2024 Turkey: A Final Goodbye

Dear Friends:

Thanks for tagging along with me to Turkey.  I am not sure how many entries this particular series has consumed, but it has easily been 75% of a year.  It amuses me a bit that this series ends within two weeks of the anniversary of our departure.

(Istanbul)

I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did.  I saw a great many more things than I had thought I might see on my tour.

(The Bosporus, Istanbul)

(Basilica Cistern, Istanbul)

I think the most surprising thing to me during my travels was simply the amount of history that exists in this single country.  I saw things that were 12,000 years old.  I saw the works of former empires - Greek, Alexandrian, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman.  Western history lives here in Turkey as much as anywhere else.

(Gülhane Park, Istanbul)

(The Blue Mosque, Istanbul)

It is odd to me that most people do not think to tour Turkey as part of Europe.  I confess that prior to this trip I found myself in the same position: Turkey was somewhere neither fully European nor fully Middle Eastern.  It was a place "in between".  

(Topkapi Palace, Istanbul)

(Aya Sofya, Istanbul)

But being in Turkey, you would not have known you were not somewhere else in Europe (with perhaps the sole exception of mosques instead of churches and the call to prayer).

(Troy)

(Asklepieion)

Do I have a favorite?  After almost a year of writing, that is a hard thing to say.  Everywhere we went could be a potential favorite. I wish I had a full day at the Topkapi Palace. I wish we had the time to go to the ruins of Pergamon.  I wish we had spent more hours in Ephesus and Hierapolis.  

(Kuşadasi)

(The Library of Celsus, Ephesus)

I wish I had a week in Istanbul to visit all of the former Byzantine sites and go to the military museum (which is supposed to be spectacular).

(Hierapolis)

(The Tomb of Rumi, Konya)

It is not often that I would consider re-going to the same place, but I am definitely up to another trip.  Beyond just all of the other things I listed, there is another whole side of the country to be explored, one that I expect is as surprising and different as the one we visited.

(Güzelyurt)

(Kapadokya)

So thanks for coming along with me for the ride. I hope that through these posts, you have been able to grasp a little bit of a remarkable location, its history and culture, and its people.

(Göröme Open Air Park, Kapadokya)

(Anıtkabir, Ankara)

( Atatürk International Airport, Istanbul)

Goodbye, Turkey.  Until we meet again.

2024 Turkey: Return To The Egyptian Bazaar

 As part of our last day in Istanbul, we went back to the Egyptian Bazaar for some last minute shopping.  Below is a short movie of what it was like in the alleyways outside.

2024 Turkey: Driving To Istanbul

 The next day after Ankara, it was time to head back to Istanbul and eventually home.

The scenery began to change - not surprisingly, as we were leaving the Anatolian plateau and heading back for the coast.

A cemetary:

By the time we drew closer to Istanbul, the weather had definitely changed.

Crossing the Bosporus:

A last night's meal and dessert:

2024 Turkey: Meal In Ankara

 For our night in Ankara, we were effectively "turned loose" into the street to find our own meal.  We wandered up the street a bit and found what appeared to be a "typical" Turkish restaurant.  Once we entered and the proprietor found out we were tourists, he could not offer us enough food or hospitality.

Our starters.  He insisted we have everything:

The puffy bread that I had come to love so much:

Dinner:  Doner meat as I recall with a healthy side of sour cream:

After dinner, they served tea from a traditional serving vessel.  The water is heated from the bottom part:

Dessert.  Some kind of deliciousness:

He spoke almost no English, we spoke almost no Turkish.  But it was a grand time: he was quite proud of his establishment and his cooking (and by extension, Turkish traditions).  It was the sort of chance encounter that leaves you hungry for more interaction with people.

2024 Turkey: Anatolian Museum of Civilization (III)

 Finally, we get to the stone, some of the most enduring work we have of old.

These soldiers mounted the walls of the Neo-Hittite walls (12th - 8th Century B.C.):

Warrior Procession (900-700 B.C.):

The last king of the state of Kargmis is seen here giving a speech (900-700 B.C.):

Originally mounted over a gate (900-700 B.C.):

Procession of musicians (900-700 B.C.):

Procession of female characters, perhaps nuns (900-700 B.C.):

A King (900-700 B.C.):

Bird-Headed Lions (900-700 B.C.):

Griffon (1200-700 B.C.):

Stone Lion, 900-700 B.C.: