Istanbul in Detail

For Mom.

Beach Baby

On Saturday we went to Amager Strand to do some grillin' and watch the sunset. It was kind of freezing, but we had good food and good company to keep us warm.

grilling the salmon...

Ali is hiding.

And a rhubarb galette by tory for dessert. delicous!

Perfect Morning

"No More Byzantine Frescoes, Please."

Maybe my favourite Madonna in 2D ever. Quite glorious.

They were beautiful, but I think my eyes were starting to bleed burnt umber and gold.

You can see the different layers of painting and abuse. Cappadocian frescoes were usually simple geometric silhouettes and patterns in a deep red, until the Byzantines painted over them (such is like the entire history of Turkey, repeat).

More from Cappadoccia

We caved (harhar) and took a tour to some areas outside of Göreme on our last full day in Cappadocia. The above pictures are from around the Selime Monastery, a monastic settlement built into rock. Also where scenes of the sand people dwellings from Star Wars: A New Hope were filmed. (nerdfact YEA!)

First Days of Summer

Tomi and I went to the beach for the first time on Sunday!

Although it may not feel like it, I'm gonna make it.

In and around Göreme

As you may have noticed, Turkey was full of colour. I had such a great time testing out my new camera and took almost 800 photos. All of the sun, combined with a comfortably dry temperature of 35°C made our stay in Göreme like an early summer vacation.

We were reliably woken by roosters and prayer at the crack of dawn.

This was a really delicious Gösleme that we had. It is kind of like a crêpe/quesadilla, with spicy sausage and turkish cheese. There was a lot of meat and cheese eaten on this trip, and for cheap! So goes my pseudo vegetarianism...

This is Ayran, a salty thinned yoghurt that the Turks drink at practically every informal meal.

The landscape was so pretty!

Cappadoccia

This is the landscape we were surrounded in for three days. The town of Göreme sits on a plateau between two volcanoes.

Most of the rock in the area is sandstone, which has led to some amazing rock formations with the help of erosion over the years. There are some formations that look like soft and rolling sand dunes but are really hard as rock.

To shelter themselves from the drastically changing continental climate, most traditional homes were built into the rock, either against it or into it. This is one of the famous "fairy chimneys" formed by erosion.

The area is also famous for balloon tours, which we presently could not afford. Conclusion: I must return.

Cats of Selçuk

One of the things I enjoyed most about Turkey was the amount of "wild"life in the cities and on the streets. Pigeons, seagulls, dogs, the occasional goat... and of course, the hundreds of cats. We had cats begging for food practically everywhere we went and although I found them initially pesky, I came to enjoy their company.

Selçuk

Selçuk is where we...

saw the Library of Celsus,

at the ruins of Ephesus among hundreds of English tourists,

admired the hundreds of poppies,

ate sun-filled and delicious food,

walked around the town at night,

looked at tractors,

and felt alive.

Rest

I am back! We returned yesterday with tans, laughs and exhaustion. The above photo is from an overnight bus ride leaving Istanbul, where we found ourselves on a ferry crossing the Bospherous in the middle of the night.

Expect lots of pictures in the next few days!

Kapadokya

Exhausted as we arrive at the hostel in Goreme, Kate is in dire need of a quick nap but I decide to bask in the warmth of a continental sun. The hostel manager is a friendly plump woman who tries too hard to know everyone's business and repeatedly tries to sell us tours we cannot afford. I still like her, though. One of her recommendations is a restaurant specializing in traditional Turkish pancakes, which happens to be run by her husband, "Topdeck". Kate and I get the spicy sausage Gozleme (more like a crepe than a pancake) and it is really quite good. Our server and co-owner of the restaurant is Rafik, who happened to live in a little town in southwestern Denmark for 15 years. He starts speaking rapidly in Danish to me upon seeing my fjallraven backpack. Denmark is like his second country. Unfortunately I have to let him down but he is still very friendly and recommends some beaches I must go to.

Still sore and pretty dehydrated, Kate and I decide to take a hike upon Rafik's suggestion. Now midday, and we are sweating into the desert under a full sun. We decide to skip the open air museum and climb on our hands and knees up sandstone slopes to explore some of the lesser known caves.. In conical mounds like elongated beehives, we discover separate rooms, corridors and the barrel vault of a pre-Byzantine Church. We move on and an a little later realize that we have forgotten our map. Assured by the fact that the town remains in our sight, we ascend and descend among the rolling and peculiarly pointing landscape along lightly treaded trails. We disturb a few tiny lizards while walking through the rough grass of the valleys and try not to think about any possible poisonous creatures unknown to us. We see a jackrabbit but otherwise we seem to be alone.

