Turkey Unlimited

My trip to turkey in pictures

Day 1 to 4

Turkey has amazing history stretching back many thousands of years. From Roman occupation to the Crusades, the Ottoman empire and into the world wars, there’s plenty to explore in Turkey for the history nuts. Enjoy Turkey’s natural beauty – Cappadocia’s extraordinary rock formations, the Med and sun-kissed beaches. And don’t forget the fabulous food!

Because pictures are worth a thousand words right?  Nah, I'm just lazy...  plus these pictures and my words could never suffice to explain the glory that is Turkey!  It was really really lovely.  For this trip I went with best buddy and her family for 8 days,, which can be good if you're visiting  a country for the first time and you want to see a bit of everything (its bad because you only get a little taste of what the country and the people are really like).  Our group was fun loving very nice and we had a lot of fun, but if/ when I go back to Turkey, I would love to do it on my own... the Turkish people are extremely hospitable, except few money minded vendors at Grand Bazar, the food is EXCELLENT (no preservatives, everything is fresh and seasonal... honey and yogurt and lamb mmmmmm), No visit to Istanbul is complete without walking along, ferrying under, taking the tram across, or enjoying a drink on the Galata Bridge. The bridge spans the Golden Horn to connect the city’s two European sides, and is one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks.

The whole place is alive with deep history (the historian in me was SOOO excited, Kidding) and the shopping is glorious.  Just blogging about it makes me want to go back ♥ But no. Anyway, hope you enjoy my pictures!

First day we chilled and relax and the hotel and nearby area as we landed in Istanbul in the afternoon hours.

After a good breakfast at the hotel, we went for old city tour Hagia Sofia. It’s quite a building, though the Pantheon in Rome remains my favorite ancient architecture. Then it was on to the Blue Mosque and a walk around the Hippodrome. We then headed up to the Grand Bazaar.  which was quite an experience. It’s a bit intimidating and some of the shopkeepers were a bit pushy, but it was still worthwhile. The call to prayer while we were there made it feel quite exotic as it echoed through the halls. But we brought many stuff. We then headed out towards the Spice Market. After a quick lunch, we walked through. It was also a worthy site. My first tram experience was nice, next day we decided to go for boherous cruise full day trip also confirmed our flight and 3 days tour to Cappadocia.

Full Day cruise @ Bosphorus visiting many major attractions.

The shore is lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. It was magnificent sights of the following attractions , Dolmabahce Palace, and further along, the parks and imperial pavilions of Yildiz Palace.

RUMELI FORTRESS Built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 prior to the conquest of Istanbul was completed in only four months to control and protect the infamous Bosphorus passage. It is one of the most beautiful works of military architecture anywhere in the world.

BEYLERBEYI PALACE The summer residence of Ottoman sultans exists in its original renovated glory featuring original antique furniture and magnificent gardens with the Harem on the Asian side of Istanbul.

BOSPHORUS BRIDGE enjoy a unique chance to step from one continent (Asia) to another (Europe)

CAMLICA HILL the highest point in Istanbul. At the top of it you can rest and admire the magnificent panorama of Istanbul and the Bosporus from the beautiful gardens, landscaped in traditional Turkish Ottoman style.

Stop Guessing... our cute tour guide ... :P

Through facebook I came to know one of my friend is doing solo trip in Istanbul, requested him to meet for Dinner @ Galata Tower and it was a Gala Dinner. A night which I won’t forget , one shouldn’t miss this opportunity to have a dinner old of the oldest Tower in Istanbul  (The galatatower was built in 1384 it was the high point in the city walls of the Genoese colony called GalataDuring the first centuries of Ottoman era the Galata tower was occupied by a detachment of Janissaries, the elite corps of the Turkish Army. In the 18 th century the tower was used to house prisoners of war, who were usualy consigned as galley slaves in the ottoman arsenal at Kasimpasaon the golden horn.)

Myself with Danny - Gala Dinner @ Galata Tower

View From Galata Tower

Entrance Of Galata 

Galata Tower

We reached the hotel about 10.30PM and our flight to capadocia is @ 7Am and we were advised to leave the airport by 4AM. To reach the airport by 5Am. As the flight was from the old airport.

Day 4 to 7

Got up with heavy head… tired because of sleepless night. Flight was on time to  Kayseri Airport, it’s the airport nearest to Cappadocia. Our driver is already waiting outside since its domestic flight there was not much delay at the airport. 25 Min drive to our cave hotel.

Cappadocia, the land of Fairy Chimmneys and underground cities. Some of the sites here were astonishing. The land had been shaped over millions of years by volcanoes, snow and rain. Manyhotles, restaurants and shops are built into caves with only the front of the establishments visible.

Many people in this area today (mainly farmers) still live in the caves without power or heating. We spent time using our imagination guessing what each fairy chimmney looked like. Look at the photos and i am sure you will guess what (keep guessing).

We were also lucky enough to venture into an underground city capable of housing 5000 people. It was used centuries ago to escape/hide when their above gound village was attacked. There were 12 levels of which we only got to see four. Without the guide though, we would have been very lost.

A once in a lifetime experience. We went in the second sortie, which means we got to sleep until 6. Since I didn’t get to bed until 2, I was happy for the time. Then to the balloon place and out to the balloons. When the balloon was inflated (hot air being blown from a huge gas driven fan) enough to stand up over the basket, we climbed in. Two footholds cut out of the basket, one on each side. You put your foot in one, swing your leg over and kind of fall in. Like getting on a horse without the horse. Once everyone is in, the huge gas burners start going off and the guys on the ground untie the balloon and up you go.

Our pilot was kind of a hotshot and like to go down low and close to a cliff before rising again – one man reached out and picked an apple from a tree.

The ride was amazing. The pictures tell it all. You can see almost into some of the cliff houses and the landscape is surreal – sort of lunar. I understand George Lucas wanted to film Star Wars here and it's easy to see why. We went up and down and way up and around for about an hour and then headed down.

The other balloons landed on the dirt, everyone got out and then the ground crew put the baskets behind the cart they use to transport the rig. We landed on the cart. Then had to jump up and down and they positioned us, climb out of the balloon and off the cart.

A glass of sparkling wine and cherry juices and back to the hotel. 

Cave Hotel 

Under Ground Restaurant

Sufi Dance...

Istanbul was wonderful, but Cappadocia is amazing. I expect this will be the highlight of the trip.