Turkey Tour Part One

On the 7th of August we flew from Casablanca, Morocco to Istanbul, Turkey.

Before arriving in Turkey we had booked a 14 day youth tour through Tours 4 Turkey. It began with a full day city tour of Istanbul followed by an overnight bus to the Famous white cliff town - Cappadocia. 

St. Sophia

The Blue Mosque

One of the many Chandeliers in St. Sophia

A cup of Turkish Coffee at a Carpet Shop

The entrance to Topkapi Palace

The view from one corner of the Palace

During the Istanbul city tour we visited the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Unfortunately  it was the last holy Friday of Ramadan so many things we were suppose to see on our tour were closed including the Great Bazaar. This was probably a good thing though as it saved me lots of money :) 

The overnight bus to Cappadocia was a 10 drive and arrived at 8am the following day. Once we arrived at the bus stop our transfer bus was waiting to take us to Dedeli Konak Cave Hotel which would be our home for the next 2 nights. When we arrived we were pleased to hear we could access our room straight away which meant we could shower and have some breakfast before starting our day trip of The white cliffs. The room was amazing, sculptured into the cliff, it was triple the size of most rooms we have stayed in on this trip and it even had a new spa bath!

The Red Valley

The Red Valley - Approx 3kms of walking

Cavusin - An Old Greek Town

Inside the Underground City

Inside the Underground City

Our day tour started off in the red valley where we walked, admiring the rock formations created by volcano laver many many years ago. Within these cliffs were many pigeon holes. After our walk we went to lunch at an underground restaurant which was next to a jewellery shop selling a variety of jewellery from gold, silver to turquoise rocks - all originating from Turkey.

After this we headed to the underground city where the Christians hid from the Romans hundreds of years ago. The city is 7 levels (approx. 60 metres underground) with small tunnels leading throughout the city like a maze. The city was large enough to hold 20,000 people. We wondered from room to room with brief explanations of what they could have been used for - a lot is unknown about the underground cities because they are so old and were only discovered in the 1950's.

That night we decided to book the famous Cappadocia hot air ballooning for the following morning which meant a 4am start so after the tour we grabbed a quick dinner and then had an early night.

The balloon being blown up

The Balloon being prepared for our flight

The View - WOW!

Our Basket after landing

On the 11th of August we woke up extremely tired and nervous to go hot air ballooning. it was well worth it! The Hot air ballooning was amazing - there were over 60 other balloons in the sky floating over the amazing white cliffs and landscape of Cappadocia. At first I was very scared as I didn't know what to except. But once we started floating off the ground, I was quite relieved at how peaceful and calming the experience really was. The basket was quite small but was divided into 5 sections it could carry 18 people at a time including the pilot in the middle controlling the gas and steering during the whole flight. At one stage during the flight I could not believe how high up we had drifted, being scared of heights I found it very surreal and quite peaceful, until of course I thought of the logistics of what we were doing and then I had to hold on the pole for awhile until my mind stopped thinking and relaxed again with the beautiful sights of Cappadocia. 

Our pilot told us the time we went flying wasn't particularly busy and that on some days there can be up to 160 balloons in the sky at once.

Dedfli Konagi Cave Hostel

Once we arrived back to the hotel we had breakfast before we were to be picked up for another full day tour of Cappadocia. I was extremely tired and still not 100% over my cold so I decided to skip the tour and stay at the hotel to have spa and watch a couple of movies.

Turkish Dinner + Show

That night we went to a Whirling Dervishes Turkish night which included a 3 course meal, unlimited alcohol and a performance of a Typical Turkish wedding. It was a fantastic night and a great insight into the Turkish culture - we saw traditional Turkish dances, listened to traditional music and even got to get up and join in with the dancing too!

Our view of the show - Musicians playing traditional music

Traditional Turkish Dancers

The following day we had to ourselves before getting an overnight bus from Cappadocia to Olympos. The journey took us along the cliff beachside of Turkey down to a hilly and bumpy journey to Olympos. Located in a forest / beach cove area, Olympos is the perfect place to unwind and relax. We stayed at Saban Tree houses which was located 10 minutes from the beach. Although our accommodation was very simple, it was lovely to relax in one of the many hammocks or treehouses surrounding the property. After settling in we headed to the beach (5lr entry) where we spent the afternoon swimming and sunbaking amongst many Turkish families on holidays.

Our Treehouse in Olympos

Mike relaxing in one of the many hammocks in Olympos

That night we had a delicious buffet meal at the Saban Tree Houses including fish, meat pastieres, pasta and salad. The next day we departed Olympos to Demre where we began a 4 day cruise through the Aegean Sea to Fethiye...........

Our new home for 4 days!