12/09
Arrived early in Istanbul at
random bus station we were clearly lost/delirious as a helpful young man asked
us were we wanted to go and put us on the right bus to Aksaray. Then a short
tram to Sultanahmet we wandered the streets with my dwindling 4 year old knowledge of the area and finally
found our way to Big Apple Hostel after a little help from mr WiFi. Although we
were fatigued from the overnight bus we decided to put our tourist hats on and
set out to see the blue mosque abd Topkapi Palace and Park where my fatigue
prompted me to start taking some arty self timer photographs. Finlay then got the idea (from an Elen
DeGenerous episode) that we should attempt to take a self timer where one
persons body is showing except for their head and the other persons head is
showing but not their body. This provided a solid hour of amusement. Heading back to the hostel we checked in and
went to the local Hamam (Turkish Bath) for a scrub and massage. The Hamam was
amazing! Basically you get in there with nothing but a towel and sit in a sauna
for 15mins, then a big hairy Turkish man aggressively washes you with a
exfoliator and then places you on a large stone round table where he stretches,
massages and cracks your whole body. After this you are free to hit the sauna
and cold pool. It was amazing and the shebeb came our sparkling! Finns dad had
left a care package in the hotel Lee Anne and Stephen stayed at so we collected
the package which included the all important Central Asian Lonely Planet.
Thanks Stephen!
After a well earnt nap we headed
to the roof top of the hostel to socialise. Sitting down with a group of people
Finn started to froth over a guy called Daniel Zaltani an American dude who is
based in Chang Mai and works as a MicroFinance manager for WholeFoods group.
Essentially Micro Finance is what Finn did his Thesis on and he barred up over
discussions on the Grameen Lending Model (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grameen_Bank
for more information). Naturally this topic cleared the table and everyone but
the three of us were left. Later a girl came back to the table and sat down to
light up a cigarette. She was a Nigerian girl who informed us that she and her
friends were offended that we had not included them into the discussions and
largely kept to ourselves. Baffled we told her that her and her mates were allowed
to ask us questions and that they had offended us by walking away without
saying goodbye. A little more heated discussion about how one should include
someone into conversations and we decided it was time to hit the hay and
prepare for our assault on Istanbul.
13/09
After indulging in some trademark
Turkish breakfast we found our main man Daniel B Zoltani/Danny Banjammy/ the
Sultan and we headed off to explore Istanbul’s main sights. With our hostel
only minutes walking distance from attractions such as the Blue Mosque and
Topkapi Palace we had to fight our way through the many tourist buses and similarly
large tour groups before we were into open space and the Turkish part of
Istanbul. Our first stop on the tour was
the Grand Bazaar a huge undercover market selling all things Ottoman and
Turkish. On our first observations the market seemed to hold only 4 types of
stalls- ottoman ceramic, gold and silver jewellery, Turkish rugs and clothing
stores selling all gross Ralph Lauren polos and professional soccer jerseys. As
more of a female destination for everything shopping, and on a limited budget that
didn’t include ottoman ceramic or a Turkish rug we were quickly out of the
bazaar and making our way to the Spice Bazaar, another bazaar that
unsurprisingly sells all things spices. The hustle and bustle of the bazaar was
something to behold with salesmen constantly tempting you with more types of
Turkish delight than you could ever imagine. But through some clever selling
tactics (commenting on the great growth on the chins of both Harris and myself)
Harris purchased some spice mix and I purachsed some pistachio halva-
winning! Out of the spice bazaar we
arrived on the banks of the ?? river where we strolled past the many riverside
eateries before heading over the bridge past the many fisherman with their rods
strapped to the bridge into Galada and Taksim, the hip, trendy, youthful side
of Istanbul. As I searched for a drum to
purchase on the music shop street of Istanbul I was left disappointed- and then
shattered. I was looking for a special darbuka but had only come across cheap
chinese made ones that they were selling for about AUD $10 then I arrived at a
Turkish hand made drum shop- the drums were beautiful. As I enquired as to how
much one might cost I was greeted with a reply that was unexpected! 300 euro! I
exited the shop a shattered man with the realisation that a handmade drum would
not be a purchase that I could make this trip!
