall of Byzantium

2015-10-12T13:33:00.000-04:00

See also related post Was the Fall of Rome Important?

Palazzo comes with canal

Numerous countries have a rich history of migrations and kingdoms. But in Turkey, there was the rise and fall of not one but two great empires – Byzantine and Ottoman – that ironically ruled almost the same expanse from Algeria to Iraq. They also had a tremendous influence on trade – both in goods and ideas – being the terminus of the Silk Routes from the Far East and South Asia and via Venice into Europe.

Not! Venetian Navy

Venice made a fortune sailing armies to the crusades. Their ship designs were so superior that their shipyards were classified top secret. As they gained success in the Crusades, Venezia asserted its power.

Fall of Byzantine Empire

The Fourth Crusade was supposed to re-take Jerusalem. At a huge cost, the Venetians built extra ships to transport of a huge army. However, the crusading kingdoms did not pay the agreed amount. Meanwhile there was a coup in Byzantium. The Venetians agreed to help overthrow the usurper. But they really wanted to recoup the costs of their ships.

Not Egyptian, not Obelisk

So in 1204, Venice led the crusaders to the largest and most sophisticated city in Christendom. The crusaders obliged with the Sack of Constantinople. Today, almost nothing is left of the centre of the capital. One of the few remaining monuments is the 32 m high Walled Obelisk that marked one end of the spine of an oval racing track. If looks like blah today, consider that it once was lined with gilded bronze plaques with friezes. The crusaders stole everything but the blocks.

Another tremendous treasure stolen by the Venetians was the Pala d’Oro. This Byzantine gold altar screen is decorated with just a few gems — 1,300 pearls, 300 emeralds, 300 sapphires ... just to mention a few! It was commissioned from Byzantine goldsmiths in 976.

Races and Riots

Also gone are the four famous 4th century BC Greek (now considered Roman) gilded "bronze" horses. Appropriately, the four life-sized horses were depicted pulling a quadriga (chariot) on top of the boxes where the nobility sat. They were very symbolic considering that this was the premiere horseracing arena. The Hippodrome racetrack is where the Nika Riots led to the execution of 30,000 people.

Race Horses on
Basilica San Marco

Very little is left of the Hippodrome today and you can appreciate why it is overlooked by guidebooks and tourists alike. You have to travel to Venice to see one of the few remnants. The gilded horses were transported by ship and placed above the porch of Basilica San Marco. If you look at the photo carefully, you can see the proud horses, which have since been moved indoors into a museum.

Rise of the Venetian Empire

Venetians seriously considered themselves the protectors of one quarter of the Roman Empire. Thus while Europe embraced the Gothic style, Venezia developed its own Venetian-Byzantine style. Spoils of the Sack were strewn around the Piazza San Marco and thus visible as one docked at the quay.

After 1204, Venice and Genoa became the main naval powers and seized most of the Byzantine land holdings in Italy, Dalmatian and Aegean Coasts.The first bank in the world was established in Venice in 1157. Modern banking started with merchant banks, which provided capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. Merchant banking progressed from financing trade on one’s own behalf to holding deposits for settlement of notes written by traders.

Transporting large sums of heavy metal money over long distances in the Middle Ages was neither secure not practical. So the merchant’s “benches” (banco in Italian) in the great grain markets became centres for holding money against a "bill" (nota). Our word “bank” is derived from the Italian word banco and bank note comes from "nota di banco". The first true banknotes were issued by Stockholms Banco.

Marco Polo on the 1000 Lira Bank Note

By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. It is not by accident that it had incredible glass blowing, art and architecture. It is not by accident that Marco Polo (1254 – 1324) was a merchant from Venice. He brought back the idea of paper money from China. The first true banknotes were issued by Stockholms Banco.

Palazzo Ducale

Venice was now a European power and had to have a palace to show off. Built in 1340, the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) housed not only the leader (duca) but also the government offices.

Saracenic Arches

The Venetian architectural style is a fusion of both Byzantine, Islamic and Gothic elements. The Saracenic-Gothic arches added a distinctive Islamic feel and break up what would be a boring, massive rectangular façade. Windows, arches and colonnades had the feel of lacework and made the palazzi feel light. The stone or marble frame around the main floor windows – used for the first time in the Gothic period to highlight the importance of these central windows – might have been borrowed from the Islamic alfiz.

The Doge's Palace is filled with art by Renaissance masters like Tintoretto, Titian, Tiepolo, Veronese, Bellini and Palladio. Did you notice that Italian artists are known by one name? – Like football stars today.

The Sack of Constantinople weakened the Byzantine Empire and gradually its area decreased, well before the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. In fact, the Ottomans had already conquered Asia Minor and had their capital in Bursa. When they used cannons to decimate Constantinople defences, only Thrace and the City were still held by the Byzantine Empire. Thracians were another people like the Lycians in Kaş who migrated both east to India and west to Turkey and Europe – in other words, Proto-Indo-European (aka Aryan) tribes.

Birth of Venus

The Italian city-states formed a bastion of merchant classes (aka capitalism) against the decay of feudalism. One should not be surprise that the Renaissance was born in Italia.

The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 was NOT the start of the Renaissance; it was the increase in the wealth of the city-states in Italy. It was aided by the decline in trust of the Church thanks to the Black Plague.

With their wealth resulting from domination of the silk trade with the east, the Venetian merchant class could put money into art and architecture.

Last Post: Birth of Venice Fall of Rome

Next Post: Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Birth of Venice Fall of Rome

2015-09-11T23:20:00.000-04:00

Bella Venezia

See also related post Was the Fall of Rome Important?

Venice is not just a pretty face

Our odyssey to Turkey was fabulous for meeting people as well learning about their art and architecture. We also lived and worked many years in Italy, which is fabulously rich in art and architecture. Actually there is a very strong historical link between them.

Fall of the Roman Empire

The reasons for the fall of Rome (the city) are described in detail in the Amazing Rome Walk 3 - The Roman Empire Did NOT Fall.

Blue Mosque Stained Glass

What is amazing is the close link between the Fall of Rome and the Birth of Venice. This relationship continued as Turkey went through two imperial eras, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. A previous post mentioned this link in reference to the gorgeous stained glass that Venice gave as a gift during the construction of the Blue Mosque.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, the Roman Empire continued to exist! As explained in the Hagia Sophia post, the people of that time still called it the Roman Empire even though the capital was now Constantinople. It was only renamed Byzantine in the 16th century by a German historian.

The Byzantine and Ottoman Empires ironically ruled almost the same expanse from Algeria to Iraq. They also had a tremendous influence on trade – both in goods and ideas – being the terminus of the Silk Routes from the Far East and South Asia and into Europe.

Constantinople controlled the sea routes in the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. This is why Istanbul became such an important and large city. In 1000 CE, Constantinople had a population of approximately 500,000 people.

Birth of Venice

Sleepy Venice

By 540 CE, Byzantium had reclaimed parts of Italy and the western empire. Sleepy Venezia built on sand bars and canals was one of the Byzantine provinces. In 810 CE, it became the independent Serene Republic of Venice.

That's Venetian Marco Polo!

The lira was their currency – the same name as used in Turkey today because libra (lira) was the standard weight of Troy silver used by the Roman Empire! Translated into the local language, this is the origin of the currency names for the French livre and English pound. Even the symbol is the same £ as in Roman times. Wow! How interconnected we are.

Pretty in Pink

Venice wasn't strong enough to defend itself and wanted protection from the German kingdoms. Venice developed a navy and became a trading partner of Byzantium, who was content to buy the allegiance of its emerging province to preserve the appearance of Byzantine rule. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, Venice obtained trading privileges from the Byzantine Empire that gave them a distinct advantage over their European trade competitors.

Venetian Navy Showing Off

It is always about trade and naval power. That is why Venice became one of the largest cities in Europe. By 1000 CE Venice had a population of approximately 70,000 people; Rome had 50,000; Paris and London were much smaller!

But Venice is not just the pretty place we know today. Venezia played a pivotal role in changing Europe not just in terms of trade but also in the transition from feudalism to capitalism, from the Medieval Age to the Renaissance.

Soon the Venetian gold ducat was accepted as currency throughout the Near East. With trade also comes ideas and an openness to other cultures. Any city with wealth and power wants monuments to proclaim its glory. So Venice built a magnificent national church, Basilica San Marco, from 1073 to 1117. No, it is not named for Marco Polo! He wasn't born yet.

Basilica San Marco

St. Mark’s Basilica is a replica of the 6th century Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. It’s based on a Greek cross design with five domes resting on pendentives similar to Hagia Sophia. It is decorated with the quintessential Byzantine art form developed by Byzantine mosaicists from nearby Ravenna. With its opulent gold mosaics, it is an expression of Venetian wealth and power. There’s enough mosaic in San Marco to cover 1.5 football fields!

The bulbous canopies over the domes that have a distinct Islamic feel. Another Eastern influence appears in the Saracenic arches. The pointed arch originated in the Byzantine and Sassanian (Persian) empires. But here is the smack down – it originated there in early Christian buildings. After being copied by Muslim architects, it become the quintessential characteristic of Islamic architecture!

Venetian Gothic

The architecture of Venezia was not Italian. It was unique from the rest of Europe. Venetian buildings combined Gothic, Byzantine and Islamic elements. Did this reflect the average citizen's view of Venice as the gateway to the East?

Last Post: Tulip Mania

Next Post: Rise of Venice, Fall of Byzantium

Tulip Mania

2015-07-29T21:19:00.000-04:00

Tulips are not from Holland

Tulips are NOT from Holland. The Turks are not from Turkey. The tulip was a wild flower that originated in the Central Asia. Tulips were first cultivated by the Turks as early as the year 1000. The Turks were horse-riding warriors who also came from Central Asia. They migrated west taking over Asia Minor as they gradually defeated the Byzantine Empire starting with their victory in eastern Turkey in 1071 and culminating in their conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

Our word tulip supposedly comes from the Turkish/Farsi word for turban, which had a tulip-like shape. Tulips are called lale in Turkish. When written in Arabic letters, "lale" has the same letters as Allah, which is why the flower became a holy symbol. It was also associated with the House of Osman, better known to us as the Ottomans. During the Ottoman Empire, the tulip was seen as a symbol of abundance and indulgence.

It should not be a surprise that tulips are widely used as decorative motifs on tiles and textiles. We bought some tulip tiles as gifts. So if you think all those tulip-dominated arts and crafts are done just for the tourists, think again.

Tulips are for Tiles

Tulip Exports

The first tulip export was made by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He gave some bulbs to the Flemish ambassador to Anatolia, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq in 1554. Some of these were passed to Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius. In 1593 Clusius became a professor at the University of Leiden, where he created one of the earliest formal botanical gardens in Europe. Clusius laid the foundations of Dutch tulip growing industry today. You never heard of Leiden U.? Albert Einstein was a professor there.

Tulips are for Gardens

The tulip was different from every other flower known to Europe at that time, with a saturated intense petal colour that no other plant had.

In 1634, a speculative frenzy now known as the tulip mania began in Holland. Clearly, tulips were only for the rich. Some tulip bulbs became so expensive that they could cost more than an Amsterdam house!

Tulips are for Tiles

Around this time, the tulipiere and other tulip-themed ceramics became common. Bouquets of tulips often appeared in Dutch still-life painting.

The gift of a red or yellow tulip was a declaration of love, the flower's black centre representing a heart burned by passion.

Tulip Mania Act II

The tulip played an interesting role in the Turkish history. Tulips became an important element in the arts and could be found in clothing and carpets, paintings and pottery. The period between 1718 and 1730 is called as the "Tulip Era", when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak of wealth and peace.

Fountain of Ahmed III

The Fountain of Ahmed III, the sultan of that era, is a classic example of Tulip period architecture. It is a fusion of classical Islamic elements with European baroque.

Okay, Sirkeci Mansion

Sirkeci Mansion

If the weather is dismal, the welcome at Sirkeci Mansion is always warm. On our second stay, we had many discussions with Okay, the manager, and his staff. We got to know most of the staff at the hotel. Plus we reconnected with the Ceyda and Damla, who work as "tourist facilitators" – provide an orientation, answer your questions, give directions, etc.

Dome of Verbosity

Afternoon tea is served in the incredible "living room" under the stained glass dome. The room was beautifully decorated with Turkish crafts – including the tiles shown above.

Tea Anyone?

Did you know that one fifth of the population of Turkey are Kurdish? This is no tiny ethnic group. By the way, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language. They are culturally and linguistically related to the Iranians, who along with the Europeans are descendants of the Aryans.

Sirkeci Mansion Breakfast

The coffee at breakfast is delicious. But this stay we went into the kitchen for a lesson on how to make Turkish coffee – and it was delicious. Needless to say, we went near the Spice Market to buy some Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi kahve beans to take home.

