The Land of Fairies

This place can't be real?

How can it be possible that such a place exists? It is as though it were created by magic, created for some purpose that can't be understood.

We stood on mountains, we stood on high places and we looked down up gorges and ravines.
A combination of both nature and human-endeavour.
Everywhere we looked, we were shown images of perfection. We could hardly stop smiling in wonder.
And can you blame us? Looking across into the distance of each new location, our eyes could barely comprehend that what we saw was actually real.
The name "fairy chimneys" seemed appropriate. Not only because of the physical appearance of these places, but also because of the seeming magic by which they were created.

I'm going deeper underground!

Underground cities.... enormous underground cities exist in Cappadochia that were used by the peoples in times of trouble and strife.

Caves that go deep into the ground.
The maze like tunnels extended into living quarters, churches, prisons and even underground barns for the animals!
A place to shackle prisoners?

Dining, Dancing and Dervishes

We were tired.

So very tired.

After all the fun of Selcuk, we said goodbye to Hunter who was heading back to Istanbul and boarded our bus.

It was going to be another long, long, long ride for us.

Eight hours? Ten hours? Twelve hours? I can't even remember anymore.

What I do remember, was stumbling off the bus in the middle of the night having been woken with a jolt. It was a mere break for the driver and I don't know why I got off. I walked around this small town directionless and then walked back onto the bus. I somehow managed to find the correct bus as well take a photo of the town, that reminds me (and hopefully will remind me in the future) of the stupidity of walking off your bus in a foreign country.

We managed to get to Urgup though.

And we also did what we thought we would never do.... we paid for dinner and a show.

This wasn't something we had wanted to do. But for the purposes of time and convenience, we did it. After all, they promised free-flowing drinks and traditional Turkish dancing!

We weren't actually disappointed. Though it was expensive, we were able to see what we wanted to see most of all in terms of the dancing. The Dervishes!!!

Whilst we were unable to take photos during the performance, they kindly came in afterwards and span again for us.
Whilst watching them dance in the dark, it was a strangely hypnotic experience. Even though it was a performance for tourists and others having dinner, the quiet serenity in which they danced couldn't be ignored.

After they left, we began to eat and drink in earnest. There was lots of it and it kept coming.

However, we would be interrupted (not in a rude way) as more dancers came in.
The speed at which they danced was amazing.
Then it was the girls' turn.As the dancers came together, a mock wedding was conducted.

Oliee was even dragged up and "married". We were all so happy for him!
Near the end of the dances (and there were many of them), the men jumped into a pyramid and unfurled a Turkish flag. I have never been to a place where the people have such a fierce love for their country. After spending only a short time in Turkey, I can completely understand why!

Seeking Sights

After we were all thoroughly amazed by the enormity of Ephesus, we were taken onwards to some less interesting sights.

First came the "Seven Sleepers". An old tomb for seven martyrs who were apparently revived. It was a little underwhelming in comparison to what we had all just seen. It was also unhelped by the widespread graffiti at the site.
After this, we were driven to the next site. One of the ancient wonders of the world no less!!! The Temple of Artemis. We were expecting alot.

After all.... a Wonder of the World!!!!

I mean, how is it possible that we could be disappointed with that?

How is it even imaginable that this place would not have at least a semblance of what was once there?

........

Hmmmmmm.....
We were all even more underwhelmed.

All that really remained was a single column.... that had been put up recently with the help of modern concrete.
Guy was particularly unhappy with it. He had found his new cry of disappointment for the trip: "As good as the Temple of Artemis!".

Thankfully, we stayed there only long enough for:
Guy to push Oliee down a hill;
for Oliee to try and drag me to my death as he fell down the hill;
for Oliee to convince Guy and I to chase some geese;
for Oliee to abandon us at the first sign of trouble;
for Guy to ACTUALLY chase the geese;
for Guy to get chased by a guard dog;
for Oliee and Guy to have a foot race back to the car; and
for Guy to fall over.

All in all, a fun time for everyone.

Back at the hotel, our driver Hassan was kind enough to bring me some refreshing mountain tea. It tasted lemony and sweet, far lighter than the strong teas we had become accustomed to.

Walking the paths of history

How often is it that one really gets to walk through something truly ancient?

