We're off on another adventure! We begin in Istanbul and travel next to Izmir and end the trip in the caves of Cappadocia.
This is the view from our balcony in Istanbul. The call to prayer is sung five times a day starting at dawn.
Our first dinner in Istanbul. The food is delicious and loaded with vegetables. I am becoming a fan of aubergine (eggplant).
The women in Turkey, a secular country, are not required to cover their heads. I found myself wanting to adopt the practice of wearing beautiful scarves...never another bad hair day!
An unusual version of ice cream: goat milk thickened with a tree resin. I did not try it but now wish I had.
At the famous Istanbul Spice Market.
At the Grand Bazaar....OMG
Cruising the Bosporus Strait which divides the European and Asian sections of Istanbul.
Along the shores of the Bosporus Strait.
The skyline of Istanbul (Constantinople) at dusk.
We visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
Posing with our local town newspaper in front of Hagia Sophia, now a museum.
A detail of one of many incredible mosaics in the Mosque.
The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath Istanbul. It provided a water system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and continued to provide water to the Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times.
An artist demonstrated an ancient painting technique and calligraphy. This says "Istanbul".
We ate a home-hosted lunch in a local village and met with school children.
After lunch, the assistant mayor read our coffee grinds. Ken's said he was going to have to choose between two paths, one better than the other. Hmmmm.
The view from our balcony at the Charisma Hotel in Kusadasi on the Aegean Sea. Yes, we swam. Brrrrr!
The amphitheater at the ancient Greco-Roman site of Ephesus.
Off to lunch at a beautiful winery...a risky business endeavor in a mostly Muslim country.
Traditional hand-knotted Turkish carpets. I almost bought one.
The wools and silks are dyed with local herbs and flowers.
We met a man who makes these beautiful instruments. He played and sang for us.
We cruised in a small riverboat to the ancient Lycian site of Caunus where these temple tombs hug the rock face.
We returned home to our gulet for lunch and a swim in the cove.
This is why this area is named the "Turquoise Coast".
After a hike, we visited the home of a nomad who served us delicious apple tea and sage tea.
A "Ghost Town" near Kayakoy. Anatolian Greeks once inhabited this city of about 600 houses. During the 1920s, the entire population was relocated to Greece in the aftermath of the Turkish War of Independence. It was a very sad place.
A goat herder allowed us to photograph her.
The seaside town of Antalya where we stayed two nights. We were in the old section of town where there was plenty of shopping!
Umbrellas hung for shade over the marketplace.
The ubiquitous "evil eye" to ward off evil.
Morning in the village where we spent the night in a local family's home.
Prayer beads in a mosque that still has columns made of Lebanon Cedars supporting it. The Imam sang prayers to us. That was a very moving experience for us.
We stopped at Sultanhani, a caravanserai originally constructed by Sultan Keykubat early in the 13th century. These caravanserais were camel caravan "way stations" along the ancient Silk Road.
Our hotel for the last three nights in Cappadocia. The hotel is carved out of the tufa, a volcanic rock.
A hot air balloon ride at dawn over the strange landscape of Cappadocia.
Magical balloons in the clouds above Cappadocia.
Over many generations, the local inhabitants used hand tools to hollow out thousands of the free-standing tufa formations. These cave-like rooms, carved from the living rock, once sheltered Turkey's early Christians.
Okay, okay. I got a little carried away with the head gear. It is warm, though!
Here's the whole gang, minus our wonderful leader, Volkan, who was snapping the photo. The rock towers in the background are called "Fairy Towers." We had other names for them.
Evening view from our hotel room window.
We crouched and duck-walked through the corridors of an underground city which extended down seven levels. During the Hittite era, as successive armies swept across Asia Minor, underground cities were built as a place to live and hide. At one time, several thousand people lived here.
We became acquainted with the 9,000-year-old pottery tradition of Anatolia.
Wine flasks. Hand thrown, hand painted, gorgeous.
My exquisite platter. The design is the Tree of Life.
