Roman and Greek ruins

We left Goreme in Kapadokya to head over to the coast! If we were to do that drive in one day, it would have taken about 15 hours! Luckily, we decided to split it between two days. Now Kapadokya had been super cold! So going up 2000 feet didn't help the temperature situation. While we were going over the pass, we actually saw snow!!! As we descended down the pass, the snow began to fade away and the coast got closer and closer. 

The next day, we decided to hit some Roman sites. We first went to see the Aspendos theatre. It is the most preserved Roman theatre and supposedly sat 15000! You were even able to explore the backstage area. It was pretty cool!

Perge, the old Roman city, was the next thing on our list. There was a theatre, sports arena, market square, baths area, and a long columned street. You didn't get to explore very much though. It was all really out in the open.

The last site we hit that day was The Karain Cave. Scientists figure that people lived in that cave for approx. 25000 years! To put that into perspective, Jerusalem is only 6000 years old! That cave was inhabited more than four times as long! Old cave.

We finally got to Patara Beach after a long day. Coincidentally, Saint Nicholas was born in the town we were staying in! Finally, dinner time came around. And boy was it AMAZING!!!!!!!! It was chicken, potatoes, eggplants, carrots, tomatoes, and peas all stir fried and covered in melted cheese! Best. Meal. EVER!

The next day, we did a few things. One of which was horse back riding on the Lycean Way. The only problem that I had was that the kids had to be pulled by a guy. Ya it wasn't that fun. We also went to the beach and went to some more Roman ruins! Really? At least the beach was fun! :D

Aspendos Theater

High alpine pass in Turkey

Turkish Mediterranean

Horseback riding on the Lycean Way

Theater at Patara (the Lyceans)

Examining Greek/Roman ruins

Ruins near Patara Beach (Lycean Way)

"Say, I have a question for you..."

"When you were in Turkey, did you happen to see..."

Insert: rolling of eyeballs to the cliched question

"Yes...yes, as a matter of fact we did..."

Video update

new clip added to the recent Cappadocia post

Cappadocia, Turkey

In Cappadocia, we had the chance to visit Derenkuyu Underground City! The Christians built these cities to be able to hide from the marauding Persians in the 9^th and 10^th centuries. The Persians' objective was to kill the Christians. The biggest cities could hold up to 20,000 people including supplies and animals! These cities have narrow and claustrophobic passageways! One of them was so small I was scared to go in!

The Christians were alerted to the Persians arrival by signals that travelled all the way from Jerusalem! Lighted torches passed the signals from one person to the next and so on! We enjoyed exploring them!

Audrey

Cavusin Village

Cavusin cave houses

Cappadocia rock features

Church in Ihlara Valley

Uchisar Village

Audrey exploring underground city in Derinkuyu

Cave hostel in Goreme

Uchisar Castle

8th Century Frescoe in Ihlara Valley church

Love Valley, Cappadocia, Turkey

Today we visited Love Valley in Cappadoccia, Turkey.  Interestingly enough, this valley was chosen by George Lucas as one of his filming locations for the original Star Wars movie back in the 1970s. 

However, there were some ‘artistic differences’ resulting in some stiff opposition to the site location choice. One group was firmly opposed and it caused them to change venues to Tunisia.  In hindsight, George kind of boned it by not erecting a better argument for staying put in Love Valley.  Apparently the change of venue was hard on him.  He limped out of there and settled for Tunisia. 

new video update

New video added to the "Byzantium" post.

Old City vs New City (Jerusalem)

We are currently in Turkey and will have some more posts about our travels here very soon.

However, we wanted to share some final thoughts and a video compilation from our stay in Jerusalem.  Ask the 'average' American news follower about Jerusalem and I suspect they would say something along the lines of "Israel right?  The Jewish place."  That is not too far from where I was prior to our visit.

Jerusalem is a very complex place on a cultural, historical, political, and religious basis.  It is the birthplace of three of the world's most followed religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.  All three of the Abrahamic religions.  It has recorded human habitation going back around 5000 years.  It has been conquered a multitude of times.

It is far from just "a Jewish place".  It is wildly diverse in its religion, dress, and general makeup. It was only in 1967 that the border between Israel and Jordan ran through Jerusalem itself.  The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock are within 100m of each other and those are some of the most sacred sites to Jews and Muslims, respectively, and neither group of followers ventures on the others real estate. It's pretty crazy.

The Old City is fascinating. A lot of the video clip below is from that portion of Jerusalem.  It starts at the Damascus Gate, which is in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, and finishes at the Jaffa Gate in the Christian Quarter.

Lastly, I included a clip from one of the 5x daily 'calls to prayer' you hear ubiquitously anytime you are in a Muslim area.  Enjoy.

Byzantium

We have finally arrived in Turkey!! Actually, that is so 3 days ago. Well we have been exploring Istanbul for those 3 days. On the first day, our plane from Tel Aviv got here at about 8:30. We took a mini bus taxi to our hostel which were practically on opposite sides of the city! The taxi took about 45 minutes. This city is as big as Bangkok!

So after we got settled in and ate breakfast, we decided to explore a little around the city sights. Luckily, all the major tourist sights are within 8 blocks of our hostel. First, we tried to get into the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. But that was closed for muslim prayer times. Then we wanted to go to the Aya Sophya museum. But that had a SUPER loooooooooong line. Then we went to the Grand Bazaar to explore and got touted until we couldn't stand it any more. Then we went to a rock pillar and I got my head pooped on by a pigeon (not funny!). 

We ended up seeing all the sights. Eventually. 

Well the Blue Mosque was closed the next time we tried to get in so we had to squeeze it in yesterday. Oh by the way, if you are in Istanbul , the Blue Mosque isn't very blue, despite popular belief. Even the inside is primarily tan.

