Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 35

Slept in this morning and had a slow start before we headed out and started making our way to the Grand Bazaar that is over 500 years old and has appx. 4400 shops inside. This market was immediately different from others we have experienced in the world. First, it's indoors. Second, there are actual store fronts and "shop areas" not booths/stalls. And third, far less aggressive shop keepers than in other countries. There was definitely the haggling for price, but not as extreme as with previous trips. About 2 minutes after walking in, we saw a carpet store with a nice rug in the window Matt commented on. The shop owner was an older gentleman and asked if we knew anything about Turkish carpets and we told him very little. He told us he was 4th ... read more

Geo: 36.678, 27.5199 SEYAHATİN ÖZETİ: ÜLKE : 1 YUNANİSTAN ŞEHİR : 9 Yaka Köyü, Datça/Muğla, Türkiye Bodrum, Muğla, Türkiye Kos, Yunanistan Kalimnos, Yunanistan Lakki, Leros, Kalimnos, Yunanistan Alinda Hotel, Leros, Alinda, Yunanistan Gourna,Leros, Panteli Beach, Leros , Agia Marina,Leros Yunanistan Xirokampos, Leros Kalimnos, Yunanistan YOLCULUK : Yaka Köyü, Datça/Muğla, Türkiye Bodrum, Muğla, Türkiye GEMİ Kos, Yunanistan GEMİ Kalimnos, Yunanistan GEMİ Lakki, Leros, Kalimnos, Yunanistan GEMİ Alinda Hotel, Leros, Alinda, Yunanistan ARAÇ Gourna,Leros, ARAÇ Lakki, Leros Yunanistan ARAÇ Alinda Hotel, Leros , Alinda, Yunanistan ARAÇ Panteli Beach, Leros , ARAÇ... read more

Nach langer Vorbereitung ist es soweit - meine Reise nach Osten, soweit der Osten reicht, hat begonnen. Und welcher Ort wäre passender für den Übergang von Europa nach Asien als Istanbul, der riesige Schmelztiegel am Bosporus (Platz 23 auf der Liste der größten Metropolen der Welt), der sich über beide Kontinente erstreckt! Es ist nun bereits mein fünfter Tag in der Stadt, und bereits jetzt kommt es mir vor, als würden mich Welten von meinem alten Leben und der alten Heimat trennen. Es wird also Zeit auf die ersten Tage zurückzublicken, während ich auf der Dachterrasse meiner Unterkunft im Stadtteil Beyoglu sitze und Chai schlürfe. Tag eins begann mit der Ankunft auf dem im asiatischen Teil gelegenen Flughafen Sabiha Gökcen. Und mit IM meine ich, daß die Häuser bis zur Landebahn reichten und die Dächer bei ... read more

So yes, we really do owe this trip to Dan Brown and his book, Inferno. It was through it and his descriptions that we knew we had to visit Isanbul. It is the only city in the world that spans two continents, Europe and Asia. Not to mention its amazing history spanning the Byzantine, Ottoman, and Roman empires that are all still seen today. Speaking of today, Istanbul is home to more than 20 million people....it's immense! We started out the trip with a stressful, rainy drive to JFK and found our 12:30am flight was delayed. Matt and I are early birds so must admit we were both falling asleep in the waiting area! We took off about 1.5 hours late on Ukranian Air, which I now call the International Spirit Airlines. We got an amazing ... read more

Arrived in Kusadasi (pronounced Koo-Sha-dars-a) after a cold and wet ferry ride to land in a beautiful hotel (Otel in Turkish). The room we were given was very comfortable. It felt wonderful to have a spacious room with lovely bathroom and a great shower. The showers in all the Greek hotels (except our first one in Athens) were really small and awkward to shower in. Some were over bathtubs that were very high and with my crook knee it was really difficult. I have been so impressed with Turkey so far. The tour guides talk about the Modern Turkey and that is exactly what it is. It has great infrastructure and much better than Greece - solar everywhere ... read more