Turkey

After a 10 hour bus journey, we arrived in Istanbul, the city that spans the border of Europe and Asia; marking the end of our European adventures and ushering in new excitement at the start of the middle-eastern section of our journey. On our first day there we explored the city, visiting the impressive and tranquil Blue Mosque (built early 17th century) and hectic bazaars, whilst mingling with friendly locals and spoiled cats. That evening we had an extremely spicy and tasty Indonesian dinner, followed by coffee with a lovely friend of Jem’s (Nadide). We talked of our lives and had in-depth discussions on the English language (Nadide studied English Literature and currently teaches the subject). The next day was spent lazing in cafe's and visiting Topkapi Palace (the former residence and governance centre of the Sultans of the Ottoman empire), an impressive and extensive example of opulent living (thanks to Lucy and Kaan for the honeymoon gift). We finished the day with a visit to Aya Sophia mosque (built in the 6th century as an Eastern Orthodox church, but became a mosque in the mid 15th century), managing to enter during the end of the prayer calls, which we listened to whilst seated on the comfortable carpet. 

After another 11 hour bus journey across the expansive country, we arrived at Pamukkale. We checked into our 4-star hotel (not our usual style!), with two swimming pools and in-house bar and restaurant - only £25 per night due to low season prices. The town is famous for the travertine (limestone) terraces on the nearby hillside, formed of sedimentary rocks deposited by mineral water from hot springs. We explored the terraces and the surrounding ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis that was built around the hot springs at the time when the area was part of the Kingdom of Pergamon (a Greek state covering much of modern Turkey). We bathed in a pool filled with natural spring water at a very pleasant 36°C water temperature, swimming around sunken marble pillars of the ancient Hierapolis city, taking the chance to relax ahead of our Lycian way trek.

We were excited to hike some of the Lycian Way, a hiking trail in southern Turkey which traverses through the land and ruins of the ancient Lycian people, dating back to 12th century BC. The full trail takes 29 days to hike, so we opted for a shorter section which we walked for 6 days. We started in a town called Fethiye, and once we began walking we were immediately impressed by the Lycian landscape - rocky mountains covered in Mediterranean pine trees, overlooking stunning views of the coastline below. The hiking was often hard with lots of climbing up hills and down into valleys (made harder by carrying our full packs for the duration!) but we really enjoyed the challenge. Each night we stayed in a different town or village, which started off as more developed beach towns and further into the hike became tiny villages in the mountains. We stayed in a real range of accommodation, from a particularly special resort with rustic cabins and a swimming pool overlooking incredible views, to 'Pansions' which are tiny guesthouses in small villages. One of these was particularly memorable, where we stayed with a local called Bayram and his family - Bayram was an incredible cook and made us a fantastic spread of Turkish food for dinner and breakfast, and even invited us to join his cousin's wedding in the village that was taking place that evening! Dotted along the Lycian way were ruins from ancient civilisations - we saw a number of impressive Lycian sarcophagi, and at the end of our route visited an extensive ancient city called Xanthos (once the capital of Lycia). Overall it was an amazing hike with beautiful views, interesting history and welcoming people. 

Tired after a week of hiking, we decided to spend a few days relaxing further along the Lycian coast in a town called Kas. We stayed in a cute resort with a pool, yoga area and delicious breakfasts included. We enjoyed exploring the town, which had a slightly hippy vibe with quirky shops and cafes. We unwound while relaxing by the pool and doing some morning yoga overlooking the bay. We also did a full day boat trip to visit Kevoka island, where there are underwater ruins of an ancient Lycian city. We had a great day relaxing on the boat, snorkeling over the ruins and climbing up to a castle overlooking the coastline. 

We then took a Dolmus (local bus) further up the coastline towards Antalya. On the way we stayed overnight in a town near the eternal flames of Chimera. The flames have been lit for over 2.5 thousand years, and are sourced from natural gas leaking out of the mountain. There is a legend that the flames were the breath of a monster (part lion, goat and snake) which terrorised Lycia, before the Chimera was killed by a mythical hero. We hiked up to see them at sunset, and were impressed by the number of small fires scattered across the mountainside. The next day we took the bus further along the coastline to Antalya, a seaside city. When we arrived there was a celebration going on due to it being the 100th anniversary of the Turkish republic, including an air show with military jets. We enjoyed exploring Antalya for a couple of days; reading in a bookstore cafe, seeing historical sites including Hadrian's gate, and happening upon some cultural festival events. 

We took another full days bus from Antalya to Cappadocia. Upon arriving, we were immediately impressed with their famous ‘fairy chimneys’ - tall rock formations, many of which are carved into rooms, with some later adapted into hotels. We stayed there for 4 nights, and enjoyed living in a (quite luxurious) set of cave rooms. Although the town of Goreme was very touristy, it was amazing how quiet the area outside the town was. We went on some incredible walks through the Cappadocian valleys, enjoying the novelty of winding between towers of rock and exploring the rooms and churches carved inside. The fairy chimneys were naturally formed around 60 million years ago from volcanic activity and then subsequent erosion. The area was first inhabited by the Hittites from 1800 BC, but most of the living quarters and churches were carved into the rock by Christian Monks from the 4th century AD, who used the area as a refuge from persecution. Having enjoyed exploring the area by foot, we hoped to do one of Cappadocia's famous hot air balloon rides, but unfortunately (despite waking up at 5.30am and waiting in the cold twice!) the weather was too poor to take off. Nonetheless we had a great time, and particularly enjoyed visiting an underground city (thanks to Sophie and Ben for the honeymoon gift), which wound deep below the earth on 8 levels. It was primarily carved by the Byzantine Christian's to hide from persecution - apparently beacons were lit all the way from Jerusalem to Constantinople (in a matter of hours) to warn of approaching Arab armies! The city we visited could house 3000 people for months at a time, and there are many more in the area. Following our stay in Cappadocia, we took a bus to Ankara and stayed overnight near the airport, where we would fly to our next country - Jordan!

Sadly, due to the current conflict, we have had to miss out Israel and Lebanon from our route and take a short flight instead - we hope to visit them at a later date.