Turkey in a Nutshell

I spent the first few weeks of the summer in Turkey.

General Summary: 

I traveled with 2 friends (both English teachers) from Batumi to Istanbul (via plane).  We spent 10 nights in a hostel in Istanbul.  And then 2 of us continued on to Cappadocia via night bus (11 hours).  We spent 5 evenings at a hostel in Goreme, Cappadocia before boarding another night bus (this one 17 hours, despite being advertised as 15 hours) from Goreme to Hopa, Turkey. 

Travel logistics: 

Batumi > Istanbul:  Holy cow!  What an adventure this was!  See “How to get to Batumi Airport”. 

 (Looking down at Batumi as we fly to Istanbul)

(Tasty chocolate pudding on the airplane!)

Istanbul > Goreme:  Night bus.  11 hours.  A. and I had the last two seats on the bus – seats 51 and 52.  Which means than our seats didn’t push back.  It wasn’t a completely terrible trip for me, however.  I didn’t sleep all that well, but when I woke up at 5:30, I had a great view of dawn.  At first I was looking out and admiring the view of the lake.  The white lake.  Until I realized that when I was looking at wasn’t water.  It was salt.  The water was quite beyond the white salt area.   

(photo)

Goreme > Hopa:  From Hopa, we took a minibus to the border with Georgia, walked across, took a Batumi city bus into Batumi and collapsed at a local restaurant for several hours before I continued (via another minibus) on to Kobuleti and then Kobuleti Village. 

Istanbul: 

Istanbul is awesome.  You should go.  

I think the author of my guide book stated it beautifully with:  “Only Turks, who live among some of the oldest monuments on the planet, refer to a building erected 300-plus years ago as new.” ("Istanbul & the Turkish coast, Moon, 2010)

We visited the Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, New Mosque, Aya Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Teni Cami (aka New Mosque), Istiklal Street, a tour of the Bosphoros (which brought us to the town – were the Black Sea meets the Bosphoros).  I went to the Istanbul Pride March, attended a non-denomination church service (and was invited to their lunch afterwards, where I learned about English education in Turkey), and visited the Museum of Innocence (based on the Orham Pamuk novel). 

I went shopping for water shoes and spies and purchase a bike – which I brought 1000 miles on two long bus rides to get it back to Georgia. 

I actually didn’t read the whole time I was there.  I ate baklava, though not as much as I expected due to the price.  And, on the last day, waiting for our evening bus on the Asian side of the Bosphorous, A. taught me how to play backgammon – a popular game both in Georgia and Turkey.  

Cappadocia: 

Cappadocia is awesome.  You should go.  

We were in Goreme.  The first three days we did touristy things.  We walked in the various valleys and climbed rock formations.  And found ancient churches dug into the rocks.  (Which reminded me of why I need to do some trips when I’m young enough to climb and slid on their ass when needed.)  We did a tour which brought us to an ancient monastery, a canyon that is apparently reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, and into an underground city (Derinkuyu) that goes 8 levels down – used by many groups  over the centuries to hide (during times of war, during times of persecution of Christians).  (Other underground cities are still used by locals as root cellars and storage space.) 

The last two days were slower days – we wrote postcards, read by the pool (yes, the hostel had a pool), found gifts for our host families, and talked with others staying at the hostel.  We met Australians doing 3 week and 12 week and longer trips in Turkey and beyond.  And we met a few people doing trips that would bring them through Iran and other places that most tourists will never visit.  

(Landscape)

(Underground city at Derinkuyu)