Tulip Festivals

Tulip Mania or Tulip Festival

Most people associate tulips with the Netherlands. There are even tulip festivals throughout the west. The Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa was started with bulbs provided each year by Netherlands in thanks for Canada liberating the Dutch from the Nazis. The Dutch Queen Juliana and her children lived safely in the capital, Ottawa, during World War II. The Dutch princess Margriet was born in the Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1943. Later, she studied at Leiden University – how things come full circle – and in 2002 came back to see the Canadian Tulip Festival.

Tulip Tails

Even today, the tulip is still considered the embodiment of perfection and beauty in Turkey. If you thought the patterns on the tail and fuselage of the planes flown by Turkish Airlines are just geometric designs, look again. They are tulips.

Last Post: Bosphorus Odyssey

Next Post: Birth of Venice

Bosphorus Odyssey

2015-07-18T10:15:00.000-04:00

Bosphorus Odyssey | Turkey | Terra Encounters in-depth

Water Ways and Dreary Days

Taking a “cruise” along the Bosphorus is one of the quintessential things to do in Istanbul. By cruise, I do not solely mean the overpriced tourist cruises. Probably the best deal is the ferry that goes to Anadolu Kavağı near the Black Sea, Kara Deniz. Here you can climb up to a hilltop Yoros fortress for panoramic views. The stopover is long enough to eat lunch. The boat trip takes about 5-1/2 hours return for TRY 25.

Bosphorus Cruise

However, one of the drawbacks of a March trip was that we had dreary cool weather in Istanbul. Therefore, it was not worthwhile spending so long on a boat with rainy weather. We decided against going on the full-day cruise and opted to crisscross the Bosphorus on low cost ferries, looking for views of the cityscape. The price was right but the photography, not so good. Of course, if you cross purposely to sightsee or eat in Asia, it is even more worthwhile.

Sultanahmet from Ferry to Kadıköy

In our Kool Kadıköyexpedition, we enjoyed the atmosphere and food during an evening in this non-touristy suburb. However, the afternoon is poor for photography of the Sultanahmet area since it is back-lit. It was beautifully lit up at night on our way back though.

From Eminönü take the ferry to Üsküdar where you will arrive in a vibrant bustling harbour and market area. There were still lots of people in spite of the rain. There are also some old mosques to visi.

Mihrimah Sultan Mosque

Right at the harbour is the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, built in 1548 by Mihrimah Sultana, daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and the wife of his Grand Vizier, Rüstem Pasha. It is decorated with colourful election flags in the photo.

Şemsi Pasha Mosque

Take a short walk south along the quay to Şemsi Pasha Mosque. It was built in 1581 by Mimar Sinan, the most famous Ottoman architect of Süleymaniye and Selimiye (Edirne) Mosque fame. Şemsi Pasha has a much smaller dome than Süleymaniye Dome-ination but it does have a spectacular view over the Bosphorus.

From here, you can take the ferry across to Beşiktaş and then back to Eminönü. The last trip passes parallel to the “Dolmabahçe Coast” but you are not as close as a cruise. This area along with the Tower are the most attractive parts of the coast contrasted to the modern architecture of the rest of Istanbul. The area is so urbanized you finally see the scale of this 18 million-person city.

Dolmabahçe Mosque

Dolmabahçe Mosque

The Dolmabahçe Mosque was built as part of the palace by the Valide Sultan, mother of the sultan. It is very ornate and more like a palace hall. Towering above it is not a sleek modern office building. It is the Ritz Carlton Hotel, where one night will cost you anywhere from EUR 355 to 975. The imposing building to the left of the Ritz is the ITU, the Istanbul Technical University.

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

The Dolmabahçe Sarayı is the highlight of any trip on the Bosphorus. Dolma in Turkish means “stuffed or filled”, bahçe means “garden” and sarayi means “palace”. Dolmades are filled in delicacies of Greece and Turkey. So why was this place called Filled-in Garden? This used to be a bay where the Ottoman fleet was stationed. The harbour was filled in.

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

For centuries, the Ottomans lived in Topkapı Palace Paradise. But I guess it was no longer a paradise to the Ottomans since it lacked the splendour and comfort enjoyed by the European monarchs. So this quintessential European (Baroque) style complex was built not only as a palace but also as the administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 until the fall of the empire after World War I.

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

The Ottomans spent about $1.5 billion to construct the palace. This phenomenal amount – even today – was equivalent to one quarter of the Ottoman annual tax revenue! The huge expense required extensive loans, which in turn led state bankruptcy. This in turn, led the Empire to seek allies (the Germans) to protect their borders against the designs of the British and French, who won the war and divided the Middle East and North Africa between them.

Bosphorus Ferry at Night

Last Post: Spicy Istanbul

Next Post: Tulip Mania, Istanbul

Vancouver Canada

2015-07-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is Vancouver ... somewhere

Vancouver

See also related post Canadian Rockies Spectacular Scenery

Who has the best coastal city panorama in the world? Istanbul says they have.

Happy 148th Birthday, Canada!

Life's a Beach

This year we celebrate with images from Vancouver, British Columbia (BC). Thanks to the unusual weather this year, BC is experiencing a heat wave (over 30 C). What better way to celebrate than on the beach. But which one?

Stanley Park

Stanley Park

But you don't even have to leave the city to enjoy the seaside and the scenery. Right in the middle of the sea next to downtown Vancouver is a glorious park that was created by landscape architect, Mother Nature.

Stanley Park was voted by TripAdvisor in 2014 as the best park in the world. It is a peninsula surrounded by the sea, which hugs a 8.8 km pedestrian (and bike) path surrounded by a well-forested cliff. Stanley Park is 19% larger than Central Park in New York.

Thunderbird Pole

Where can you see a forest of totem poles right within a city? Only at Brockton Point in Stanley Park. In a province of untold natural beauty – believe it or not – this is the most photographed tourist spot in BC. Thunderbird poles (on the right of the left photo) were used as house posts. Most of the poles are carved from red cedar trees.

Chief Skedans Pole

Famous Haida artist Bill Reid carved this pole on the right in 1964. It's modelled after a pole carved in 1870 in the Haida village of Skidegate. That pole held the remains of the chief behind the rectangular board with his black moon crest. This sits atop a carving of a mountain goat and a grizzly bear.

Queen Elizabeth Park

Queen Elizabeth Park has a beautiful floral conservatory.

Is this a fairy tale village? No it's Vancouver. It would be great to live here – if you could afford it.

African Grey

You never know who you are going to meet in Vancouver!

Burnaby Mountain Park

Burnaby Mountain Park is another great city park near Simon Fraser University (SFU) with views and hiking/biking trails.

The Sun Sets over North Vancouver

Yes, this is Vancouver ... somewhere

Sorry Istanbul, Vancouver has the best coastal city panorama. It's hard to beat shanshui, mountains and water.

Zaijian from Vancouver

Next Post: Bosphorus Odyssey

Spice Bazaar

2015-06-06T10:57:00.000-04:00

Shopper's Heaven

Spicy Istanbul

Spice Bazaar

Full of products from spices to soap, delights to deserts – the Spice Bazaar is one of the most popular destinations for tourists. It is also a small market compared to the Grand Bazaar but a much larger street market area stretches along several roads to the northwest of the Spice Bazaar.

It is also only a short tram ride or a walk from the Sultanahmet area to Eminönü Station.

Tasty Tatseven

As it was late, we stopped to eat at the popular Tatseven restaurant on the Eminönü square. You won’t find it in guidebooks. There were so many local patrons so it had to be good. We shared a mouth-watering, half BBQ chicken – two meals for TL 11.50. Don’t forget to ask for Turkish tea.

Turkish Delight

Afterwards we went to the Spice Bazaar, which is officially the Misir Çarşisi or Egyptian Market because it was built in 1664 by the administration of Egyptian part of the Ottoman Empire.

We bought spices and dried apple mix to make the quintessential tourist tea.

Just Delightful!

Plus there are lots of yummy things to buy such as baklava, nuts and dried fruits. The best and more expensive Turkish Delight have nuts in it. It is hard to believe that Turkish Delight is the origin of American jelly beans.

Cheese Bar

Agriculture Superstar

Did you know that Turkey is one of the major agricultural countries of the world? It is a top ten producer of apricots, figs, cherries, raisins, strawberries, and cumin. Don't forget to try Turkish cheese

Tea Jockey

Turkey produces 75% of worldwide production of hazelnuts! I fell in love with hazelnuts when we lived in Italy since my favourite gelato flavour is nocciola (hazelnut). An absolute must is to try Turkish hazelnut butter. It’s to die for! It beats Nutella hands down. By the way, 25% of the world’s hazelnut production is used to make Nutella!

Tea jockeys bring tea to the shopkeepers. You have to go outsize the bazaar to find restaurants and cafes.

The Long Market

We discovered this area on our first stay in Istanbul. After we toured Süleymaniye Mosque, we headed east where we had the best and cheapest sahlep drink at the local price. From here we walked down Uzun Çarşi Caddesi – another busy and long (uzun) market (çarşi) street – where the working class do their shopping. The amount of things for sale is overwhelming.

Coffee Anyone?

You will love the Spice Bazaar, as it is compact but not overcrowded. That’s because the prices are higher. If you want see where the locals shop just continue south out of the Spice Bazaar and walk along the parallel street, Çiçek Pazari Sokak or flower market street.

Turn right at the west end of the lane then left on Hasircilar Caddesi as you fall under the spell of coffee roasting aroma. Here you will find delicious Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi kahve (coffee beans) to bring home. We made one big mistake! We only brought one bag home. This is some of the best and smoothest coffee on the planet!

Turkish Contributions

Coffee came to Europe in 1598 via Venice, the controller of Adriatic trade between the Ottoman Empire and Europe. The coffee came from the Ottoman Empire. That may be the biggest contribution of Turkey to the world (ha ha). The English word "coffee" is derived from the Italian word caffè, which is derived from Turkish word kahve.

The pistachio tree is native to western Asia and Asia Minor, from Syria to the Caucasus and Afghanistan. Archaeological evidence in Turkey indicates the nuts were being used for food as early as 7,000 B.C.

Musical Contributions

The Ottoman Mehter, founded in the 13th century, became the model for the world's marching bands. Think cymbals, timpani drums and bells. Mehterân music also inspired or influenced European classical music composed by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

Medical Contributions

The technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at least 50 years before the West "discovered it". Our word vaccination comes from variola (Latin), which means smallpox. The Chinese can claim they used smallpox vaccine at least since it was documented in a medical book in 1549.

Last Post: West Turkey Itinerary

Next Post: Bosphorus Odyssey

West Turkey Itinerary

2015-05-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

Terra Encounters Turkey Trip – 31 days

Göreme

Overall, this was one of our best-ever vacation trips. This is because of the friendliness and hospitality of the people and not just the sights. Our trip summary gives the best places to go, in our opinion, for a 31-day trip. We have also attached stars to each destination to give a sense of what is most worthwhile seeing. Our ratings take into account the many places we have seen around the world.

Because this trip report is very long, we have split our itinerary into two segments so that those of you who only have a couple of weeks can use one or the other. Do not ask which is better: all the places we visited in Turkey were good choices. But first, we will cover some of the logistics.

Accommodation

Every traveller goes to hotels at the standard of living s/he desires and the budget they have. We prefer places that provide good value. We did not go to the cheapest places like when we backpacked around the world. We chose to stay in family-run or small hotels (sometimes called pansiyon in Turkish). In the off-season, we could go to places that in high season would be much more costly. Istanbul and Bursa are more expensive: we averaged TRY 192/day in low season. In the rest of the country, we averaged TRY 128/day for a double.

Travel Pace

Once you decide on your primary destination, you should assign at least three nights and preferably four to it. In our case, we chose four nights in Istanbul and Göreme. Then with the remaining days, you can determine the number of additional stopovers by using our rule of thumb of a minimum of two nights for each destination since at least half a day of that is required for travel. Even though we had 31 days, there are always choices to be made. Turkey is the size of Britain and France combined.

Each place listed below is described in more detail along with photos in our posts on the Terra Encounters blog. All underlined text below are hyperlinks that will take you directly to the most relevant post.

For shorter trips, it is recommended that you focus on one geographic area reducing the number of places as well as travel time. On the other hand, you may be able to add some of the other places we considered on our More Places page.

Travel Mode

For this 3700 km trip, we rented a car. Yes, that is very expensive, especially with the TRY 4.60/liter gas. Some Aussie travellers had a neat idea. They travelled between major destinations by public transport. Then they rented a car to do side trips to national parks and more remote places.

West Turkey Itinerary

For a visual overview of the first part of our trip, see Itinerary Map 1.

Istanbul **** 4 nights

Spent 8 nights in IST altogether: Yes, there is that much to see but on a shorter trip, you can spend less time here by reducing what you do. The following is what we saw in the first stay there.

