Day 13 Back to Istanbul

Bus arrived around 7 and we took tramway to 'Z' station, then to Sultan Ahmet station and arrived at Orient hostel near Blue Mosque (25 lira per bed in 35 person dorm)

Day 12 Ephesus

Ephseus only requires one hour to see.  It's the ruins of an ancient city.  25 lira entry price.  Pamukale was better with the white rock formations.  We walked to Aegean Sea beach and took some pictures. 

Stayed at Pak hotel (45 lira for room).  Not easy to find but good location.

We ate lunch (more kababs. 37 lira).

skipped dinner.

At 7pm went to Metro bus station  took 9:15pm bus to Istanbul, set to arrive at 7:30 next day (50 lira).

Day 11 Pamukkale

Woke up early to catch 5 hour bus to Pamukkale.  Saw the ruins and spectacular white rocks with flowing water.
Then caught bus to city near the next attraction, Ephyseus.

For dinner we tried the Salgam Suyu, a drink made from black carrot, salt, chili pepper, and other ingredients.  Can't drink it without grimicing.  It's spicy and salty.  I did not finish the drink.

Day 10 Six island Boat tour

We went on a 6 island boat tour today with Easy Rider.   This was the same company that I went  paragliding with.   The cost was only 15 Lira  per person, which includes lunch but no snorkeling equipment.  There was probably a few hundred people on board, and only three Asians with us being two of them.  Most of the other passengers were Europeans, most of them probably being from England. 

It was a really good deal, ice cream and drinks were only 5 lira, but beer was 10 Lira on board.  We ended up only spending 55 Lira for a whole day of swimming and boating, including visiting the islands.  There was a water slide  from the second floor of the boat into the interior of the boat and out into sea water.  This is a great vacation place for Europeans.

Back on land, everywhere we went people said "koneechiwa" "anyong  ha say yo" and "ni hao".  They  cannot figure out whether we were Japanese, Korean, or Chinese.

I was able to float on the Mediterranean Sea just by lying  on my back.  This is probably due to the high salinity of the water.

Day 9 Oludeniz (Mediterranean sea)

Took the overnight bus to Fethiye.  Then minibus to Oludeniz.  Went paragliding.  They drove us to the top of a mountain in the national park, and we ran off the cliff!

Paragliding lasted approximately 40 minutes in the air. 175 lira foe paragliding and 80 lira for DVD. It was a very calm soothing experience, except when they start spinning around! Stayed at "Ten Apart" hotel, near Calis beach. Big and clean apartment with kitchen, balcony, and swimming pool. Highly recommended, only 28 lira tonight and 37 lira tomorrow, for 2 people. But kind of far from Oludeniz beach. Took two minibuses to get here.

Day 7 ATV in Cappadocia

Rode ATV for 4 hours, 240 lira for 2 ATV.

Saw a number of sights, including valleys and more cave homes, more fun than the green tour yesterday.  Too bad we didn't see the rocks perched on the rock spires.  ATV is all fun.  A guide came with us.  Can't do it without a guide.

Day 8 Antalya, Side, Aspendos

Rode overnight bus from Cappadocia to Antalya.
Should have gotten off bus sooner to go to Aspendos, before reaching Antalya.  We ended up busing back to Aspendos and Side (pronounced SEE-deh).

Saw a Roman coloseum at Aspendos, built in Year 155 A.D.during Marcus Aurelius' reign (15 lira).  Then saw Mediterranean sea and ancient temples for Apollo and Athens at Side (free).  Side attracts many tourists including Turkish and European tourists. 

At Side we chatted with the owner of a paynsion (homestay-50 lira per night).  He owns the bar, rooms, and two homes, all next to Apollo temple.  He says next month will be very busy with live music and rich Turkish tourists.
He owns 5 tortoises and a number of cats and dogs, with a daughter going to Antalya university.  Nice life!

Bused back to Antalya (12 lira per person).

Back at Antalya we tried the Haman (Turkish bath).  50 lira includes them washing you and massage.

We saw a bunch of people with Turkish flags.  Looks like they just came back from a demonstration.  The noise sounds like they won the World Cup (or Super Bowl in USA).  This is probably the unrest referred to in the news.

Day 7 ATV in Cappadocia

Rode ATV for 4 hours, around 240 lira for 2 ATV.

Saw a number of sights, more fun than the green tour yesterday.  ATV is all fun.  A guide came with us.  ATV tour is easier with a guide.

Day 6 Cappodocia

The best part of the trip.

Hot air balloon today at 6am.  They picked us up at 4am, free breakfast.

Also took the "green" tour, which included lunch and visiting a number of places, including the famous underground city.

Cappodocia means land of beautiful horses.

The underground tunnels were for defense against invaders.

Day 5 Return from Mount Nemrod

Trip to see the Mount Nemrod heads  cost 50 lira per person  for bus. 120 lira per person  for hotel.  Romas arranged our trip.
Return to take bus to Cappadocia.

Day 4 Malatya

Stayed last night at

Hotel Pehlivan in Malatya for 50 lira.  It was a very clean hotel with hot water. 
Taking a tour to some ruins today.  Seeing some stone head statues.  More details later.