Turkiye - an album. unsorted.

Finally.

Yes. I finally transferred some of my travel pictures from my camera. Another camera to go, maybe er, much later. I'm quite free for a while hence this post :)

Some of my favourite pictures, in no particular order. I don't know how to arrange the pictures anymore :p

Traditional Turkish Coffee at Ethem Tezcakar, Grand Bazaar. This was after spending hours happily getting lost in the market.

Fried mussels. So yummy! I love this stuff.

Beautiful mosaic in the AyaSofya. 

This is a super cat. Nuff said.

Pamukkale. Amidst the mist and steam. 

The medal was so big! I was so so tired after the run. 

The bestest Turkish delight - we tried quite a lot. Mhhhmmmmmm, I can imagine munching them now.. 

Up Up Up! Cappadocia was such an experience. 

I walked back to the Galata Bridge to eat this again - balik ekmek or fish sandwich. My last lunch in Istanbul.  

Tram on Istiklal Street - didn't manage to ride this. Too busy looking and watching. 

This sight greeted me every day as I return from the tram stop. Breathtaking.

New friends and fellow travellers, happy hour at Selcuk- Ben and Massimo from Milan, working in London. And Dave from New York. He escaped Sandy.

Selcuk morning - beautiful beautiful skies! 

Ilhara Valley - this place humbled me even more. 

A Weed You Have Become

One year from now.

I hope I've made up my mind properly and rationally, and have a grand plan in place for a sabbatical.

At least a month. Ideally two months. Three would be great, or maybe too much?

"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill 

except for learning how to grow in rows." - Doug Larson 

My lappy is broken, just as I feel like blogging again.

This is how the Universe is testing me. 

Oh, really?

x

A weed.

Pamukkale Dreaming

It's Saturday, and I was having a short siesta after spending most of the morning reading.

I awoke to the thought of a sauna bath (!), probably because in the last chapter of the travel book that I was reading, the author was describing her experiences in Pamukkale.

November 2012 - I remember arriving Pamukkale on a cold, wet morning on the overnight bus from Cappadoccia. Arriving at the travel agency to get some information, there was an annoying and quite entertaining trio from Mumbai who  could not seem to decide what they want to do. The lady especially couldn't stop yakking. Pahh - woman!

I bought the day trip package as well as the bus ticket onward to Selcuk, as did most of us who were travelling that day. The Mumbai trio was indecisive, in the end we all chipped in and suggested they go stay in Ephesus instead. We smiled knowingly like conspirators, we could do without them - too noisy :-)

Anyway, we headed on to Karahayit (the hot spring water tasted like blood. Metallic. Heavy on the tongue), then to Necropolis and Hierapolis, then we braved the rain and cold breeze to walk down the grey-white cotton castles to our lunch venue. Oh, had I mentioned it was drizzling the whole time?

The grey-white cliffs were amazing. I could not describe it. It seems to be this huge white hillside cauldron out of nowhere. Coupled with the mist and the steam from the hot spring water gushing from the earth, it was magical. Truly surreal.

If I had fallen asleep and woken up to the sight of the hill I'd say it's a dream.

At the restaurant, lunch was devoured first in silence - as all of us were starving after being exposed to the cold. Then we picked up pace and ate and ate; the food was lovely and comforting, and a few dishes were already familiar. I really liked some of the stews and soups.

Returning to the hotel later, I was half soaked, and requested to use the washroom to change. Although I was not a guest, they were so kind to direct me to the hot sauna room, which I happily used all on my own. After a relaxing hot bath later, I was nice and warm in dry clothes, ready for our onward bus. I slept most of the journey.

I was woken up as it got dark and we were almost in Selcuk. I did not have any reservations or a solid plan.

I was going to wing it again. Hey, far more fun than having everything in place :)