Sirkeci Mansion

AIRPORT: very inefficient, very long lineups to go through security and immigration. Allow sufficient time.

HOTEL: Hotel Ilkay upgraded to Sirkeci Mansion **** great location, fabulous staff, like having personal travel advisors, unbelievable breakfasts. Book directly to get free airport shuttle for a long (4 day) stay.

Live Like a Sultan

Topkapi Palace Paradise – definitely worth a day. There is a separate ticket the Harem. We would highly recommend it if you have the time. Here you will see close up the beautiful Iznik tiles and carved wood decorations where the Sultan's family lived. It is also useful to go there when everywhere else is so busy and then go to the jewel and weapon rooms (the most congested areas) at the end of the day.

Hagia Sophia Dome-ination –

Dome of Dreams

the most significant dome and building of the Byzantine era that influenced Ottoman and thus Islamic architecture

Istanbul Archaeology Museums – meet Alexander the Great, Iznik tiles, and other important artefacts that talk about the impact of Turkey on the world

St. Peter

Chora Church Mosaics – magnificent Byzantine gold mosaics

Süleymaniye Mosque Dome-ination – incredible domes of this Ottoman masterpiece

Spice Market – buy delicious Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi kahve (coffee), Turkish Delight, and hazelnuts

We did all the “museums” at one time because the weather was cold and dreary and we bought the Museum Card. We do not recommend the card. You are limited to five days, can only go to each museum once, and must visit all museums at one time. Not many tourists want to spend all their time indoors. Secondly, there is no discount if you only go to the top three places. Any National Park card gives unlimited visits over a significant timeframe at a significant discount.

Bursa ** 2 nights

HOTEL: Hampton by Hilton very modern, business like, north of downtown, free parking, VG self-serve breakfast

Emerald Wonder

Green Mosque & Tomb *** – it is really Yeşil Türbe (Green Tomb) opposite the mosque that blew us away and is the must-see with its unbelievable shades of green, so do not miss it!

Cumalikizik

Cumalikizik, Bursa – Ottoman Delight ** – the first is a small, old Ottoman village (do not expect incredible architecture like the wealthier Safranbolu but it was pleasant walk in the off-season when there were very few tourists) and the second is the old walled district of Bursa with nice views from the ramparts near the Türbe.

Acrophobics Avoid!

Bergama ** 1 night

HOTEL: Red Basilica very nice manager, E breakfast, good location

Pergamum Acropolis ** – loved the spectacular setting and the precipitous theatre

Selçuk *** 3 nights

HOTEL: Homeros Pension – great place, location, decor, and breakfast; can easily meet other travellers in dining/living room; we even ate supper here just for that reason

Famous building was a library

Ephesus *** – the top archaeological site of Turkey but overrun with tourists; spent all day here; actually is busiest from the opening until lunch then much less people the rest of the day

Şirince * – old Greek town famous for white-washed houses, wine, et al.; spent afternoon of our arrival day here

Ionic Columns are from Ionia

Priene – Connection to Architecture? *,
Miletus – What is a Vomitorium? *,
Didyma and the God Apollo – these ancient ruins are all close together but require a car or a tour; we spent all day and did not have enough time to visit Lake Bafu.

What's a Tetrapylon?

Afrodisias – Archaeology Aphrodisiac ***

If you have a car, you can visit nearby Afrodisias, on the way to Pamukkale. However, it is very difficult to get to by dolmuş. Rent a car or take a tour. It is one of the nicest archaeological sites in Turkey with some actual buildings still standing or reconstructed! Its’ fairly compact size gives a very good idea what an Ancient Roman city looked like. Needs a half day.

Pamukkale – 2 nights

First day was Afrodisias and travel time; so we really had only one day here.

HOTEL: Melrose House Hotel very warm owners, good conversations, E breakfasts and suppers

Where has all the water gone?

Pamukkale Terraces – notice no stars. Only a few places in Turkey were disappointing. The Pamukkale Terraces were very disheartening with hardly any water in the "thermal pools". They are not worth the price of admission.

Most of the water goes into pools that visitors can walk into. I am sure this appeals to many tourists but it is not what a thermal area should look like. If you want to see thermal areas go to Whakarewarewa (Rotorua), Orakei Korako (New Zealand) or Yellowstone National Park (USA).

Theatre Stage

Hierapolis Ruins ** especially the theatre ***

However, Pamukkale admission also includes the Hierapolis Ruins, which were a pleasant surprise. The theatre made the price of admission.

Dalyan ** 1 night

Lycian Tombs

Dalyan was one place that deserved more time – not for the laid-back town but for the places nearby. This is a case where one day really is only a half day at your destination. If it were beach weather, wouldn't you want to spend time swimming at one of the best beaches in Turkey?

Iztuzu Beach ** – Trip Advisor ranks it as one of the top 25 beaches in the world!

Kaunos Lycian Tombs *** – spectacular, high up on a tall cliff. But who are the Lycians? Click the link to find the surprising answer.

Kaş *** 2 nights

HOTEL: Hideaway Hotel was one of the best in TR; E breakfast with a terrace view, E coffee

On the way there: Ölüdeniz – overrated, narrow beach with the sea that is not as turquoise as in the over saturated photos in the tourist brochures

Soft Sand Patara

Patara *** – best beach we saw in Turkey, a world class beach with historically significant ruins – the site of the world's first parliament, whose constitution has influenced most democracies

Kaputaş Beach * – cute beach in a cliff-enclosed cove fringed with turquoise water; near to Kaş so probably dolmuş to get there

Off-season Kaş

Old Kaş – small but enjoyable with overhanging balconies and plants

Kaş Market – every Friday, be sure to eat here the gözleme

View high up from park on road going down from main highway; Çukurbağ Peninsula; Old Roman Theatre

Kekova Kaarst

Day Trips: Kekova Sound *** spectacular karst scenery but need car so you can stop for views, else book a boat trip over sunken ruins

Could easily spend more time in Kaş, a great "vacation from the vacation" spot

Kiyi Hospitality

Çıralı 1 night

HOTEL: Kiyi Pension E owners, fantastic so meals, so welcoming

Çıralı itself could be skipped but we had a great stay on a farm B&B. Beach is pebbly and overrated.

Turquoise Treasure

On the way to Çıralı:

Demre - Turquoise Coast Treasures for perhaps the most beautiful turquoise sea views **

Next Post: Spicy Istanbul
Last Post: Kool Kadıköy

Kadiköy

2015-05-23T07:55:00.000-04:00

Kool Kadıköy

Bye Bye Beyoğlu

Kadıköy is the "real" Istanbul that resides across the busy Bosphorus in Asia. Sultanahmet is mainly for tourists and workers in the tourist industry. Kadıköy is where the locals work and play. The shops and markets are for the locals. Live music is a passion captured in a video below.

Crowd watching us leave

Unlike Southern Turkey, Istanbul was mainly dreary if not rainy in March. But today it was gloriously sunny and we had finished our planned day a bit early at 15:00 h. So we decided to take our first ferry trip across the Bosphorus to Asia. That was mistake number one. We would have loved to spend more time in Kadıköy. Many Turks came to see us off!

Galata Tower

Mistake #2 was that the afternoon is not a good time to get views of the skyline of historic Istanbul. Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque were backlit as the ferry sped away from the historic district. Moreover, the ferry does not travel along the shore of the Sultanahmet peninsula.

We did have great views of Beyoğlu. The most impressive landmark is the Galata Tower. Even today, this is still one of the most photogenic views of the otherwise overly modern and blah cityscape.

Galata Tower

At nine stories, Galata Tower was the highest building in Ottoman times. But wait, that tower looks Italian? The Romanesque tower was built in 1348 by Genoa, who were rewarded for their support of the Byzantine Empire vs. arch-rival Venice. Genoa controlled this area until the Ottomans took over Constantinople in 1453. Beyoğlu, which was outside of Istanbul in those days, was where embassies and foreigners lived – even today.

Kadıköy

Today was not for seeing sites even though Kadıköy is the location of the Ancient Greek city of Chalcedon. It also became part of the Ottoman Empire 100 years before the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. We never realized that 1453 marked the fall of the city of Constantinople; Anatolia had long been part of the Ottoman Empire.

Our Welcoming Ceremony

Once we got off the ferry (vapuru), we walked through the busy quay to the right. There were young kids performing to make some money. It was a different atmosphere. It was not clear where we were going but we went with the other people across the busy intersection to Söğütlü Çeşme Cd (çeşme means fountain) then turned right onto a small lane and then left.

Yasa Caddesi

Boy Band

We probably walked southeast on Yasa Caddesi (Law Street). This brought us to a junction where there was a large group of people listening to live music. An all-male band were singing songs to the crowd.

Live from Kadıköy!

Güneşli Bahçe Sokak

Street Music

In theory, we were heading for Ciya Sofrasi Restaurant. Make sure you bypass the Ciya Sofrasi Express (kebab) place on the right and go to the more popular and earlier place on the left.

In reality, we were immersed in the everyday life of a big city. We went SE one more block to Güneşli Bahçe Sokak.

Street Market

The sokak (street) was little more than a pedestrian only lane. Güneşli Bahçe is an appropriate name since it means sunny garden.

Suddenly we were in a dense street food market. This is the place to get things. The colourful market had mounds of colourful spices, fresh fish and vibrant fruits and vegetables.

Fish neatly laid out

So what's for supper? At the fishmonger, you can buy levrek (perch) for 18 TL/kg, uskumru (mackerel) for 8 TL/kg, or Karadeniz somon (Black Sea salmon) for 14 TL/kg.

Street Snacks

At the fruit stalls, you can purchase yeşil armut (green pears), dut (mulberry), and portakal (oranges) for 3.50 TL/kg.

Olive-ganza

Green Pears

Are these vine leaves for hakiki (real)?

At other stalls, you can purchase cizik zeytin (green olives) for 19.80 TL/kg, biberli zeytin (olives stuffed with peppers) 16.80 TL/kg, hakiki tokat yaprak (genuine tokat leaf) for 11.00 TL/kg, and many other fruits and vegetables.

What is a tokat leaf anyways, anybody know? It's seems much bigger than the stuffed vine leaves at home.

Last Post: Is The Blue Mosque Blue?

Next Post: Istanbul

Blue Mosque Interior

2015-05-15T22:22:00.000-04:00

Is the Dome Blue?

Is The Blue Mosque Blue?

Blue Mosque Interior | Istanbul Turkey | Terra Encounters in-depth

The mosque is one of the defining features of Istanbul’s skyline and a World Heritage Site. Sultan Ahmet Cami (pronounced ja-mee) is better known as the Blue Mosque but is it really blue?

Not a Blue Breath

Entering the huge hall, your breath is taken away. However, it is not a blue breath. Blue is not even a dominant colour. Except for the blue background of the calligraphy, don't expect to see blues as rich as the spectacular emeralds of the Green Tombs in Bursa.

Luscious Light

Instead, there are many colours but they are muted. The light pastels and white spaces enhance the perception of peacefulness. You don't even register that this is a huge dome.

Sunlight pours through the large number of windows in the dome adding to the feeling of weightlessness. Glass was one of the inventions of the Middle East and Europe that travelled east along the Silk Routes to the Far East.

Venetian Glass?

The coloured glass originally was a gift to the sultan from the Signoria, the government of the Republic of Venice. Venice went from Byzantine province to naval powerhouse, from trade funnel between Asia and Europe, to the third largest city and patron of art in Medieval Europe. But don't expect to see exquisite Venetian glass, which has mostly been replaced by panes of lower artistic quality.

The architect, Mehmed Ağa, like his mentor

Pendentives

Sinan, married Byzantine to Islamic architecture. The windows were clearly copied from the Byzantine Church of Hagia Sophia Dome-ination. The dome transforms into spherical pendentives copied from Süleymaniye Mosque, Sinan's masterpiece.

Massive Columns

The central dome rests on four massive fluted columns often called elephant feet. This allows for a huge central space without the use of arcades of columns as in the Ancient Roman or Medieval basilica. Cascades of domes seem to spill down from the great central dome.

Islamic Doors

Masters of Symmetry

After removing your shoes, tourists must enter the south door. Pause and enjoy the typical Islamic patterns carved into the rich dark wood. The predominant Sunni sect is still adamantly opposed to images of sentient beings.

Images of any kind – animal, human or God – are not allowed in mosques. The reason for this is that Islam strived to end pagan worship that existed in Saudi Arabia.

As a result, Islamic artists became masters of geometric patterns and calligraphy. Symmetry and harmony is at the heart of Islamic art. The patterns are not random.

İznik Tiles

Blue Tiles = Blue Mosque

Finally, we solve the question of why this is called the Blue Mosque. The interior is lined with more than 20,000 handmade İznik ceramic tiles that are famous for the colour blue. However, they are still not a saturated blue. The tiles have brilliant green and turquoise hues as well as blue and white.

