Friday, September 28, 2012
The Great Scooter Adventure
We rented our scooter, which was delivered to our hotel along with a quick introduction to the operation of said scooter. After Tom took it for a trial spin we jumped on and off we went. We were almost an hour into our ride and we had just made our third or fourth stop (seeing the Fairy chimneys, think Grand Canyon.... Get out, walk around, look, get back in the car, drive a little way, repeat...). We finished getting the overview of an area and jumped on the scooter, drove about 200 yards downhill to the area where we would see close up the things we had just seen from above. When Tom went to turn the scooter off....... No key..... What? How could it be running with no key? Upon closer inspection we realize there is a key... Sort of.... In the ignition is 1/2 of a key. Huh??? We got on the scooter, drove 200 yards and the metal key was somehow broken off in the ignition??? Ya. Try to explain THAT to the rental company. Well, the good news is, we didn't have to. A helpful Turkish man walked up as Tom was fishing in his pocket for the business card from the rental company. The Turkish man took over and called the company, basically told them our key was missing and they jumped on their scooter and rushed over with a new key.
Upon examining the situation the guy (it was a man and woman from the company) bent over and tried to remove the broken off key.... With his teeth ....(no friends, I am not kidding you). When that didn't work (can we all say DUH!) he stood up, said something in Turkish that I am sure was "maybe I had better try pliers" and then proceeded to try his teeth again, just in case the situation had somehow changed. (at this time I ask you to try to picture some guy, bent over the scooter, overthe handle bars, head on the dashboard ((what else would you call it?)) with his mouth on the ignition) Finally he ran off and found a pair of pliers, pulled the key right out, gave us the duplicate, smiled and said goodbye and rode off. Easy peasy.
The Fairy Chimneys of Cappodocia
9.28.12
After dinner last night Tom's and I smoked another Nargile. Tom loved it but the novelty was what made it fun the first time for me. After dinner it was straight home to bed because we had a 5:15 am date with a balloon. That's getting on the shuttle time, not wake up time. That was 4:30.
We shared a small 8 passenger balloon with 5 other people. This was An awesome set up thanks to Yasin, our hotelier. 95 balloons took off with us this morning and almost all of them were large baskets with 30+ people in them. I don't know how you would ever get close to the edge to take a picture or enjoy the peacefulness of the experience. Our pilot was excellent and our landing was perfect, unlike the time we ballooned at home where it was windy and that made for a crazy landing. The entire crowd of balloons was like a well orchestrated dance with balloons trading places flying high and low. It was such a cool view when a balloon in front of us dipped down and we flew directly over the top of it. It looked like a gigantic jelly fish. I have to admit I was a little worried that it would suddenly pop right up and bump the bottom of our balloon, sending us careening into space!
After ballooning we returned to our hotel and had breakfast while deciding on our next adventure. We had tossed around the idea of renting a scooter and that's what we decided on. We followed one of of the suggested routes here to see all of the different types of Fairy Chimneys. At times we were surrounded by tour buses, however many times we had a place almost to ourselves and we had the bonus of being able to come and go as we chose. We saw (and photographed!) some amazing works of nature. We enjoyed lunch at a really cute Turkish styled restaurant that gave me the desire to open a trendy coffee house where people could smoke Nargiles and lounge around on big cushions and drink their Turkish coffee (Tom's new love!) off of low tables.
We are back at the hotel for an hour of R &R before we heads it on the scooter to a high point in town to catch the sunset. We discovered it just a bit too late last night. After dinner it will be another early night after the early wake up call this morning and the busy day.Tomorrow we have a tour scheduled to see some underground cities too difficult to reach without a rental car. We have to check out of our hotel and leave our bags so we will be ready for our overnight bus tomorrow night. We are headed for Pamukkale (southern Turkey) and an adventure I have been especially looking forward to since I heard about it. That's a secret I'll save for later.
After dinner last night Tom's and I smoked another Nargile. Tom loved it but the novelty was what made it fun the first time for me. After dinner it was straight home to bed because we had a 5:15 am date with a balloon. That's getting on the shuttle time, not wake up time. That was 4:30.
We shared a small 8 passenger balloon with 5 other people. This was An awesome set up thanks to Yasin, our hotelier. 95 balloons took off with us this morning and almost all of them were large baskets with 30+ people in them. I don't know how you would ever get close to the edge to take a picture or enjoy the peacefulness of the experience. Our pilot was excellent and our landing was perfect, unlike the time we ballooned at home where it was windy and that made for a crazy landing. The entire crowd of balloons was like a well orchestrated dance with balloons trading places flying high and low. It was such a cool view when a balloon in front of us dipped down and we flew directly over the top of it. It looked like a gigantic jelly fish. I have to admit I was a little worried that it would suddenly pop right up and bump the bottom of our balloon, sending us careening into space!
