This is certainly Ataturk country. Turkey may be the former seat of the Roman Empire in the East, known for many centuries as the Byzantine Empire, but today, a statue of Ataturk stands in every town and city in all of Turkey. This great reforming President was born Mustafa Kemal who adopted the surname Ataturk which means "Father of the Turks". There couldn't have been a more appropriate name. Ataturk ruled Turkey as President from 1923 until he died in 1938 at the Dolmabahce Palace. I have yet to meet a Turk who does not adore him. A debt of gratitude to a man who founded Modern Turkey, and freed it from its bondage to its Ottoman past. As a country with 99% of Turks being Muslim, one can only imagine how strong-willed this man is ... read more

I knew nothing about Sufism till a few months before this trip. The mystique of the Whirling Dervishes held nothing for me. I may have read , even watched docu-films about them, but none registered. It didn't help that the drive from Denizli to Konya took all of 6 hours across plains that were extremely flat and featureless. The only excitement was offered by a brief pitstop in Dinar's Apamelo Restaurant. We indulged ourselves by ordering a glass of freshly squeezed oranges and a plate of yoghurt laced with honey and hashish. Yes, hashish. By this time, we have acquired a taste for it and we would not mind being served the same delicacy again just before bedtime. Some hot apple tea and two hours more on the road, and we found ourselves right in the ... read more

From the Temple of Artemis to the Temple of Aphrodisias. Just a short drive from Ephesus , this ancient site was merely a stopover on our way to Pamukkale. Dedicated to the Goddess of love, Aphrodite, this Roman city southwest of the cotton castle is set in a glorious plain. Almost begging for attention, this destination was hardly expected to be a sacred site for historians and art lovers. All too often, the travel brochures on Turkey cite the ruins of Ephesus, the wondrous travertine pools of Pamukkale or the surreal landscape of Cappadocia. I admit I have not even come across any reading materials regarding Aphrodisias, its temple ruins nor its School and Museum of Sculpture. Excavations here begun only in 1961, so the ruins are still "refreshingly uncommercialized" and undisturbed by "re-assemblies" or reconstructions. ... read more

From our base in Tusan Hotel in Canakkale, we reached Troy in about 2 hours. Homer's legendary Troy or Truva does not offer much to see, but we spent a good time here to remember enough. A full scale mock-up of the Trojan horse welcomed us as we entered the site. Way past this mock-up horse, we found the legendary walls of Troy, allegedly the site of the Trojan War (circa 1200 B.C.). There is a school of thought claiming that Homeric Troy was not in Anatolya, but located either in England, Croatia, or even Scandinavia, but such was not accepted by mainstream scholars. We have no arguments about the authenticity of this site as the real Troy. Oktay our Tour Director proved to be a very competent historian with loads of patience as he explained ... read more

It has been nearly 13 years since I first set my eyes on the many minarets of istanbul (check out my earlier blog: ) and this fulfills an earlier dream to revisit this beautiful city. Arriving before 6 am , the city was quiet, just about getting ready to wake up to some frenzied activity. The airport shuttle we booked online was there waiting for Shelly and I, and we breezed from the airport to our Istanbul hotel for the next 3 days. Taslic Hotel may not be as ideally located as we would have wanted, but arriving at 6 am and so graciously offered an early check in was a pleasant introduction. Husef at the front desk even asked us to enjoy their breakfast buffet while they get our room ready by 8:30 am. Now, ... read more