Rhonda Kraak

Kraak caravanersai Traveler
Troy & Pergamon
September 11, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Troy and Pergamon only seen by the Kraaks' that weren't clutching their bellies.

Ancient city of Troy archeologists believe they have now discovered so not a myth.

Pergamon with her columns of marble and endless archways so beautiful in the late golden sun.Read more
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Kraak caravanersai Traveler
V-Day and D-Day
September 9, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Should I start with the Valium or the Di@rrhea??

V-DAY
It looked so easy on paper - catch a 3 hour bus to Ankara, hang for a bit and then fly to Canakkale (Gallipoli). Full day of travel. Bus more like 4.5 as driver liked to stop for smoke and gossip breaks. After a quick bite and some amazing chocolate roulade we had only 1.5 hours left for sightseeing and no real plan or map we ignored the warnings and jumped in first cab off the rank. Our VERY reluctant young driver argued with the other cabbies but finally agreed.

As a revenge we careened like a Grand Prix lurching at break neck speeds (whilst texting and yelling into the phone) squealing tyres and breaking within a whisker and were deposited at a fish market inner city as the driver appeared 'confused' of our destination. (See video)

Gone was my Turkish princess ideals of trailing silks, perfumes and artefacts as we were engulfed in a cacophony of fish market day.

To me the Turkish definitely look Turkish but I didn't realise that we look so different as we were an object of amusement for the marketeers. We gave up trying to pantomime and ask for directions after being laughed out of a butcher and onto the sidewalk where they advanced for more Kraak sideshow. Who wants goats heads and entrails anyway ☹️ sounds gassy.

Out in the open air I knocked on the window of a full cab in panic but the next cab was empty and the very gentlemanly driving calmed us somewhat and mended our frayed tempers as we caught bus, plane and taxi to our accommodation at Canakkale/Gallipoli, which on arrival we mistook for Fortitude Valley on a Saturday night. The Valium-resistant doof doof stopped around 1am.

D-DAY
Poor Will woke with a fever 39.6 and stories of a difficult night of D.

We raced to the only pharmacy open on a Sunday and after the difficulty of both a language barrier and the opportunity to sell lots to tourists we emerged with what turned out to be poor substitutes for Imodium. We left for our Gallipoli tour leaving Bill with lots of water and Turkish TV remote.Read more
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Kraak caravanersai Traveler
The caves with no beer
September 8, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Early starts and more tours. This time further south east.

🥱

We joined a tour heading to further south east Anatolia, guide was very suave. Kaymakli Underground city with very claustrophobic tunnels and underground chambers. Unfortunately I made the tour group wait while I thought about if I would freak. Tour guide had just told us that we need to crawl down very low roof tunnel for 10m and was one way for the rest of crawling. No turning back. At least I found a use for being short

Shamed myself into it and all was going well until random, noisy, excitable Italian group got a bit loud, pushy and shovey so had to hide in Erics sweaty shirt and ventilate. Fear passed after thinking about poor early 200AD Christians hiding underground for years so continued on. Very impressed by wine making presses and kitchen smoke Ingenuity. Even a large ventilation shaft with a secret opening.

Bit sad that these christians had to hide and live like that but I'm learning not to judge the past, well trying not to.

Rach and I been avoiding drinking water as toilet scene a bit traumatising. Today at least there was flush next to step toilets but smell was unbearable. Feeling floppy and deydrated seems better choice.

Very different ideas about alcohol out here. Only juice or salty yoghurt offered at cafes which is sad after walking 15,000 steps up hills, steps in hot hot sun developing a man's thirst. 🧑‍🦲 and eating burnt trout and burghul for lunch.

Bought some amazing jewellery with Sultanate stone only found in Turkey and pinker than pink scarf so not all bad.

Climbed up dusty steep hills to see early monastery and necropolis carved into the cone monoliths . Once again in hiding.

Had a thyme flavored Margarita on a very classy rooftop despite the maitre D taking one look at our dusty straggly selves and pointing to another cafe who pointed us back to your roof top. Maitre D agreed we could stay for one drink 🤫

It appears these bars rely on Instagram appeal and we were obviously not that.

I had come to the conclusion that Aussies are dags when I heard a young Aussie accent, pausing between Shisha pipe puffs, to say how deadly emus are when questioned about what we thought was cassowaries. Was trés amusing.

We were then treated to dinner at a family restaurant that gave us gifts of food. William had the traditional clay pot stew and the owner let me buy our beautiful Pink tablecloth off the table for very reasonable price. Hoping my family will forgive me by the morning but It was stunning !!! (Despite the food we dropped on it). See photos of my souvenir haul including black rose oil which is swooning material.

In the morning we are catching a bus to Ankara which is not so touristy so could hit some language snags, then we fly to Canakkake, Gallipoli to pay our respects and, I imagine, cry and feel the loss. 🌹Read more
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Kraak caravanersai Traveler
Cappadocia
September 7, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
After a very early and bumpy start at the airport we managed to get boarding passes with the correctly sized bar codes. This left little time for food and coffee so some panic and grumpiness ensued.

