Geo: 35.15, 25.73... read more

Los Gigantes... read more

After we came down from the mountains we reached the city of Puerto de la Cruz. Coming to our next to do point on our list. Visiting Loro Parque. Loro Parque was initially a park for Parrots. During the years it became a big park of many different birds, different plants and sea animals. We spent some hours by enjoying the lovely park. Especially the shows were above expectations. The cute dolphins and funny seals were nice. The parrot show was excellent. We were quite amazed how they were able to train birds that they can count and many other tricks. We left satisfied Loro Parque and went to orient a bit the city centre of Puerto de la Cruz. We noticed that the beaches on the north were typical 'volcano beaches', which means that the ... read more

The last, but the most impressive stop of the trip is the fabulous city of Mardin. Before we entered the city, we went to one of the most important monasteries of the Assyrians, the Saffron monastery. Situated on a small hill 4-5 kilometers from the city, it takes its name from the saffron flowers and most certainly deserves to be called "the pearl of Mardin" with its magnificent and fascinating appearance. The monastery is still used today as a temple and school by the Assyrians. From the monastery we visited the City. The old stone houses and narrow streets which makes Mardin like a labyrinth gives the old city a mystic atmosphere. Another important place of the Syriacs (and our next stop) is the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Forty Martyrs. The Church of the Forty ... read more

After sunset we arrived to Midyat. A small town of the province Mardin. Before we went to the hotel, there was a commercial part of the trip, visiting a silver shop. Silver processing is one of the biggest income of Midyat. It looks like many travel agencies made some agreements with the local silver shops to visit their shops. After the shop visit and many Euro's lighter, it was finally time to move forward to our hotel, where the dinner was waiting for us. The restaurant of the hotel was also one of the places for local entertainment. There was live music and a dance floor. Once we sit at the table with our part of the group we looked to each other and were thinking about the same. The side dishes were prefect to have ... read more