Blogs from Central Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East - page 4

We knew hot air ballooning was popular in Cappadocia so we didn't expect to have the skies to ourselves but there were dozens and dozens of balloons, probably more than 100, and this is the low season! This was a new experience for both us, and it was a fantastic one. The heat and noise when the burner was being used contrasts sharply with the cold and silence when it's not. The incredible views without windows, wings or engines getting in the way. The slow drift in whichever direction the wind takes you – of course the balloon company has a good idea which way it's blowing before take off, these are sightseeing tours. The skill and knowledge of the pilot. The bright, clear, sunny morning with mist still in the valleys. The amazing geology. Everything ... read more

Goreme Cappadocia In the middle of Turkey about 1000 klms east of Edirne on the Greek Bulgarian border and 1000 klms west of the Iranian border. Cappadocia has a moonscape appearance. Here in July its hot hot hot and as dry as a muslim wedding. In this area many Christians dwelled in caves, underground cities and had churches and caves carved within the rocks. The 11th Century was when a lot of this activity took place. We camped on the panoramic rim overlooking the valley where the town of Goreme sits. In the mornings balloons would take off from just behind our camp and after rising briefly would descend into the valley below us. Some balloons would be piloted so that the basket would descend between the fairy chimneys and twirl in that space. The fairy ... read more

Getting to Cappadocia The Journey Kapadokya Pretty close to the middle of Turkey About 1000Klms from either Edirne on the Bulgarian / Greek Border or Igdir on the Armenian / Iranian border. Getting there involved crossing vast plains of good agriculture, and then some pretty desolate country. Much of the vast areas of Turkey that we traversed was flat plains surrounded by barren looking mountain ranges. The flat plains and undulating parts look productively worked - mostly for wheat, sunflower and then sorghum with some large tracts irrigated for fodder crops. In July they receive no rain and its super dry and hot hot hot. In the last 200 to 300 klms we got so see a conservative side of Islamic Turkey. We had travelled down the Mediterranean coast for a bit - which is regarded ... read more

Saturday 25 August: No overnight / early morning shaking in Istanbul so we got up at 7 to get ready for a long travel day. After morning jobs and breakfast we wandered 100m down the road to get a taxi. The driver seemed rather uncertain as to where we were going but after showing him our bus tickets he seemed a bit more confident. I knew the general direction so it was a good sign when he headed off that way. When we saw signs for the bus station a bit later we felt a bit more positive and sure enough he dropped us off at the right spot. Istanbul’s bus station is very spread out and there a number of companies running from it. They have multiple offices and stands so we were happy to ... read more

The next day we had a long bus ride back to Istanbul via the nation's capital Ankara, where we visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. This museum has a collection of ancient artefacts from central turkey from 10000 years ago. Include a Neolithic clay mother goddess, hunting scene on plaster from the 7th millennium BC From the Hittite period there are a series of stone panels of the theme of war with emphasized on soldiers and chariots. The collection includes Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Period artefacts such as statues, jewellery and decorative vessels made of gold, silver, glass, marble, and bronze as well as coins While in Ankara we drove past the tradition 1st May day protesters against the Erdogan government. Luckily we only drove past an assembly points but the police present was still ... read more