As we walked Taksim we soon had a
bite to eat and then headed back to the hostel via a crazy 6 storey art
installation/exhibition with Buddhist themed art made by two hippy dudes- one
Turkish one British. After a bit of R and R and some indulging in some Turkish
Halva we were out the door again to meet Taco, our Turkish friend who we met at
Sziget Festival in Budapest one month earlier. We met Taco and his girlfriend at
GAlada Tower, a famous meeting spot in Istanbul where we sat and indulged in a
cold Efes before we set out to explore some of Taksim’s coolest places. First
stop was dinner- we were treated to cig kofteci; some kind of raw meatball
patty that is pounded and moulded and only really cooked with the heat of the
maker’s hands. To wash down the cig kofteci we were also treated to aa drink
known as salgam- a savoury juice made of black carrots, turnip and some other
vegetables. It was essentially like drinking rotten soy sauce which was not the
most pleasant experience. After our meal we were ready to grab another beer and
it was off to a small indie club in the clubbing distict off Taksim’s main
square. After a few beers Daniel started to pull out some serviette magic and
some lighter tricks. As it was a school night, Taco and his girlfriend headed
off after a quick dance to some sweet Drum n Bass and left the three of us to
dance the night away. Calling it after another beer we were in search of more
food after the cig kofteci, whild delicious, did not satisfy our deep hunger.
With a doner in the belly we found a taxi and headed back to the Big Apple!
14/09
After a late finish to the night
before we were entitled to a late start. Up just in time to catch our customary
free breakfast, we were soon skyping home; checking in with family and friends
form our next country on the list. Then our brains turned to organisation and
we thought it might be a good idea to make a journey to Istanbul’s bus station
to investigate ways to get to Gelibolu or Gallipoli to visit the site of one of
the most important events in Australia’s history! After a long tram and metro
ride we got to the bus station, extracted the information we required and then
thought it was time for lunch. On the recommendation of the waiter we ordered
Iskender Kebab; a steel plate full of kebab meat on top of Turkish bread dowsed
in a tomato sauce then baked in the oven and topped with yoghurt and a grilled
chilli. Delicious! Then we made the journey back into the centre of Istanbul
with full stomachs to arrive at the
Irish pub in time to watch the last quarter of Adelaide vs Fremantle. As harro
went back to the hostel to do a bit of skyping I watched the crows get up and
then headed back to the hostel via the palace grounds as I thought a no
sightseeing day was prohibited while in Istanbul. As I arrived back at the
hostel we caught up with Daniel and decided we would head to the often unexplored
Asian side of the city.
15/09
Yesterday, after booking our tour
to Gallipoli, we awoke at 6am in preparation of a 630 am pickup by a small
minibus that would take us the 5 hour drive to Eceabat, a small town about 10
minutes from ANZAC Cove. The long minibus ride included a couple of stops at
various roadhouses, reading, Harro learning Russian, sleeping and talking to an
Aussie called Mercedes. But after 5 hours driving we arrived in Eceabat,
dropped our bags at a hotel that was reasonably priced enough to stay there and
we were quickly whisked off to free lunch.
At lunch we met an aussie couple that were streaming the Rabbitohs- Raiders game so it seemed fitting that we watched a bit of league before heading to the site. Post-lunch we were again ushered on to a slightly larger bus than the morning one and we set off to Gallipoli. The 4 hour tour took in all the main sights of Gallipoli including the beach cemetery, ANZAC Cove, Chunuk Bair and Suvla Bay. I recommend it to all Australians- great to go there! As we returned, tired from a long day sightseeing we headed off for a feed at the ‘pide salonu’ on the recommendation of the hotel owners. And boy it didn’t disappoint- far and away the best pide we have had in Turkey. Harro had the minced meat and I had the garlic sausage with cheese—delicious! Then it was back to the hotel to send some more emails and transfer some international funds to ensure visas would be easily attainable in the weeks to come. After we’d finished our serious work, we popped across the road for an ice cream and then headed up to hit the sack.
At lunch we met an aussie couple that were streaming the Rabbitohs- Raiders game so it seemed fitting that we watched a bit of league before heading to the site. Post-lunch we were again ushered on to a slightly larger bus than the morning one and we set off to Gallipoli. The 4 hour tour took in all the main sights of Gallipoli including the beach cemetery, ANZAC Cove, Chunuk Bair and Suvla Bay. I recommend it to all Australians- great to go there! As we returned, tired from a long day sightseeing we headed off for a feed at the ‘pide salonu’ on the recommendation of the hotel owners. And boy it didn’t disappoint- far and away the best pide we have had in Turkey. Harro had the minced meat and I had the garlic sausage with cheese—delicious! Then it was back to the hotel to send some more emails and transfer some international funds to ensure visas would be easily attainable in the weeks to come. After we’d finished our serious work, we popped across the road for an ice cream and then headed up to hit the sack.
