On to Troy (Still Day 3)

After a nice lunch we continued the drive to Troy which was only 30 minutes away.

In Greek/Persian history the Trojan War was waged in Troy in 12/13th century BC as depicted in Homer's Iliad.  The site had 9 different levels that were uncovered dating back to 3rd century BC.  It is one of the most famous archeological sites.  It does take a lot of imagination to envision what the city would have been like.  For many American's we think of the Trojan Horse or the movie Troy.

the curved walls were to prevent a battering ram from fitting its mark at the gate.

foundations of homes.

The road in.

Admiring the walls or something Margaret has found.

The theatre.  The marble is gone as local people picked it up for use.

The tourist picture opportunity.

It then took over 2 hours to drive to Yesilyurt village where we are staying at a beautiful small country hotel in the hills overlooking the Aegean called Cetmihan.  While I have tried to take some pictures to give you an idea of the hotel and area, the website for the hotel does a fabulous job of presenting itself (don't let Turkish language discourage you from exploring):  http://www.cetmihan.com/

The entrance.

Through the entrance, past the lobby, and into the garden. Carl is taking it all in.

View from the corner of the dining deck.

Through the lobby and out the doors on the way to the dining room.

The inside lounge (bar) area.

After checking into the hotel we walked to the center of the little village up a steep cobblestone road and then continue up towards the top of the hill which took us quite some time.  Along our little journey Paul bought some almonds from an elderly shopkeeper and Belinda and Leslie kept another woman very busy with some scarf purchases.

See the indent of the stone down the center of the road?  It is for drainage.

As we are walking up to the top of the village and checking out the new construction that seems to have halted.  Beautiful views.

We then headed back down to the hotel for a 7:30pm dinner which was really fantastic.  We started with some mezes (small dishes) which were varied from a couple of eggplant dishes to salads, even a seaweed dish.  We then had grape leaves filled with fish and sea bass for the main meal followed by some small deserts of filo dough with halva.  We enjoyed it so much that before we knew it the time was 10pm.

Enjoying the view and the lovely table.

Frank with the indoor dining room and lounge in the background.

Turkey Day 3 - Crossing the Dardanelles

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The back end of the awesome van we rode in for many days.  A typical local woman headed up the hill.

Mehmet talking with Paul.  Jayhoon, our driver is to the right.

See the internet bubble on the top of the bus?  Awesome. Pure luxury.

We left close to 7:30am as planned for our 8 hour journey along the Aegean Sea and across the Dardanelle Straits.  Our first stop was at a gas station along the highway.  The station was very interesting with a small convenience store and large cafe.  The toilets cost .50 Lira to use.

Belinda found an ostrich egg for sale next to chicken eggs.  Mehmet mentioned that the Ottomans would put an ostrich egg in chandeliers to prevent spiderwebs. Belinda found one in a net over a doorway along with a Turkish Evil Eye.

Jean reminded us that the ostrich egg is the largest single cell organism in the world. So cool. It was heavy.

We got to the stop just in time as 3 large buses with Japanese tourists pulled in.  We were assured by Mehmet that we would be seeing them again at Troy.

Just look at this service at the stopover!

We crossed the Dardanelles on a ferry at Noon.  It was not a long ride but enjoyable and we definitely took in some different scenery.

Cool and breezy, so fun.

Mehmet, Frank, and Carl resting on the deck.

On the way to the ancient ruins of Troy we stopped at a nice simple Turkish road side restaurant.  With Mehmet's much needed assistance we were able to order similar foods that we have been trying the last few days.  We have been eating lots of vegetables, kebabs, rice and even a Turkish version of flat bread pizza with meat sauce.  My brother-in law will be happy to note that Pepsi is indeed sold here in Turkey. 

Lovely.

Leslie, Margaret, and Carl posing loverly.

Billboard advertising the restaurant.

History Lessons Continued

After the palace we took a walk for a simple Turkish lunch at Karadeniz.  Everyone seemed to order a different dish from kebabs to turkish version of pizza (pide).  Leslie tried some turnip juice.  I had to try it and I must say it was really awful red tasting drink.  It was very salty, pickle and spicy drink.  Mehmet mentioned that people would drink it after having raki which is an anise flavored spirt similar to sambuca.

Always the best places to eat are up the side alley.

Delicious food and Efes beer. We went to the counter to choose what we wanted to eat. Very local place..men eating there and wondering at us.

We then headed off to see the Basilica Cistern which was an underground water storage.  It is Byzantine architecture and served the palace and in 532.  

