And more crazy landscapes . .

After our first day of checking this place out, we were very happy to know that we had a few days to explore this wild Cappadocian landscape.  This is a place that one could definitely spend some serious time hiking around and snooping about in, but we were happy to even just get the taste that we had.  During the rest of our days we had beautiful, warm sunshine mixed in with some gentle rain which had us appreciating all aspects of this place. 

For our final day in the Cappadocia region we had the owner of our inn/cave hotel take us on a tour throughout the local valley, and we realized (once again) that one could spend a lot more time here to take it all in. We landed up having a fabulous afternoon full of very varied experiences -- there was an endless "wow" factor for all that we saw.
There is sooo much amazing history in this part of the world.  Of course the Middle East is the cradle of civilization, and so people have inhabited these areas since prehistory.  Earliest historical evidence for this region goes back to about 1900 BC when early artifacts have shown this to be an area with a lot of human activity.  Apparently it was in an important location with regards to key trade routes (including the Silk Road).  Many of these amazing cave homes that were cut into the landscapes started when early Christians came to the areas to escape Roman persecution -- the caves provided good hiding places. These early Christian civilizations were able to flourish in these areas until much later when the Ottomans came through and spread the word of Islam.  There are amazing old churches in the caves here, along with stunning art work from these early Christian times.
Another amazing thing we went to see were some of the underground cities from previous eras, carved deep into the ground under Cappadocia.  These structures are considered a world heritage site and are called the 9th ancient wonder of the world. They were only discovered in 1962 and caught people by surprise by the sheer scale of these structures. It is quite mind boggling how deep they go down under the ground - some as much as eight stories deep, and they were set up to completely sustain as many as 10 000 people with water and food for long periods of time. Kai and Pippin were blown away! (Although Pippin did not like the dark confined spaces deep under the ground). Here is a description I found on the internet of these underground cities:
     "In order to escape harsh winters, wild animals and attacks from enemies, the soft volcanic rock was carved out to form well-fortified cities deep with in the earth. Connected by labyrinths of tunnels, the living quarters, churches and common areas stretch downward for several floors. With ventilation shafts, chimneys and water sources, people could live indefinitely sealed off from the outside world. Excavations have uncovered extensive networks of kitchens, wine houses, food depots, water tanks, meeting areas, toilets and worship areas, all fashioned from rock. There are even niches carved for oil lamps so that the rooms and walkways could be evenly lit. As more space was needed, new rooms were dug out as required. Large round stones, similar to millstones, served as locks on the entrances to keep out intruders and could be operated from the inside only. Due to the texture of the rock, the rooms stayed a comfortable temperature year round, never too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.
     The exact time-frame of the underground cities is unknown; the first they were mentioned in text was in the writings of Heroditus in the fifth century B.C. Some experts feel that the cities were created by the Hittites for storage areas and then later on put into use by Christians fleeing persecution from the Romans. Other scholars suggest that the cities were created by the Phrygians as a means of defense against the Assyrians. The most common explanation is that the cities were dug out of the rock during the Roman or Byzantine periods. "
Pippin walking through one of the cramped corridors deep underground.  Even I (Ronato) felt a little claustrophobic, given the narrow walkways and the lack of head room. When one just keeps going down and down into the earth through all those spaces, it is hard not to start feeling a little concerned that one will ever get out again.
We basically spent the day going to some of the more spectacular sites and exploring these crazy dwellings in this surreal landscape. All we can say is that it felt absolutely ancient!
This is the view from the highest point on top of what was once an old castle cut out of the rock.
The wild flowers were as tempting as the amazing vistas.
There is still a very rich tradition of pottery in this area and many people adorn their homes and gardens with these terracotta pots adding to the wonderful Middle Eastern flavour. We would have loved to be able to cart some home for our own yard.
Valentino himself strutting along the white sandstone landscapes of Cappadocia. The man has style!
On our return to Istanbul, after a rather grueling night bus (with little to no sleep) we got right back into "tourist" mode checking out the city.  More time at the Grand Bazaar was a must and then off to see some more local landmarks.  The Hagia Sophia (see below) is one of the most impressive buildings imaginable given that it was built in 537AD.  It was amazing to be in and around such an old, old building.  This amazing place spent its first 1000 years, during Roman rule, as a Christian church, and then after the Ottoman invasion, it became a mosque for the next 500 years.  It was only in the late 1930's that it became secularized and was made into a museum of sorts.   What a history!

