Tuesday, June 3, 2014
THE FAIRY CHIMNEYS
These amazing rock formations are the result of 3 volcanos that erupted and the lava, ash and basalt laid the foundation for the "out of this world" landscape in Cappadocia.
A TURKISH NIGHT
Last night we took in a traditional Turkish dinner, with great entertainment....sorry, no picture of the belly dancer....I was too busy staring! She was amazing.
Monday, June 2, 2014
THE TURKISH BATH
Oh. My. God.
This was the most amazing, relaxing, unique experience. There were 8 of us that decided to go for a Turkish bath today, 5 women, 3 men. The Hammam is separated for men and women. A lovely Turkish lady, who only spoke about 20 words of English explained the process to us, and even tho the only words we caught were facial, sauna and naked, we figured the rest out as we went along. First we had a mud facial applied, then hit the sauna looking like green Martians. After 15 minutes in the sauna, we washed off the mud, and went into the bathing room. Oh yes, we were wrapped in Turkish towels, about the size of a large placemat. The ladies doing the scrubbing were all very pleasant, singing, and humming, giving the bathers nice, gentle massages, and I thought, I am going to love this....and then my bathing lady walked in....have you ever watched Sumo wrestling? She had me lay down on the bathing stone, a huge circle of marble, beautifully warm and I immediately relaxed. They wet you down by pouring buckets of warm water on you, then a massage. When my scrubber wanted me to turn over, she would say "Lady! " and smack my leg. She was very strong and I developed a love/hate relationship with her hands, but because of her generous size, every time she leaned over me, I felt like I was back in the womb, which was a pretty cozy feeling, so I forgave quickly. All your dead skin is taken off with a "goat hair" mitt. The soaping up is quite the thing to watch. They take what looks like a pillow case, dip it in the soap, swing it around, then capture air in it, lay it on your body, and the suds and bubbles cover your whole body, it is amazing. After the bathing, we showered, a dip in the cool pool, then into the lounge for warm apple tea. A 20 minute olive oil massage with a tiny little thing who tried to teach me belly dancing on the way down the hall to the massage room, gave the whole experience an awesome ending. 3 hours of amazement, and feeling so grateful, I will remember the comfort of that hot bathing stone enveloping my body whenever I think of this incredible day.....stay tuned
This was the most amazing, relaxing, unique experience. There were 8 of us that decided to go for a Turkish bath today, 5 women, 3 men. The Hammam is separated for men and women. A lovely Turkish lady, who only spoke about 20 words of English explained the process to us, and even tho the only words we caught were facial, sauna and naked, we figured the rest out as we went along. First we had a mud facial applied, then hit the sauna looking like green Martians. After 15 minutes in the sauna, we washed off the mud, and went into the bathing room. Oh yes, we were wrapped in Turkish towels, about the size of a large placemat. The ladies doing the scrubbing were all very pleasant, singing, and humming, giving the bathers nice, gentle massages, and I thought, I am going to love this....and then my bathing lady walked in....have you ever watched Sumo wrestling? She had me lay down on the bathing stone, a huge circle of marble, beautifully warm and I immediately relaxed. They wet you down by pouring buckets of warm water on you, then a massage. When my scrubber wanted me to turn over, she would say "Lady! " and smack my leg. She was very strong and I developed a love/hate relationship with her hands, but because of her generous size, every time she leaned over me, I felt like I was back in the womb, which was a pretty cozy feeling, so I forgave quickly. All your dead skin is taken off with a "goat hair" mitt. The soaping up is quite the thing to watch. They take what looks like a pillow case, dip it in the soap, swing it around, then capture air in it, lay it on your body, and the suds and bubbles cover your whole body, it is amazing. After the bathing, we showered, a dip in the cool pool, then into the lounge for warm apple tea. A 20 minute olive oil massage with a tiny little thing who tried to teach me belly dancing on the way down the hall to the massage room, gave the whole experience an awesome ending. 3 hours of amazement, and feeling so grateful, I will remember the comfort of that hot bathing stone enveloping my body whenever I think of this incredible day.....stay tuned
CAPPADOCIA, HERE WE COME!!
Our 4 am wake up call came as quite a shock, but the excitement soon set in, as we flew 1 hour and 15 minutes to Cappadocia. We are now on the Asian continent. Cappadocia, or Kapadokya, is the one place I had to see when we decided to make this trip, and after the scenic drive from the airport, and a quick stop to give us a teasing, panoramic view of the area, it will not disappoint.
Our hotel is a cave house, a restored mansion, and our room is like an amazing cave....just beautiful, Tom calls it our Hobbit room.
We are supposed to have a quick nap before we head out for the afternoon, but we are both too excited to sleep.....stay tuned
Our hotel is a cave house, a restored mansion, and our room is like an amazing cave....just beautiful, Tom calls it our Hobbit room.
We are supposed to have a quick nap before we head out for the afternoon, but we are both too excited to sleep.....stay tuned
Sunday, June 1, 2014
HAGIA SOPHIA
Built in the 6th century as a Greek Orthodox Church, is was a Roman Catholic Church from 1204-1261 and a mosque from 1453 until 1931. It has been a museum since 1935. It was the worlds largest cathedral for over a thousand years.
The first picture is of some graffiti carved into marble by a Viking guard that actually says "Halfdan was here".
Second picture shows the Emperor and his wife with Jesus... The next is a close up of the Emperors wife, he married 3 times, and each time the last wife's face was scratched off, and the new wife's face painted over it.
There is a major renovation going on, so very difficult to photograph the interior.
The first picture is of some graffiti carved into marble by a Viking guard that actually says "Halfdan was here".
Second picture shows the Emperor and his wife with Jesus... The next is a close up of the Emperors wife, he married 3 times, and each time the last wife's face was scratched off, and the new wife's face painted over it.
There is a major renovation going on, so very difficult to photograph the interior.
THE BASILICA CISTERN
When you enter at street level, and descend the 50 odd stone steps below ground into the Basilica Cistern, you can't help but be amazed. It was built in the 6th century to store water for the Great Palace and other buildings around it. It contains 336 marble columns, including 2 columns supported by upside down Medusa heads. Legend has it that one head was placed upside down, and the other on her side, to negate her powers. When the cistern was in use, it held 100,000 tons of water delivered through 20km of aqueducts. It was eventually closed and forgotten, then rediscovered in the 1500's.
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