Savouring our last days in Istanbul

We caught our night bus at 10 PM on Monday and began our journey back to Istanbul. We reached the city just before 7 AM. We woke up briefly during the trip and noticed we were on a ferry (crossing the Sea of Marmara?). Back in Sultanahmet we searched for the hostel that Pascal and Lotus had recommended but being so tired, we didn't look very hard. We checked into the Eurasia Hostel and had a nice long nap instead. We wandered toward the Golden Horn in the afternoon and saw a Dervish whirl while we ate dessert at night.

Back when we were googling the World's Greatest Wonders, we stumbled upon the greatest wonders of the Medieval World... and found the Haghia Sophia to be included on the list! If there's anything to see twice in Istanbul, this would be it. Dan was eager to see it so we checked it out together yesterday. It didn't fail to amaze me the second time around. It's a beautiful building with such a rich history. I included some more pictures from the Upper Gallery.











We spent the rest of our afternoon at the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam. It is located right in Sultanahmet's beautiful park next to the Archeology Museum. Having both studied engineering, we took such pleasure nerding it up among the many exhibits devoted to Physics, Geology, Weaponry, Medicine, etc, and how they evolved in the Arab world. Unfortunately, they were highly technical to the point that for some of the disciplines (like Astronomy) we didn't understand how many of the devices worked and no descriptions were available to us.




We went in search of a new hostel yesterday morning (why not - Sultanahmet is full of them!) and immediately fell in love with Ocean's 7 Guesthouse. Can you believe this bathroom?! It is bigger than an broom closet and the shower is enclosed instead of right over the toilet! The last time I saw an enclosed shower was in Canada! We were dazzled by such luxury and were thrilled when the manager cut us a deal for our last two nights (hurray for travelling during the low season!). We settled in quickly and were pleased to be able to hang up our jackets and put our supply of food (Turkey has some of the best dark chocolate I have ever tasted) on an actual end table instead of on my backpack.














Here's Dan demonstrating how wonderfully lazy our last day in Instanbul has been... we slept in, indulged in some yummy Turkish food (manti and gozlemes), perused the English bookstore (Dan, being the bookworm he is, needed some more reading material), wandered the Grand Bazaar in search of a hookah (I found a beautiful green one with brass accents), and strolled the pedestrian avenue until we found a cozy cafe...


I never drink coffee - unless I am on vacation. The countries I visit always have a great-tasting cup of joe on hand and Turkey is no exception. It's rich, potent and smells divine. For the price of a medium double-double, I got a cup of unfiltered Turkish coffee, a square of dark chocolate, a bottle of water and a small bowl of chocolate-covered coffee beans. Best cafe ever!!!



Tomorrow we catch an early flight home, connecting through Vienna and Toronto.
Goodbye Turkey! Your food is terrific, your people are incredibly charming, and your sights are some of the most beautiful on earth. We will definitely be back one day. We still have so much more to see.

(Kudos to Dan for suggesting one lazy July afternoon: "hey, we should go to Turkey...").

Keeping it low-key in Selçuk

It's already Sunday and I'm feeling a bit sad about my vacation coming to an end (however I feel as though I have been away forever so maybe I'll be happy to be home again). We had a fun night at the ANZ Guest house with the other backpackers - we were really excited to have the opportunity to raid the large collection of pirated VHS tapes and watch English movies which we've grown to miss (we didn't watch any good movies but we still had fun!).

We visited the Ephesus museum today to see the relics from Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis (pictured is an original marble statue from the temple and a model of how the Temple used to look).



Dan is not feeling very well so we are relaxing in town for the rest of the day and planning to visit St John's Basilica and the Byzantine Aquaduct tomorrow. As for the amazing mountain hikes on the Aegean Coast... I think we'll have to come back to Turkey. We are planning to head back to Istanbul on Tuesday and spend the rest of our time there until we fly out.

Paragliding in Ölüdeniz and Sightseeing in Selçuk

On Thursday we woke up in Fethiye to a bright, warm, sunshiney day. Conditions were ripe for paragliding in Ölüdeniz, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We had a flight time of about 40 minutes, soaring high over the mountains and over the sea and lagoon which were an unreal shade of baby blue. I had an amazing view of the Turquoise coast and the 12 islands. It was such a hot day that we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the beach until sundown.












Friday morning we caught a bus from Fethiye to Aydin and then took a dolmuş to Selçuk, a nice little town by the South Aegean Sea. The weather here is even warmer than it is on the Med. Selçuk is the perfect base from which to explore the ruins of Ephesus and the town's other attractions. We checked into the charming, comfortable ANZ (Australia New Zealand) Guest house and were reacquainted with other travellers we'd met in Fethiye.





We proceeded to visit one of the Wonders of the Ancient World: the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Not much remains of it, but when it was standing it was a massive temple with 127 columns (only one still stands). It is rumoured that most of the marble was taken to İstanbul to construct the Aya Sofya or it was used to built the structures of Ephesus.


Today we walked the 3 km to Ephesus to see the sprawling ruins from the ancient city. I cannot wait to post the pictures. If you want to see ruins this is the motherlode! We spent hours visiting the city in the hot sun and enjoyed every moment. Photos to come!

Wonder of the World: Pyramids!

Today we woke up early to make our first visit to one of the most amazing Wonders of the ancient world: the famous Pyramids. The hostel arranged a driver for us (Sama - and he was a terrific guide for us the whole day) who took us to visit 3 sites: Saqqara, Dahshur, and Giza.

At Saqqara we explored a couple of tombs above ground level, notable for the intricate carvings on virtually every surface inside before heading over to the big step pyramid on the other side of the site.
Our next stop was at Dahshur, where I really tested my claustrophopia. It involved a somewhat steep climb up the side of the pyramid, a crawl through a steep, lengthy little tunnel into the tomb, and what smelled like ammonia fumes in the air. I survived it but I was still quite thrilled to be out. Being tiny was hugely advantageous, as the small spaces were quite uncomfortable for the guys to navigate.


The pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx were delightful - we decided to make the trip along the area by horseback lead by a guide named Isham. There's simply no way to describe what it was like to approach the Pyramids of Cheops over the sandy hills. The sun was fierce, the only sound we could hear was the wind blowing, those awesome pyramids were looming in the distance just past the tombs of the workers who built it. You really need to see it for yourself - it truly is a wonder.

Back in Cairo, Simon and I finally managed to find someone grilling corn on the sidewalks. We had started to think they were mythical until now but we got our cob (innovately wrapped in the husk). We also discovered 2 new Fanta flavours: blackcurrant and apple.

Tomorrow we head off on a long bus ride to Nuweiba on the Red Sea coast and relax at the Petra Camp before the infamous ferry ride into Aqaba, Jordan. We debated our options for hours but concluded that all our options were uncomfortable, expensive and full of hassles. Though at least with the ferry, we know what to expect. Will keep you posted!