From the mountains to the sea; Turkey!! ANTALYA

Antalya (7th - 9th April)

 

 

 

 

 

Our first seaside adventure on the trip! Antalya is rich with character, history and charm. We loved walking through the small streets filled with beautiful homes, hotels and shops.

 

 

A beautifully decorated Pension

We loved the character of this home, the beautiful trailing vines and the tile house number

 

 

 

The beautiful Umbrella Street, lined with restaurants

We passed Hadrian's gate, built in 130AD for Emperor Hadrian and Hidirlik Tower (a mausoleum built in the 1^st or 2^nd century).

 

 

Hadrian's Gate

 

Hidirlik Tower

 

The Marina is a gorgeous place to watch the world go by, and the weather was gorgeous when we were here. We took a 45 minute boat ride which went past a grotto, a waterfall and out into the deep Mediterranean. We only paid 10TL ($5AUD) per person (the captain initially tried to charge 50TL ($25AUD) per person but came down eventually!

The stunning Marina

 

Seating area at the Marina

Crystal clear ocean, viewed from a seating area at the marina

The beautiful mountains against the coast

The waterfalls viewed from the boat tour

 

The backdrop of this place is amazing, the mountains are extremely high and snow peaked, and seem to go on forever.

The view of the water, mosque and mountains at dawn

 

The beautiful mountains, now a lot clearer in the early morning sunshine

 

 

The coast is bordered by beautiful manicured gardens and various view points, all of which can be reached from different streets or roads in the city. There are many sculptures, parks, garden beds and cafe's in these areas, so you can spend hours just wandering the city and watching the world go by.

 

 

A sculpture of a man wearing a traditional tea serving contraption

 

The main shopping strips are lined with many cafe's, clothing stores, makeup and cosmetic stores and street sellers selling sunglasses, fake clothing and bags. We enjoyed having a drink and sweet here watching people go by. 

 

Muratpasa Tram station

 

 

Antalya Shopping centre

Fountain lit up at night, on the main shopping street

 

 

 

We absolutely loved Antalya.  It was a great mix of both traditional and modern Turkey with stunning coast lines, beautiful clean streets and fantastic food.

From the mountains to the sea; Turkey!! GOREME

Göreme (3rd – 6th April)

 

 

Goreme is a picturesque quiet town in central Turkey with amazing rock formations and cave homes.
 

Göreme at dusk

 

 

People came to the area several centuries before Christ and carved out homes within the caves. Eventually Christians travelling across Turkey used the homes to keep pigeons (their eggs were used in the frescos painted in the many Churches in the area.

A close up of one of the caves

 

The inside of one of the caves, which houses pigeons

 

Pigeons beds!

 

 

The rock formations are approximately 9 Million years old and through erosion leave what we see today.

 

 

A view of the many rock formations

 

From our hotel we did a couple of walking tracks through several valleys. One of which was the Zemi valley which was fully of very tall chimneys and was eerily quiet. We visited the El Nazar church and even spotted a lone tortoise!

 

 

El Nazar church

 

Our little tortoise friend!

 

 

It was here in Göreme we thoroughly enjoyed our lazy Turkish breakfasts, overlooking the beautiful town. 

 

 

A meal fit for a king!

 

 

The Goreme open air museum contains many beautiful churches carved into the rock formations at 15 Turkish Lira ($7.5AUD) per person. It is definitely worth a visit.  Unfortunately pictures are not allowed in many of the churches, so we could not post on here!

 

 

 

A two hour guided quad tour took us through some beautiful sights including Rose Valley, Lower edge Valley and Cavusin Town. Exciting tracks ensured the two hours were full of bumps and turns, great for an adventure seeker!! We paid 65TL ($32.50AUD) for two people on one quad.

Ready to go!

On the road!

Rose Valley

 

Rose Valley

Cavusin (ghost) town

 

Lower edge valley

 

 

Although we decided not to get a hot air balloon ride at $180AUD per person while in Goreme, we did spot them out one morning, which made for a beautiful photo.

 

 

 

Hot air balloons early morning in Göreme

 

 

We took an overnight bus from Cappadocia to Antalya, via Neveshir (a main town). The bus cost 50TL per person ($25AUD) and departed at 7.00pm and arrived into Antalya Otogar bus station at 6.00AM. The seats were comfy and there were even little tellies in the seats!

 

We loved Göreme with its natural beauty and quaint little town.

 

From the mountains to the sea; Turkey!! ISTANBUL

 

Istanbul - (29th March - 2nd April)

 

 

One of the first things we noticed when we arrived in Istanbul, is that it is one of the most floral cities we have visited! There are flowers absolutely everywhere, especially tulips!! All sorts of colours line the highways, border the pathways and circle the trees.

 

 

Beautiful Magenta Tulips in bloom

 

 

Nicely manicured gardens around the blue mosque

 

 

The Blue mosque was a very impressive building and just as beautiful inside. Gorgeous stained glass, Arabic Calligraphy and impressive tiled walls. Entry was free and don't forget your scarf!!

 

 

 

The blue mosque from the outside

 

 

The blue mosque, inside

 

The blue mosque, inside

 

 

Walking the streets in Istanbul, there is always something to see. From men selling the famous 'Simit' by carrying on their heads, beautifully contrasting buildings, the freshest fruit you have ever seen to quaint little cafe's.

 

 

The streets around the Fatih area

A 'Simit' seller

A Cute shopfront window

 

Beautiful Turkish lanterns for sale

 

View from Beyazit tram stop towards the water

 

 

Super fresh fruit, ready for juicing!

 

 

 

The Grand Bazaar is full of character and everything a tourist could want. From magnets to turkish tiles, traditional shoes to turkish delight – this is the place to do your shopping!

The Grand Bazaar Entrance

 

Gülhane Park was a beautiful place to take in the beautiful surrounds, relax and once again, take advantage of the beautiful flowers in Istanbul.  Close to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, this park is definitely one we would recommend stopping by.

 

 

Gülhane Park

 

Gülhane Park - lavender!

 

 

Gülhane Park

 

 

 

Hagia Sophia is a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica church, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum. The beautiful gold mosaic tiles stand out here, and add to the beautiful internal walls and ceilings.

 

Beautifully painted ceiling

 

Stained glass and decorative lighting

 

We reached Taksim square by the Fernicular which was only 3 Turkish Lira per person ($1.50AUD) and was a lot easier than walking the super steep hill up there!
 

On the fernicular!

Taksim Square

 

 

We made our way down İstiklal Avenue which is 1.4 Kilometres long, and full of clothing stores, souvenir shops, restaurants and cafe's.

 

 

 

İstiklal Avenue

 

 

The nearby Galata tower was built in 1348 and stands right out, as you wander down the bustling street towards Kadıköy and Galata bridge.
 

 

Galata tower

 

The vibrant fish markets at the start of Galata Bridge is full of fresh fish and happy faces. Although not very big – we still managed to chat to a few of the local fishermen and get some nice pictures!

 

Fresh fish for sale!

The locals reckon it tastes pretty good!

 

The Galata bridge offers beautiful views of the various mosques and monuments in the area and is a great place to watch locals try their luck fishing.

 

 

 

Galata Bridge

 

A cruise of the Bosphorous is a must do and at 10 Turkish Lira ($5AUD) for a 2 hour cruise it is great value.

 

The Bosphorous bridge

 

The Bosphorous bridge

 

 

We absolutely loved Istanbul, its vibrancy and culture rich and diverse.