Goodbye to Turkey

Today marked the final day of our Turkish Adventure. I can honestly say that the trip had widely exceeded our expectations. The incredible combination of history, stunning landscapes and incredibly friendly locals, make travel here really special.

This trip has so many highlights that I could never list them all, but here are a few that really stand out - the underground cistern in Istanbul, the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, the early morning balloon flight, the underground city of Derinkuyu, the Mediterranean coast, the impressive Roman ruins at Ephesus and of course the sacred ground at Gallipoli.

Although our Turkish Adventure finished today, for 8 of our group, we still have another adventure coming up. This afternoon we will be flying to Athens to begin an 8 day trip around Greece. While we were in Turkey, we were repeatedly warned of how unfriendly the Greeks are. I guess we will find out if this is true.

In order to get to the airport I ordered three taxis to pick us up from the hotel. I did not realise the the drivers must have had some sort of a bet as to which of them would get to the airport first. Over the next 30 minutes I think I had several near death experiences as our three taxis raced at high speed through the streets of Istanbul, swerving in and out of the other vehicles on the road. I cannot remember which taxi arrived first, I was just relieved when we all still alive at the end. It was a memorable finish to an exceptional trip.

You can now continue to follow this trip by opening the 2012 Greece and Europe trip.Read more