AaronandKellyButler

Well after a quick and quiet overnight in Antalya it was back to Cappadocia where we first started our Turkey adventure. This was good as we were not in Cappadocia very long the first time and did not get to enjoy the wonderful sights and experiences it had to offer. As some background, Cappadocia is famed for its underground cities (created by the early christians when escaping Roman persecution), houses carved into rock, fairy chimnies (wierd rock formations created by the elements), and pottery. We were somewhat excited about returning, mainly because we knew we had three nights in one location, which is always welcome, and also because we knew we were staying in a very nice hotel with great food. Also the temperature does drop to the low twenties which was also welcome. Upon arriving ... read more

Today we started out by visiting a carpet weaving centre. This I have to say was actually quite amazıng. The women that make these carpets are incredible, they can do up to 2000 knots a day to create these pieces of art. Aaron and I went in there thinkıng there is no way we would want one. But after seeing how much work goes into them and how gorgeous they end up.... we were seriously considering a purchase. But with the smallest available carpet costing NZD500 and the most expensive carpet costing NZD150000. We had to leave before we made a serious finacial faux pax! The next stop on this day was Ephessus. Ephessus is an ancient roman cıty that has been heavily excavated and restored. It truly was quite spectacular. They think it will take ... read more

Well, following our Eastern Turkey tour we spent nearly two full days in bed with stomach bugs, which was not exactly all that pleasant, but hey Turkey is probably one of the places you can expect to come down with one. Luckily we didnt have to feel too bad about this as the two days we were feeling the worst, it was absolutely pouring with rain. It was the first rain Istanbul has seen all season. When we finally made it out we went for a great walk along the waterfront of Istanbul and even went for an adventure on the trams over the Golden Horn to Taksim Square (where the Istanbul locals hang out). After two days to ourselves to semi recover from our stomach bugs we started our 15 day Flying Carpet tour with ... read more

Santorini was incredible it was such a beautiful island, what we liked was that it had so much more to it than the other two islands we had visited. It is a huge volcanic island that erupted thousands of years ago and was supposedly one of the largest eruptions the world has ever seen (we debated this as we think that Taupo might take that one out). It is thought that this was the eruption that sunk Atlantis and that Akrotiri (the red beach) is the site of Atlantis They are currently excavating a huge site which is due to open in September (the guide told us however that it was supposed to open in September three years ago). Where we stayed in Imerovigli was at one of the highest points on the caldera and it ... read more

Since the last blog Aaron and I have been on sensory overload! We have seen so much beautiful scenery that we have just been completely and utterly exhausted from it all... that and Norweigens seriously know how to party... Especially little Miss Ane Straume. Wednesday we woke up at a ridiculous hour and took a drive to a place called Prekestolen for a five hour hike up a mountain. It was well worth it though as when we got to the top we realised we were standing on a cliff 200metres high, overlooking an amazing fiord. We had a great little lunch at the top watching all the crazy people try and get as close to the edge as they possibly could. On the way back down Ane and Aaron decided to go for a dip ... read more