• EarthTraveller
  • EarthTraveller

Turkey

A 21-day grand adventure through a land of history, culture and food! Les mer
  • Tuz Gölü

    1. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Tuz Gölü is the second largest salt water lake in Turkey. As you enter, you will be given a spoonful of salt which you rub all over your hands. Then you wash your hands and amazingly your hands are moisturized.

    The salt flats are very beautiful. Take your shoes off, and get into the water.
    Les mer

  • Hot air balloon ride

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Hot air ballooning in Cappadocia - tick!

    This is an experience I will never forget. The flight was stunning.

    We fly over some of the most beautiful rock formations. The pictures don't do justice to the experience.Les mer

  • Göreme Open Air Museum

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    This is a complex of churches cut into volcanic rock during the Middle Ages & decorated with frescoes. The Dark Church has the most preserved paintings and is charged extra. If ancient history of art is your thing, this is must visit. Stunning back drop.

    Remember, you cannot take pictures inside the churces.
    Les mer

  • Ömürlü

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Beautiful shop. Tried my hand at pottery making. Unbelievable products - pricey though!

    This is family run business. Bargain before buying.

  • Lunch

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Not just bread. That was complimentary.

    I had a shebzeli pide (a vegetarian pide) - pide bread filled with vegetables. This place was also a bakery. The smell as you enter is divine!

  • Kocabag Wines

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We went to this quaint but premium winery where the vintages are produced by the namesake, family-run winery.

    Wine tasting is free and there is no obligation to buy once you taste. The wines were good. They are all local grapes.Les mer

  • Whirling dervishes

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    This was on my bucket list for years. I have always been a great fan of Rumi. It was mesmerizing to watch them.
    The ceremony was at the Saruhan Caravansarai just outside of Avanos. It was interesting that Avanos was initially known as Venessa (not Vanessa).

    Mevlana Celaleddin (or Rumi as he’s known in the West) was the 13th century religious leader behind the Whirling Dervishes. His philosophy of “come as you are” was attractive to many people searching for true meaning in life. As people began to follow Mevlana they came to love the creator and his creation. This love is expressed in the dance of the Dervish. With one hand raised to the Creator, the dancer receives, and with the other hand turned down toward the earth, they pass on the blessing to the Creation. The story goes that one day Rumi was walking along the market when he heard the beat of a worker working on the road. He internalized the beat and started whirling. Thus began the ritual of the whirling dervishes.
    Les mer

  • Dinner

    2. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After a very exhausting yet very interesting day, we were invited to dinner at Nuray's house just opposite our hotel. It was humbling to be eating in the house of a person from Cappadocia. The hospitality was visible. We knew she loved people and cooking. There was a huge menu starting with a chicken soup, then chicken with potato, risoni, condiments, bread (of course) and a dessert. The dessert had mastic and it was the first time I tasted it. So flavourful!
    The final two pictures are from our hotel terrace.
    Les mer

  • Kaymaklı

    4. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We left Göreme today for Konya. I have been excited to come to Konya since I have been a fan of Rumi for a very long time.

    Our first stop was the underground city of Kaymaklı. The city was greatly expanded and deepened in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) era, when it was used for protection from Muslim Arab raids during the four centuries of Arab–Byzantine wars. The city was connected with Derinkuyu underground city through miles of tunnels. Some artifacts discovered in these underground settlements belong to the Middle Byzantine Period, between the 5th and the 10th centuries A.D. These cities continued to be used by the Christian inhabitants as protection from the Mongolian incursions of Timur in the 14th century.
    It was intriguing to walk through the tunnels. In one of the tunnels, we had to nearly sit to pass through.
    This is definitely an unmissable experience in Turkey.
    Les mer

  • Rumi Mausoleum

    4. juni 2022, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    As I mentioned before, I was always a huge fan of Rumi. His philosophy and poetry have moved me. Some of his greatest life lessons are penned in beautiful short verses:

    "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

    “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”

    “And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?”

    Konya is the place where Rumi lived and worked. His mausoleum is beautiful in every possible way. As you walk inside, you will find peace almost instantaneously. You also find Rumi's own handwritten work well preserved.
    Les mer