Now That's the Blues

The tiles are mostly in the inaccessible upper galleries. Tourists are restricted to a small and separate area in the back of the ground floor. You cannot walk around the hall nor climb to the upper galleries. This means you need binoculars or a zoom lens to see the tiles. The tiles display more than fifty shades of tulips, which came to Europe from Turkey.

Upper Gallery Blues

The tiles at lower levels are traditional in design, while the gallery tiles are full of flowers and fruits. For close up views of Iznik tiles, visit the Tile Kiosk in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.

Islamic Prayer

Typical Floor Carpets

To the right of the mihrab is the richly decorated minbar (pulpit) where the imam stands when he is delivering the Friday sermon. The floors are covered with carpets, which are donated by the faithful and are regularly replaced as they wear out. Each pointed arch design in the rug marks a spot for a worshiper.

Islam requires all Muslims to pray five times a day (salat). Find out the times in advance and be aware that they close the mosque to tourists 45 minutes before these times. You could be waiting a long time. In this case, look around outside as well as down the streets to see the south and west facades.

Facing Mecca

However, Islam is not the only religion with this practice nor did it invent it. Mohammed borrowed Jewish and Zoroastrian traditions. The Judaic custom of praying three times a day (facing in the direction of Jerusalem) was originally introduced by the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These patriarchs of the Torah (Old Testament) are also patriarchs in Islam.

Private Prayers

Zoroaster lived in Ancient Persia but the dates are unknown. It has to precede the period when Zoroastrianism became the dominant religion between 6th century BC and 6th century CE. His real name was Zarathustra but he was called Zoroaster by the Greeks. Elements of his philosophy travelled to the West through Judaism and Greek philosophy (Heraclitus). There are still believers today.

Zoroaster grew up with the Indo-Iranian pantheon, the same pantheon described under the PIE (Aryan) religion in the Dalyan and the Lycian Tombs post that was the basis for the Ancient Greek, Roman and Hindu gods. Zoroaster dramatically simplified this pantheon into a dualistic monotheism with two forces (essentially good and evil) under one God.

Influences

Mithraism (another PIE-based religion) and its’ descendant, Zoroastrianism, were the major competitors as well as influencers of early Christianity. See the Patara and Saturnalia post for examples of the incorporation of local customs to get people to adopt a new religion.

Paisley Tie

The impact of Zoroastrianism can even be felt by modern Western civilization. The paisley ties and textiles are not from Scotland or Kashmir; they are from the boteh motif of Ancient Persia. It was part of the Persian inheritance from the Aryans. In fact, Iran means land of the Aryans.

The twisted raindrop (boteh) is the quintessential metaphor of the confluence of Islamic art and Zoroastrian symbolism. It originally represented the upright cedar tree that Zarathustra planted in paradise bent by the Muslim conquest of Persia and decorated with Islamic floral motifs. Boteh originated in the Sassanid Dynasty (224 - 651), the last dynasty of the Persian Empire before Islamic rule. In fact, much of what became Islamic culture was transferred from Persian art, architecture and customs.

Sultan Ahmet Cami

Zoroastrianism, the national religion of Sassanid Persia, thus had a major influence on Islam. One Zoroastrian tradition was to pray five times a day. Another major Zoroastrian concept is that man had free will to choose his own path between good and evil, heaven and hell. This is the basis of all Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Last Post: Blue Mosque Exterior

Next Post: Kool Kadıköy

Blue Mosque Exterior

2015-05-09T09:54:00.000-04:00

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Is The Blue Mosque Blue?

The mosque is one of the defining features of Istanbul’s skyline and a World Heritage Site. It is better known as the Blue Mosque but is it really blue? The exterior looks more grey than blue. The interior does not look blue at all. This is not the Green Mosque in Bursa! Perhaps we tourists should just call it by its proper name, Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Sultan Ahmet Cami in Turkish.

It was built at the beginning of a long period of gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire. At the start of the teenage Sultan's reign, both Austria and Persia had scored victories over the Ottomans. The Persians in 1603 reclaimed Tabriz (Persia) and the Caucasus states of Georgia and Azerbaijan. A 1606 treaty ended Austria's annual tribute-paying status and recognized them as a sovereign state (Hapsburg Dynasty). There was no war booty in 1609 to finance such an extravagant building. So why was such a grandiose mosque built? One possible explanation was that the mosque was built to deflect criticism; in other words, it was a propaganda campaign and statement of power.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Sultan Ahmed I came to throne at the age of 13: his mother was Greek BTW. He broke with the 200-year-old Ottoman tradition of fratricide – yes, all brothers were usually killed to prevent them from claiming the throne. The tourist district where many of us live and visit is named for this sultan. However, he wanted to leave something permanent behind so he would be remembered. He wanted to build a mosque that would be more magnificent than any previous one.

Ahmed was directly involved in the design of the mosque. Even in those days, it paid to get along with the boss. Unfortunately for the first architect, he was executed by Ahmed. The mosque was completed in 1616, just one year before Ahmed himself died of typhus at a mere 27 years old!

The mosque was designed by architect number 2, Mehmed Ağa, a student of Sinan, the great Ottoman architect of Süleymaniye Mosque Dome-ination fame. Mehmed Ağa also died in 1617, a year after the mosque was completed.

Hagia Sophia ... so close

Mehmed Ağa didn't strive for overwhelming size, majesty and splendour. He designed the mosque to meet the expectations of his sultan to make a monument greater than the church (even though it was now a mosque) of Hagia Sophia, which interestingly is just on the other side of the Hippodrome.

Cascading Domes

The mosque was deliberately built on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors. This was controversial since it meant destroying the existing palaces of the Sultan's ministers.

For the spectacular sunlit view of the east or Hippodrome side come in the morning. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque surely wins over Hagia Sophia for its exterior with cascading waterfall of domes contrasted by six pointed minarets.

Blue Mosque Minarets

Ahmed's Minarets

Each of these “pencil” minarets has three balconies, like rings around each finger. Imagine the old days when the muezzin had to climb a narrow spiral staircase five times a day to announce the call to prayer.

Most mosques have one or two minarets. Mosques built by sultans usually have four minarets. But Sultan Ahmed Mosque has six minarets.

Some travel tales say that when the number of minarets was revealed, the Sultan was criticized for trying to match the number of minarets in Mecca and that Ahmed ordered a seventh minaret to be built in Mecca.

But evidence to support this claim is pencil thin since at that time there were only four minarets at the magnificent mosque of the Ka’aba in Mecca. It was long after Sultan Ahmed died that the holiest mosque of Islam was rebuilt. In 1629, three more minarets were added so that the Ka’aba was surrounded by 7 minarets.

Ahmed's Garden

If like us, you find that the interior is closed for one of the daily prayers, you could be waiting a long time. In this case, look around the outside as well as down the streets to see the south and west facades.

The court is about as large as the mosque itself and has manicured gardens with - what else - tulips.

Ahmed's Arcades

The mosque is surrounded by a continuous vaulted arcade. Below the arcade are water taps. When the believers hear the call to prayer from the minarets, they perform their ablutions (washing) and then pray.

Also, you can walk down the streets to see the south and west sides of the mosque.

Doorway to High School

Because the east side was backlit, the alternative was to search out a view of the façade in the sunlight on the west side.

Doorway to Heaven

There were interesting things to see on the way. There was a gateway into the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and a high school at a recess break.

East Turkestan Restaurant

Along the "painted street" we saw Turkish writing on the buildings and wondered what it meant? Kurtulus sirasi (text in the photo) means "during the liberation". Where is East Turkestan that needs freedom? We didn't think it was Eastern Turkey. East Turkestan means the homeland of the Islamic Uighur people of Xinjiang province of China. This is supposedly a restaurant owned by an East Turkestani expat.

Painted Street

So is the Blue Mosque really blue? You have to check out the next post to find the answer.

Last Post: Hippodrome – Off to the Races

Next Post: Is The Blue Mosque Blue?

Hippodrome Istanbul

2015-05-02T09:03:00.002-04:00

Hippodrome

Hippodrome – Off to the Races

Hippodrome | Istanbul, Turkey | in-depth travel advice from Terra Encounters

The Ancient Romans and Greeks are descendants of the Proto-Indo-European (aka Aryan) tribes who were a horse riding culture from the Caucasus. The PIE invented the chariot and it was the primary war technology that enabled the PIE tribes to invade India (Vedic people), Turkey (Hittites and Lycians) and Europe (Romans, Greeks, et al).

Off to the Races

So it is not surprising that the ancients loved chariot racing. Built in the 4th century CE, the Hippodrome was a 100,000 seat venue for chariot races and other entertainment. The name is derived from the Greek words hippos ("horse") and dromos ("course"). I wonder what the tickets cost? Unfortunately, nothing is left of the stands, which were mined for building materials. All that is left is the modern road paved over the location of the oval race course, which is actually well below the current ground level.

The park before the Blue Mosque was the location of the royal lodge, where the imperial family watched the races. It was connected to their palace, which stood on the grounds of the Blue Mosque (coming to a post near you).

Tripod of Plataea

Delphi, Greece

All empires pillage the art and sculpture of their conquered territories. The Byzantines decorated the spina (spine) of their track with artifacts from around the empire. Constantine ordered the Tripod to be moved from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and set in middle of the Hippodrome.

Serpent Uprising

The Tripod of Plataea, now known as the Serpent Column, may not look like much. It celebrates the victory of the Greeks over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea (479 BC). One of the Persian objectives was to punish Athens for supporting the Ionians, who occupied the Turquoise Coast. The war ended with the defeat of the Ionians in a naval battle outside Miletus (their capital) in 494 BC. While the Persians conquered Ionia (temporarily), the war marked the last time the Persian Empire attacked mainland Greece.

What you see today is the bodies of three serpents twisted into one pillar of brass. What you don't see are the three heads supporting a golden tripod. What you don't know is that the bronze column was built using the bronze from the melted-down Persian weapons.

Obelisk of Thutmose III

1/3 of Original Obelisk!

The Obelisk of Thutmose III was originally erected at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor during the reign of Tuthmosis III in about 1490 BC. Theodosius had the obelisk cut into three pieces and brought to Constantinople. Today only the upper third remains!

Racing with Theodosius

One of the most interesting things is to examine the rectangular base closely. Bas-reliefs on the base depict Emperor Theodosius watching the races from the Royal lodge.

How to raise an obelisk

The Hagia Sophia side depicts the raising of the obelisk using pulleys. It's still hard to believe how they could lift such heavy red granite.

Another more recent monument is the German Fountain, which will be described in a future post.

Nika Riots

The New Empire

Emperor Justinian (527 - 565) expanded the empire to its greatest extent reclaiming much of the original Roman Empire. He took back Northern Africa from the Vandals and Dalmatia, Sicily, Venice and Rome from the Ostrogoths.

Chariot teams were identified by colours blue, green, red, and white. Social/political classes would support their own chariots. The team associations had become a focus for various social and political issues for which the general Byzantine population lacked other forms of outlet.

To Victory -- Nike!

The Nika Revolt was named for the rebels battle cry "Nika", or victory. This derived from the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, whom we met in Ephesus -- she is also the origin of the name of the running shoe company.

The Nika Riots were a sports riot fuelled by rivalry in the Hippodrome and opposition to the high taxes impose by Emperor Justinian! At this same moment he was negotiating a peace treaty with Persia.

Justinian had called for races on January 13th. By the end of the day the crowd changed their chants from blue or green to Nika. For the next 5 days they assaulted the palace. They started fires. Some senators opposed the new legal system and the new taxes saw this as an opportunity to overthrow Justinian and declare a new emperor in the Hippodrome itself. Justinian paid off the Blues in gold and they left in the middle of the coronation in the Hippodrome. The imperial troops then killed the remaining Greens. In the end 30,000 rioters were killed. So that rivals any soccer/football hooliganism of today!

Hagia Sophia v3.0

Half of the city as well as Hagia Sophia version 2.0 was burnt down during the Nika riots. Justinian then built the current version 3.0 of Hagia Sophia with the largest dome raised since the Pantheon in Rome.

Vitale Byzantine Mosaics

He built the Byzantine mosaic masterpiece of San Vitale Church in Ravenna, Italy. He constructed several underground water supplies like the Basilica Cistern, to ensure adequate water supply in the event of a siege.

His biggest legacy might be the rewriting of Roman law, which is the basis of civil law in many modern countries. So why did the Byzantine Empire decline? It started with the bubonic or Justinian plague. We who live in the present cannot appreciate the impact of huge losses of population.

Last Post: Basilica Cistern & Superstitious Romans

Next Post: Blue Mosque Exterior

Basilica Cistern Istanbul

2015-04-25T00:29:00.000-04:00

Basilica Arches

It is weird to visit a place that you have seen before. The Basilica Cistern was used as a location for the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love. As we descended the stairs, there were naves of romantically lit columns, hence a basilica.

