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Published: October 1st 2008
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So Ben and I have been in Turkey for three days now and are absolultely loving it!
Our first day in Istanbul we took a tour through the Topkapi Palace and grounds, a huge complex built for the Sultans. While the Palace was exceptional, what really caught my attention was the third largest diamond in the world, 86 carats, on display... when I get married next year (after drinking from the spring at Delphi, dont forget ;-) I know what I am going to be looking for!! Apparently though, attempts have been made to set it in a ring in the past, but it is just too big, oh well, perhaps i'll have to settle for something smaller - there was a 56 carat diamond just beside it, if I must 😊
The funny (or not so funny story depending on who you are) is that it was found in a rubbish bin in Istanbul, and the finder, thinking that it was only crystal, sold it for three spoons... hence it is called the three spoon diamond... of course there was uproar when it was discovered that it was infact a huge diamond, but the deal had been done...
oh dear.
The next morning was another eary start - it seems to be a trend on our trip so far - as we embarked on a full day tour to Gallipoli. It was a five hour drive, but well worth it. It was a very moving day. The area is very eerie and quiet, despite the bus loads of people coming through, everyone is struck by the atmosphere and very quiet. We saw the landing points and the beach cemertaries, as well as the Turkish cemeteries, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair, the monument for the New Zealanders.
The dedications made by both the Australians and the Turkish soldiers and officers to each other we exceptionally moving. While there was fierce fighting between the two sides, they had a huge amount of respect for each other. There were stories told of the trenches being so close to each other that in the evenings, when the Australians were playing guitars, the Turkish soldiers, not 8m away, would sing along. Or when the Australians would get bored of the bully beef they had to eat, they would throw it to the Turks, and the Turks would throw back tobacco in
return.
The next morning we surprisingly had nothing on... so I went off in search of Turkish Delight... and I was not disappointed! Pomegranate and pistachio, OMG!!! And of course a boc of rose, that might even last me another day or two ;-)
But yesterday afternoon we flew to Cappadocia where we are at the moment, ready for our hot air balloon flight this morning. Oh my goodness. It has to be one of the main highlights of the trip so far! I was spectacular. This area was formed by volcanic activity, where lava flows carved out valleys, and oer time, wind and water erosion has carved through the softer lava, leaving what are called the fairy chimneys, and spectacular valleys and caverns. We were picked up at 545am (a sleep in after the 330am pick up in Luxor for ballooning there!). And were able to watch the sunrise as we drove to the take off point. The weather was amazing, clear blue sky with perfect visibility, even the pilots were commenting on what a perfect day we had, which was great given that it was overcast and rainy when we arrived yesterday.
The flight was
amazing, I took over 200 photos, and while there are some good ones, they dont do it justice. The flight was supposed to go for 1.5 hours, but unfortunately, the wind took us too far, and we couldnt find a flat area to land, so we had to float over the valleys for another half an hour before we could land - oh so very disappointing 😊
We are now waiting for our bus to the airport, to go back to Istanbul tonight - a flying visit of 30 hours in Cappadocia!
Love to all! xxoo
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