A HORSE WITH NO NAME
Goréme was our stop and the geographical sites we saw from the comfort of our dusty ATV's was very impressive for our geotech Rach.

Rhonda only fell down the rocky slope 3 times, kids are hoping the biggest fall was captured on the GoPro.

Eric's helmet made a great rest for the GoPro . Very fun, dusty experience. Our mouths were cleansed of dirt at a Roop top bar serving cold Efes.

5am start for Rach and Bill on a hot air balloon flight, which was canceled three times due to the weather which I'm guessing was 15 kilometer an hour winds? The landing wasn't so smooth with participants instructed to hold onto basket wall in low squat position. Balloon bumped, Heads were bumped and video footage not available of landing.Read more
Love this family!!! [Emi Kearney]
9/8/23Reply
Traveler❤️
9/8/23Reply
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Kraak caravanersai Traveler
Basilica Cistern & Hagia Sophia
September 6, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 27 °C
Roman Emporer Justinian reputedly had a personality complex and had built monstrous architectural marvels like Hagia Sophia and a massive underground water cistern which kept the city of Constantinople in fresh water for a long time. This was in the 6th century. and both still standing after 1700 odd years. Travelling with three engineers we had to visit 😂

Hagia Sophia been a mosque since 2020 so we dressed conservatively. Rach and I got a lecture from Eric for trying to find a way upstairs 😕 the tour guide told us there was treasure.

The cistern was not used for centuries and was stumbled across in 1980's?? How could you miss it like ...

What I really liked about the Roman empire is their resourcefullness in using old columns and chunks of marble from other sites to build the cistern columns, hence the two Medusa heads that were chucked under two columns.

Got a bit excited by all the bling at the Grand Bazaar so no photos taken.

Video included of the call to prayer 5-6 times a day. I actually quite liked it.Read more
Looks like they've significantly improved the lighting in the cistern since 2002. I remember we struggled to find the medusa in the dark. [Monica]
9/22/23Reply
TravelerYes but they turned the lights off periodically for effect 😕
9/22/23Reply
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Kraak caravanersai Traveler
Istanbul
September 3, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
One of the things I like about travel is the self-discovery. Discovering that you are lazy and are nowhere near as fit as you needed to be. Discovery that you really do need glasses and can't guess at Turkish words. Then the discovery that peace of mind and happiness are fleeting creatures and may only appear a few times during the day despite the stunning architecture, sunsets and culinary delights. And lastly, the discovery that Eric has not learned sufficient Turkish, which was his mandate. We have been calling people donkey snakes instead of saying Thank you. 😵 the puzzled looks made sense.

In Dubai we managed to get all 4 of us into Merhaba airport lounge for our 5 hour layover. Hot breakfast, showers and as the coffee wasn't up to certain group standards: G&T's with no ice and no measuring at 8:28am went down better than expected. We all slept well on next flight ✈️

You can't help but fall in love with Istanbul that it has evolved with so many different cultures and civilizations building on top of each other, which may account for the very steep hills we walk up. We're staying in a 200-YEAR-OLD European style apartment with gorgeous views of the Bosphorous. Very squeaky floors and a ghost that I had to have a chat to in Bill's room.

Everyone seems to my be quite tolerant of each other's driving, reversing and dangerous moped rally driving despite a lot of beeping and no one took offense at Eric's offensive Turkish.

We booked a Hammam in an ancient bath house and it was extremely cleansing being scrubbed head to toe with no water pressured into places unwanted. The oils and water splashing and attention, pampering were wonderful and we floated home down and up the hills and my bath attendant had to lead my by the hand to our sunbeds where we drank tea with dried fruits and slept.

Lots of cats. You'd think more than could be loved but not here in Turkiye. They love their street pets. And I'm guessing no mice. There are also sea chooks which look like seagulls but are the size of chooks. At least their waste disposal is obvious when the large amount is falling from the sky.

The locals are extremely friendly and hospitable. Shopping for bargains is quite difficult as they are in a recession and haggling seems greedy. I would really love to buy a carpet but I'm not sure my haggling skills are sufficient as I have no idea how much a reasonable price is. We'll have to use the plane to fly home.

Sewage infrastructure. My pet hate. You can expect some issues with the infrastructure having three thousand years of civilization messing with the pipes . Our first night in Galata went without water but did not go without Eric having to use the toilet before the water came back on at 3:00 a.m. I'll leave it there....

Now that we have acclimatized culturally we take on the big historic sites. More to come!

Galata Tower
Istanbul archaeological museum
Aya Sophia
Blue Mosque
Basilica Cistern for the civil engineers 🔨Read more
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Troy & Pergamon

V-Day and D-Day

The caves with no beer

Cappadocia

Basilica Cistern & Hagia Sophia

Istanbul

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