Day 9 Selcuk: We visited the farmers market in town yesterday and it is a highlight. The sights and sounds are wild. We buy a huge watermelon for US$2, and lug it around for an hour. Robin feeds 2 lost kittens mini hot dogs she bought in the supermarket, and gets some milk from a shop owner. No, you can't take them home with us. We meet a Belgian lady who runs a carpet shop, but also makes mini carpets for doll houses. Finally, a carpet we can afford!! But each one takes her 3 days, so maybe it is still expensive. She is very nice to chat with, and has 2 lovely cats that we pet. We visit the museum and St. John’s Bassilica, your standard-fare “things to see” sites. A circumcision parade diverts our ... read more

Day 7: Return to Selcuk: Joe was here is November 1990, 19 years ago! The city has really grown since then. Our hotel does not have the promised pool, but we notice the hotel next door does have one. We are pre-paid, so we can’t switch lodging, so we have lunch at Hotel “A” and make friends with the owners, who allow us to use their pool! Good news! But first…time to check out Selcuk. We rent a scooter (quite a shift from Joe’s 1100cc sportbike back home) and ride out to Pamacuk (the beach), and then head up to the water parks south of Pamacuk. We catch a glimpse of Kusadasi, and are glad we are not getting any closer. We then set out for Mary’s house, and what a climb!! It is a nice ... read more

Day 5, Cappadoccia: We take an organized tour of the underground city, valley, and cliff dwellings. Robin buys her first (and only) real souvenir on the way out of Goreme, a black tablecloth. The underground city is a real challenge for those scared of confined spaces (no names mentioned). You realize how tough life was in those days, and how fearful defenseless people can be. But it is a memorable experience. There are some nice young Korean guys in our group, one of which has a really banged up arm, the other with a nasty limp. They had rented a scooter and dumped it on loose gravel. They were quite pleased with the socialized medicine in Turkey, which patched them up no-charge. We agreed the hospital is one place in Turkey where you are safe from ... read more

Day 3: Time to dive into the Grand Bizarre! The front part is pretty sterile, a Turkish version of a local mall, but the outer fringes are more “genuine”. Robin makes the mistake of saying something other than NO to a carpet sales guy, and we get caught in a tornado of carpet shops, salesman, private viewing rooms, and end up with “John”. Robin explains we are not going to buy a carpet, so he plays the psychological card. BTW, did I mention Robin is a psychologist? The duel is interesting, and I keep mumbling “you are heading down a slippery slope” every time Robin offers her opinion on what a more suitable rug would look like. After 30 minutes, we dodge the bullet, and escape, empty handed. Whew. Robin goes to a Hammam, which she ... read more

Day 1: We arrive Istanbul, and take a train and tram into the city center from the airport. We wonder around in circles trying to find our hotel using s collection of maps and Joe’s Turkish, and eventually realize that the tram dropped us off much much closer to the hotel than we had expected. Bags away, and we see Big Blue and Big Red. We get dinner down near the Serkisi train station, and see the Whirling Dervishes at the train station that night. The lack of sleep causes Joe’s head to tip similar to that of the Dervishes, but Robin gets many great pix and movies. The show is really excellent, and convinces us to scrap our planned visit to Konya, where we learn the Dervish show is only offered on Saturday nights.... read more