Turkey
Bolu

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 161

      Istanbul —> Bolu

      August 25, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      We started our first full day of our tour with a beautiful breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel before going for an orientation walk with our G Adventures guide, Hazal, around Istanbul.

      We first entered into the Topaki Palace Museum. This was the former palace of the Ottoman Empire where some of the Sultans and their families lived. Hazal told us about the history of Istanbul and Turkey in general. The Emperor Constantine came in the 7th century (and brought Christianity to the area) and the city was then called Constantinople (Constantine’s city). The churches in this period were made with grand domes (which were later converted to mosques). The Ottomans came in the 15th century and the city largely changed from a Christian influence to a much more Islamic focus. In 1923, Turkey got its independence and The Republic of Turkey was founded.

      Hazal took us on a walk around which actually was almost a repeat of our walk yesterday. We passed by the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, or Ayasofya Camii and Sultanahmet Camii, as it is known to Turkish people. The Hagia Sophia is over 1500 years old and when the Ottomans conquered in the 15th century it was converted from a church to a mosque. It remained as a mosque until the mid 1900s when it was turned into a museum for visitors. In 2020, it was converted back into a mosque.

      In the mosque, you can still see beautiful mosaics near the entrance with images of Jesus and Mary. The Ottomans would have covered these images but they were not destroyed.

      The Blue Mosque was built over 1000 years after Hagia Sofia by the last Sultan who wanted the biggest and best mosque in the world. He wanted gold minarets (the towers used on mosques used for the the call to prayer), however, as the Turkish word for ‘gold’ and ‘six’ are very similar, the architects misunderstood the Sultans instructions and six minarets were built instead of gold minarets! That is why the Blue Mosque has six minarets, as usually only 1 or 2 are required for the call to prayer.

      We then strolled down to the area which was a Hippodrome for chariot racing during the time that Istanbul was ruled by the Romans. This area has a lot of cultural significance. It contains a huge Egyptian obelisk from the 15th century BC (which was a gift from the Egyptian Pharaoh) - the oldest thing in Istanbul. Adjacent to this is a partially destroyed bronze column called the Serpent Column which was made of melted Persian armour from the war in the 7th century, which was originally at the Temple of Appollo at Delphi. It was brought to the city by Constantine. It used used be 8 metres high with 3 serpent heads on the top and now it is 5.5m high without the serpent heads (one is in a museum and the location of the others' is unknown). There is also a third obelisk, the origins of which are largely unknown.

      Interestingly, we also saw thousands (if not millions) of storks flying in the area to migrate to Africa. We were mesmerised by watching this for a while and the way they fly in a circular pattern to build up heat and then float through the sky.

      We then entered the Grand Bazaar again, taking in all the sights and then proceeding to the Egyptian Spice Market where we went into one store and tried lots of different teas, perfumes, treats and of course Turkish delight! The smells and flavours were so incredible as we tried chocolate, caramel, pistachio, almond and pomegranate flavoured Turkish delights. We ended up buying a roll of almond flavoured Turkish delight for our lunch and as a snack for the remainder of the day!

      We then walked past the original station that the Orient Express terminated at as we made our way back to the hotel to chill out away from the heat. We gathered our things and then left Istanbul on our way to the small town of Bolu, used as a stopover point on the way to Cappadocia.

      We arrived in Bolu and had dinner in the hotel restaurant as a group, had some chats and then went to bed to rest up for a big travel day tomorrow.
      Read more

    • Day 8

      Bolu Tag 1

      May 8, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

      Ein Tag im Bus stand wieder an und ich bin in Bolu angekommen. Ich habe eine kleine Wohnung in einem älteren Haus in einer alten Gasse nahe der Altstadt.
      Die Wohnung ist etwas verlebt und verleiht dem ganzen einen gewissen Türkeicharme.

      Mein Gastgeben hat sich die Zeit genommen und mir die Stadt gezeigt. Wir waren was essen, einen Tee in einem alten Steinhotel von früher trinken, was jetzt ein Teehaus ist, er hat mir ein paar Ecken in der Stadt gezeigt und wie ich morgen ins Grüne komme.

      Von soviel Gastfreundschaft bin ich etwas überwältigt. Den guten Mann Emre seht ihr auf dem Bild ☝️
      Read more

    • Day 16

      Finish line in Bolu Tag 15

      July 29, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Und wieder haben wir schnell umgeplant. Nicht in die Berge zum Kloster, sondern ab nach Westen Richtung Istanbul. Nach 760km und 9h Fahrt erst mal ausruhen. Bolu ist eine Kleinstadt auf dem Weg, sonst gibt es hier nichts. Der Markt und die Hagia Sophia von Trabzon waren noch schön. Roman kauft sich noch ein Trabzon Spor Shirt als Souvernir. Aber jetzt ist genug mit alten Steinen in der Türkei, wir wollen noch Zeit für den Balkan haben. Los geht's nach Europa!Read more