On a nice sunny day, our travels took us to a place where we did exactly that. After a short drive from Selcuk, we arrived in the old Roman town of Ephesus. The former port city, this great town.... now only ruins.

But what amazing ruins!
None of us had seen anything like it! Nothing even close. This was something truly out of our comprehensions as Australians. Back home, we see nothing like this. There are echoes of our colonial past and there are reminders of the Aborigines who have come before us... but the remnants of lost civilisations is not something we are familiar with.
At the great library of Celcius, all of us took our time to take in the beauty of the architecture.
And only a few hundred metres away, we found the famous Ampitheatre! This was no mere ruin though, this was the place in which St Paul had debated the Epheseans themselves on their worship of the old Roman gods! To be standing in this spot was an experience that shouldn't have been different from many other experiences I've had. Yet to be there in person, to be looking out into the same seats and he did, gave me a shiver down my spine.

Selcuk and Saints

After the cold and rain of Gallipoli, we all headed onto a ferry that took us to the town of Pamakkule. We stayed there for a few hours before we all boarded a bus headed for the Turkish town of Selcuk.

The bus took all night, but I arrived there fresh and awake... sadly no one else had been able to get any sleep.
Selcuk is just a small town. However, what it lacks in population, it makes up for in the breathtaking sites surrounding it.

Our first place of visit was St John's Basilica.

Ruined and left to crumble and yet it is still an awe inspiring place.

Ruins galour gave me a chance to explore and climb.
And the purpose of the Basilica was also nothing to be ignored.
However, after a long day of running around, we settled back into the town.

What better way to relax than with rice pudding?

Respect for the Fallen

Istanbul was hilariously fun.

Not stop. It was difficult to decide what type of city it was, one minute modern, another minute it was clearly the gateway to the Middle East.

It also had the disturbing effect of draining our savings....

Our time in Istanbul was finished though. It was time to move on.

And the next place we ventured was the place all Australian travellers in Turkey go.

Gallipoli.

On a freezing day, we all set off for this defining place in Australian history.

Oliee and I stand here, cold and rained on in front of the Dardenelles.
This place holds such a significance for so many countries.
Once we were there, the weather took a turn for the worse.

The temperatures dropped and it started to hail.

It was an interesting experience standing there in the freezing cold. It gave us all a much keener appreciation of the suffering that must have been endured by soldiers on both sides.

ANZAC Cove shocked us all with its steep incline.
Lone Pine was a place that had a calm beauty. Standing there in the rain, it was hard to imagine the fighting that had occurred there in the past.

Deepest Blue

Immediately after walking away from Hagia Sofia, we all turned our attentions to the enormous mosque DIRECTLY OPPOSITE.

The Blue Mosque!

My brother had always told me that the Blue Mosque was the most beautiful building he had ever been in.

From the outside, I could definitely see the beauty of the building, but the most beautiful in the world? I was skeptical. I was also confused about the title "Blue".... it doesn't look very blue at all...
..... until you get inside!
My brother was right. It is stunning. The sheer intricacies of the designs and decorations cannot be compared to Hagia Sofia, the two are too different.
Inside, the lights made the Mosque glow.
After leaving, we wandered to a local coffee house for a refreshment. Drinks and a smoke!
Several days later, as I was walking passed the Blue Mosque at night, I was given another answer to the name. In the darkness, with the glow of the spotlights upon it, the Mosque truly is a startling blue colour.
I love Istanbul!

Astride two Continents

After Chris and I finished our whirlwing trip through Central and Eastern Europe, we were able to have a nice relaxing time in Brussels. It was nice, very nice in fact. Calm and comfortable.

This was the end of our trip, but merely the beginning of the next leg of an even bigger trip for more of us!

In London, our old friends Guy and Oliver were waiting for us.

After a bit of fun in London, we caught our British Airways flight towards something far more alien than what we had been experiencing in Europe.

TURKEY!!!

The four of us were travelling through the Middle East together, hugging the Mediterranean coast.

The first stop was Istanbul.

After a tiring night, we headed out bright and early the next morning.

Hagia Sofia.
Having stood in dozens of cathederals over the past two months, I was not expecting to be put in such awe.

The former Byzantine catherderal and now mosque is like nothing I have ever seen.
The colours and the sights took all of our breaths away.
Standing inside, it felt as though little had changed since the days of Justinian and Belisarius.
.... with the exception of a few new minurets that is.....