At the time of use, the water would have been up to the ceiling.  The columns were scavenged from old temple ruins. It seemed to go on forever and ever.

Medusa Head (upside down to not revere pagan god)

Our last stop before some of retiring to the hotel was the Blue Mosque.  We removed our shoes and took a brief look inside.

Outer courtyard.

Our group again.

As we were taking a look a Catholic priest and two men walked across the middle of this rug. You can see the black of his clothes to the left of the woman.  We were behind a rope .

Stunning ceiling work.

Ablutions area to wash face, neck, hands and feet before entering the mosque to pray; standard practice.

A lovely collection of headscarves.

The old Constantinople area is bustling with tourists from all over the world.  As expected there are plenty of street vendors offering the tourists street foods, maps, souvenirs, tours, etc.  They seem to size you up and get an idea of what language to lead with.  Along the way we saw a young boy dressed up in a white sultan type outfit.  This is a tradition in Turkey for boys prior to circumcision.

Back at the hotel we were met with the 3rd call to prayer.

We had dinner at 7pm at another Turkish restaurant with the typical meals of veggies, meat, rice, great bread with hummus, rice pudding, etc.

Out of doors again, next to a lamp shop

A menu with pictures. Yay. Actually it was in English.

On the way home there were some nice night views of the city.  Then at the Hippodrome we encountered a vendor who was shooting off little helicopter type projectiles with an LED light via a slingshot.  It looked like a single shot of fireworks going into the air and reentering.  Looks like some Americans will be bringing home some reusable 4th of July fireworks that make no noise.

Vendor selling little flying things with lights.  Leslie and Belinda bought a few.

Blue Mosque at night taken from the Hippodrome.

The last thing we did was pick up some supplies for the bus ride tomorrow.  We have breakfast at 7:00 and then leave 7:30 to cross the Dardanelles for Assos and visit Troy.

History Lessons in Istanbul

Wednesday, May 30, 2012
We left the windows open and got a wonderful cool breeze throughout the night for good sleeping.  It was a little noisy however with the seagulls cackling all night.  Then we were definitely awoken at 4:28am with a very loud call to prayer.  Then 30 minutes later a loud single clap of the thunder came from no where.

We got up to have breakfast at 7am at the hotel lobby dining room.  There was a very nice selection of foods and drinks.  We met Mehmet at 8:30 for a walk up hill to the Haghia Sophia.  The walk did not take long and the day is absolutely gorgeous with low humidity, nice breeze and partly cloudy.

We got in the front of the tour line for the Haghia Sophia (the wisdom of God) where Mehmet had already purchased tickets for us.

Not only was the structure impressive from the outside but also the immensity of it inside was quite spectacular.  The first Sophia was built around the year 350.  The Third Sophia which was which is what we saw was dedicated in the year 537.  It remained a Christian chuch until 1453 in which it was converted to a Mosque when the Ottoman Army of Sultan Mehmett II defeated the Christians.

There were many Christian mosaics visible throughout the structure including Christ, Mary Mother of God and Jesus child, John the Baptist, Archangel Michael, etc.  Because they could not restore all of the mosaics they decided to plaster over it for future generations to potentially restore.  Many of the crosses in the marble were removed or covered over.

 Mehmet did it again and we enjoyed an unobstructed view of the whole inside.

the second story was for the women.

The Seraphim in the four corners had their faces covered with a gold star shaped plate.  They were fierce looking as they should be, being the warriors of God.  One face was left uncovered for tourists to see.

A beautiful mosaic of Mary and Jesus.

Jean, Frank, Leslie, Carl, Belinda, Paul, Margaret, and Tom on the second story balcony.

Mosaic of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus between Justinian and Constantine

We then took a short walk to the Topkapi Palace which was constructed between 1459 and 1465 by Mehmet II who had just conquered Constantinople.  The palace seemed like a smaller version of the Forbidden City but obviously with an Ottoman perspective.  The palace was self-contained within the walls with a large harem, kitchen, library, school, several courtyards, and pavilions.  The palace now houses a precious jewel and treasury exhibition.

Haghia Eirene at First Courtyard of Topkapi

Topkapi Palace Gate

The rooms of the women.

The room of the young princes. You can see water bowls on the inside of the window on the right hand side, this is to attract birds.

Courtyard.

Beautiful frescos.

From the balcony on the outside.

Lovely stone walkway.

Mehmet explaining about the eunuchs role and way of life in the Palace.

More stunning work.