Yesterday, we also went to the Basilica Cistern. It is so cool! This underground cavern is filled with Roman columns, Medusa heads, fish, and, of course, water.  We also took public transport to explore another part of the city yesterday (ya, we did a lot that day). First we took the tram to the funicular. Funicular to Taksim square. Lunch and sweatshirt shopping in Taksim square. Subway to the Metrobus. Metrobus across the Bosporus Straight. And reverse all that.

Today we leave for Safronbolou.

Kenzi

The Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Byzantine Cistern - Old City, Istanbul

Rooftop terrace view of Bosphorous

Hagia Sophia-Interior

Hagia Sophia-Interior

Outside entrance to Blue Mosque

Signs of the Time

Who knew that the Jewish were Ducks fans?  Shalom...Go Ducks!!

Travel exposes you to all kinds of humorous signs. In Africa, they have legitimate road signs warning the driver of impending potholes.  Certainly a lot cheaper than fixing the offending hazards of the road.

I loved the juxtaposition of the razor wire and the freshly watered geraniums.  Friends who know me also know how peeved I get at threats of architectural review, historical preservation,  and other "personal freedom infringements" by those who 'know' what is best for me, them, and everyone else for that matter.  A moniker that I like to attach to these people is the geranium police.  You know, a fresh geranium in every window sill or you may be subject to a fine by the geranium police.  So when I saw the razor wire and geraniums, I knew I had come across the world hq of the geranium police.  Beautiful!

Effective signage

Geranium Police World Headquarters

Shalom...Go Ducks!!!

Jerusalem

During the last four days we have been exploring the old city in Jerusalem! The old city is very cool! There are a bunch of little narrow alleyways and stairs. There are 7 different gates to enter/exit the old city. They are: Dung gate, Lion gate, Zion gate, Jaffa gate, New gate, Damascus gate, and Herods gate. We used 5 of the 7 gates. The first day in Jerusalem we went to the Western Wall (wailing wall). The Jewish temple was encased by this wall, and now they wail because it is destroyed. We also went to some other sites including, Room of The Last Supper, King David’s Tomb, and The Church of The Holy Sepulcher (the site of Jesus’s crucifixion and burial)!

Audrey

We just finished up our stay in Jerusalem (yes, the Jerusalem!). It was so much fun to see all of the religious sites the city had to offer. I had no idea that so many things happened there! The whole list of sites is very long but ok, I think I can manage typing it just for our followers out there: Western (Wailing) Wall, King David’s Tomb, Room of the Last Supper, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa Mosque, Armenian Quarter, Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter, Jewish Quarter, Virgin Mary’s birthplace, a really busy covered market and some stuff that I probably have already forgotten… It was a really busy 4 days!!! We were even able to squeeze in a relax day believe it or not. Personally, I mostly just liked exploring the Old City. There are virtually no cars in there! The only thing I was unimpressed with about Jerusalem was the candy. It was very mediocre! That’s really all I have to say! ;)

Kenzi

Jerusalem is, without question, one of the finest travel destinations I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.  We had an awesome time.  It has a very European feel and is an excellent walking city.  Wandering through the narrow, cobblestone streets of the Old City is a fabulous travel experience.

We happened to be in town during the Holocaust Remembrance Day. The moment of silence captured in the video clip (below) was pretty intense.  

Jerusalem is a powerful place, dripping in history.  A truly superb travel destination.  One of the best.

Western Wall and Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

Flag at half-mast for Holocaust Remembrance Day (at Western Wall)

Muslim Quarter - Old City Jerusalem

Can you say "Paradoxical juxtaposition"?

Western Wall

School group at Western Wall

Jordan - video highlights

Gulf of Aqaba and Wadi Rum Desert

We left Petra and headed south towards the Gulf of Aqaba.  We settled into a nice spot in the south of Aqaba near the marine park.  Our hotel had a pool, breakfast included, and a nice view of the beach and the Sinai.  From our perch, we could see the Sinai (Egypt), Israel, and Saudi Arabia (5km to our south). An interesting locale, politically, to say the least. 

I knew that the Red Sea and Aqaba were a bit of a destination for scuba diving and Joanie was agreeable to including it on our itinerary so I could squeeze in a couple of dives.  The stop in Aqaba ended up being a nice little reset for us in Jordan.  Petra and Madaba were both great spots, but very busy. Aqaba was laid back.  I did get a couple of dives in and we also did some snorkeling. The highlight was a Lion Fish that Rock and I spotted while snorkeling. 

Wadi Rum was our next (and last) stop in Jordan. Wadi is 'valley' and Rum is 'moon'.  It is desert landscape, similar in nature to the Colorado Plateau and Utah sandstone country.  What was unique about it were the massive sandstone monoliths that dotted the landscape.  Huge walls, towers, and massifs, as far as the eye could see.  We stayed in a bedouin camp about 6km outside of the only town.  

Our day activities included a guided hike/climb/scramble up to a beautiful natural arch; some sand dune surfing on a modified snowboard, a visit to the remnants of Lawrence of Arabia's home, camel riding, and exploring some of the various sandstone canyons.  The terrain was really enchanting.  It had a powerful feel to the place and it was a nice capstone to our Jordan experience. 

Sunset over the Sinai - Gulf of Aqaba

Bedouin Camel herder - Wadi Rum desert

Scrambling with Attiq

Rock and Saleh gearing up for Wadi Rum

Saleh's camp- Wadi Rum

Camel riding

Sandstone monolith

Rock in Ninja mode on camel

Sandstone scrambling

Big Sandstone - desert alpine climbing

Natural Arch