Upon reaching a high and grassy plateau we are in awe again of the landscape and its hazy blending with the sky. Turning away from the town we are stunned by a grand geologic formation I can only refer to as postcard-perfect. In all seriousness, the mountain we are facing looks like a great, pink layer cake. We later find out this is Mount Aktepe, one of the most sought-after sights of Cappadocia, but something about our own ignorant discovery makes it all the more special.

Descending once again, the land around us becomes fluid, but what look like sand dunes are certainly not as forgiving. On occasion our silent hike is accosted by the sound of ATVs and the young Turkish men (always in pairs) riding them. So far our experiences with young men on the streets has not been favourable and so we do our best to look cold and ignore them. For their benefit, the hike seems to have passed surprisingly hassle-free. This is good, because we are kind of lost and are vaguely hoping that that town which has come into view is Goreme. We are taking orthagonally routed roads through farmer's fields and realize that we are probably not on a trail anymore. But then we come upon rows of white marble stones and recognize it as the cemetary Rafik had mentioned. There are bundles of blue irises among the headstones and all anxiety evaporates with the sweat that doesn't have a chance to stick to our skin. We are covered with a thin layer of dust and smiling, and we walk into town.

West to Central Turkey Overnight

Overnight bus from Selcuk to Goreme, Cappadocia. This time the surreality of floating around a foreign language is a bit broken by some fellow tourists. A movie is playing in the bus and I can't understand the words but I don't need to - slapstick is pretty universal. This is our second overnight journey and we've become accustomed to the plane like service of Turkish bus rides which are a fifth of the price they are in Canada.

This ride is a bit rockier than the last and we are travelling down rural roads with no lights. As per usual, I fall asleep within the first hour and Kate remains awake. After a number of light wakeups and various albums to put me back to sleep, I notice that we have stopped not at a rest station but on a very tiny offroad. People are standing up in the bus craning their necks to see what is the matter. I'm pretty sure I dozed off again but awoke a few minutes later to hear two older women debating loudly in Turkish. I look outside and there is a nondescript white van with a few people hovering around it. The bus finally starts up again down the tiny road, makes a series of difficult three point turns and we are back on the highway.

Later we find out that an elderly man in the front row had a heart attack. The little white van was an ambulance and he died shortly after it came.

We are two hours delayed but our pattern moves on. I struggle with the idea of sleep but my body seems to push me into it anyway. Later, around 4am, we stop at a rest station. I hate the idea of paying to pee and would normally prefer to find a spot outside but it's Turkey and we seem to have men staring at us everywhere we go. The bathroom smells wretched but the toilets are floor style and fine. I drop my wallet on the wet floor and try not to think about it...

Back on the bus I catch glimpses between heavy eyelids of the hazy and beautiful sunrise over the sandy mountains of central Turkey. A few hours and a cramped van ride later we are in the hot daylight of Goreme. Driving between the bizarre rock faces of fairy chimneys we are greeted by a hot air balloon. With a local population of only 2500, the town still easily has 50 hostels. Back in an ultra touristic locale, we are too tired and used to vendors' pushy offers and local boys' catcalls to give them a second glance. Still, I'm excited.

The Round Tower

On Friday Kate and I visited the Round Tower. It was very special because it was my first time getting a bird's eye view of the city. I love Copenhagen more and more every day.

We are leaving for Turkey for two weeks tomorrow. Lots of pictures when I return!

Sweet Things

My new camera arrived in the mail this week! This is very exciting because I have never had a compact digital before... I just started using it this morning.

Had brunch this morning with six lovely gals. Banana raspberry pancakes, muffins, breakfast bread and fruit galore. And now my friend Kate is here visiting for two weeks!

(Also tried out this Poladroid thingy which is kind of fun. You can find it here.)

Night by Night

Pretty darn stressed right now. But I am about to go for a run and pick up some mail. Will be listening to this for about the 20th time in 4 days. :)

Return to the Sea

Went to Vienna for a few days. Good friends, good food and good weather (mostly). But it is so nice to be back. Gonna develop some film tomorrow!