    • Day 55

      Barbier-Erlebnisse & türkische Shisha

      September 19, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

      320 Kilometer, 8,5 Stunden unterwegs

      Da meine Haare schon wieder unordentlich sind, besuchen wir einen Barbier in Bolu. Bevor ich mein Anliegen mit unseren Mitteln vortragen kann, spricht uns ein Kunde an, der gerade frisiert wird. Er kann super Englisch, weshalb er dem Barbier gleich erklärt wie ich Bart und Haare geschnitten haben möchte. Die Ohrhaare werden mit dem Feuerzeug abgebrannt und es wird gleich der ganze Kopf gewaschen. Mit Trinkgeld kostet der Spaß nicht mal 5 € und noch dazu bin ich sehr zufrieden. Zwischendurch werden wir vom Barbier gefragt, was wir von Erdogan halten, denn der Friseur und Ayhan (der Kunde) meinen beide, dass Erdogan verrückt sei, aber sie Merkel gut finden. Außerdem denken sie, dass nur die “schlechten” Türken nach Deutschland ziehen und die gebildeten Türken hier bleiben. Es ist interessant zu hören, was Einheimische so denken.

      Bevor wir wieder gehen, bekommen wir eine Einladung von Ayhan, der gerade für uns übersetzt hat. Er ist 28 Jahre alt, Englischlehrer und hat bereits ein Jahr in der USA gelebt. Momentan besucht er seine Eltern und wir sollen unbedingt bei ihm übernachten. Nach kurzem Zögern, weil wir eigentlich weiter wollen, entscheiden wir uns dafür. Ein Anruf genügt und die Mutter fängt sogleich an Abendbrot zu machen. Es gibt Hühnchen mit Reis, Joghurt, Himbeeren, Melone und noch einiges mehr.

      Nachdem wir völlig vollgestopft sind, gehen wir gemeinsam mit Ayhan in die Stadt, um noch einen Tee zu trinken. Bei türkischen Desserts und einem Gespräch erfährt er, dass wir in der Türkei noch keine Wasserpfeife geraucht haben. Also müssen wir gleich los. Da es hier nicht so touristisch ist, schließen bald alle Lokale. In einem Lokal hat er Glück und wir bekommen noch eine Extrawurst vor der Schließung. Der Shishatabak ist eine Empfehlung des Hauses, dazu bekommen wir einen türkischen Kaffee und weil wir Touristen sind einen Teller Obst. Den Teller bekommt sonst wohl keiner. Als Attraktion des Hauses werden wir nun die ganze Zeit von der Belegschaft beobachtet, ob uns alles schmeckt. Ayhan klärt uns auf, dass wir besonders durch unsere hellen Haare und Augen immer auffallen werden, egal was wir anziehen. Beim Shisha rauchen sind wir nicht so geübt. So atmen die Einheimischen ein, als würden sie gleich 10 Minuten tauchen gehen. Uns tut das nicht ganz so gut, aber wir geben unser Bestes.

      Wir sprechen nun wieder über die üblichen Themen wie Heirat, Religion und das Leben in Deutschland und der Türkei. Ayhan selbst ist kein Moslem und er erzählt uns, dass die meisten Türken nicht so streng gläubig sind. Er ist auch immer auf der Suche nach ausländischen Frauen, weil ihm die Türkischen zu oberflächlich sind.

      Nach dem interessanten und aufschlussreichen Tag fallen wir zuhause auf die Schlafcouch, die von der Mutti extra für uns vorbereitet wurde.
      Read more

    • Day 115–116

      bolu

      January 8 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

      time to leave istanbul behind. on hitchwiki, i had heard of a great hitchhiking spot where people would offer to take you to basically anywhere in turkey in a matter of minutes. because i myself couldn't really decide where to go next, i figured i'd just stick the thumb out and see where it takes me.

      by the time my clothes were dry and i was ready to go, it was already 3pm. just getting to the rest stop in the first place would take almost 2 hours, by which time the sun would almost be down already. ipek invited me to just stay another night and go early the next day, so i did.

      i had a great view over all of istanbul crossing the bridge to the asian side for the final time, leaving europe behind for good now. i arrived ar the alledged super rest stop just to find the gas station closed. there were just a couple of truckers taking a break there. i decided to give it a shot anyways and was picked up after about 20 minutes by a truck driver.

      he spoke just enough english and german to understand that i was trying to reach a big city. he said he would take me to a good spot where it would be super easy to catch a ride. i climbed up into the cabin and we drove for 15 minutes. then all of a sudden, he just pulled over to the emergency lane and stopped. in the middle of nowhere.

      i explained that it would be dangerous here and that nobody would stop, so he drove me a couple of metres more to a toll station. i had to cross the highway to get to the right side, but luckily the police and toll units didn't mind. hitchhiking really seems to be hassle free in turkey. i got a lot of smiles and greetings from the personnel there.