After ballooning we returned to our hotel and had breakfast while deciding on our next adventure. We had tossed around the idea of renting a scooter and that's what we decided on. We followed one of of the suggested routes here to see all of the different types of Fairy Chimneys. At times we were surrounded by tour buses, however many times we had a place almost to ourselves and we had the bonus of being able to come and go as we chose. We saw (and photographed!) some amazing works of nature. We enjoyed lunch at a really cute Turkish styled restaurant that gave me the desire to open a trendy coffee house where people could smoke Nargiles and lounge around on big cushions and drink their Turkish coffee (Tom's new love!) off of low tables.
We are back at the hotel for an hour of R &R before we heads it on the scooter to a high point in town to catch the sunset. We discovered it just a bit too late last night. After dinner it will be another early night after the early wake up call this morning and the busy day.Tomorrow we have a tour scheduled to see some underground cities too difficult to reach without a rental car. We have to check out of our hotel and leave our bags so we will be ready for our overnight bus tomorrow night. We are headed for Pamukkale (southern Turkey) and an adventure I have been especially looking forward to since I heard about it. That's a secret I'll save for later.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Safe and sound in Goreme
We arranged our departure from Istanbul with a travel agent because it was right down the street vs. a semi major ordeal by tram. They set us up with a shuttle to the bus station and our overnight bus to Goreme. The shuttle picked us up late and we thought we were the last pick up before the station. Wrong. We picked up a lot more people, six of whom were unexpected. The shuttle was over full and really running late when suddenly a young woman who had just boarded remembered she had left her cell phone battery and charger at her pick up point. The driver very kindly stopped for her and she ran back, however that made us even more late. Then the traffic was terrible so.... We were told we couldn't make our bus (along with all of the other people riding the shuttle) so the shuttle guy informed us he would drive us to the next station so we would have time to get drinks/snacks for the ride and to make a pit stop before boarding the bus. Saved us some time on the long bus ride and we got to experience more of the Turkish kindness I have spoken of.
The night bus was much like the first... Lots of stops to pick up other passengers and then the usual 3-4 hour pit stops. We slept some and arrived in Goreme at about 9am. We called our hotel and they sent a guy to pick us up. We thought he would bring a car but he hoisted my back pack on his back and off we went. It was only a few minutes walk but we appreciated the guidance because we were tired, hungry and feeling directionally challenged. After unpacking and a shower we went to reception to check in and book a tour and confirm our balloon reservation for tomorrow.
After breakfast (brunch?) we spent the afternoon at the open air history museum of Cappodocia. This area is famous for it's "Fairy Chimneys". Rock formations that have houses, churches, businesses... You name it, carved into them. Most importantly, our hotel room is carved into one! It's very cool (literally and figuratively)!!! I will let you know how it feels to sleep in a cave!
The night bus was much like the first... Lots of stops to pick up other passengers and then the usual 3-4 hour pit stops. We slept some and arrived in Goreme at about 9am. We called our hotel and they sent a guy to pick us up. We thought he would bring a car but he hoisted my back pack on his back and off we went. It was only a few minutes walk but we appreciated the guidance because we were tired, hungry and feeling directionally challenged. After unpacking and a shower we went to reception to check in and book a tour and confirm our balloon reservation for tomorrow.
After breakfast (brunch?) we spent the afternoon at the open air history museum of Cappodocia. This area is famous for it's "Fairy Chimneys". Rock formations that have houses, churches, businesses... You name it, carved into them. Most importantly, our hotel room is carved into one! It's very cool (literally and figuratively)!!! I will let you know how it feels to sleep in a cave!
So long Istanbul
9.26.12
We are sitting in another bus station waiting on another night bus. We spent the last 6 days in Istanbul and now we are on our way to Goreme, Cappodocia, Turkey.