In fact, our word for a major church comes from the Ancient Roman architectural form; however, they used it for many different secular purposes from stock exchanges to legal courts.

Basilica Cistern Map

The maps and signs in Turkish will call it Yerebatan Sarayı or “Sunken Palace”. It was never a palace but it was the site of a Roman basilica used for commercial and legal purposes. The cistern is located 290 m east of the Sultanahmet tram stop and just on the other side of Divan Yolu Caddesi (the tram street) from Hagia Sophia. Unfortunately, the Basilica Cistern (open 09:00 to 18:30 hrs, TRY 10) is not included in the Istanbul Museum Card, which is not recommended.

Golden Milestone

Milion Milestone

The Milliarium Aureum (Golden Milestone) in the Roman Forum marked the centre point for the Roman Empire. It is from here that all distances were measured and it was the basis for the expression “all roads lead to Rome”.

In a pit on the north side of Divan Yolu is a non-descript, single stele. Most tourists just pass it by. It does not look very impressive. Like the name of the city (Nova Roma), Constantine based the Milion on the Golden Milestone in Rome. It marked the centre point for the new Roman Empire (it was only called Byzantine Empire in the 16^th century).

Afrodisias Tetrapylon

But all roads really did lead to Nova Roma, i.e. Constantinople, because it was the financial capital of the Roman Empire; it was the terminus of the Silk Routes, both by land and by sea. Now imagine that the Milion was a double triumphal arch surmounted by a dome. You have to visit Afrodisias to see what a tetrapylon (four arches) looks like. Now image the arches on the right in Istanbul supporting a dome and that it had survived until the 15^th century.

Basilica Cistern Purpose

Ottoman Dress-Up

The Basilica Cistern is a Byzantine underground water reservoir built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Several kilometres north of here you can still see a small portion of the Valens Aqueduct that carried water to here. The cistern provided water for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill (of the Seven Hills of Constantinople). It provided water to the Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453. After descending the stairs there is a small shop. One concession provides colourful Ottoman costumes you can put and have your picture taken.

Basilica Columns

Basilica Cistern Columns

The dimly lit cavern is a cathedral of 336 columns, arranged in 12 rows of 28 evenly spaced marble columns. The capitals of the columns towering above you have diverse styles, which suggest that these columns came from other buildings.

Ionic Columns Holding Up a Mountain

The Greek Ionic style actually originated in Turkey. What? As discussed in How is Priene connected to Architecture?, the Greek League of Ionia was located on the Turquoise Coast between Priene and Didyma.

Drowning Medusa

There are very few paths through the cistern maze but make sure you visit the furthest northwest point from the entry stairs. The bases of two columns reuse blocks that already had images of Medusa. She thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and was constantly looking at her reflection.

Unfortunately, on her visit to the Parthenon, Medusa said she was more beautiful than the statue of Athena, the goddess of beauty and wisdom.

Don't Look at Medusa

Athena suddenly appeared and turned Medusa's hair into a nest of snakes, made her face ugly, and empowered her eyes to turn anyone who looked at her to stone. For the same reason, Medusa could no longer look on her face in a mirror! A famous statue by Cellini in Florence depicts Perseus after he cut off Medusa's head with his sword.

It is hard to believe that Medusa's gaze could turn you into stone but the Ancients were a very superstitious lot. Our expression “getting up the wrong side of the bed” originates in Ancient Rome when it was considered bad luck to get up on the left side of the bed! The Latin word for left is sinistra, the origin of our word sinister! It is no wonder that left-handed people were deemed evil.

Alexander GR8 & Medusa

So they placed the Medusa images sideways or upside down thinking that this would neutralize the power of the Gorgon's gaze. Didn't they realize that this would not affect the magic of Medusa?

The symbolism of Medusa was used throughout society. In this photo taken in Napoli (Naples), we see Alexander the Great wearing an image of Medusa on his breast armour.

From Gloom to Bloom

Sultanahmet Tulips

Well from gloom we went to bloom. The Basilica Cistern did not take long so we went around the Sultanahmet Park and the Hippodrome (coming to a post near you) to take photos in the sunshine.

It finally turned warmer today. The tulips were in full bloom. The word tulip is derived from the Persian word ‘tulipan’ which means turban. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent introduced the Central Asian tulip to Europeans. It is a symbol of life and fertility and is a popular motif on pottery and tiles.

Sultanahmet School Kids

Sultanahmet Park is a great place for people watching - there is a mixture of locals and tourists.

It is also a great place for views of historic Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia

This is the third church on this site. While there have been many earthquakes that have damaged the building, the first two churches were destroyed by rebellions during the Byzantine era, which will be discussed in the Hippodrome post.

Hagia Sophia

The current Hagia Sophia was the world's largest cathedral with the largest dome built since the Pantheon in Rome and until the dome erected by Brunelleschi at the beginning of the Renaissance to complete the Duomo in Florence, Italy.

After 1453 the Ottomans quickly transformed the city from a bastion of Christianity to a symbol of Islamic culture. So the Church of Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque complete with minarets.

However, the Greek influence in Turkish history is palpable. Constantinople was originally simply called Istimbolin by the Greek residents meaning “(in) The City”, which was in turn was derived from the Greek word polis (city). Today the name has changed back to Istimbolin, now spelled Istanbul.

Last Post: Grand Bazaar – Gigantic!

Next Post: Hippodrome – Off to the Races

Grand Bazaar Istanbul

2015-04-18T08:16:00.001-04:00

Grand Bazaar – Gigantic!

Covered Bazaar

In Turkish the Grand Bazaar is called Kapalı Çarşı, which means “Covered or Closed Bazaar”. It is not the oldest bazaar in the world – a better claim would belong to Tabriz, Persia, a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. Even though Constantinople was the main terminus of the Silk Trade Routes (see the Silk Routes Map), the Grand Bazaar was only started in 1455, just after the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium. Of course, there were commercial “forums” before then but the Grand Bazaar was covered. Perhaps we can say this was the oldest indoor shopping centre.

Books on the Grand Bazaar

Sirkeci Mansion

It’s hard to believe we are back in Istanbul for our second four-day sojourn. Eight days may seem like a lot of time but in some ways it feels like we are just scratching the surface. For maps and travel advice we would recommend the book Rick Steve's Istanbul and the free Quick Guide Istanbul (author Serif Yenen), which I believe we got at our fabulous hotel, Sirkeci Mansion. The Quick Guide is a set of cardboard brochures including a glossy map and info on the Grand Bazaar.

Tram from Sultanahmet

Getting to the Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar west side can be reached by tram at the Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı stop. For the east side, we hopped on the modern electric tram to the earlier Çemberlitaş stop.

Çemberlitaş Column

Shopkeepers

The first thing we saw was the Çemberlitaş column. It was constructed by Emperor Constantine in 330 CE to celebrate the town Byzantium being renamed Nova Roma and becoming the capital of the Roman Empire. However, the people called it Constantinople (city of Constantine) and that name stuck.

As discussed in the Amazing Ancient Rome Walk, the Roman Empire did NOT fall in AD 476. Rome the city fell. The rest of the territory was still called the Roman Empire. The term Byzantine Empire is a 16th century German invention: it never existed.

Ottoman Artifacts

The Çemberlitaş column was so damaged by an earthquake in 416 CE that it is on life support with iron hoops holding it together. The top of the column used to support a statue of Constantine that lasted until it was toppled by a storm in 1106. The column is ugly but it’s the last remnant from Constantine, who put Istanbul and Christianity on the map and thus changed world history. In fact, the column marked the centre of the forum, Constantinople's main square.

The Seven Hills of Nova Roma

Interestingly, Constantinople was situated on seven hills just like Rome! The comparison was intentional since it was originally called Nova Roma.

Hagia Sophia

The first hill contains Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. The Grand Bazaar is on the second hill on the site of a former palace and the Forum of Constantine. The third hill houses the Süleymaniye Mosque.

Nuruosmaniye

At its peak in 200 CE, it is estimated that Rome had 1,000,000 people. This decreased dramatically due to various plagues brought in via the Silk Routes and then the fall of Rome. Constantinople then became the largest and wealthiest city of Europe up until its zenith in the 12^th century with a population of around 600,000 people (600 CE).

Venice

Venice was both a trade partner and adversary of the Byzantine Empire, sacking Constantinople in 1204, seizing many of its Mediterranean territories, and carting off many treasures, including the metal decorations around the Çemberlitaş column. Venice was one of the three largest cities in Europe in 1171 with a population of a mere 66,000 people.

Nuruosmaniye Gate

Nuruosmaniye Walking north towards the Nuruosmaniye Mosque (1755), we entered the oldest gate, Nuruosmaniye, near the Nuruosmaniye Köftecisi (meatball shop). Nuruosmaniye means sacred light of Osman, the name of the family that became known as the Ottomans. The gate leads to the main east-west street, Kalpakcilar Caddesi or Hat Maker Street. Today this is jewelry alley.

Explore Side Streets

The Ottoman Empire not only controlled a vast area across three continents, but had complete monopoly of the former Silk Routes. As the hub for Mediterranean trade, it is logical that this led to an enormous shopping mall (47,600 sq. m.) covering 61 streets. Each street was dedicated to a particular trade or bedesten. Because the Grand Bazaar was a caravansary, there used to be places to house the camels and the people. To ensure security, the bazaar was closed at night.

Zincirli Han

Zincirli Han

There are many hans, multi-storey buildings surrounding an inner courtyard. The lower floor would be for animals. In the middle of the coral-coloured Zincirli Han is a courtyard with a marble fountain for washing. This han specialized used to specialize in chains, zincir. Today it houses down-to-earth jewelry shops and we did not get hassled while in this han.

3,000+Shops

Elegant Boutique

The Grand Bazaar is an overwhelming patchwork of 3,000+ simple shops and elegantly decorated boutiques. We generally followed the self-guided tour in Rick Steve's book. There are some signs hanging from the arched roof above you at major intersections but it’s good to get off the main streets. Make sure you go off the main streets into the side alleys and courtyards. There were amazing things to see – glinting gold, shiny silver, and suave silks. I cannot see any Turkish woman wearily such slinky dresses, at least not in public.

Colourful Lights

The photos show three of our favourite shops. The classic multi-coloured lamps made of glass can be seen throughout Turkey. In fact, many hotels and restaurants use them for decorative lighting. Because Islam forbade images in the mosques, artists excelled in calligraphy and geometric motifs.

Exquisite Pottery

There is a lot of overpriced pottery for the tourists. One store in the north part of the bazaar was spectacular. While the prices were high - especially for the large vases and other pieces – the quality was very high as well.

Ottoman Dress

Another shop had incredible Ottoman clothing, supposedly antique. We were skeptical until the owner said the display robes were not for sale. Nevertheless, it was hard to believe that the displayed clothes were that old, given their great condition.

Ottoman Clothing

In 2014, it was the most-visited tourist attraction in the world with 91,250,000 visitors – that’s an average of 250,000 shoppers each day!

Last Post: İncekaya High

Next Post: Basilica Cistern & Superstitious Romans

Incekaya Aqueduct

2015-04-09T23:21:00.000-04:00

İncekaya High

Incekaya Aqueduct

Sweet Safranbolu

It’s time to bid farewell to Sweet Safranbolu and return to Istanbul. As it’s also time to give up the rental car – you don’t want to drive in an 18 million person city – what could we do to take advantage of having a car today?

Iznik Tiles, Topkapi Palace

One possibility was to visit İznik with its famous historical tiles. It’s the only city that is still enclosed by 5 km of 10 m high, original Roman wall. But it is a considerable distance west of Safranbolu as well as south off the main highway. Moreover, it probably needed more time than we had. So we opted for the İncekaya area close by our guest house.

Raşitler Bağ Evi

Breakfast Nook

What better way to start the morning than to spend a relaxing time eating a great breakfast at our Raşitler Bağ Evi pension.

We talked about the changes in Turkey over the last 30 years; the conflict of values between the young urbanites and their conservative countrymen; the contrast of clothes between jeans and niqabs.

Bağlar Bounty

All the while, we enjoyed an omelet with yummy olives, scrumptious white cheese, tomatoes, and toast topped with delicious homemade jams and addicting Turkish coffee.

_________________________

İncekaya Aqueduct

Bağlar Beauty

After breakfast we got lost by heading northwest along the edge of the mountain. There were pleasant views but eventually the road came to an end. On the other hand there were Ottoman houses to see along the way.

Incekaya Aqueduct

We doubled back and figured we had to head northeast (left) once we got to İncekaya Caddesi – that makes sense, follow the road with the same name.

After passing through the village of İncekaya, we ignored the first sign for pay parking and were able to drive right up to the viewpoint (no charge). This may be because it is low season.

