So I believe tis about time for some sort of update - Sorry - internet has been quite sporadic and ill timed...
Since Troy I have travelled to an intense variety of places,
Ephesus - lots of white columns and a pretty sweet coliseum -
Hieropolis! Pamukkale.- The pools are
incredible, white and blue and clear they shimmer with reflections of a calcium
Goliath created over centuries of deposits from the water. I felt as though I
had landed on some other planet. Upon reaching the
destination we swam in the calcium pools with ancient roman columns. It was odd to see the natural splendor of the geology in contrast to the dilapidated lovely town. Too many tourists coming had caused an environmental meltdown, so the giant tourism operation was shut down. The five star hotels moved away, and the calcium pools are regenerating.
Egirdir - Climbed most of a mountain
Konya - Creepy hotel with monsters - (I'm entirely serious) - Lovely people, mountain tea which is green and tasty, and whirling dervishes
Village - Amazing - entirely deserving of its own post/stories but suffice it to say it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, with some of the most welcoming giving people you will ever meet. And the best food of all time.
Cappadocia- Oddly formed rock caves = peoples houses and climbing spaces. Interesting place, met a lovely French woman and Turkish man. Staying in cave rooms that dropped cave on you all the time - we all now understand why people left these abodes for houses. Damp, dirty, enclosed, unstable, dark places...
Ankara - Odd citadel walls made using stones/columns/anything made of solid rock. Dinner at an Ottoman house and interesting company/conversation. Visited Atatürk's mausoleum and the Museum of Anatolian civilizations.
TRAIN BACK TO ISTANBUL!
