Kizkelasi, Turkey to Side, Turkey

Entrance to Side

Us @ Small Beach, Side

Kizkelasi, Turkey

Amy on Maiden's Island, Kizkelasi

Korkyos Castle from Maiden's Castle, Kizkelasi

Kizkelasi from Maiden's Island

Maiden's Island, Kizkelasi

What I remember (in 2024)

I don't know why we picked Kizkelasi as a spot to spend a couple of nights, except for the fact that it is right on the coast.  We picked a hotel that gave us a oceanfront balcony.  It took a while to get him to let us stay.  Apparently there is a US military base close by, and this is a town they like to come and let their hair down.  Making it trouble for some proprietors.

We found out the first night, that they like to hang out at the beach bar right under our balcony.  Fortunately the electricity cut in and out all night, and put an end to the night relatively early.

When we weren't on the beach we took the boat ride out to Maiden's Castle (150 years off the beach) and over to Korkyos Castle, at the east end of the beach.

Konya, Turkey to Kizkelasi, Turkey

Us from our hotel balcony, Kizkelasi

Maiden's Castle, Kizkelasi

Konya, Turkey

What I remember (in 2024)

I really remember nothing from Konya, but what I have highlighted in my Lonely Planet is that we stayed in Mavi Kosk Oteli, right in the middle of the city.

Right near the hotel was the Mevlana Museum, home of the whirling dervishes, and the Selimiye Camii, which we probably would have gone to on the day of our arrival.  The next day, it seems we walked up to Alaettin Tepesi and went to Alaettin Camii, the Villa of Sultan Kilic Arslan, and the Karatay Museum.

I also have that one night we ate at Sifa Lokantasi.

Goreme, Turkey to Konya, Turkey

Goreme, Turkey

Amy & I, Open Air Museum, Goreme, Turkey

Open Air Museum, Goreme, Turkey

Open Air Museum, Goreme, Turkey

Open Air Museum, Goreme, Turkey

Me, Open Air Museum, Goreme, Turkey

What I remember (in 2024)

We stayed in a youth hostel, that had a pool.  This was always great at the end of a days' wandering, but that pool was freezing.  Thank God it was warm outside.

Just walking around Goreme was a sight in itself.  With the honeycombed rocks, that were at one time homes, and the ability to find places up high that would give you a great panoramic view of Cappadocia.  We had to settle for this as we didn't have the money to do a popular balloon tour.

Our last day, we walked a mile east of town to the Open Air Museum.  The photos above highlight some of the great wonders of this place.

Goreme, Turkey

Underground City, Derinkuyu, Turkey

Selime, Turkey

Ilhara Valley, Turkey

Agzikalahan Caravanserai, near Aksaray, Turkey

What I remember (in 2024)

A & I took a tour to an underground city with Turtle Tours, which saw us makes stops in Uchisar, then on to Derinkuyu to tour an underground city.  A stop in then in the Ilhara Gorge to enjoy a green oasis in the desert.  On to Aksaray to see an old market place, Agzikalahan Caravanserai.  The final stop was Cavusin, just north of Goreme.

Ankara, Turkey to Goreme, Turkey

Our Hostel (with pool), Goreme, Turkey

Us, Sunset in Goreme, Turkey

Ankara, Turkey

Ankara, Turkey

Anit Kabir aka Ataturk's Mausoleum, Ankara, Turkey

Anit Kabir, Ankara, Turkey

What I remember (in 2024)

We only had 2 nights in Ankara.  Big city, which we weren't too impressed with.  

Came in to the Bus Station and headed for Otel 2000 for our accommodations.  Not great, but about $12 a night.  

We visited Anit Kabir, the massive mausoleum for Ataturk, located in the park built around it.  We also visited the Ethnography Museum and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. 

We also had a night at the movies, sssing Pearl Harbour.  The movie was in English with Turkish subtitles, meaning we weren't sure what the Japanese soldiers were saying.  The theatre was packed, and they had an intermission.  During which it felt like every person went out to a 20 man balcony to smoke.  It was great how A & I reacted differently to different scenes to the Turks, must have translated differently.

Safranbolu, Turkey to Ankara, Turkey

 

Gas Station On The Way To Ankara, Turkey

Safranbolu, Turkey

Karauzumler Evi, Safranbolu, Turkey

What I remember (in 2024)

For an unknown reason, I stopped keeping a diary after the first week in Turkey.  So memories come from photos and what is highlighted in our Lonely Planet.  