Incekaya Aqueduct

Suddenly there are dramatic views from the overhanging platform of 60 m high, arched aqueduct. It looks as good as new but dates from Byzantine times. Okay, it was restored in the 1790s by İzzet Mehmet Paşa, who was grand vizier (prime minister).

Tokatlı Canyon

There is no public transport to the aqueduct (7 km from the centre of town) so without your own car you will either have to arrange a tour or taxi from Safranbolu. One possibility is to hike back to Safranbolu.

Looking down the stairs is 2 km hiking trail through Tokatlı Canyon. We had the place all to ourselves. After a short walk in this natural park since it was time to hit the road to Istanbul.

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Last Post: Yörük - Ottoman Time Warp

Next Post: Grand Bazaar – Gigantic!

Yoruk

2015-03-27T00:51:00.000-04:00

Ottoman Obsession

Ottoman Time Warp

Yoruk Time Warp | Turkey | in-depth travel advice from Terra Encounters

Yörük Köyü is a priceless village ten kilometers east of Safranbolu. Köyü means village. I would like to say Yörük is magically hidden from the main road but that would be a fairy tale. What is real is that you travel back in time to a village that is wall-to-wall Ottoman houses in stately decay. At first you think nothing has changed. Then you notice the satellite dishes.

The name Yörük means “walkers”, which is very appropriates since it was populated by Turkish nomads who migrated west from the Central Asian homeland over centuries.

Now as we near the end of our trip, it is time to review some of the significant facts about how the Turkey has affected the whole world.

Turkish Impact

Main Street

The Turks were nomadic, warrior tribes that invented pants, which were better suited to a horse riding culture. They migrated west into Persia and introduced trousers to Persian culture. At the Istanbul Archaeology Museums we saw a freeze with tunic wearing Greeks under Alexander the Great. At first, the Greeks derided pants worn by the Persians. After Alexander conquered Persia, he promoted Persian clothes and culture. New ideas were spread back to the west. Today, pants have won out! The Turks score another impact.

The Greek conquest had a long lasting influence on Turkey, providing many of the tourist sights of today -- not to forget the large Greek population until 1923. The reason for the central role of Turkey is that Istanbul and Ephesus served as the terminus of the Silk Trade Routes. That was a major impact!

Not Topkapi Palace

In the Topkapi Palace Paradise post we discovered that the Turks are not from Turkey. They came from the Central Asia. The Turks are believed to have originated from the Xiongnu, also known as the "Northern Barbarians" – the bane of the Han Dynasty and cause for the Great Wall!

Narrow Side Street

Western Turkish is part of the Turkic language group. This includes 110 million people — Azeri, Turkmen, Kazakh, Tartar, and Uzbek — who originated from Central Asia. Even Japanese and Korean, Finnish and Hungarian are distantly related to the Turkic languages.

Ottoman Ceiling Tile

The Turks migrated west and conquered Anatolia from the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire. Then they conquered the only part of the empire that was left, Constantinople, in 1453. Greek and Roman scholars and their books emigrated from the centre of Ancient Greek and Roman learning. This in turn accelerated the Renaissance in the West.

Dusk in Yörük

After the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, their dynasty became known as the Ottomans (Osman in Turkish) and ruled for 624 years. This huge empire had a profound effect on all their territories from Baghdad to Budapest and from Mecca to Algiers. However, Ottoman control of the Silk Roads led Europeans to search for new routes to the Far East. This led to improvements in naval power and navigation, the discovery of America and the path to Asia, not to mention the conquest of most of the world. Major impact!

End of Day

There are very few locals today but it is winter and apparently the people work elsewhere and only come here in the summer. So Yörük is fitting name for a nomadic people that are still "walking around". In the past, they moved seasonally with their flocks of sheep and goats to take advantage of better pasture. Today they use trucks to move animals between pastures.

Last Post: Safranbolu Ottoman Obsession

Next Post: İncekaya High

Safranbolu Carsi

2015-03-20T00:40:00.000-04:00

Ottoman Obsession

Ottoman Obsession from Ring Road

Safranbolu has many Ottoman Delights. In fact, it is famous for both its Turkish Delight desserts and its timber-framed Ottoman houses. Moreover, you can even sleepover in an Ottoman bedroom such as Raşitler Bağ Evi. Another reason to come here is to visit one of the surrounding towns, such as Yörük, which is stocked with even more impressive Ottoman houses.

Verdant Views

Sprinkled Fields

The old city was built in a deep valley for protection from winter winds. What we had not expected were the gorgeous views of Ottoman houses sprinkled with green fields from the ridge road that encircles high above the old town.

Ottoman Obsession

The arc-shaped road starts east from the Sadri Artunc circle in the Baglar district as Çelik Gulersoy Caddessi, changes names to Kaya Erdem Cd., back to Çelik Gulersoy Cd. to Celal Bayar Cd. We are giving you the names so you can find the route on Google maps. Don't worry about the name changes as you'll be too busy looking at the views to even notice the street signs.

Near Hidirlik Hill

It will be easy to follow the curving road south to Hidirlik Hill. While there are good views from the park, our favourite views can be found along the way by parking wherever we could find a wide enough shoulder area.

Mandatory Mosque

Çarşi

Safranbolu was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site mainly because the old town, called Çarşi, is very well preserved. If you have visited Istanbul or Bursa, you will have already seen the name Çarşi (pronounced char shi) because it means bazaar. The old city housed places where many goods were manufactured and sold.

Man Stop

There has been a settlement in Safranbolu since the Hittites, one of the Proto-Indo-European (aka Aryan) tribes that was first to migrate west from the Caucasus region about 3600 years ago!

Kervan Sarai

It later became an Ottoman caravan stopover on the route from Istanbul to the east. For that reason there are Kervan Sarai (caravanserai) in Safranbolu. In fact this one is still a roadside inn.

Çarşi Konak

While we think of the konaks (mansions) as Ottoman, they are descendants of Hittite architecture. According to Ibrahim Canbula, this building technique dates back as far as 7500 years ago!!! Some of the key elements are beautiful stone wall on the ground story, bright white stucco interspersed with wood beams above that, and overhanging wood-framed windows. The interiors, as in Raşitler Bağ Evi, are even more spectacular.

Left Side

Right Side

Cinci Hamami

The elaborate, multi-domed building is Cinci Hamami. Built in 1645, it's hard to believe that this Turkish bath is still in use. But it was more than a place for a bath or massage. This was where you caught up on the latest gossip or closed business deals.

Shelling Nuts

Preparing Tourist Crafts?

Looking the Other Way

Leaving the Main Square

Yemeniciler

Safranbolu specialized in leather goods in Ottoman times. Yemeniciler is an old guild bazaar where shoes called yemeni were made. Built in 1661, it consists of an oval of 48 wooden shops that now sell tourist souvenirs.

Beautiful Fountain

From the 13th century to the advent of the railway in the early 20th century, Safranbolu was an important caravan station on the main East–West trade route. This not only brought great prosperity, Safranbolu had a great influence on urban development over a large area of the Ottoman Empire.

Demircilar Street?

Iztuzu Mehmet Pasha Mosque

Down the hill, is a square shaped mosque topped with a bowl-shaped dome. Iztuzu Mehmet Pasha Mosque was built entirely of cut stone by Grand Vizier Mehmet Pasha in 1796. He was Grand Vizier (prime minister) three times, very unusual.

The railroad was built 10 km west of Safranbolu to service the new iron industry. As a result, Karabük became the main administrative and commercial centre. The net result was the diminution of Safranbolu, which resulted in the preservation of the historical centre.

Saffron Cure

Saffron

But why did this town become a major stop on the caravan routes? If you thought the name of Safranbolu sounds like saffron then you are right. Bolu is derived from polis, the Greek word for city.

This area was a major saffron growing and selling centre. While Iran produces 90% of saffron today, it was originally native to Greece and Turkey. Why is saffron so expensive? It is one of the world's most costly spices because saffron comes from the slender stigma (flower) part of the plant.

Little One

But why was saffron so esteemed? Sure, it is an extremely powerful dye but that would hardly drive up the price. It was esteemed for its use in perfumes and medicine. This reputation was enhanced by history.

During his Asian campaigns, Alexander the Great used Persian saffron in his infusions, rice, and baths as a curative for battle wounds. Alexander's troops imitated the practice from the Persians and brought saffron-bathing to Greece. In Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra – who was Greek by the way, a descendant of one of Alexander’s generals – used saffron in her baths so that lovemaking would be more pleasurable.

The 14th-century Black Death caused the demand for saffron-based medications to peak, and Europe imported large quantities of threads via Venetian and Genoan ships from Mediterranean lands.

Kaymakamlar Museum

Kaymakamlar Muze on Hidirlik Yokusu Sokak was the konak (mansion) of a military commander. In fact the name is derived from Kaim Makam, or lieutenant colonel, the rank of the owner. It offers a pamphlet for a self-guided tour but the information provided is very sparse. The museum could be better by explaining more about Ottoman culture and make us connect with the people.

The Men's Room

In fact, our impression was that Raşitler Bağ Evi is more beautiful than this house. The main plus of the museum are the mannequins that depict the typical use of the rooms as well as the dress of the inhabitants.

View Distorted by Window

While it is a large building, it had to house an extended family. All rooms were used for living, working, and dining. The rooms have a minimum of fixed furniture other than a divan along a wall.

The Women's Room

The most interesting artefact is a whirling closet that enabled the women to serve food to men from outside the family in another room without being seen! The rooms served as bedrooms at night when the beds are rolled out of the closets onto the floors.

The richly carved chestnut and pine wood ceilings are also very special.

Sweet Safranbolu

To end on a sweet note, Safranbolu is famous for is sweet (helva) morsels (lokum).

Don't Look - You'll Just Get Hungry

Halva (helva in Turkish) is Arabic for dessert or sweet. The delicious one we grew up with is the nut butter type made from tahini (sesame) paste that may also contain pieces of nuts like pistachios. It often comes in chocolate or vanilla flavours.

Have some lokum

Turkish Delight in Turkish is called lokum, which means morsel or mouthful. This contagious confection – try just eating one – was invented in Ottoman times (1777).

Lokum is made of a gel of starch and sugar sprinkled with icing sugar. It may also contain coconut, hazelnut, and even rosewater flavourings. It is the precursor to the American jelly bean (Boston 1861)!!!

The shop in the old city offers tasters. Another excellent store is Safran Tat on the east side of the Sadri Artunc circle next to the petrol station in the upper town.

The baklava were delicious! In fact, Safran Tat may be one of the best places in the country. It’s time to fuel up for your next Ottoman Delight, Yörük, in our next post.

Last Post: Safranbolu Essence

Safranbolu

2015-03-04T23:06:00.002-05:00

Safranbolu Essence

Safranbolu Surprise

Safranbolu's quiet, picturesque setting is lined with timber-framed Ottoman houses and mosques set among green fields and hills. Plus one can visit other Ottoman towns in the area. One of the most-see villages is Yörük, which will be described in a later post.

Is Safranbolu a must-see? Which place in Turkey is the best to see Ottoman houses? We asked the same question in a previous posts about:

Cumalıkızık – a formerly poor, small Ottoman village now overrun with tourists;

Tophane district of Bursa – great view of the ancient city walls but few buildings of interest; and

Kaleiçi district of Antalya – the old city is nicely restored but overrun with tourists and surrounded by thick city traffic.

Getting to Safranbolu

As we explained in our Turkey - Getting Started advice on travel pace, for a car trip it is preferable to plan for about 3 driving hours between each hotel stay, which allows sightseeing stops on the way. If you are coming from Istanbul it will take at least 4.5 hours – depending on traffic in Istanbul – to drive to Safranbolu, 414 km away.

Our drive from Göreme to Safranbolu was one of the longest segments of our 31-day trip – 512 km. According to Google this should take about 6 hours driving time. In fact, we left at 09:00 h and arrived at 15:30 h. It was also the most boring scenery so we did not stop to admire views or take photos.

About the only thing that happened was at a rest area. We noticed a family, especially women dressed in black burqa (completely covered face). We thought they were Syrian refugees. Two of their young children came over to our car begging for money and would not go away. They did not look poor. The family of eight had just parked their over-sized mini-van and ordered a large lunch from the restaurant. They sat outside on the grass to eat.

Raşitler Bağ Evi

Raşitler Bağ Evi

We had debated for a while whether to stay in one of the Ottoman pensions in the old city. If you don't have a car that would be your best option. But the raves for Raşitler Bağ Evi pension on Trip Advisor convinced us, even though it is on the northern outskirts of this small town.

So it was late afternoon by the time we got to the town. We managed to turn left onto Sadri Artung Caddesi, a major boulevard to the Bağlar (Turkish for “orchards”) district. But then our "saved" Google map disappeared on us. Add to that, the lack of road signs and – we were lost! p.s.: finding our way back over the next two days was easy.

