Skyline

Friday 4 June 2010

Goodbye, Istanbul!

Cistern

Thursday 3 June 2010

The old cistern under Istanbul. This was where the Romans stored water for drinking and irrigation. In those days, the water would have been right up to the top.

Fisherman

Wednesday 2 June 2010

We took a short cruise around the Bosphorus today.

A fisherman in front of an old Ottoman house.

Train station

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Wandering around on the Asian half of the city today, we came across this train station. It was a gift from the Germans.

Instanbul in the morning

Monday 31 May 2010

Back in Turkey for the last few days of the trip.

Scorpion

Saturday 15 May 2010

Look what we found in the bathroom!

Lokum factory

Friday 14 May 2010

Coolest thing ever. Ryan and I visited a lokum (Turkish delight) factory today! The guys were really friendly, and showed us all around. They demonstrated all of the steps of making Turkish delight, and gave us a ton of samples (too many, if truth be told. I like Turkish delight, but one bite a day will do me.)

Here he's cutting some saffron flavored delight with pistachios.

Safranboul

Thursday 13 May 2010

Ryan and I are spending a couple of days in Safranbolu, which is an absolutely gorgeous little town a few hours from Istanbul (making us very glad it's not summer just yet . . .). The whole town has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is so well preserved. There are hundreds of original Ottoman houses here, as well as some nice mosques, a caravansarai, and a hamam.

At the concert

Wednesday 12 May 2010

We've been doing a lot of couchsurfing, which means staying with local people who have an extra room or space on their couch. We set it up through a website called couchsurfing.com.

Our host here in Ankara took us to a concert tonight, of one of the biggest rock bands in Turkey. It was a surprisingly fun night (I normally hate loud concerts) - here's me having fun not being able to take a picture of the band.

Tile

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Visited a huge mosque with amazing tiling today. I've shown a few big photos of soaring domes, so I thought I'd get a little closer today.

Cenotaph

Monday 10 May 2010

At Ataturk's mausoleum. He is not inside there, he is in a secret chamber beneath which we could not enter.

Stuff in my backpack

Sunday 9 May 2010

This is what I have on my trip. Some clothes, books, a medicine kit, electronics bag, some gifts and souvenirs, a few miscellaneous items. It all goes on my back - the big bag weighs about 15 kilos. (I wish I could pack a bit lighter, but ah well!)

Little Dervish

Saturday 8 May 2010

Ryan and I went to Konya today, which was the birthplace of the whirling dervishes. This is the third show we've seen, and it was different yet again.

Ceiling

Friday 7 May 2010

Divrigi door

Thursday 6 May 2010

Cool carving, huh? Check off another World Heritage Sight for Ryan and I!

Sivas mosque

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Wheel of Time

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Relaxing day in a peaceful little canyon in the tiny town of Darende. A picnic and some reading.

Here's Ryan enjoying book number 10 of the Wheel of Time series, which we are both reading and LOVING while on this trip. It's full of twists and turns, as you can see.

Peppers sweet and spicy

Monday 3 May 2010

Neighborhood mosque

Sunday 2 May 2010

Ryan and I were both terribly sick with food poisoning today, and did not leave our beds. So, here is a photo of a normal (if rather nice) neighborhood mosque.

You can see all the individual spaces on the carpet, one for each man to kneel on. (The women are always in a separate room, or, like in this mosque, in a balcony area.) The niche tells in which direction Mecca can be found. That big staircase there is the minbar, where the imam stands to give his sermon on Friday.

Malatya mountains

Saturday 1 May 2010

Travel day today. Here is a view from the bus window, as we come into Malatya, the country's apricot capital.