Turkey

Having arrived from Syria, Turkey felt a closer neighbor to Eastern Europe than the staunchly conservative Middle East. A beautiful and relatively painless country to travel, Turkey allowed us to relax and unwind a bit.

We first secured a bus to Sanli Urfa, which served as a base for our trip to the visit the fallen statues of Mt Nemrut. Walking among the 6 ft heads of these enormous statues illuminated by the setting sun was an remarkable experience.

After a short, 10 hour bus ride, we arrived in Cappadocia, which proved to be the highlight of our visit to Turkey. Home to numerous, immense and oddly phallic rock formations, Cappadocia was decidedly one of the most photogenic destination we’ve encountered. The climax of our time here was a spell binding hot air balloon ride over this extrordinary landscape.

From Cappadocia, we worked our way along the Southwest coast of Turkey, enjoying the small coastal towns of Olympos, Kas and Fethiye. The coast was gorgeous, and hiking, beach time and seafood were all too easy to come by.

Heading inland a smidge, we spent a day exploring the incredible Roman ruins of Ephesus. The site was impressive, and the “library” was just grand.

After a quick stop in Pamukkale to see its’ famed limestone terraces (which have faded from their previous glory in recent years), we pressed on to Istanbul, our final destination. Though less tranquil than smaller towns in Turkey, Istanbul is not without its’ charm – an enormous seafront city coated with a patchwork of bridges, waterways and hilltop minarets. We avoided four days of rain by wandering Istanbul’s Grand Bazarre and its’ many mosques.

In a word, Turkey was phenomenal. One of our favorite destinations yet.

Link to Turkey photos