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16/09
Getting up after a great sleep,
we were met with the customary Turkish breakfast of unlimited tea, eggs, bread,
tomato and cucumber with a bit of fruit on the side we met our friends Andrew
and Yasmin, who we met at the bus ticket office the day before, ready to jump
on the ferry to Canakkale. From Canakkale we were to get a bus to Selcuk, the
town which serves a tourist town for visitors to the ruins of the ancient
settlement of Ephesus. To read all about the history check the link but
essentially it was important to Ancient Rome and important people lived there- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus.
After getting off the bus, we took advantage of the hotel peeps waiting at the
bus station and luckily picked a good one with a nice double room with ensuite-
just by chance our friends Andy and Yasmin had booked the same one prior. The
Artemis Hotel was the name of our hotel and it was run by two Turkish guys aged
in their mid 20s who had worked at hotels previously but this was the first one
they had owned and run themselves. They were unique as they both spoke perfect
English but with a ridiculously strong Australian accent. Unlike most Turks who
have a strong Australian accent because of some dual residency arrangement,
these guys had learnt all their English from Australian tourists on their way
down to the Southern coast from Gallipoli via Ephesus.
After we dropped our bags we met
Andy and Yasmin and headed out to grab some food. More Iskender Kebab for me
and Harris and we were soon down the street at the patisserie feasting on some
Baclava and guzzling down some caj before we hit the hay ready to dominate
Ephesus and then make our way down to Fethiye on Mediterranean Coast.
17/09
With a bit of a tight schedule we
were up reasonably early to ensure we wouldn’t have to cut short our time at
the ancient ruins. Setting off however we soon became lost walking the
completely wrong direction from the hostel to the ruins. But it didn’t take
long before we were back on course and at the ruins ready to dominate some
ancient structures. Again, much like Istanbul we had to continuously navigate
the many tourist groups, both grey-haired and Japanese, to get through the
ruins sight. It was well worth it though as the ruins are really well preserved
and being Turkey, you can just climb all over them. The highlights were
probably the huge amphitheatre that is continuously under repair and the
library façade. The ruins were made even better by Harris teaching me about all
things engineering- aspect ratios, arches, and dowled connections (with lead
binder?).Leaving Ephesus we were back into Selcuk and at the pide salonu to
test this pide out against the Eceabat one currently in top spot on the pide
table. A great pide although it wasntt able to snaffle top spot off the Corban
Salon.
Post pide we were on the dolmus
to Aydin where Harris met a Turkish who he chatted to for the duration of the
journey for which I was asleep. After some small talk Harro discovered her name
was “happybear”. She seemed very nice and even moreso given she gave Tris the
phone number of her son in Gireson, a small town out of Trabzon, a city on the
northern coast which we are to visit on our way to Georgia and told me to stay
with him. After the dolmus we found ourselves soon jumping on the second bus to
Fethiye, this was not before a quick caj and Harro having a small debate with
the boy selling tissues. The bus ride flew by and we arrived in Fethiye where
we caught a free shuttle bus to the door of our accommodation, the Fethiye
Guest House. The Fethiye Guest House is the guest house attached to the cruise
company, Alaturca, who we were to cruise with on a 4 day blue cruise from
Fethiye to Olympos. After checking in, on the recommendation of the guest house
staff we went out for dinner at apparently the best kebab joint so far consisting
of some sumac parsley and excellent chicken marinade. Post-dinner we went out
shopping as I lost my thongs on the Selcuk to Fethiye bus ride but acquiring
new ones was a highlight- new leather Kustom ones. Finishing on a good note we
were off to bed ready for some cruising in the morning!!!
18/09
On the morning of our first
cruise for 2012 we were both super stoked! Bec the hostel lady took us down to
the dock to meet our boat Alaturka and crew Ilias who was rumoured to be a
pirate and the two cooks Gorkan and another bloke whose name I cannot remember.
With a pirate flag flying we set sail and started to get introduced to our
eclectic group of passengers. In no particular order there was:
- Hugo and Vanessa from Quebec
- John the old Canadian from the Rockys
- John and girl from Toronto (girl from Istanbul originally)
- Daniel, Michelle Josh and Amelia from Sydney
- Carly and Carine from WA
- Ben and Sharon from St Kilda via Frankston
- Polly the Parrot-Ilias’ partner
- Battsy and I
Ilias knew we were men of action
and took us straight away to the blue lagoon where we fabled cliff jump was.
After a few warm up backflips off the boat all the boys on the boat scampered
up the cliff and all hesitantly leapt off ledge. I reckon it was about 10-15m
high and was even more difficult as you had to clear a ledge further down. While we entertained ourselves in the Mediterranean
sea the cooks whipped us up our first boat lunch, delicious!
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