Panoramic bonbons for your viewing pleasure (hover over the gallery photo for a description, click to view full screen and click again on the photo for a jumbotron experience)
Turkish Delights
Back to Migraine, Indiana
Well, that’s actually Ottawa, Canada but it might as well be Migraine, Indiana. In other words, back to hyped-up, stressed-out western way of thinking; the Costco conundrum. Blech!
Cruisin’ the Fethiye Bay
This was our tourist day off where we embarked on a boat after having consulted the Lonely Planet oracle. Fethiye Bay is a deep bay and natural harbour. Walking the waterfront will get you assaulted by the boat shucksters before … Continue reading
La ville déserte de Kayaköy
Un évènement triste dans l’histoire de la Turquie, “l’échange de population” ou tout simplement l’expulsion mutuelle impliquant un village grec, Kayaköy, près de la ville de Fethiye sur la côte sud-ouest de la Turquie em 1923.
Fethiye Sunset
Upon arriving in Fethiye and registering at our pansiyone (pension/hotel/hostel) we met up with the owner, Soner (pronounced so-nair, aka Sonar) and a guest who invited us for a glass of wine on the terrace. Not even into our second … Continue reading
Şirince Walk’n Wine
Şirince (Sheereenje) is a mountain village 8 kilometres inland from Selçuk (Sell-chook) which is the closest town to the Ephesus ruins. Known for its production of a variety of fruit wines, it is nested up a steep mountain incline which … Continue reading
Tire Bazaar
Pronounced Tyrrha like its ancient name, this little town was 40 minutes inland from Selçuk by dolmuş (pronounced Dalh-moosh; shuttle). The local to tourist ratio was way down in this town and was a welcome respite. We went there on … Continue reading
Ephesus Noise
Ephesus is an ancient Roman town about an hour south of Izmir. At its height, some 2,000 years, it was a port of 250,000 people. The sea is now some 7 kilometres away and the city has been forgotten, damaged by … Continue reading
Izmir
Izmir, formerly known as Smyrna until it was renamed by Atatürk is the third largest city of Turkey. It’s a port city ensconced in a mountainous bay and serviced like Istanbul by multiple ferry stops that make getting around it … Continue reading
High View of Istanbul
I don’t dare give out the secret location of my vantage point but we had the chance to sample an outstanding 360 degree panorama of downtown Istanbul. I’ll say at least that we are in the “new” section of Istanbul, … Continue reading
Princes’ Islands
Peering out from the sea of Marmara that lines Istanbul, the Princes’ Islands is a group of nine islands of which we visited two, the islands of Heybeliada and Büyükada. Just a short 30-minute ride on the ferry from Kabataş … Continue reading
Magnificent Haǧia Sophia
Anyone going to Istanbul has to pony up and visit Haǧia Sophia (pronounced haya sofia), the ancient christian church. What a site, what a visit! Beautiful angles everywhere. Because you’re mostly looking up at the ornateness of the structure, you … Continue reading