the turquoise trail

Turquoise trail represents the path taken; stars represent towns where we stayed.  {budget} I purchased this trip as a bus tour on teambuy.ca for $2298.  This included the flight, all breakfasts, all dinners, and all of the mentioned attractions with the exception of the turkish bath.  It also included the tour bus and all our hotels.  In my opinion it was an extremely fair price for what we received and I don't believe that I could have done it for less myself.  The tour company recommended tipping our guide a couple dollars more /day than google seemed to suggest was standard; so I would suggest doing your own research to find what you are comfortable with; plan at least $7/day total.  If you are interested in a hot air balloon ride, you can plan to spend approximately $200.  If you are hoping to find a rug while in turkey, you should budget accordingly.  There is a huge range in prices depending on where you buy it, size of rug, quality, ...

{Monday November 4} Our last day has come :( ..I woke up with an upset stomach this morning so I curled up for a little longer. We went for breakfast around 7:30, but I just had a slice of cucumber, a bite of plum and half of a tea. After breakfast I laid down for a while, but then decided to go for one last walk..  Old Aqueduct We walked towards the aqueduct, but we couldn't see much more walking than by driving by. After that, we stubbled across a three storey plaza with several home decor fabric stores. I was quite excited to find this and was really hoping there would be some leather there as well, but unfortunately it was all home decor.  From there we walked back towards our hotel and stopped a a shoe store and a couple other shops. There was a pair of boots that I really liked but they didn't fit. I did get myself a new cardigan tho, it's a nice navy knit with chiffon in the back for $15 USD.  We got back to the hotel around 9:40 and finished p...

{Sunday November 3} We got up at 5:30 this morning so that we would have time for breakfast before we leave at 6:30. The guy at the restaurant told me I can't take anything out of the restaurant when I tried to fill my water bottle with tea, but then he said that he just has to say that because there are cameras and he let me take it.  We left the hotel at on time at 6:30. Some of the others put their luggage on the bus too so that they wouldn't have to carry it on their flight. We have 830km to go today; Dr. T says it's 12 hours but I don't think it will take that long, especially since half of it is on a main highway.  Landscape en route to Istanbul We stopped around 8 for a quick bathroom break, and then stopped again shortly after 10 for a snack and a little longer break.  We stopped at a bakery where they were making all kinds of fresh breads, and got a plate of assorted bagels and buns. And of course.. cucumber, tomato and olives. Our driver needs...

{Saturday November 2} I got up around 7 this morning, had a shower and then we went to the dining room for breakfast. I was quite excited to see French toast this morning. After breakfast we went for a little walk out to the back of the hotel, where there is a really nice pool area.  We met our group at 8:15 to get our day started. We will have a very full day today so hopefully we can keep on schedule.  Fairy Chimneys of Goreme Our first stop this morning will be at the fairy chimneys of Goreme. The chimneys were formed by a volcano (2005m high) that erupted basalt stones and volcanic ash thousands of years ago.  The elements consumed the ash, but basalt is very hard so it remained.  The Christians carved out the rocks, forming churches and living in the rocks between the 4th and 14th century.  It is extremely unique landscape and really quite stunning. I feel like we barely had enough time to take it in, but most of the stops have been a whirl...

{Friday November 1st}  We had an early start this morning with breakfast at 5:30. Dr. T has told us all that we need to be punctual today so hopefully that goes well. We did got on the bus at 6am this morning; we have about 700km of driving to do today so it will be a long day.  Around 8 we stopped for a quick bathroom break.   Around 10 we stopped for another quick bathroom break; w e had a couple more hours of driving until we arrived in Konya around noon. The residents of the province of Konya are very traditionally Islam in comparison to where we have been. Our first stop today will be to see a mausoleum (originally a monastery for the whirling dervishes).  There are several tombs inside a mosque like structure, with concrete hats sitting on them to represent the hats of the whirling dervishes, and that it's a man buried there.  After we'd seen that, we went around the corner to a restaurant for lunch. It was quite good, mom and I shared a ...

