Arrival in Istanbul

Nancy dropped me at Kelowna airport, flight to Vancouver then from Vancouver to Frankfurt were on time. Dozed off on the red-eye, probably got 3 hours in. Connection to the Turkish flight to Istanbul Czytaj więcej
Bosphorus Dinner Cruise

So this activity came with the Istanbul e-Pass I bought for all the museum admissions and guided tours, so decided it would be a good thing to do the first night in town. A van was booked to pick me Czytaj więcej
Galata Tower

Leaving the hotel is a nice neighbourhood before arriving at the Galata Tower just a few blocks from my hotel on my way to the bridge below. This tower was built to replace the Great Tower (Megalos Czytaj więcej
Galata Bridge

Arriving down the hill across some very busy streets is the Galata Bridge across the Golden Horn, a natural inlet in the Bosphorus River where it meets the Sea of Marmara. The Golden Horn divides Czytaj więcej
Suleymaniye Mosque

Suleiman Mosque is the city’s largest mosque; it took 7 years to build and was completed in 1557. The mosque was part of a complex which includes a hospital, soup kitchen, hospice, Turkish bath, Czytaj więcej
Spice Bazaar

So, leaving the mosque, it was thankfully downhill through more narrow streets. One thing you see a lot is deliveries are made by men pulling carts. Istanbul is also afflicted with the scooter Czytaj więcej
Snack at Bereket Doner

Stopped for a doner in a hole in the wall next to the spice market entrance and paid 106TL for a wrap and a Coke Zero. Yum!
Rustem Pasa Mosque

I had some trouble locating this mosque at first as it is just built right into the surrounding markets, but it was worth the extra few minutes as it is just filled with stunning tile work.
The Czytaj więcej
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art

This museum is housed in the former 16th century palace of Suleiman the Magnificent’s Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha. The museum holds approximately 40,000 pieces spanning from the 7th to 19th century. Czytaj więcej
Blue Mosque

Right across the park from the Arts Museum is the "Blue Mosque" The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Sultanahmet Camii is nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the beautiful blue tiles which adorn the interior Czytaj więcej
Istiklal Street

Walked the main drag. Super crowded and super tired so did not make it up to Taksim Square, but I had seen it from the shuttle van last night on the way to the cruise. Decided to turn back, grabbing a Czytaj więcej
Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is one of those 'bucket list' sights. I joined up with a booked tour guide and after a long line, we had a short tour of what was the largest church in the world for many years.
The Czytaj więcej
Coffee break

On the way from the Hagia Sophia to the Archaeological Museum was a shop called Han Baclava. Didn't have a lunch break built in to the day plan, so stopped. This was the fanciest Turkish coffee Czytaj więcej
Topkapi Palace

Close to the Hagia Sophia is the Topkapi Palace. I was actually planning to go to the Archaeology Museum first and passed by the Topkapi Palace and noted a huge line to enter. When I got to the Czytaj więcej
Istanbul Wrap-Up

Left my hotel after 9 and got to the airport stupidly early for a 1325 flight but there was nothing else to do and I AM an airport geek! IST airport is impressive. Only opened 2019 and is Europe's Czytaj więcej
Cappadocia Arrival Neveshir Airport

Quick easy flight. Coming in to Neveshir you would be forgiven if you thought you were landing in Calgary. Farms, then grass rangeland and barren foothills with mountains in the distance.
Hotel had a Czytaj więcej
Caravanserai Hotel

This is one the hotels carved into the rock face of the valley. Nice little place, just a few maintenance issues coming out of two years of the pandemic shutdown.
After the sunset view, just found a Czytaj więcej
Goreme View

Just a short walk up to the Sunset View Point.
There is a direct path from town that must use private property so the enterprising owner set up a ticket booth to collect 5TL to use the trail!
Also a Czytaj więcej
Sunrise

Well -- sunrise "time" -- it is very grey.
Got out of bed about 6 and opened the curtains to see the day and there is a balloon hovering outside! They really come right down into the town.
Went up Czytaj więcej
Goreme Panorama

Booked a tour for today. Chose a 'Green' tour that goes to the south. Will have about seven stops on this day. Pickup by one of the ubiquitous white 15 pax Mercedes vans and fought our way out of the Czytaj więcej
Pigeon Valley

Another stop at a viewpoint. The pigeons refer to the people keeping pigeons in the little bird houses carved in the rock. This was done nor only in this valley but all over the region. They collected Czytaj więcej
KEM Art Center

The obligatory stop at a shop. This one was a jewelry place. Everything from gold to silver and diamonds, rubies, onyx and amethyst. But the unique offerings here are a semi precious stone called Czytaj więcej
Selime

Selime Cathedral is the largest monastery in the region. Also known as the Selime Monastery or Selime Castle, the cathedral is a mix of natural and human-made structures. There is evidence of various Czytaj więcej
Lunch at Belisirma Restaurant

This is a lovely setting on the river. Lunch served to the group at the tables then tea served in little pavilions by the water. Beef casserole (adequate - what can you expect on a packaged tour Czytaj więcej
Ihlara river and St. George Cathedral

From the restaurant we took a short walk up the river. Sometimes the green tour includes the full 4km walk but we were actually running late. Pleasant path led to a 150 step staircase to a necropolis. Czytaj więcej
Podróżnik1.5 km to get to customs?! Wow!
PodróżnikWow - glad everything went smooth for the most part!!