So we stopped at a grocery store and asked for directions. We did not think they knew our small pension, so we asked for nearby Değirmenbaşi Mosque. A customer who spoke a little English heard our request and offered to go with us to ensure we found it. We told him we were actually looking for Raşitler Bağ Evi and he said he knew the Colonel (the owner)! What a small world!!!

Umran

Country House

Bağ Evi means country house, since this used to be an orchard outside of town in the old days. Our first view is captivated by lovely hand-cut stone walls. This 280-year old Ottoman house has been in Umran’s family for nine generations.

Umran & Erhan

The minute we arrived we sensed warmth and friendliness. We felt like we were friends in their home rather than guests of a B&B. We spent a lot of time talking with them. Umran is a retired high school teacher and Erhan is a retired Air Force colonel. They are very sincere people. A few years ago they restored this old family home – and what a place it is!

Bağ Evi Parlour

As in Ottoman times, we had to remove our shoes to walk inside on the old wood floors. The four guest rooms are on the second floor, which has its own parlour and even a traditional reading nook.

Bağ Evi Bedroom

What a magnificent bedroom with rich dark wood floor and ceiling. We loved the wood niches in the antique "wall system" and the colourful carpets.

Bağ Evi Water Closet

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, the Göreme bathroom was as large as a small pension. Today’s bathroom is closet size and the shower goes right onto the bathroom floor. Maybe that’s the origin of the British word “water closet” meaning bathroom.

Umran's Breakfast

The breakfast the next morning was marvellous – omelet, cheese, olives, homemade fruit jams, bread and coffee.

Breakfast Room

The setting was equally superb. The ground floor dining room has a wall of glass lined with glorious green plants.

Breakfast Divan

This contrasts with the red upholstered divan and the dark wood ceiling.

Stone-Arched Fireplace

Off the dining room is the open wall living room with its stone-arched fireplace.

Bağ Evi Garden

The garden outside is a remnant of the former orchard, full of trees and even views of the surrounding hills.

Bağ Evi Tulips

Tulips

There was a bed of magnificent tulips. Spoiler alert: the Dutch did not discover the tulip; the Turks introduced the tulip to Europe.

Bağ Evi Tulips

In short, you not only get a nice place to stay, you get a feel for a typical Ottoman house that can compete with any museum. Plus you can learn about Turkish life and culture by talking with the Hangun family. This was one of our favourite places to stay in our whole trip in Turkey. So is Safranbolu a must-see? It is worth going just to stay at Raşitler Bağ Evi.

Last Post: Rose Valley Cappadocia

Next Post: Safranbolu Çarşi

Rose Valley Cappadocia

2015-02-26T10:50:00.003-05:00

Rose Tinted Valley

Gorgeous Göreme

Today is quintessential Cappadocia from colourful balloons to rose-tinted valley, appropriately called Rose Valley. If you have come here straight from Istanbul you will be blown way from complete chaos to sheer silence.

With tears we come to the last post on Cappadocia, the last of the Top 9 Sights near Göreme. You see Rose Valley from the distance everywhere – from Göreme, Sunset Point, even your hotel. Today we are going for a closer look. We recommend late afternoon to get nicer lighting. Also it will be very hot with little shade during midday during the summer.

Balloons for Breakfast

Balloons Over Cappadocia

Today was sunny and warm: I’m guessing ca. 20°C. We finally saw many hot air balloons this morning – about seven of them. We also saw a couple of late afternoon flights as well. I took the mandatory photos.

Çavuşin

Closing in on Çavuşin

On the highway to Göreme Open Air Museum, turn left at a small sign (forget what it says) and go along a dirt road. Most people who are walking take the second road to the left that has no cars. But if you have a car it is easier to bypass the road walking and get into the heart of the valley by driving on the first road.

Çavuşin Close-up

If it’s still early in the day and you have a car then drive all the way to Çavuşin, which we highly recommend. There are some nice views of old troglodyte formations that you will not see from the main highway. If you go all the way, you enter the back streets of Çavuşin and eventually reach the highway. However, return half way back.

Rose Valley Hike

"Parking Lot" View

Rose Valley, or Güllüdere Vadisi in Turkish, is one of the best sights. Go about half way along this road and park in the huge "dirt" parking lot that is favoured by the dirt bikes that are rented in town. This is not something you can ignore even with your rose-tinted glasses. You really don’t want to hear this noise or see this dust in what should be a tranquil place of nature. It really is contrary to the purpose of a national park.

Near the top of the sloping uphill lot is a steep drop and thus dramatic views. Instead of playing daredevil, park earlier and hike up the right hand side onto a steep ridge walk.

Bed of Roses

Kızılçukur View

The path leads to the very steep Kızılçukur Point with luxurious views. It is a bit slippery (scree) at the very top. But this was one of my favourite views. From here there is about a 50 m elevation descent on the other side to the start of the Güllüdere trails.

Right Twin

Left Twin

It is hard to find a decent hiking map though there are several sites with advice, such as Captivating Cappadocia - Hiking. Probably the best map was given to us by the Vineyard Cave Hotel.

Güllüdere Trail

Rose-tinted Valley

Balloon and Roses

Bed of Roses

Everything’s Coming Up Roses

"Parking Lot" View

There are many places that one could visit in Turkey but the Cappadocia region is a must-see whatever else you plan to visit. It is the 24th day of our 30-day odyssey to Turkey. Now that we have reached the final stage of our trip, we have to say we are happy with the advice we gave you in our Destinations and Seasons page and the choices we made in Our Recommended Turkey Itinerary page.

Ottoman Yoruk

Too bad we didn’t come 30 years ago. Then there were only about three hotels in Göreme according to Hassan of the Vineyard Cave Hotel. Where there are hotels today once stood orchards. This is a Tourist Town now. Right after breakfast we left for a seven hour drive to Safranbolu and Yoruk, two of our favourite places.

Last Post: Soganli Surprise

Next Post: Safranbolu

Soganli

2015-02-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

Fairy Tale Castle?

Soğanlı Surprise

Soğanlı Valley offers the remains of fairy chimney dwellings and rock-cut churches with colourful frescoes. It is basically the same as Göreme Open Air Museum but it was a very pleasant drive and walk in the countryside with very few tourists. The drive south from Göreme to Soğanlı was 55 km, about one hour – photo stops not included! But there were a couple of surprises.

Göreme Open Air Museum

Göreme Switchbacks

You can see the narrow area of Göreme Open Air Museum as the road switchbacks up the hill. It is mainly rock cut churches rather than hoodoos. It may have the best-preserved frescoed churches, but it’s also always busy with large tour groups.

Göreme Open Air Museum

I boycotted the Göreme Open Air Museum as I am totally opposed to their charging twice: once for the park and once for the main sight, the Dark Church. What do you think about this common practice in Turkey? They also charge for parking. And you are not allowed to photograph the frescoes.

Mount Erciyes & Demirkazik

Instead of the Open Air Museum, we headed south via Ürgüp to Soğanlı Valley. The drive from Ürgüp passes through Mustafapaşa, worth a stop as discussed in our last post.

Volcanic Vista

Well, we were treated to a BIG surprise half way into the trip. The road climbed up to 1550 m above sea level. There were sparsely treed fields with wide open views of snow-capped mountains in two directions, east and south. The pointy single peak is a former volcano that may have erupted as recently as 253 BC. Mount Erciyes (Turkish: Erciyes Dağı) is located 25 km to the south of Kayseri.

Lone Tree Volcano

It felt closer because we were driving south and we were at 1550 meters so we had an unimpeded view. The fifth highest mountain in Turkey and the highest in Cappadocia at 3,916 meters (12,848 ft) always has snow at the top. It started erupting at the same time as the Taurus Mountain uplifting that reduced rainfall in Cappadocia and contributed to the formation of the Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys.

Towering Taurus

The longer snowy range to the south is Aladaglar Milli Parki (national park). The highest peak, Demirkazik (3,756 m, 12,323 ft) is a prime birding site. It is another dramatic view of the Taurus Mountain range that we crossed on the drive to Göreme.

Balcony over Taşkınpaşa

The road continues on to picturesque villages where we took more photos. Actually this picture was taken on the return trip as Taşkınpaşa was more photogenic as you drive into the view with Mount Erciyes in the background.

Şahinefendi Sheep

Şahinefendi had idyllic sheep and stone houses in the foreground with rusty cliffs in the background.

Şahinefendi Basalt Cliffs

Soğanlı Valley

You should see the following rock cut churches, which are well sign posted. A very crude map is given to you at the toll house.

Stairway to Heaven

Tokalı Kilise

The Tokalı Kilise (Buckle Church) is sign posted on the right before you reach the toll house. It is up a uneven, steep stairway cut into the rock. There was not much to see inside most of the Soğanlı churches as many of the frescoes have deteriorated and the lighting was poor. In fact, you get a much better impression looking at the photos below after they have been brightened up in Photoshop. Along the road you will also see dovecotes where monks collected guano from pigeons.

Tahtali Kilise

Tahtali Kilise

After the toll house turn left towards the village restaurant. Take a path to Tahtali Kilise (Church of Doves or of Santa Barbara), which dates from the fifth century. It contains some of the better frescoes of apostles and saints. While some web sites say that this region was settled in Roman times, these rock-cut churches were from Byzantine times.

Fairy Chimneys

Turn left to continue to the end of the main road where there is an open air restaurant. From here on you have to walk. It is probably what the Göreme Open Air Museum was like many years ago.

The first thing you see are fairy chimneys with cave dwellings. You first walk down and then up the trail on the right.

Soğanlı Scenery

The vertical basalt rock columns are a result of volcanic activity. In fact the rapid cooling of lava extruded near the surface. Basalt is usually grey to black in colour, but soon appears rusty red. That’s because it is rust - it contains iron-rich minerals.

Karabaş Kilise

The Crucifixion

Karabaş Kilise (Big Church) dates from the sixth century but was rebuilt in the 11^th century. It is considered the most beautiful from an artistic viewpoint.

It contains frescoes of Christ and black-faced saints as well as Byzantine and Turkish motifs.

Soğanlı Fairy Tale Castles

Oops, Cell Tower

Kubbeli Kilise

The hike to the Kubbeli Kilise (Domed Church) starts to the left of the restaurant parking lot. It is a very short – maybe 20 minutes – so anyone can do it.

Trail to the Fairy Tale Castle

You'll be rewarded by wide open views of formations and tranquility.

Soğanlı Fairy Tale Castle

The Domed Church was carved into a fairy chimney. In fact, as we drove into the valley we thought we saw a miniature fairy tale castle -- see photo at the top. Wrong! It was the Domed Church.

Saklı Kilise

Looking Down

Next to Kubbeli is the Saklı Kilise (Hidden Church) and it is truly hidden - under the ground.

Looking Up

Fortunately, there was a tour group just ahead that gave away the location of the hidden, steep stairs that led down the hill to the entrance. Through the gap in the ceiling appeared the Kubbeli dome.

Last Post: Mustafapaşa Magic

Next Post: Rose Valley Cappadocia

Mustafapasa

2015-02-12T15:06:00.000-05:00

Mustafapaşa Magic

Explore Mustafapaşa to enjoy a typical quiet village rather than for any particular must-see sight. It also offers Greek-style buildings with decorative facades.

The town used to be populated mainly by Greek and Turkish Christians and many churches are located in the town.

Church of Constantine & Helen

The Church of Emperor Constantine and Empress Helen (of Byzantine Empire fame) is located on one of the main squares.

We visited Mustafapaşa twice: once after Ortahısar (only 11.6 km away via Ürgüp) and once on the way to Soganli Valley (next post). There is not much accommodation and it is an easy commute to here from many tourist towns, so that keeps the number of sightseers down. On the other hand, we would not say Mustafapaşa is undiscovered or off-the-beaten path since there are tour buses. However, in off-season we did not find it obtrusive.

Wow!

As in any country, during high season go early or late in the day to beat the crowds. Most tours leave around 09:00 hrs. and see Mustafapaşa en route to another destination. So the busiest period will be mid-morning.

It is unfortunate that they never finished restoring the largest mansion, which also has the most ornate façade in the photo on the left. These building should be put to some use so that they actually will be maintained into the future.

Backgammon Anyone?

The thing to do is walk around the streets to see typical village life. In the main square with the ubiquitous Atatürk statue, men sip tea and/or play backgammon at the café.

The small black grapes of this region make it a major producer of wine. The same grapes are also used to make pekmez, a grape and tahini molasses.

Old Back Street

Make sure you try this on your trip to Turkey. It is offered at breakfast by some pensions, such as Melrose Hotel in Pamukkale. It is a common must-eat and definitely addicting. Pekmez is made the same way today as it was by the Hittites, one of our Proto-Indo-European ancestors (aka Aryans) that populated India, Turkey and Europe.

Ancient Mustafapasa

Some old streets show remains of rock-cut houses. There are also views of the hoodoo formations near the town.

