I have been wanting to visit Turkey. The reason being that some how the name 'Istanbul ' has a fascination for me. So when we all planned a trip to Turkey I was very excited. We had joined a tour program with 'Parlo' under which everything is taken care of including stay, food and sight seeing. We were 25 in our group and 13 of us were our friends.(5 families) . Me, hubby dear and 'T' were from our family. We started from KL on 22nd May 2009 evening and reached Singapore. Our flight was in the night and we reached Istanbul on the morning of 23rd. We had a transit halt in Dubai and the airport was excellent with such big and wonderful shops.
We freshened up in the airport itself and immediately the tour started. We had a good breakfast in a local restaurant and were taken to the old city where the centre of the Byzantine and Ottaman empire called Hippodrome is situated. This place is full of historic buidings and where ever you turn you can see historical spots. It is maintained very well.
We saw the famous Blue Mosque which gets it's name from the blue colour tiles inside the Mosque. It was quite different from the other mosques I had seen in Malaysia. We went to a crowded local market and returned to an excellent hotel for the night stay.
Next day after breakfast, we packed our bags and left for some more sight seeing in Istanbul. Our long journey of about more than 1000 kms within Turkey in the wonderful Bus started. Our guide was one Mr. Ali Ishan who was wonderful with a lovely sense of humour. He filled us up with lot of info. as well as jokes.
We went on a small boat ride on the Marmara sea and the Bosporus straits which divides Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the only city which is both in Asia and Europe. We could see from our boat both sides of the city the European and Asian.
Later we visited the Ayasofya which is a Museum. It is very interesting to note that this was one of the earliest churches built around 5th or 6th century AD. After the conquest of Istanbul by Ottoman Turks this was converted to a Mosque by building Minarets and a Dome. The Christian mosaics were plastered over inside the church building.
When turkey became a Republic in 1930s it was converted to a Museum and now it is no longer a worshiping place. They are trying to retrieve the mosaics inside.
We left Istanbul after a good lunch .(through out our journey we got quite a good food that too vegetarian food, we could get yogurt every where and also lot of sweets for dessert.)
We travelled to Canakale and crossed the Bosphoros Sea in a ferry (our bus went inside the ferry) to cross over to the Asian side of Turkey.
We halted for our night in a hotel next to Aegean Sea. I was thrilled to look at Aegean sea which felt very familiar as we have heard about the sea a lot of time in Greek history.
2 comments:
very graphic post. You educated the guide on Indian history!
Turkey offers a mild climate, the best period to visit it is spring, when it is not invaded by tourists.
If you are passionate about history, it is suggested that you visit the ruins if the temple of Arthemis (one of the 7 wonders), and make sure you do not miss out the Lycian Way, Didim, the ancient site of Troy, the temple of Apollo and the ruins of Ephesus. Whereas, if you are more keen on spending your holiday on the beach, you should visit Turkey in June and July when it is not so humid and hot.
There are breathtaking landscapes, miles of sandy beaches and a wide range of OutdoorActivities. There is plenty to do for all the family members! Only few know that Turkey is rich of thermal water, especially in Anatolia, where you could try cromo, thalasso and stone therapy.
These are only few of the reasons to choose Turkey as your next holiday destination. Recently, the recession has beaten hard consumers who are less willing to spend, luckyly Turkey offers cheap prices and affordable deals to meet consumers needs. When you get there, do not forget to try the best Kebabs you can possibly have for as little as £1 each. Whereas, if you have a passion for good food and culinary arts, Turkey is the best place to be. There is a wide range of restaurants where you can appreciate the tipical cuisine, and the best local wines.
The night life is very lively and there are several bars and clubs which are worth to visit. In addition, Budget airlines (Easyjet.com), hotels and resorts offer competitive rates and all-inclusive packages, as well as good service and all the comforts that you need, take a look at CheapAccommodationsinTurkey, and start planning your holiday today
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