Inside, the Hagia Sophia has a massive central dome completely unsupported by columns which creates a vast and beautiful space.  It is truly a stunning cathedral -- the ceilings and walls are covered with intricate mosaics and art work, while the floors are covered with huge, worn marble slabs.  In the lower gallery the walls are also covered with huge, smooth, multicoloured marble slabs, giving it a very grand feeling.  Then, there are other areas that were added during the Ottoman Empire -- a more eastern flavour -- this includes large rooms covered entirely with hand-painted tiles -- gorgeous.  

It was easy to imagine Roman sentries standing guard in the doorways, and pompous Roman ceremonies taking place.
One of the other amazing things here is that despite different 'occupations' of this building, aspects of both religions were kept intact.  The amazingly detailed and intricate mosaics depicting various religious figures along with historical figures from Istanbul's/Constantinople's past were kept on the walls despite the fact that this building subsequently became a mosque.  We actually weren't sure if these had been previously covered by plaster and then refurbished or whether they had just been there the whole time alongside the Islamic art.  Either way, it was all very beautiful and awe-inspiring to look at.

After getting in as many last sights as we could, it was good to rest our feet and take a little breather on the rooftop patio of our hotel.  There we caught our last rays of Turkish sunshine, enjoyed our last views of this amazing city, and, of course, enjoyed a nice cup of apple tea!  This was definitely a fabulous little side-trip in this grand adventure that we are on.  Again, our eyes were opened wide -- Turkey was yet another very different place.

Now, it is off to Paris for a few days before heading to the South of France.  While we are really looking forward to seeing our Parisian friends again for a few days, we are looking forward to some quieter times ahead.  After being on the move for so long, we are all feeling ready to settle in one spot for awhile.  We will be staying in Provence for about 3 weeks, and then after that we will settle again in another region called the Midi-Pyrenees for a whole month.  We are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the communities and to practicing our French. Bread, cheese, and wine here we come!

Until next time . . . 

Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin

Cappadocia

Well this travel experience just keeps continuing to enrich our lives. After an all night bus ride from Istanbul we now find ourselves in Cappadocia. We initially wanted to come by train but unlike mainland Europe, the trains here stop in every station along the way and the time commitment would have been too huge. The bus turned out to be fine, but I must admit I (Ronato) personally find it hard to sleep on a bus. The kids were fine though and slept for most of the journey.

The time in the journey when it was not dark revealed some stunning landscapes and we were left with the feeling that we could be here for a much longer stretch of time. In the short time we had on the bus, the countryside boasted vast expanses of open land with beautiful rolling grasslands, large lakes, snowy mountains and amazing looking arid zones. Given the size of the country we can only imagine how much more varied Turkey must be. Then we arrived in this lovely place. It is very much like we would have expected the Middle East to look -- ancient buildings set in a stunning badlands type of landscape; a place where people have been living off the land for thousands of years. Kai and Pippin were initially quite dumbstruck by the wild homes cut into the sandstone mountains, especially because many of them are still inhabited by the local population. Even better to them was that our own accommodations are set in one of these crazy sandstone rocks. Here is Skye and Ian in our room when we first arrived, some what blurry-eyed after a long night on the bus.
This next image shows the view down into the town of Goreme where we are staying. The outlook is from our hotel. Notice all the clothes - it was actually very cool on first arrival. Not what we expected of Turkey at all. The cool weather has not in the least damped our spirits though - it is just too beautiful to not be loving this place. The other great thing is that the living quarters all have fire places and water radiators making them very cozy inside.
This is our breakfast nook overlooking the valley. A very respectable way to start the day soaking in the rays of sunshine.
There are very much two generations represented in this town and valley. There is the older "traditional" farming generation and then there is the newer bohemian set that have come here (or grown up here) and opened cool hotels, restaurants and businesses to cater to the tourists. All the development has been very much in keeping with the style of old Goreme and it is hard to distinguish the old housing from the new thanks to the use of the same building materials. There are many stunning characterful people doing their day to day chores, but I have to be very subtle in my photo taking. This women is cleaning pumpkin/squash seeds after they have been dried.
Here is one of the local women sweeping the walkways between the rooms at our accommodations. I love the organic ways in which the walls are integrated with the landscape.
This morning we went on a lovely walk through the valley to take in some of the views. Here is his highness, Ian soaking up the sun with a little kitty on his back.
Being springtime, the whole landscape is filled with gorgeous scented wild flowers. It is so nice to be here at this time of year. The fall would also be amazing with all the food being harvested!
Many of the local houses and accomodations have these amazing verandahs looking over the town. This one really struck our fancy, so we snuck in to take a closer look.
Despite every attempt to buy nothing and be frugal, Ian insisted that we look at some more of the local ware. We came a way with a beautiful camel bag of Kurdish origin that will make a beautiful pillow. I am sure when we are home it will make for a lovely memory. Pippin was here sitting while we looked at all the different bags from different areas in the Middle East.
The next image shows one of the typical homes here with the sunny terrace and the lovely arched areas below that were once most likely stables for animals. We could keep showing you tonnes of photographs because of all the beauty but will end off here soon. Time to go kick back with my book and take in the late afternoon views of the valley.
We will leave you with some more spring flowers to enjoy.
Until next time