In this World Heritage City we just wandered around for a couple of days.  It was beautiful.  Our hotel was right next to a mosque, so the call to prayer early in the mornings, with the bright green light that the mosque had (for an unknown reason), was a real heart starter.

We visited Karauzumler Evi, an historic Turkish wooed home.  Also had a great view of the city from Hidirlik Parki, where we also saw the Tomb of Ahmet Lutfi.

Safranbolu, Turkey

Amy & I, Safranbolu, Turkey

Safranbolu, Turkey

Amasra, Turkey to Safranbolu, Turkey

It is still relatively cold again this morning. 

We’re up early to get to the dolmus back to Bartin.  Almost immediately we were put on a minibus to Safranbolu.  This ride was uneventful, but the mountainous scenery was something else.  The bus dropped us off at the top of the old part of town (Carsi).  A short walk down the hill and a lady from Hotel Terras guided us to a place to stay.  The hotel is a small room which is quaint.  It overlooks the main square and once we are settled in we went on the hunt for lunch.  A small café nearby did the trick. 

Hotel Teras (behind brown building in foreground), Safranbolu, Turkey

After lunch we spent some time wandering around town.  All the buildings here were built during the Ottoman rule and have caused the town of Safranbolu to be World Heritage Listed.  We continued walking, including to the abandoned shell of a palace in the west.  Then, to the graveyard to the east.  Both places are on hills overlooking the town in the valley. 

Palace, Safranbolu, Turkey

We spent the late afternoon napping in our room.  

Dinner was had at Kadioglu Sehzade Sofrasi.  It was Turkish pide for me.  On our way back to the room we bought some Turkish Delight to snack on during the late evening.

Amasra, Turkey

Today is not the nicest of days weather-wise.  It’s cool and with wind is not helping in anyway.  A storm blew in last night and the remnants have remained. 

We picked up some pastries for breakfast and wanted to eat them on the break wall of the big harbor, but we may have been blown in the water had we’ve done so.  Instead Yilmaz found us and took us to a tea house where he and Amy played backgammon.  When he had some other guests to take care of Amy and I went wandering again for a bit and then ended in the internet café for a while. 

We did the afternoon nap again and when we woke up we went and bought some vegetables for tonight’s dinner.  Ayfer and Yilmaz cooked dinner for us, Karen and Tanya, which we ate at the pension.  The night continued with backgammon, dancing, chatting and laughing.  It was a great last night in Amasra.  For all his help we gave Yilmaz a XXXX shirt from the Walkabout, which he seemed to get a buzz out of.

Our Hosts Yilmaz & Ayfer, Amasra, Turkey

Tanya, Ayfer, Amy, Me, Yilmaz & Karen, Amasra, Turkey

Amasra, Turkey

This morning we walked over to the small harbor to enjoy a tea and coffee in the outdoor café right on the water’s edge. 

We then wandered aimlessly around some of the shops in the small town.  Amasra’s citadel joins the mainland to a small island, Rabbit Island.  Amy and I walked all around, through the residential area, taking in many views of the town.  We came to the eastern edge where a small shack served as the city’s most remote café.  We sat on benches overlooking Sea Gull Island and the main harbor, eating our cheese and tomato toasty lunch. 

Small Harbour, Amasra, Turkey

Amasra, Turkey

We then continued through the town.  We wanted to sit on the beach and have a swim, but no one else was around and we didn’t want to offend anyone and/or step out of line.  Instead we went back to the pension and rested from the heat. 

When we woke we went to dinner at Safaks.  I had an Iskender Kebab and Amy the green beans, rice, yoghurt and salad.  We ran into Yilmaz again – of course his friend is the owner.  He took us to the tea house near the big harbor where we met Karen and Tanya; two Melburnians Yilmaz had helped earlier.  We wandered over to the tea house where we were this morning and had a couple of drinks while watching the sunset. 

When the girls wandered off for dinner we met an English local, Nigel.  I think he enjoyed the English conversation.  He told us Yilmaz was known in town as "The Hunter" for he seeks out tourists that come to town, and gets them set up with everything they need.  When he took his daughter home, we went back to our pension for the night.