Old Greek House

Drive south of the centre to find the Old Greek House, which was built in the 1800’s. It was converted into a beautiful hotel and restaurant in 1992.

In Ottoman times this used to be a Greek village called Sinasos (“city of the sun”).

Old Greek Dining Room

Like many other parts of Turkey, this changed after the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as described in the Old Kaş post. Today, there are only 1550 people living here.

Why were there so many Greeks in Turkey? See the Byzantine Empire in the HagiaSophia / Ayasofya post and Alexander the Great in the IstanbulArchaeology Museums post.

Last Post: Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys

Next Post: Soganli Surprise

Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys

2015-02-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

Gorgeous Goreme

Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys

Fairy Chimneys | Cappadocia, Turkey | in-depth travel advice from Terra Encounters

Cappadocia has become synonymous with eroded valleys dotted with rock pillars known as fairy chimneys. Why are they here? Is this landscape really unique? Where is the best place to see fairy chimneys? In this post we discuss several places but three are especially worthwhile.

Paşabagh

First, we drove to Çavuşin and saw some old buildings and caves cut into the cliff. Many old buildings are now being turned into hotels. The locals want to cash into the tourism industry.

Then we drove on a side road to Paşabagh. Here there was a caravan of tour buses to visit the rocks that locals call fairy chimneys. Actually, these formations are more massive than chimneys.

Many paved walking trails meander around slender tree trunks and massive rock trunks, some of which were used as cave homes by hermit monks. They would be appalled by all the tourists today.

In spite of all the people, this is still one of the two places to see. The best overall view can be found by climbing the trail that starts south of the formations. You'll get an unimpeded view from above. You won't be alone.

A bit further is Zelve Open Air Museum, with more rock formations.

Hoodoos

By the way, the correct word for these formations is hoodoo as per Wikipedia: “A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, and earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland.”

Bryce Canyon Winter Magic

Cappadocia, contrary to some web sites, is not unique in the world. The process is the same whether the hoodoos are in Bryce Canyon (Utah, U.S.), Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada), or Goreme (Cappadocia). Each of these places is special it is own way. Bryce is beautiful for its hoodoo forest, especially when capped with snow in the winter.

Fred the Camel and his Pyramid

Dinosaur Provincial Park is the world's richest source of Jurassic-era dinosaur fossils. Most of the fossil "skeletons" in top museums around the world originate where Fred the Camel lives.

Cappadocia has larger, more spectacular hoodoos. This eerie landscape may look like a scene on the moon but it cannot be since the moon has neither sedimentation nor erosion. Hoodoos have layers of soft rock protected by a harder cap rock. The cap rock protects the softer layers from erosion. The soft layers are laid down by sedimentation.

The difference in Cappadocia was that deposits of ash, lava and basalt were laid down by three volcanoes. Two of these volcanoes are now just a volcanic plugs (vertical lava column that hardened and the rest of the volcano eroded away) we now call Uchisar (last post) and Ortahısar (see below). The volcanic activity occurred as far back as 65 million years ago when the Taurus Mountains were formed

Camel Rock, Devrent Valley

The hoodoos appeared after this period due to erosion in a hot, dry climate. If there was more rain then the erosion would have been completed in a very short time and there would be no hoodoos at all.

Devrent Valley, which is also in this area, we did not find as interesting. There is not much left of these hoodoos other than the Camel Rock.

Love Valley Hike

Phallic Fairy Chimneys

Love Valley starts at a turn off from the main highway just before Çavuşin, I did a one hour walk through apricot and apple trees to see stunning phallic fairy chimneys of all shapes and sizes. My sister nicknamed this the “Penis Forest”.

Ionic Columns?

The plus side was there were few tourists — only one family and another couple. There were no tour buses here when we went. As a result I definitely enjoyed this area the most. It's just a short hike to the beginning of the "Stone Forest".

Ürgüp

Ogling Ortahisar

From here we went to Ürgüp for lunch. On the main street in the centre of town, we had a döner for merely TRY 3 ($1.50) each!! The ice cream across the street was TRY 6 ($3) for four tiny scoops but it was quite good.

Ortahısar

From Ürgüp we went to nearby Ortahısar. We heard a restaurant there not only was very good but had a great view.

Ortahisar Close-up

That really was a stellar view point of another volcanic plug that was used as a fortress (hisar). Wow!!

Meanwhile all the tour buses go to the entrance to climb the fortress where once again there are wall to wall tourist stalls and shops.

However, there were some good people pictures in a very atmospheric old city.

Then we came back to Göreme and got some cold water at the grocery — only 1 TL for 1.5 L. Some hotels and restaurants charge 2 or 3 TL for 0.5 or 0.75 L. We did not buy a case of bottled water. You can easily get 1.5 L at a gas station for c. 1 TL; i.e. they do not overcharge. But mainly, we use a steri-pen to sterilize water.

Pigeon Valley Hike

From here we went on part of the Pigeon Valley Hike for circa 45 mins. It had lots of birds — this is where the locals collected bird dung. The road-like trail had two walk-through "caves" but few interesting hoodoos so I turned back.

Zemi Valley Hike

Zemi Valley Hike is often overlooked but another very worthwhile trail. You can drive for a little bit (about 2 km along this road to a field with a sign saying no further car travel). From here, the road-like trail (there are three trails but sign-posted) was pleasant with more phallic and pyramid hoodoos.

Our favourite place was actually a short side-trail to the left close to the beginning of the hike after the field. It goes uphill to the large conical, rock-cut El Nazar Kilise (church). Do not pay to go inside. Hike here for the good views from the top of this side-trail: you can see the Goreme Open-Air Museum in the distance.

Also see these posts

Mustafapasa Magic to visit a Greek town to see typical Turkish life

Göreme Top 9 Sights for recommended things to do near Göreme

Gorgeous Göreme for Sunset Viewpoint

Goreme

2015-01-29T11:01:00.000-05:00

Gorgeous Göreme

From the glorious first view of Uçhisar, we drove a short distance until the sign P. Canyon, a viewpoint on the right hand side. It was our first glorious view of Göreme and Rose Valley. Göreme, pronounced gur reh meh, is derived from Ancient Greek Κόραμα (Kòrama). You can see the resemblance of the current pronunciation with the Greek name. Göreme is very small (population 2500) and you can walk to the restaurants and nearby sights.

But some of the more interesting sights and hiking trails need transportation: either bike, dolmuş, or car. It is now the 20^th day of our 30-day 3700 km road trip. Please see the Central Turkey Itinerary page for an interactive map of our trip from Antalya via Goreme and Safranbolu to Istanbul.

Vineyard Cave Hotel

Vineyard Courtyard

Finally, we arrived at the Vineyard Cave Hotel on a quiet side street in Göreme (on Ayaz Efendi Sokak 12 just a block north of Karşı Bucak Caddesi). To keep the cost down, we had booked the standard room, a simple barrel vault, which is some kind of concrete arch used to create the ceiling. Cave rooms always cost a lot more.

Hassan the owner

As described in our Turkey Trip Planning page, we prefer to stay in the smaller family-run hotels. The down side of booking over the Internet is that you cannot bargain. Normally in off-season we would recommend shopping around in person, especially if you are not on a tight schedule. As we were on a work vacation, we researched all our destinations and booked our hotels in advance. However, what we did is select a low cost room. This turned out well because the hotel offered an upgrade to a better room almost every time.

Cave Room 4

In this case, Hassan (the owner) offered us the honeymoon suite (jacuzzi included) for the same price, which was nice since this was a four night stay. The cave room was very large and beautifully decorated with antiques, crafts and carpets. Hassan runs a carpet business as well.

Shower with Ottoman Scene

The bathroom – as large as some pensions in Italy – was like a hamam with an excellent shower and painted tiles.

Hittite-inspired crafts

Cave just means that the room was carved out of bed rock. You can see the scrape lines in the solid rock wall. So, the cave man and woman lived in cave 4. The only other cavemen here are from South Korea. Later in the week there were a few more travellers: some embassy staff from Ankara.

Breakfast is served

There was a very diverse, self-serve breakfast on the top floor and you can also get eggs to order. We ate simit for breakfast since it is more aromatic than white bread. The coffee was delicious.

Breakfast Crafts

You can eat indoors in the breakfast room, which has are some very beautiful crafts.

Uchisar

Alternatively, you can eat outside on the terrace with a great view of the early morning balloons and Uçhisar. No, the volcanic plug is not that close. The photo was taken with a 300mm lens.

We spent a lot of mornings talking with Hassan. He said that only the ground floor of this building existed before it was converted into a hotel.

Sunset Point View

At the end of our first day, we drove to Sunset View. You can easily walk there. This is the (free) viewpoint on a ridge on the south side of Göreme town. It is not the (not free) Sunset Point located outside of town.

Everybody comes to Sunset Point for the dusk-tinted views of the town and Rose Valley but it is worth it for the soft lighting and unimpeded views.

Rose Valley

There is limited car parking but few tourists drive. You can walk uphill to the east above Sunset Cave Hotel to get to a wide open and undeveloped plateau.

It is fortunate that the town is not allowing any tall buildings or desecration of the hoodoo areas. There are lots of stalls near tourist areas but no touts or high pressure people. However, more and more old buildings in the towns are being converted to hotels. On the other hand, there are no large hotels and little traffic. All in all, Göreme is an awesome, must-see place.

Next Post: Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys
Last Post: Göreme Top 9 Sights

Central Turkey Itinerary Map

2015-01-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

Map of Second Part of Our Trip

Pretty Pasabagh

A map of our Central Turkey Itinerary showing stopovers is now available. It can also be viewed via the Map 2 button at the top of every page.

Rose Ridge -
view from Sunset Point

The most incredible places in the second part of the trip were Goreme (Cappadocia) with its fairy chimney and eroded landscapes,
...

Sweet Safranbolu

...
Safranbolu with its Ottoman houses decorating green hills.

Amazing Yoruk

...
and nearby, unvisited Yoruk with its decaying timber-framed Ottoman houses lining dirt streets. These are truly must-sees for any itinerary plan.

Next Post: Göreme
Last Post: Göreme Top 9 Sights

Terra Encounters – Turkey

Cappadocia Turkey Itinerary

Central Turkey Itinerary – from Antalya to Cappadocia to Istanbul

RECOMMENDED ITINERARY

ANTALYA 2 nights

KIZKALESI 1 night

CAPPADOCIA ●●●● 4 nights

Car or Dolmuş Trips:

Day Trips: requires car or tour

SAFRANBOLU ●●● 2 nights

ISTANBUL ●●●● 4 nights

RESEARCHING WHERE YOU WANT TO GO

Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Dolmabahçe – Palace on a Binge

The Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain

Rise of Venice Fall of Byzantium

Fall of Byzantine Empire

Rise of the Venetian Empire

Birth of Venice Fall of Rome

Bella Venezia

Birth of Venice

Last Post: Tulip Mania Next Post: Rise of Venice, Fall of Byzantium

Tulip Mania

Tulips are not from Holland

Tulip Exports

Tulip Mania Act II

﻿Sirkeci Mansion

Tulip Mania or Tulip Festival

Bosphorus Odyssey

Water Ways and Dreary Days

Dolmabahçe Mosque

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

Vancouver Canada

Vancouver

Happy 148th Birthday, Canada!

Stanley Park

Queen Elizabeth Park

Burnaby Mountain Park

Spice Bazaar

Spicy Istanbul

Spice Bazaar

Agriculture Superstar

Coffee Anyone?

Turkish Contributions

Musical Contributions

Medical Contributions

West Turkey Itinerary

Terra Encounters Turkey Trip – 31 days

Accommodation

Travel Pace

Travel Mode

West Turkey Itinerary

Istanbul **** 4 nights

Bursa ** 2 nights

Selçuk *** 3 nights

Afrodisias – Archaeology Aphrodisiac ***

Pamukkale – 2 nights

Dalyan ** 1 night

Kaş *** 2 nights

Kiyi Hospitality

﻿Çıralı 1 night

Kadiköy

Kool Kadıköy

Galata Tower

Kadıköy

Yasa Caddesi

Güneşli Bahçe Sokak

Blue Mosque Interior

Is The Blue Mosque Blue?

Islamic Doors

İznik Tiles

Islamic Prayer

Blue Mosque Exterior

Is The Blue Mosque Blue?

Blue Mosque Minarets

Hippodrome Istanbul

Hippodrome – Off to the Races

Tripod of Plataea

Obelisk of Thutmose III

Nika Riots

Central Turkey Itinerary
– from Antalya to Cappadocia to Istanbul

Last Post: Tulip Mania

Next Post: Rise of Venice, Fall of Byzantium

Sirkeci Mansion

Çıralı 1 night

Raşitler Bağ Evi

Saffron

Tulips

Tokalı Kilise

Kubbeli Kilise