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin

Food for Thought

We were all chatting today and saying that one of the best reasons to come to Turkey (and the Middle East in general) is the food. The whole Mediterranean food experience is like one has died and gone to heaven. We would all like to have months to experience it in all its glory, but for now we have to get as much (food) in as we can in these 2 weeks! The cheeses, the olives, the breads, the various "meze" type foods, the kebabs, the sweets all just feel so basically healthy, and they taste so fantastic! We have been indulging over long slow meals and keep discovering new and different things. We have all really been appreciating the various eggplant dishes, and have vowed to learn to make some when we get home.
Here is a picture of a plate of Meze that we regularly inhale at the various eating establishments with good fresh Lavashe (a hot pita-like bread with sesame seeds on top).

The Turkish people also seem to have a particular love for their sweets. Everywhere one walks, one is confronted with stunning displays in windows of all their treats. So you will find in the following photographs a little bit of a bias towards the sweet end of things. Of course, if I am honest I (Ronato) should admit that I do love my sweets, too, and so I may have taken just a few pictures to show how much I admire their handiworks.
Check out all the stunning varieties of Halva. Sooo yummy! Entire shops are devoted to all the variety they offer in terms of sweets.
Then there is all the Baklava. Ian purchased a whole box with about six different varieties for us to try out. Very sweet, but we all enjoyed them tremendously.
We are not sure what this is but it looks rather enticing, we think it is another form of Turkish Delight.
Skye and Kai have been eating a lot of these Lamb Kebabs on fresh pita pockets. They both claim they are very delicious. In fact, they have been eating them almost daily.
We stumbled on this dried fruit and nut store yesterday, and we almost lost ourselves in it. Why don't we have this type of store in Canada? Much of the dried fruit is sun dried and not sulphered, which makes it taste so much better than the stuff we typically can get in Canada -- one can really taste the actual flavour of the fruit, including the tangyness. Someone could make a killing if they opened a shop like this in Victoria.
The spice bazaar! The picture speaks for itself. This place was really a feast for the senses -- we'll be back before we leave.

Just so you know we did two blog entries today. . .

Ronato, Skye, Kai & Pippin

Istanbul Continued...

Our subsequent days in Istanbul have been very full with lots of walking around the city. We have been very impressed with how well Kai and Pippin have done with the long days hitting the streets. Of course, Istanbul does have lots to look at and to keep us all entertained. Having Ian along is also a fabulous distraction for us all after months of travelling just as a family unit. We have also been doing a lot of great visiting throughout the day and in the evenings. Ian has been reading Anne Frank's Diary to us all whenever we have had down times and that has also been a great collective experience (especially after visiting the museum in Amsterdam not too long ago.) Ian is very dramatic (as many of you know) and so the kids enjoy his theatrical readings.
Of course we have spent some good stints of time in the Grand Bazaar, for which Istanbul has been famous over the last many centuries. Here is a picture of Ian taking us to his favourite carpet dealer and all of us going through the long detailed process of watching him buying a traditional Kalim. He absolutely loves the shopping experience, and it has been fun teasing him about his addiction. Istanbul is very much like South East Asia, in that one could go a little shopping crazy. I (Ronato) feel quite cured of that after all our time in other Asian markets. (Note from Skye: I, on the otherhand, could continue to go a little crazy, but have been extremely restrained -- I am aware of our budget and kind of had my day in Asia!)
A picture of the old ceiling throughout the Grand Bazaar. It is a truly stunning old structure -- so much of Istanbul is just so incredibly old. We have all said that we could easily spend much more time here exploring all the age of the city and the country at large. It is, in fact, an enormous country, and hopefully we can return sometime in the future to see more of it.

