Blogs from Pamukkale, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East - page 8

Ephesus, described as the best-preserved classical city in the Eastern Mediterranean. I had high expectations, and I wasn’t disappointed. Ephesus was an ancient trading city, which feels like it’s been there since time began. It’s so old that it is referred to in the Bible many times, and is one of the seven churches of Asia referred to in the book of Revelations. So, a reputation not to be sneezed at. We walked through the old streets, where people would sell their wares, past the public toilets - which were very public indeed! , The temple of Hadrian, and down to the amazing Celsus Library. Past the gates of Augustus, the old Roman theatre still stands, big enough to told 44,000 people, possibly the largest outdoor theatre of the ancient world. This is the best example ... read more

Kaan is one well-traveled 7-month-old. He has traveled by plane, train, tram, car, bus, ferry, metro, pram, and bicycle. A lot of people stop traveling once they have children... or they find a babysitter. We take Kaan with us. It's not always easy, we admit, but we live in a foreign country and at the very least must visit our parents. Now, of course we realize every baby is different, but here are our experiences with Kaan. Some of them might be universal... Forget about schedules Once a baby is a few months old, it may actually have some sort of sleeping schedule, whether self-imposed or parent-imposed. Kaan definitely did. Once he was around 6 months old, he would get really tired and cranky and want to sleep around 7pm. That doesn't mean he just closed ... read more

I finally got a chance to dump all my pictures, so I've put some old ones up as well as a few here. Travel update: I got my ticket purchased to Zagreb so I'll be in Stuttgart at 6am on May 15, watch the Champions League final on TV there, then fly to Zagreb in the morning of the 16th arriving at 11am. What have I been doing here? The day after landing in Celçuk I was on the way to Ephesus (Efus), the major tourist attraction nearby. After a delightful breakfast of feta, tomato, cucumber, hard-boiled egg and olives (a Turkish standard, I gather), the hostel offered free rides to the town but you were left on your own on the way back. I met up with Matt and Meghan, a couple who I met ... read more

Geo: 37.9031, 29.0495Another surreal and beautiful landscape. These pools really look like ice but they're not, they're just stone. I was able to explore them at night too which was like walking on the moon!... read more

Hello my fellow travelers! This is the first and only post I'll do about a trip to Turkey in November 1995 that I did together with my parents and my uncle Anders. One of my fondest memories from this trip, which was my first time in the Middle East, is from when we were vising the Roman Forum that date from when Side was the capital of the Roman province Pamphylia. Not only did I get to witness the magnificence of the Roman Empire for the first time but right next to the ruins was two camels with their handlers. I was absolutely ecstatic and rushed over there only get thrown on top of a camel before the count of one. The rest of my family was far more reserved and started haggling about prices and ... read more