Bodrum - beauty by the sea

Today we were in Bodrum, a seaside town of all white houses overlooking a perfect harbor with a small penninsula towered by a 6th century castle. Our hotel outdoor dining room has a perfect view, our balcony also has a perfect view (except for the concertina wire at the top of the fence below us - oh well, nothing is perfect). We sailed a gullet today for a quiet day of relaxation.

Ephesus

Ephesus - wow! This is an impressive city, built from 2000 B.C. to the Grecian period about 1000 B.C., to the Roman period about 100 B.C. to 200 A.D., and then destroyed by two massive earthquakes between 500 and 800 A.D.

It paid to be a leader back then - a "senate" of 140 men ruled a city of 350,000. The leaders lived large - probably not so bad for the stone carvers and other artisans, but brutal for the slaves and commoners.

People

The people of Turkey have been really friendly. Here are faces from today's trip.

Flowers

The Turkish people love flowers - they sell them in cities and towns, everywhere. Here are some of today's views.

Pergamon - old stones, beautiful flowers, wonderful people

Today, we went to Pergamon, an early Greek and Roman town, and to Ascelpion, a hopital/healing center dating from 300 B.C. There was so much to see, we'll do three blogs - one each for stones, flowers, and people.

Stones

The Acropolis at Pergamon was unearthed by German archeologists, who now have the temple of Zeus in a museum in Berlin (the Brits and French were not the only ones who backed the truck up to ancient ruins). The hospital/spa at Ascelpion is a few clicks away, and is also well preserved. The "medical" column shows two snakes drinking from a pitcher of milk, the sign commemorating Galen's understanding of snake bite antidotes.

Ismir - big and bustling

Today we flew to Ismir, a city on the Mediterranean Sea with a population of about 4 million people. Now we can better see why they say Turkey is a secular state. Ismir looks lots like Nice, France. Pictures are from the gardens at our swissotel (very nice) and the streets of Ismir. Tomorrow we go south to Ephesus.

Land of hobbits

Today we travelled around Cappadocia, a landscape like we've never seen before. Then we went underground and saw cities from the sixth century like we've never seen before(eight layers of underground rooms and passageways over a square mile, housing thousands of people!). It was a most unusual setting.

Tomorrow we head to Ismir and Ephesus, which are also supposed to be very special.

Pics today include both above and below ground shots. Above are better.

Cappadocia - flying high

We have come to Cappadocia, land of "fairy rocks" and underground cities. This morning we arose at 4:20 for a hot air balloon ride. Wow! A perfect day, sunny, warm, and with a light breeze. It was very special. Pictures include rocks, balloons, and canyons.

Touring Istanbul

Today we saw the fish market, spice market, Grand Bazaar, an ancient cistern, an Art Museum, and had a ride up the Bosphorus almost to the Black Sea. This is a very diverse city, both old and new. A very cool place.

Oozing history in Istanbul

Today we visited four "biggies" from Istanbul's history: the Hippodrome from the Romans in A.D. 200; the Hagia Sofia built by Justinian in 537 (later turned into a mosque); Topkapi Palace, built by Mehmet II in 1460 ... and holding the 86 carat Topkapi diamond and the Topkapi dagger, with four giant emeralds on the sheath of a gold dagger ... ; and the Mosque of Ahmet I, aka the Blue Mosque, built in the early 1600's. The blue tiles are really impressive, but our little "point and shoot" cameras could not capture the beauty. We also show a shot of both Europe and Asia in the same frame.