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"Aya Sofya" in the heart of Old Istanbul
Our first tour day in Istanbul takes in the main sights of Sultanahmet starting with this enormous, beautiful building which was started in about 530AD and for the next 1000 years was the largest church in Christendom. The minarets were added during later centuries when it became a mosque. Still an incredible feat of architecture today.Merhaba (hello) family and friends and welcome to Part One of Turkiye.
I'm actually now in Russia and have spent much of my first weekend here doing this blog. Hopefully next weekend will produce Part Two! I start my new job here tomorrow so will fit in the catching up of several more blogs around adjusting to another culture and learning a new job. I hope you are inspired to go to Turkey when you look at my photos which are only a sample of what Turkiye has to offer.
This country of 70 million people, predominantly Muslim, bridges two continents; 3% lying in Europe and 97% in Asia. It has Europe and the Aegean Sea to the west, Caucasus Mountains to the east, Black Sea to the north and Mediterranean Sea to the south with 7000km of coastline in all. My tour did a loop around the Western half of the country starting and ending in Istanbul. This huge city, established as Byzantium, later became Constantinople and is today modern Istanbul with more than 4 times the number of people as my whole country! It has been an important centre for civilisation since ancient times. We visited grand
Inside Aya Sofya
It is still stunning today. The original surviving gilded mosaics are beautiful and thanks to the muslims were only covered and not destroyed. palaces, mosques, bazaars, tea houses, shops, restaurants, bars and much more. In contrast we then travelled out into the countryside and saw little villages where time seems to have stood still. I was astonished by the variety from rich agricultural farmland where I saw horses pulling ploughs, to snow capped mountains and volcanoes, to beautiful beaches and numerous natural wonders, some of which you'll see in the photos. Add to this all the famous Roman, Greek and Ottoman Empire sites and the mix between Eastern and Western cultures, traditions, architecture and religion you understand why Turkiye is such an amazing country. I didn't know any of its history before the tour and hope I can remember some of what I learnt on the tour thanks to Gokhan, our very knowledgable guide.
The tour group consisted of about 30 people, all Kiwi or Aussie with one Canadian and all in their 20's (I became 20 with 29 years experience for the duration of the tour!). Most of them are working in London and doing their OE right now. We had 5 nurses, a doctor, an orthodontal lab person, 4 teachers, 2 vets, a farmer, a tennis coach, a paintball person,
Topkapi Palace nearby was next stop
The sultans lived here from 1462 to the 19th century. The palace kitchens now hold collections of porcelain, silver and crystal. In the treasury are gold and jewels. It also includes the harem where the sultan's family lived in hundreds of rooms. The beautiful gardens look out over the water. It must have been like a paradise in the time of the sultans. a podiatrist, a chef, a driller, an electrician, a flavour scientist, a journalist plus IT, banking, insurance, events and marketing people (sorry if I forgot anyone). We had come to Turkey specifically to take part in this ANZAC tour. I wasn't really sure what to expect but it turned out to be a fantastic experience with loads of fun and an eye-opener to this part of the world. I'd like to thank all of the group for making it such a memorable time and being like one big happy family. Of course thanks must go to Gokhan and our bus driver Otto who were just marvellous. It really was a once in a lifetime experience!
There were many highlights, with Anzac at Gallipoli a stand out but that will have to be in the next blog. Ballooning over Cappadocia, a traditional Turkish Bath and cruising the Med also come to mind along with the all the sightseeing and social nights. There were special extras (Easter Hunt, Trivia, poems, slide show, punch on the roof.....) that made this an awesome tour. Thanks Brigadiers!
Hoscakal (goodbye)
Love Dee
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Nancy Rae
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Turkey
Many thanks for the sights. Can almost feel we are there. What a surprise to meet up with Micheal. Must tell the Adams's next door-they are Micheals 2nd home when he is here.Frosts here this morning.Brrr!! Hope all is well with you.Take care. Looking foreward to the next blog