Here is one of our many pictures showing all the shopping fun we are having with Ian. He seems to have a particular fetish for bathroom accessories . . . soaps, plush towels, nice smelling things, etc . . . Luckily Skye, Kai and Pippin are happy to oblige the long drawn out shopping experiences with him. I often just land up outside on the side walk taking photographs and watching people. (Another note from Skye: please note the teasing tone here, Ronato is truly in his element here -- not only does he have amazingly old and beautiful subject matter for his photos, he also has endless hours for his teasing and banter with Ian, who is always a willing player.)
If I were just a little braver, I could take lots of interesting pictures of people here but I tend not to want to be invasive, so I often have to wait until they have walked past before taking a picture.
Istanbul is a lovely blend of the more traditional Muslim culture and a very European experience. There seems to be a thriving art scene here which one can take in by looking at art galleries, listening to music, Turkish cinema, street acts or the many different traditional museums. This is some graffiti we stumbled upon which we all thought was very visually pleasing.
This street act was fabulous! It seemed to be some kind of traditional Turkish fusion with a very interesting tabla-style drummer. As always the people watching is great everywhere.
We will leave you with this wonderful picture of a Roman aqua duct that runs right through the city. It was built to transport water to the palace and other bigger buildings way back when, somthing like 2000 years ago. All this age is such a treat coming from Victoria.
Next we are going to do a quick food blog just because there is so much food to be seen in Istanbul.

Until our next post . . .

Ronato, Skye, Kai & Pippin

Wow! We are in Istanbul

It is hard to believe but here we are in Turkey with our lovely friend Ian. What an amazingly stunning place! Our first day was magical. The air was fresh, the skies were blue, and the buildings were -- and have continued to be -- wonderul to take in.

It turned out to be a very full day of travel to get here. When one includes the trains to get from Holland to Germany, then the flight from Dusseldorf to Istanbul, and finally the long taxi ride from the airport into the old quarter, it is a long day.

We arrived to an amazing furnished apartment with stunning views on the 5th floor of a building on a quiet street -- thanks to Ian's amazing travel agent talents and taste for European-style luxury. In the first picture, you can see the view from the balcony. Luxury aside, it is fabulous to have such a lovely place to relax and refuel in between outings. We can count minarets from at least 5 mosques from our balcony. We are seranaded by the call to prayer that occurs around 5 times a day -- it is a haunting and beautiful sounding song that stirs the soul, for sure. This is a good thing, otherwise I (Skye) would be very cranky about the first one that is sung at 5am every morning, but luckily its melody just lulls us back to sleep!
Our apartment is in the Sultanahmet section of the city -- this is the old part of the city -- and we are just minutes by foot away from the Blue Mosque, Haya Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar. We have spent the better part of two days already rambling around the area, taking in the ancient and beautiful sights and attractions, window shopping, nibbling on the famous sweet Turkish Delight, and of course enjoying the oh-so-delicious cuisine. Kai and Pippin have been absolute troopers, trudging along up the steep hills and twisting cobbled streets, looking at the magnificence of this place, fueled on by little stops to sample the various culinary delights. When they are fed, they are happy!
Above is a picture of the Blue Mosque -- it truly is spectacular both inside and out.

