Blogs from Mediterranean, Turkey, Middle East

Hard to believe it had only been a week since we arrived in Istanbul. Everything felt so familiar and comfortable in such a short time and we also felt that we have seen all that we needed to. Although a trip back was scheduled on our return in just over a month. We woke at 6am so that we could leave by 7:00 for the airport to fly to Dalaman. It was already light. It took most of the day to get to Kas. We hadn't expected it to take so long. The flight to Dalaman was meant to leave at 10:00 but it wasn't until 11:30 that we arrived and then the bus to Fethiye which left at 12:00 didn't get there until 1:30. That bus cost 80TL and then another bus for 100TL ... read more

12 Mayıs 2022 Perşembe GÜN 01 Mehmet hocam, benim okuldan arkadaşım olur ..Yılların imbiğinden süzülen bir dostluğumuz var ..uzun yıllar Amerika maceralarından sonra yurda avdet ediyor ve her emekli Türk gibi tekneye merak salıyor ..sanıyorum ki ilk milli oluşuna ben ve kardeşim tanık oluyoruz ve daha sonra kendisinin keyifli denizcilik yaşamı başlıyor ..Bu yıl da eksik olmasın bazı adaları birlikte ziyaret etmemiz için bize bir şans verdi..sevgili eşi Melahat kızını evlendiriyor bu nedenle bu gezimize katılamadı …. Datça feribotu eskiden şehrin içinden kalkıyordu şimdiye bize güzellik olsun diye kalkış yerini yeni limana taşıdılar dolasıyla biz yokuşun altına indik mi gemiye ulaşabiliyoruz ..Yine de arabayla gidip park ettik .. Limanda giyimine dikkat etmiş bir çok genç özel bir konum arz ediyor ..Büyük olasılıkla bunlar Suriyeli ama akın akın niye Dat... read more

25 Feb 2020 Pamukkale Today turned out to be one of my favourites.This morning we drove out to the last of the ruins at Laodecia, another ancient biblical city mentioned in Revelations, and the last use of the infamous Museum Pass! Each site we've visited has had its own unique highlight. Today, we are at a live excavation site, and the team are reconstructing the western Theatre. It is facsinating to watch the sand blasting of pillars, meticulously measured so that each piece perfectly fits the next. This site is going to be absolutely incredible in years to come. It covers 5 hectares! Shane says: Museum card totals: Up 120 lira. There you go Sharls, well worth the museum card. Sharls says: There's a little spot that has piqued my interst around 40kms away called Kaklik ... read more

So my journey home is nicely delayed by a three day stopover in Istanbul. The good news is that it’ll shorten my sitting in a plane seat time and slowly return my body clock to UK time. And the very good news is that friend Julie Dent from the Clover Mill Ayurvedic Yoga Retreat in Cradley is going to join me there for a few days of winter break. In fact she’d booked us into a little guest house near the Blue Mosque and had already been exploring Istanbul for a full day. Straight into the tiny reception office from the sleepy early morning street outside and phoned to see if Julie was awake. Of course she was! So after I’d dumped the luggage and jumped into a welcome hot shower, we climbed the steep marble ... read more

‘Best of the best’ is a pretty big claim for anything, but that's what we'll be seeing today according to Burak. Best of the best - Aspendos First attempt at being the bestest is the amphitheatre at Aspendos. We have to drive about 25 miles out of Antalya to find it and when we arrive we waft through the turnstile barriers with our trusty museum VIP card. The information board tells us this area was known as Pamphylia and that one of the most impressive cities in this area at the time was Aspendos. Ok, so what about the amphitheatre? We walk through a high ceilinged tunnel, niftily bypassing the museum gift shop, and enter stage right of the most imposing, and virtually complete Roman amphitheatre left in the world. It's truly amazing. The stage backdrop ... read more