{Thursday October 31st}  We got up around 7:30 again this morning and got ready for the day. We had a slightly different breakfast this morning.. Same basics but we also had an egg and vegetable casserole. We left our hotel around 9 and headed towards Pamukkale.  This morning we started with a Turkish language lesson. The English language belongs to the Europe-indo language group. The Turkish language belongs to the Altaic group of languages.  English is an inflectional language meaning we have root words, with exceptions (for example stood; root word stand is not found within stood).  Turkish is an aglotinitive language meaning you have a root word and then many suffixes (for example root word eye, plus one suffix is glasses, plus two suffixes is optometrist - no exceptions) After about an hour and a half, we stopped at a gas station with a store for a bathroom break. I bought some really nice lotion with olive oil in it (smells amazing!) and got some...

{Tuesday October 29th} October 29th is Republican Day in Turkey; 90 years since the Republic of Turkey was formed!  We got up this morning around 6:30 to get ready for the day and went to the dinning room for a buffet breakfast at 7am. There was a very nice variety of foods this morning, including pizza, helva, and lots of cheeses. After breakfast we gathered our things and met at the bus at 8am. Before we boarded the bus, there was a lady selling knit socks and mom bought a pair.  Once we were all on the bus, we travelled 35km out of the town of çanakkale towards Troia (Troy). Along the way we got some mythological and historical information.  Trojan horse used in the movie 'Troy' The inhabitants of Troy are referred to as Trojans, and the Greeks are referred to as Acheans.  The wife of the Priam, king of Troy, had a fire in her stomach, so she sought the advice of the oracle. The oracle advised her that the son she would bear would cause trouble, so...

{Monday October 28th}  We got up at 7 this morning to pack up and get ready for the day. Around 8 we went upstairs for breakfast, which was the same as the past two mornings.  Apparently the hotel right across the street was on fire last night and there was a bunch of fire trucks but I didn't hear anything.  Our ride for the next week We met our bus out front at 9am, but by the time everyone decided to get a coffee it was actually 9:20 before we left. We will be traveling 330km to Cannakule today. It should be 5 hours of driving, however the traffic in Istanbul is the second worst in the world so one is never quite sure.  Istanbul has a population of over 14 million people and a diameter of 100km.  By some miracle, we got out of the city without any traffic. At 11 we stopped in Tekirdad for a twenty minute break at a gas station. We had to pay 1 lira to use the washroom but it was very clean.  I also got a Turkish tea and a chocolate bar to...

{Sunday October 27th}  Didn't wake up until 8am this morning and had a wonderful sleep! Hopefully it isn't the quiet that keeps me up tomorrow night!  After getting ready for the day we went up to the terrace for breakfast. It was pretty much the same as yesterday,  except there was a really good smoked cheese!  We boarded the bus at 10am and were wished gunaydin (gun-eye-den; good morning)!   Topkapi Palace We headed again into the old city to Topkapi Palace. Once there we parked and entered the imperial gates through the main courtyard. Within the main courtyard is what is now used as a concert hall, one of the oldest buildings in Istanbul from the 4th century.  From there, we got our tickets and entered through the middle gate and into the middle courtyard. After Dr. T showed us around, giving us some history and showing us the highlights, we were free to explore on our own for 2 hours.  Topkapi Palace We went into the l...

{Saturday October 26th}  3:30 am now... Very tired and yet I keep waking up every couple hours. The windows here seem to be very thin as we can hear everything!  Going to try for more sleep now as we have a full day coming!   Sunrise over the Golden Horn We got up around 7am this morning and headed up to the 7th floor for breakfast. Above the restaurant there is an open terrace, so we went there to watch the sunrise. It was quite cloudy this morning, so not the best view of the sunrise, but still an amazing view overlooking the city. We can also see the Bosporus behind the hotel.  Breakfast here is interesting but still pretty good. Quite a selection of olives laid out, also cheeses, and tomato and cucumber. There was also a table of breads and pastries, fresh honeycomb, fruit and yogurt, and some hot food.. Eggs, "sausage" aka hotdog, and potatoes.  Quite tasty, and the beautiful view helps too :)  After breakfast we came back to the room...