Turkey - Oct/Nov 98 (click arrow to see another Turkey page)
The sounds of Istanbul
Arriving from almost anywhere to Istanbul is an experience. Head into SultanAhmet to the Blue Mosque and stay at either the close by Gem Hotel, Istanbul Hostel or the Orient Hostel they are all great but the Gem is the gem for a cheap & quiet night. Only US$10 by taxi from the Airport. The Grand Bazaar and heaps of other things were great to see and all within walking distance, but get off the main tourist streets to get the best deals especially on food, and see the real Istanbul. Not like watching guys sell these chestnuts, surely they could sell something else as well! Then US$8 from SultanAhmet to the Atakoy Motorcamp which is the meeting place and quite a nice surprise really considering the first timers shock when east of the western world. Everything will seem incredibly dirty and messy. Get the much needed US Dollars while in town also....Take UK Pounds and change to USD while there and only pay 2% for the privelage.
The other side of Istanbul, crossing the Golden Horn (extension of the Bosphorus Straits) is also worth a look but a bit of a hassle. Ok taking a cab to the motorcamp from Sultan Ahmet, along the Bosphorus shoreline is quick and easy and the camp site was on the left hand side before the Airport. Meeting up with everyone was great, Supermarkets close by so much of the old liquor was consumed by all then finally after everyone arrives, two days after the meeting day, we all take off and head for Gallipoli (Gelibolu on a map) taking the highway west out of the city of 12 million. For any Australian or New Zealander (not so much the British), Gallipoli has been firmly planted in the brain so that no one ever forgets, yet most people really have no idea what it means and what really happened all those years ago in 1915-16. Well after a visit to the Gallipoli peninsula sites and memorials on the western entrance to the Marmara sea and the infamous entrance to the Bosphorus straits leading to the Black Sea, there is no way of ever feeling the same again about the tragedy that happened there with nearly half a million Allies and Turks killed. How both sides had such compassion whilst being ordered to kill each other and how out of it all Ataturk, the future Leader of the Turkish Republic, started his claim to fame during this campaign just adds to the intrigue. Massive statues and monuments commemorate the dead and the site of Anzac Cove shows what a stupid mistake was made by landing there, All a mistake by the British leadership of the Anzacs.
Huge guns used to defend the inlet to Turkish waters certainly helped in defending against the British and French naval advance. The trenches, rebuilt, show how only as little as eight meters separated the two sides for over six months, and the Turkish memorial which has at least as much, if not more significance than the Anzacs memorials. Ok a hell of a day but after being sent from one lovely free camping site, by the police, we settled for a very boggy one and after a good rain, got stuck in the mud.
Good old Scotty and others start the dig, Mick saying "ok perhaps I should have used the skids (or whatever they're called), initially, but lets give it another go" No! didn't work so eventually got towed out by a water tanker. Heading across the strait to the mainland if you like, one more reminder is behind us in the form of the huge hillside monument of one of history's worst war disasters. Don't even bother with Troy as it's just a tourist trap on the western most point south of the Marmara sea. Great, like many things, if you're really into the study of old ruins, but not much chop for the average punter. To cut a long story short, forget Izmir (Turkeys' 3rd largest city) it's a hole. The usual many unoccupied concrete block apartment buildings line the hills.
Now Selcuk, just south of Izmir is great and the New Zealand and Australian Hostel was very hospitable, incredible how a disproportionately high number of Australians visit Turkey, but visiting places like Ephesus just 2kms down the road is yet another good reason to. Simply incredible the grandeur of the many Roman city's and ruins visited through the Middle East.
Ok then, while in Istanbul you are bombarded with all these photos of great tourist sites and Pumakkale is surely one of them so here we are taking photos of the hillside of calcium deposits and pools that are no longer for people to pop their toes into but plenty of streams with warm healthy water.Off again after that, to camp somewhere amongst the clay and the trees.
"OK" says Mick the driver as briefly as possible "we're off to somewhere now, don't really know when we'll get there but here goes" sort of thing. Magical Mystery tour more like it, but wow there we were at a beach at Olu Deniz, one minute, not bad surf really and a pretty good camp site we stayed at for a couple of days lazing around and eating out, then here we are at Olympos, camping on the beach, more old ruins, cheap, anyone can get student cards, and the last of the Turkish Med. beaches. Anything is better than camp food, well maybe not although a decent burger was being imagined by all, at this stage, as we were either kebabed or veg'ed out, oh no another off the truck lunch in the middle of the mountains which was a new adventure even for "Economic" the pet name for everything cheap and off beat.
Up and over and under as we climbed the incredible mountain range and then to come to a sudden stop as the hillside covered the roadside. Viewed the clearing of that for a few hours, watching massive rocks being pushed over the cliffs and breaking trees on the way down, finally got out very late so Mick stuck us in the middle of a quarry where we used rocks, not pegs, to hold our tents in place. More or less finally, that means how many photos would it take to show it all? To Capadocia where we stayed in the Paris Camping, sounds great but like all accommodation so far, not advisable to hold ones breath, but the sites around Goreme township were simply stunning as for over a thousand years people have made their homes amongst the volcanic come limestone etc cone shape hills, rocks, etc and some people still live in them even today.
No more mucking around, next day its off to Syria......