We had a great time in Istanbul. Tom is totally in love with the people and the city. He made several friends while we were there and by the time we left they called him brother as they pounded their fists over their hearts. One was a guy who started out by giving Tom a hard time about his hat the first time we walked past his restaurant. Tom was good natured about it and soon they were the best of friends. We had to walk by that restaurant every time we came or went from our hostel, so that meant a minimum of 4 times each day. The two of them greeted each other enthusiastically each time and stopped to chat for a few minutes. Soon Tom was being introduced to his friends. The other was a young guy who pretty much ran the hostel we were in. His uncle owned the place but Redwon was the only one who really spoke English. He and Tom really liked each other and one afternoon we hung out for an hour or so in the hostel common area and chatted with Redwon about the Turkish people. We learned a lot about the way they think and behave. Much of it is of course based on the teachings of the Koran. One of the pillars of the Muslim faith is to help others. We experienced this first hand over and over while in Istanbul. People were constantly offering help to us and instead of pointing in the direction of some location, they would often walk us there or at least walk as far as necessary to be sure we knew where we were going. We really enjoyed and admire the Turkish people as we have experienced them so far.
While in Istanbul we saw the Blue Mosque,the Hagia Sofia the Topkapi Palace (all inside and out). We went to see the cisterns (the ancient underground water supply for all of Istanbul ) and we wandered around the new part of Istanbul which is on the Asian side of the city. We ate/drank great street goodies like fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. We ate Simiti (sort of like a soft round pretzel) and pastries, kepbaps (lamb, cooked right in front of us) and Turkey's special ice cream called "Maras Dondurma" (more on this later).
We took a day off from city life and got on a ferry that took us to the Prince's Islands. They are islands right off Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara. We went to the main island and after enjoying an ear of fresh roasted corn, I went for a swim in the Sea. After my swim (with the jellyfish!) we went and ate lunch at a seaside restaurant. We enjoyed watching the jellyfish and fish swim by, and of course what is island life without a flock of annoying seagulls.
We are anxious to move on to a new destination but this also means we are quickly nearing the end of our travels (for this time). We still have a week left, which is actually 20% of our entire trip, however compared to the time that has passed, it seems so short. I will actually really miss the 5X daily call to prayer from the mosques!
We are sitting in another bus station waiting on another night bus. We spent the last 6 days in Istanbul and now we are on our way to Goreme, Cappodocia, Turkey.
We had a great time in Istanbul. Tom is totally in love with the people and the city. He made several friends while we were there and by the time we left they called him brother as they pounded their fists over their hearts. One was a guy who started out by giving Tom a hard time about his hat the first time we walked past his restaurant. Tom was good natured about it and soon they were the best of friends. We had to walk by that restaurant every time we came or went from our hostel, so that meant a minimum of 4 times each day. The two of them greeted each other enthusiastically each time and stopped to chat for a few minutes. Soon Tom was being introduced to his friends. The other was a young guy who pretty much ran the hostel we were in. His uncle owned the place but Redwon was the only one who really spoke English. He and Tom really liked each other and one afternoon we hung out for an hour or so in the hostel common area and chatted with Redwon about the Turkish people. We learned a lot about the way they think and behave. Much of it is of course based on the teachings of the Koran. One of the pillars of the Muslim faith is to help others. We experienced this first hand over and over while in Istanbul. People were constantly offering help to us and instead of pointing in the direction of some location, they would often walk us there or at least walk as far as necessary to be sure we knew where we were going. We really enjoyed and admire the Turkish people as we have experienced them so far.
While in Istanbul we saw the Blue Mosque,the Hagia Sofia the Topkapi Palace (all inside and out). We went to see the cisterns (the ancient underground water supply for all of Istanbul ) and we wandered around the new part of Istanbul which is on the Asian side of the city. We ate/drank great street goodies like fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. We ate Simiti (sort of like a soft round pretzel) and pastries, kepbaps (lamb, cooked right in front of us) and Turkey's special ice cream called "Maras Dondurma" (more on this later).
We took a day off from city life and got on a ferry that took us to the Prince's Islands. They are islands right off Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara. We went to the main island and after enjoying an ear of fresh roasted corn, I went for a swim in the Sea. After my swim (with the jellyfish!) we went and ate lunch at a seaside restaurant. We enjoyed watching the jellyfish and fish swim by, and of course what is island life without a flock of annoying seagulls.
We are anxious to move on to a new destination but this also means we are quickly nearing the end of our travels (for this time). We still have a week left, which is actually 20% of our entire trip, however compared to the time that has passed, it seems so short. I will actually really miss the 5X daily call to prayer from the mosques!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Asia
This is the view of the continent of Asia from the rooftop deck of our hostel. We are on the continent of Europe. It's all Istanbul. Europe is the old city and Asia is the new part.
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