TURKIYE

PICTURES ARE AT
http://picasaweb.google.com/agcousins/TURKEY

After spending 2 weeks in Turkey, I really gave that place a big "Tick off"!. My plan was to stay for 4 nights, but then things changed...
Istanbul - an amazing city of 8 Million people, despite being a predominantly Muslim country it is actually a very secular city, besides the 5 prayer calls every day starting at 5am (mostly I was still up from the night before..) Actually the religion in Turkey is Football.

Taking the streets of Istanbul, staying in "Bahaus Hostel" (highly recommended!), I did all the touristy things including Topkapi Palace, Turkish Baths (Hamam), The Blue Mosque, Galata Tower, The Grand Bazaar, The Spice Market. I thought the small streets filled with market stalls beside the Grand Bazaar were more impressive than the actual Grand Bazaar (its a giant indoor market). The small streets nearby sold everything for the locals - fabrics, kitcheware, produce, animals, garden products as opposed to fake handbags and cheesy souvenirs.
I also got off the beaten track and experienced a few parts of town for the locals, including a Soccer stadium (Besiktas - a Turkish team), a walk along the old city wall (very confronting & scary - me and a Danish friend, Jesper, were the only 2 white, non-homeless people there) - its a place where homeless people live and also trade clothing which is dumped and burnt on the wall. There were children sorting through rubbish... ) Also visited some other districts where there was no tourists - a change from Sultanahmet (where I stayed) - the tourist centre!

The Turks are surprisingly nice people - more than willing to talk to strangers, especially about football!, but yes, there are many trying to sell things, and the competition is tough!
After Istanbul I headed to Selcuk with my new friend Jesper from Copenhagen - in search of relaxation and beach to escape the metropolis! This place is mid-way down the West coast of Turkey facing the Aegean Sea. After a 10-hr overnight bus, we checked out the ancient site of Ephesus - the best preserved ancient city in the Mediterranean. Also we had a look at the beach.. certainly not the nicest, but our hostel (or pension rather) had a swimming pool hidden in a mandarin grove on the edge of town. Totally awesome!
Contemplating how to get to Greece from this place, I saw an advertisement for a 4 day yacht cruise on a traditional Turkish yacht for about $250!!! I couldn't say no to this!! so Jesper and I headed to the town of Fethiye (south coast - on the Mediterranean, where all the fantastic beaches are). We didn't spend long in Fethiye - just ate some local seafood and stocked up on Vodka for the boat cruise. The yacht cruise was absolutely amazing, there were 15 passengers including some young couples, an older couple, a home-schooled family (Boy were those kids in for a surprise!).
By the end of the cruise, we were all dark-brown and reasonably good friends with the other people, after cruising through remote beaches, un-inhabited islands, through the "sunken city", and experienced waters unlike anything else I've seen!
After 4 days, we paid our bar tabs for the boat and headed to the tiny village of Olympos (still south coast of Turkey). The accommodation is "treehouse" style and apart from the ruins, beach, and vast amounts of rock cliffs, there is only one thing to do here: Party. Along with our friends from the yacht - Prue and Eric, Chris and Lisa, Gokul, Leigh and still with Jesper, we certainly supported the tourist industry in this little town. I am definitely coming back to do this cruise and stay in Olympos again.
One final stop in Turkey before heading to the Greek islands - to Capapdocia. A little region in central Turkey with some of the weirdest naturally formed landscapes I have ever seen. The highlights here were a bike ride through the hills, and "Turkish Night" - all you can eat & drink with Turkish entertainment including "Whirling Dervishes", belly dancers, even a donkey!
After this, time to high-tail it to Greek Islands...