Willynobs

Athens We arrived in Athens after a dodgy taxi ride – our suitcases were hanging out of the boot held by one hockey strap and every time we stopped at the lights – and there was a lot – Brian who was wedged between us girls nearly screwed his head off trying to watch them. Arrived at our very nice hotel the Hera – very central – at 8am and after dumping our cases the Nobbies took off to do some sightseeing. As Brian and I have been to Athens before we took it a bit easy and waved them off. Chris will take over the blog from here….. Nobby and I headed off to the Acropolis – a 10 minute walk away – we walked around with all the tourists, school kids and tour groups. ... read more

Pergamum – Troy – Cankkale Another big day of travelling – we have covered a lot of miles in Turkey but the bus stops every hour and a half so there are lots of breaks. One of my favorite places we visited today was a hospital – 4th century BC – so unbelievable they had a hospital then but it was no ordinary hospital, For a start they wouldn’t accept any pregnant women, or anyone who looked like dying or was very ill. It was more like a research centre…. One story Enis told us was that a patient had a dream about two snakes drinking milk and so the doctors got the idea of milking the snakes and that was the beginning of antidotes. The hospital was on a natural thermal spring and they used ... read more

Sunday – Gallipoli We knew today would be special. We knew today would be emotional. We knew today that we would always carry this memory – we didn’t know how it would all unfold…… Enis who is extremely clever, told the story of Gallilpoli and its battle in a sensitive and respectful way – the Turks lost more men they we did and so it is also a place where many Turks honour their dead…. We all stayed on the bus while on the ferry – there were many many buses and we all filed off and onto the road….until we came to Anzac Cove. A tiny stretch of beach where they landed with no where to go. There is a large wall with the poem Ataturk wrote to the Australian mothers of sons who were ... read more

Pamukkale to Kusadasi First of all – an apology to our gorgeous guide Enis – I have been incorrectly spelling his name the past few days. Enis gave us a late start this morning which we were all grateful for the sleep in. Pity it was too cold to take advantage of the great pool – and none of us wanted to get muddy again in the thermal hot pool. After breakfast we went to the Cotton Fortress, the white calcium cascades. Pure white stone and clear blue pools of water, high on a hill. …… extremely beautiful…..We viewed it from down below before the bus took us up so we could walk barefoot on this incredible natural wonder. Also on this site is the ruins of the first spa centre and a big theatre. The ... read more

Cappadocia to Pamukkale Today is the longest day travelling in the bus – although Ines stops the bus every one and half hours for a break. He usually tells us what we will be seeing and doing and also gives us the history. This method works well because when you get to the destination you already have the information. Our first stop was the Sultanhani Kervansaray – a caravan palace – where the nomadic people would go and stay for a couple of nights only. It is in quite good condition, on the outskirts in a town called Konya. Konya is a large city but the area around the caravan was quite poor. The sights on the way included a mother walking her children with the cow to school. Men are driving little horse & carts ... read more

Ankara – Turkey’s Capital Somehow Easter passed us by here in Turkey, not really being aware of the days and there being no Easter eggs staring you in the face, but there was no forgetting ANZAC day. We had discovered during dinner the night before that there were many Aussies saying in our hotel. They had already visited Gallipoli and when we came down to breakfast, they were wearing Anzac t-shirts and wearing red poppies. Chris had bought red poppies and pins from Melbourne and gave them out to the group. It is fantastic we are all Australian – Michelle & Ken from Qld. Lee & Greg (father & daughter) from Melbourne & Anne from Tas…. a very well travelled lady. We set off early for the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s hero and father. Before ... read more