Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 409

We know we are way behind in uploading (ok, writing) our travel journals - in our blog world we are still in Australia and it is July. Our notes keep growing and we are polishing more than a few new postings that we hope to bring to you soon. In the meantime…. Recently we concluded an unplanned but enriching trip through the nations of the Balkan Peninsula, specifically Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia, and we now find ourselves eating our way across Turkey. We have a way of being in the right place at the “right” time and we arrived in Turkey shortly before the Pope (or Papa, as the Turks call him). We’re not sure if it was smart or stupid but we moved around Turkey so as to avoid him, though we were able to ... read more

It was easy to sleep in this morning on the very comfortable bed, with luxurious high thread count sheets, pillow top mattress and plush pillows. The seas were like glass providing us with a smooth ride. We had a late breakfast on the aft Tapas Terrace and enjoyed our view of the Turkish coastline as we passed within a few hundred feet of the Turkish War Memorial. From there, we spent the day cruising along the Dardanelles and past Kusadasi before heading slightly west, to sail past Samos and some of the other Greek islands. It was still a bit chilly, so wesat in the forward section of Horizons lounge enjoying the beautiful views. Oceania@Sea offers a variety of computer classes in Microsoft programs, digital photo downloading and editing with Adobe Elements, blogging, internet and e-mail. ... read more

Welcome to our last travelblog!! We just got home from a four week trip around Turkey, Prague and Amsterdam and we fly home tomorrow (the 28th of November), via Thailand for two weeks. Well Turkey certainly is a great travel destination which we believe should be on everyone’s ‘to do list’ (Wes believes this more than Vic.....). With the combination of being in a different cultural and religious country, the natural wonders, ancient cities/ruins, Gallipoli, the friendliest people (and the most annoying) and the beautiful coastline, Turkey has a lot to offer. Istanbul is a thriving city with 15 million people and has plenty to offer travellers - notably the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and the Grand Bazaar (where we purchased a backgammon board and tea set - we drank plenty of Turkish tea), to name ... read more

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2006 We began the day with a full buffet breakfast at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, with lovely views over the neighboring rooftops and the Bosphorous. Our guide Suleyman Avar picked us up at 08:45 AM and were among the first to arrive at the sight of the Hippodrome in the Sultanahmet neighborhood. Two obelisks marked the area. The older one made of solid granite from Egypt’s Karnak Temple, was cut by 1/3 in order to travel the distance. When they tried to raise it, the top point broke off and had to be replaced. The newer one was made of small granite blocks and at one time they were covered in bronze, but this was plundered by the Crusaders enroute to the Middle East. From there we visited the famous Blue Mosque. Suleyman ... read more

This was an amazing trip for me. Turkey has allways been in my dreams, and now I have lived them all. The TRurks themselves were amazing. Everywhere we went they would offer us tea and a stool to sit down on to have a chat. It was just an unbelievable experience for me....... read more