      even here, there were almost exclusively trucks coming through. i started waiting. an hour went by, nothing happened. , one of the toll station staff came up to me and handed me a bag with water, cookies and fruit. he made my day. i hadn't packed any food at all, so the guy really saved me. spirits went from low to high again. after a bit more waiting, finally a car with swiss license plates stopped. it was going to istanbul, i declined and mentally prepared to spend the night somewhere in the nearby woods.

      finally, just minutes before sunset, a pretty young truck driver picked me up. he was going to düzce, halfway in the direction of ankara. i jumped in and he gave me wifi and dj privileges. the drive was way more scenic than expected. after two hours, we stopped at a rest station and he invited me to join him in the truck driver cantine. i was very much out of place, but finally got some real food in me.

      shortly before eight, we arrived and he dropped me off in düzce. i had no idea what to do here and just decided to check the bus terminal for any rides to bigger cities. here, google maps and other travel apps aren't reliable anymore, so you actually have to go there and ask around.

      after some complications and with a lot of help from google translate, for a couple of euros, the lady behind the counter sold me a ticket to bolu. waiting for the bus, i met a man that had lived in germany for a couple of years, who had somehow managed to figure out my nationality just by looks and started speaking to me in german, helping me with the boarding.

      arrived in bolu pretty late when shit went sideways. getting off the city bus from the bus station to the center, i noticed that my credit card was missing. checked my pockets multiple times, nothing. froze it via the app and already contemplated what my next steps would be. turns out it had slid into my passport, huge relieve.

      still no idea where i'd sleep that night, so i just went to the cheapest accomodation i could find. neither was it a hotel, nor a hostel, nor an apartment building. more like an actual old-fashioned guesthouse. i had to knock on the wooden door of an old house with one of those metal door rings. didn't have much confidence that the place would still be open, but then a tiny, old babushka opened the door and welcomed me in.

      she didn't speak much english, so i spoke to her daughter over the phone. just 5 minutes later, i was already in my room, more specifically the toilet of narnia.

      for 16 euros, i had not only a three person room to myself, but also a breakfast included. i was served a huge platter with vegetables, bread, cheese, honey and more. the old lady even made eggs and çaj for me. 10/10 recommend.

      the only problem was the weather. it was already rainy and almost freezing. also, i had been warned that there would basically be snow storm that week, with temperatures dropping below -15°C. i wasn't really up for that, so i started looking up bus connections. when i found out that i could take a night bus southwest to izmir for a couple of euros, i couldn't withstand.

      now i just had to spend the day somehow. went to the grocery store, where a group of kids were very interested in me and my backpack, then checked the iranian embassy website to find that i was finally online again. filled in my visa application right then and there, agreeing to go to the embassy in ankara sometime soon to get the paperwork done.

      then, i decided it was finally time to get all my flag patches onto my backpack. managed to find a couple ladies in some basement that agreed to sew them on there. now, i really, really stand out. i no longer look homeless, but like an actual traveller, and the staring from others went crazy from that point on.

      many tried to start a conversation, i got two fee çajs in a matter of minutes and a shop owner dragged me into his kebab place to make me a free dürüm. these turks man, i love them. then finally, i met some turkish rapper and his mates, i was with them for a good hour. i was taught various turkish slurs and we even took shots from my leftover jäger. very halal. but all good things come to and end, it was time to head off to izmir.
      Read more

    • Day 40

      Istanbul Reprised and onto Bolu

      February 17, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ -1 °C

      Went on an orientation walk this morning with my tour group. We passed many sites I've already been but I still learned new things like short cuts and wandered on new streets. We also visited Suleymaniye Mosque which was on my list to visit when we were to return in 2 weeks. Like those who've been there and the Blue Mosque, I did like this one much better and found it prettier with the tiles outside and the low light fixture inside. We also got a gorgeous view of the other side of the Golden Horn from the gardens.

      Lunch was a quick affair, and we got to try a delicious cag kebab. Normally a dish from Eastern Turkey, the owner had moved to Istanbul where we got to stop by. In this style, thin slices of lamb are skewered and cooked. You then wrap some pita around the meat (still on the skewer) to slide it off. Add some salad if you wish and eat it, all wrapped inside the bread.

      Back at the hotel, we got into our van and started our drive towards Bolu for our night stop en route to Cappadocia. Driving through Istanbul was very cool as we went further north in the city to cross the Bosphorus Bridge. At once I knew I needed to revisit this magical city one day and explore what this part of the city had to offer now that we'd explored the neighborhoods by the Golden Horn.

      As we left urban Istanbul aside, the landscape changed as we climbed in altitude. Mountains, and even snow lined our route to the city of Bolu. There's not much there, but we got to try a style of gozleme native to the region for dinner. You can opt to get it with yogurt and tomato sauce on top of cut gozleme. We also stopped for some famous Bolu chocolate. Other than that, not much to do here, but it the heights of winter, I believe this place turns into a bit of a ski resort.
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Bolu, بولو, Горад Балу, Болу, Μπολού, ボル, ბოლუ, 볼루, بولی, 博盧

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android