The “not so festive” Festive Turkey tour continues.

It’s Christmas Day but only for the fact that Amanda, my roommate, has a red reindeer jumper on, you wouldn’t know. Up early and off to Troy! Yes, it is a real place, although much Greek mythological events occur here, I think. Troy was rebuilt 9 times- the previous settlement was razed to the ground by earthquake or war- but the one we know most about was the 6^th Troy. It was only when they lost their harbour because the river completely silted up that it was never rebuilt.

We could see the different levels because of the way the walls were built and the type of material used.  A German guy in the late 19^th century destroyed much of it by excavating wildly to find the treasures of the Palace. I’m not sure if he succeeded or not! I climbed up the replica Trojan horse with Nicki, but had trouble climbing down again. There was a huge lineup of Japanese tourists waiting at the bottom by the time I reached the bottom!

On, on, to Pergamon and the Akropolis.  Of course the Akropolis was at the top of a mountain, which could only be reached by walking up goat tracks, or taking the glass lift and then the cable car. I opted for the latter option. I entered the cable car with trepidation, but thought I’d video the ascent to take my mind off it. It worked- I remained calm. My fellow passengers, Nicki and her dad, Dave: Ashika and her husband Vikash: were great companions and kept me talking the whole way.

The ruins up here were amazing and the views were spectacular. Every sound from the valley below floated up, even a dogs bark! We walked around with our guide Faruk, until he descended a long stairway. I thought we’d probably have to come up again so decided to give it a miss, and walk around the other side of the mountain. A few of the roup followed me, Merrin, Rae, Margot, Carmel, Kelly and John while the rest went with Faruk down to the amphitheatre.  Merrin is a Kiwi who lives and teaches in Bristol, Rae is a beautiful Indian girl who lives in Singapore, Margot is retired and lives in Bundaberg, Carmel, her daughter, teaches in London, and Kelly and John are both NZ chemists who live and work in London. We didn’t discover the ruins of the palace, but we did discover the most amazing views. This was also once a harbour, which was now landlocked. It once had the second biggest library in the world after Alexandria and was where parchment was first used for books. In Alexandria, they used papyrus.

I managed to make my way back to the meeting point at the top of the cable car, and found a very comfy lounge chair to sit down and wait for the rest of the group. Two dogs were playing at my feet so I videoed it for Keeley until my phone died. I spied a very beautiful pashmina, which would suit Stacey, but was more money than I had left in my wallet, so I bought a pomegranate juice instead, squeezed fresh right in front of me, which she spilt over my pants and shoes! She apologized, made me another but still charged me 4 lira. It was delicious though!

Back into the cable car for the trip down. Genie, Pat and Ron were with me this time. I explained my fear and told them about the Sentosa cable car crashing in Singapore, but Genie didn’t want to hear. I think she’s just as scared as I am, but doesn’t tell people. Ron explained about the strength of the cables- he was an engineer in the mines in South Africa, and sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

Then on to our hotel for the next two nights, the Hotel  Tatlesis. I had bought a Christmas dress at one of our rest stops to wear to the planned Christmas party tonight, but after a huge buffet dinner, most of the group retired to their rooms. I piled my plate high with fried chicken, rice, and what I thought were calamari rings, but were actually onion rings. They were so delicious I went back for seconds. I had to order a beer to wash it down! There was a huge dessert selection, of which I chose creamed rice, chocolate mousse, rice pudding and I think some more halva. I didn’t want another beer so ordered a Baileys since it was Christmas Day. It cost almost as much as my Christmas dress!  Ashika and Vikash came late to dinner, so I sat chatting go the and sipping my Baileys until the restaurant closed, when we retired to the bar area for more chat. Ashika is also a teacher in South Africa. By the way, she has the most beautiful feet. Vikash shyly admits he used to sit in the library at University looking at her feet under the desk!

It was quite late before we went to bed, but we have a late start tomorrow. We don’t have to be on the bus until 8.30am. Woohoo! The day was fine, but rain was forecast. Firstly, we visited the Zirve Carpet and Kilim shop. I had no interest in buying a Turkish carpet, but after seeing the demonstration, all I want is a silk rug, which costs $6800! (see photo, and it was a thousand times more beautiful than the photo!) People were oohing and aahing over the woollen rugs, but most of them left me cold. I did like the ones made from different coloured sheep’s wool, and had not been dyed at all. They are all hand woven and take the women and girls months or even years to make. I cannot think of anything worse than being a rug-weaver- I’d rather work in one of those Roman brothels!

Off to Ephesus, another of the ruined cities, but not as ruined as Troy or Pergamon.  Just as we got out of the bus, it started to rain. There was nowhere to take shelter, and the streets were marble blocks and very slippery. I was extremely thankful to have my stick, or I would have become a cropper several times. I only slipped twice and tripped once, which is pretty good for me. The rain continued until we arrived at the Roman bath-house, where the sun came out and shone brightly. Within a minute, I went from freezing cols to boiling hot. I took off as many clothes as I could carry, and was still hot. The marble was still wet and slippery though.

By the time I reached the exit, I was in agony.  I don’t know if it was the slipping or the trying so hard not to slip, but all I wanted was to get back to the hotel for strong painkillers, but no, we had to go to lunch first at a local Gozleme place, for a huge pancake filled with meat, vegetables and cheese and home-made ayran. Everyone else went inside to sit on cushions on the floor, but I stayed outside on a straight-backed bench in the hope of easing my back pain, Faruk and several kittens joined me! Then to the bloody Virgin Mary’s house, where she supposedly lived, well not actually lived, but it was supposedly the spot where some nun DREAMED she lived! What a load of claptrap! Only four people got out of the bus, and I was not one of them! They came back after twenty minutes drenched to the bone as the skies had well and truly opened up during their visit. I was almost happy to be in pain and not wet!

We finally made it back to the hotel, where I was straight to my room for a “bex and a lie down”. I thought I’d drop off to sleep but was pleased I didn’t, as Claire came back after a walk to the beach, and invited me to Dave and Nicky’s room for a Jameson’s. The trammel had done its job and I was human enough to accept. The whisky did me the world of good on top of the trammel, but I must have appeared drunk as I couldn’t talk properly.

I was hoping for the delicious dinner like last night’s, but there were no onion rings or fried chicken so I had to be happy with the rice. I made up for it with desserts! Once again, the party didn’t eventuate, so Amanda, Joanna, Nicki and Dave joined Ashika and me in the lounge bar for a chat. I had a pepsi light with dinner, so didn’t order a drink. I headed off to bed leaving the rest of them chatting.

Tomorrow we are off to Pamukkale, one of Europe’s top 20 hot spots. I am really looking forward to it. From all accounts, it’s simply amazing.

Another 8.30am start, so I’m fully recovered, and first on the bus! But before we start the trip, we have to go to the leather shop! I wanted to stay on the bus, but was pleased I didn’t. They put on a whole leather jacket fashion show- you’ve never seen leather jackets like these! The softest, lightest, most colourful leather jackets of every style imaginable- even double sided, so you get two jackets in one. The one that took my fancy was a red and black reversible loose-fitting coat with tassels on the bottom edge. I tried it on and swanned around the shop. The longer I kept it on, the cheaper it became. It was $1500 to begin with, and was only $1300 when I left the store. I struggled to resist temptation- it was only the thought of how many weeks I’d have to work to pay it off that stopped me. Also the whole tour group thinks I’m poor, which I am in comparison!  Even Margot who’s retired bought two carpets! Lots of the other girls went to the bag shop at the back and bought Chanel and Louis Vuitton handbags.

At last we arrive at Pamukkale just in time for lunch. Everyone headed into the town, while I headed up the pure white mountainside. I had to take my shoes off as soon as I reached the calcium carbonate deposits, as they were being dirtied by tourists with muddy shoes. Walking in the warm water was lovely, but most of the mountain was dry white rock or white mud, so by the time I was a hundred metres along, my feet were cold. After another hundred metres, they were even colder! I was stopping very briefly to take a photo of not only the white rock and the travertine terrace pools, but also the views! By the time I reached the top, my feet were numb with cold and I was breathing heavily from the exertion.  This was  the definitely the closest I had ever come to mountain climbing. I felt a sense of achievement especially since none of the rest of the group had attempted it. I put my sandals back on and headed for the Antique Pool, paid my 32 lira to swim and went to get changed. Even with just my togs on, I wasn’t cold as I was still hot from the walk up. I deposited my gear in a locker for 10 lira, and was given a wristband with an actual key attached- none of this magnetic wristband nonsense here!

Ah, the pool! Swimming in the warm water amongst the Roman ruins was something very special. The bottom was covered with pebbles, but I only touched it when I walked in. The pool deepened to more than 3 metres, and I found a marble column submerged to just the right height for me to sit on, but still keep all of my body submerged except for my head, of course. I relaxed here for the afternoon allowing the curative properties of the water to work their magic. Faruk appeared at 3, and told me I had to be back at the bus by 4. I swam to the deepest (and hottest) pool again, and made my way across the ruins to the exit, only stopping to let the waterfall pound down on my shoulders and back.  I clambered out, grabbed my sandals and sarong and ran to the lockers. I was shivering so much I had trouble putting the key in. I could not get dressed fast enough!

I wandered back to the bus through the ruins of Hieropolis stopping to buy a magnet for 2 lira, and once again was first back to the bus. After a half hour rest at our quaint hotel called the Pamaksu, we were out to see the Swirling Dervishes. They didn’t swirl very fast, but their swirling put me to sleep. Worse still, I was front row! Well, if they really were in a trance, they wouldn’t have noticed. The hour show finished after half an hour, and we were all left shaking our heads and wondering when the photo opportunity would occur. It didn’t. Back to the hotel for a another buffet dinner, and so to sleep.

Off to Capadoccia in the morning, stopping at the birthplace of the first whirling dervish, Mevlana. There was a whole museum here about the dervishes but it was packed with tourists! On, on, on to Capadoccia arriving at 7.30pm. We checked in, and checked our room out. Yay! It was big enough for the three of us! Another buffet dinner. They had Capadoccian wine on the menu so thought I’d try a glass for 10 lira. I haven’t had wine since Troyes! It was average at best, and I wound up with a splitting headache by 11pm. I drank some water thinking it was a dehydration, hangover headache, but wondered how I could get such a bad hangover from one small glass of red wine! I managed to fall asleep, but woke up at 2am wondering if I was going to survive the night. I had drunk all my water so went down to reception in my pyjamas to get some more- you can’t drink tap water here- but no amount of water or panadol would relieve my head. I eventually showered and headed down for a coffee and breakfast.

I only ate some cereal, some egg and some yoghurt, not my usual pig out! My head finally cleared but the pain moved to my stomach. I didn’t want to miss my day in Capadoccia so rushed about getting ready. I was afraid I’d be last on the bus, but in fact, I was first.  We headed to one of the underground cities, but I could only manage the first level. I really thought I was going to be sick. The landscape here is amazing and even though I spent most of the day either on the bus or in the toilet, I still enjoyed it. I didn’t go into the onyx jewellery shop, but stayed outside overlooking Pigeon Valley. It wasn’t nearly as cold as was expected. I didn’t visit the churches called the open-air museum, but I did go to the underground pottery museum and pottery demonstration. Joanna made a pot, and to everyone’s surprise, she is a really good potter!

Back to the Tassaray Hotel for one last dinner. I hadn’t eaten all day and decided to try to eat something. A small piece of chicken breast, rice and a few chips were all I could manage before rushing back to my room. I did bring a rice pudding with me, which I might try to eat before I go to sleep, as I am starting to feel a little better. Amanda and Claire have gone out to a traditional Turkish folklore evening (all you can eat and drink), but in the circumstances thought I’d better give it a miss. We’re off at the crack of dawn tomorrow- again- I think they try to fit too much into a day. We were only 6 nights on the road and 4 nights in Istanbul. I would have much rather had 2 more nights on the road, and travelled at a more leisurely pace.

The tour ends tomorrow. Although I’ve enjoyed Turkey, I don’t think I’ll ever do another tour on my own. I’m really looking forward to touring Portugal with Stacey as my tour guide!