Here we are inside the Blue Mosque. One is required to remove one's shoes before entering, and women are supposed to cover their heads/hair with a scarf -- interestingly a number of the women coming in (all tourists) didn't cover their heads. We found ourselves wondering about this -- whether it was rebellion, or whether they didn't know (hard to believe because there are signs everywhere), or maybe they didn't feel they needed to since they were just visiting?! The kids were both rather insensed by this -- they kept questioning it and saying they thought it was a bit disrespectful. At the end of the day, we could only be responsible for ourselves.
Of course one of the things people want to do when they come here is to buy a carpet. Carpet sellers abound -- there are at least 2 shops/block, and it has reminded us a bit of the abundance of tailor shops in Hoi An in Vietnam! Today we had the pleasure of going through the process at a very nice little shop in the Grand Bazaar. Our friend Ian was looking in earnest while we were kind of looking, but knowing we probably wouldn't be buying this time. In the shops, they offer you coffee or apple tea (this is really yummy, and I keep thinking of you Emilie and Carey!) while they throw carpet after carpet down. We waffled a bit, but when the price sheet came out, we realized we just couldn't do it at this time (it turns out we have rather expensive tastes.) Ian on the other hand ended up walking away with an absolutely stunning carpet and an embroidered camel bag which he can turn into a very large cushion. The whole process was a lot of fun.
Another very cool handicraft here is felt. There are numerous items made of felt -- hats in particular. They are fun and would be fun to have more as a novelty item, but again they are a little on the pricey side for something you might not really wear all that much. We sure had fun trying them on though!
Ahhhh . . . the delicious and refreshing apple tea served hot, in lovely little glasses, with a lump of sugar already added and another on the side, just in case you don't already think it is sweet enough (and it is VERY sweet already.)
Istanbul is a city filled with the whole gamut in terms of the very traditional to the completely secular. One sees women with long coats and colourful scarves tied around their heads, to women wearing full gowns with only their eyes showing, to women with pinky-blond hair in black, high heeled, patent leather knee-high boots and the most stylish attire you can imagine. Men for the most part are dressed more formally -- either in a stylish suit, or at least dress pants and shoes and a long sleeve top. There are a few women who work in the shops, but this is predominantly a man's arena here, it seems, and many of them are real movers and shakers. When we are all together, they just do the sales pitch and will even walk a ways with us to try to get us to come into their shop, but when alone, I (Skye) have been propositioned in a more suggestive way more than once -- even saying I have a husband doesn't always dissuade them! I take it all in stride, though, and bow myself out with a laugh and a wave. It is never completely rude, just suggestive -- and, hey, I can always take it as a compliment! Funnily enough, these seemingly pushy sales tactics are nothing when compared to the pushiness we experienced in Vietnam. Again, we have said how glad we went there first with the kids, now they can handle anything! Even they have said as much.
Sweet shops also abound. The above-mentioned and ever famous Turkish Delight comes in all shapes and sizes. This gelatinous sweet comes in many different colours and with all kinds of different nut-filled options.
In little carts throughout the city, one can purchase these sesame encrusted bagel-like breads. They are absolutely delicious, especially with the local cream cheese.
Ronato thought that he was getting a little scruffy, so he hopped into one of the local barber shops for a clean up. He didn't get the shave with a straight blade, but he did go for a haircut and looks quite dapper as a result.
Down by the Bosphorus are all kinds of food sellers -- everything from Donar, to fried fish sandwiches, to roasted corn, to stuffed mussels (apparently one must avoid these, unless one wants to toy with the possibility of a bad case of the 'sultan's revenge'!) The lamb Doner is now one of Kai's favourite snacks.
Here is a view across the Bosphorus from the Sultanahmet side to the other side (can't remember the neighborhood's name.) To the left is the Galata Bridge where hundreds of people stand while they fish over the side. It looked like they were catching herring, or some other small tasty fish.
Fresh fruit and fresh juice stalls can also provide one with a quick pick-me-up. We have yet to actually do this, and here Ian is actually asking for directions.
We thought our trip to Turkey wouldn't be complete without seeing the Whirling Dervishes. We had been told that on certain nights, we could see them at this particular restaurant near the Blue Mosque, so we thought we would go check it out and have a meal. We rushed there for the 8pm start-up and got seated in this enclosed area, only to discover that not only was it a restaurant with a Whirling Dervish, but also a hookah bar -- you know where you can smoke apple-flavoured tobacco from a hubbly-bubbly (click on word to get definition). Well, the place became absolutely smoke-filled (something we are absolutely no longer used to in Canada) and we found we had to eat as quickly as we could, see at least 2 dervish dances, and then dash. There really seems to be no awareness about creating non-smoking places here and obviously no real desire to do so, since almost everyone smokes! We found we were similarly driven from the Grand Bazaar after awhile because it was too smoky.
We still have a few more days in this beautiful and interesting city before we head into the southern interior to Cappadocia. Who knows what other amazing sights and treasures we shall find, but we will keep you posted.
Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin