TURKISH DELIGHT

Istanbul. Expectations blazing. Middle east meets Europe. Literally, east meets west, Europe meets Asia. In Istanbul. Yet, disappointment, not what was hoped. Everything's a hassle, everyone hassles. The other impact of tourism is very evident. Kids chatting ya up for money, adults trying to exploit you. Sucker you in. Madness, a bit a chaos. Not much of a chance to relax. No longer new and exciting, now just a stop on the way to bigger and better. Despite, history abounds. A great Christian church built in 500AD now a prized mosque. The conquerors conquered and then got conquered. Prayer calls wailing from the mosques, loads of mosques. No one flinches, cant be bothered. A muslim country, yes, but its not as one might imagine. The west moves east, constantly creeping. Sun sets on the Golden horn, a treasured sight for ages. Standing on a bridge, local men fishing over the sides, below the bridge a lower deck full of bars and restaraunts. Cruise out the Boshorus Straight, Europe on the left, Asia on the right. Finally, a little peace and quiet, a bit of relaxation. To the Black Sea, hike up to a castle nestled above, keeping a watch on the sea, the straight, and Istanbul. Now cows graze the inner castle area. Nice view for the cows. Out in Istanbul. Chance encounter with a 25ish hustler who tried to pull on over on Chris a few days back. Had a little encounter. He ran off, scared, tail between his legs. Turned around, four cops four feet away, inquiring. Uh, time to bolt.

Gotta get moving. Overnight bus to Selcuk, arrived bleary eyed yet keeping on. Head out to Ephesus. A great city, fought over for hundreds of year, BC and AD. Now in ruins, yet remarkably intact. A little credit due to the archeologists and their restorative techniques. Tourists by the busloads. Gotta luv em. Impressive city by any standards, made all of rocks and stones. The main theater seats 25,000 people and took some 75 years to build. Some patience they had, or maybe time just moved a bit slower. But it was built to last, and last it did. Back to Selcuk, the current down nearby. A castle sits watch over it all, occupying the hilltop. Sun sets over the Meditteranean, lighting up the sky and providing a nice backdrop to the hills and castle.

Moving on. Bus to Pammukale. But it goes to Denizli. Funny, they didnt mention that when we bought the ticket. Nor that it would leave at 1300 instead of 1200. Such is the life. Fortunately, a reservation at a hostel served us well, and their man pointed us in the right direction. Minibus now, and their other man waves it down in the road and gets us off, a short walk to the hostel. They keep tight control over their assets. Wise enough. The attraction here? Calcium deposits formed over way to many years by water coming out of the hills. Just barren hills miles to each side, yet a few hundred yards of what looks like a colorado ski mountian sitting right in the middle. Too bad the tourist boom of a few years back ruined the water flow, crippling natures development. Could have used a little long term thinking about profit maximization before doing that. Now the hotels have been torn down, but the damage remains. Any attempts I make to describe it fall short, so will let the photos do the talking. Arriving near sunset, we walked against the tour bus crowd getting to the top to see the sun setting behind the hills beyond the valley. Quite impressive. Again, reference the photos. Walked on up to the Roman ruins behind it after picking up a few beers. Sat at the top of a 15,000 seat Roman theater, all to ourselves, catching the last bit of colorful sky out over the valley, pondering what it would have been like to sit there a few thousand years ago.

Next day bus to Fethiye. Joined in on a four day boat cruise around the Med sea. No time for writing bout that now though.