Trip to Pamukkule

Today it was the much expected Pamukkule trip! Our day started really early, at about 8 am in our usual meeting point, Bornova Metro Station. We were presented with a breakfast treat - delightful turkish bread, juice and of course Rebdull from our sponsors.

The bus ride was 4 hours long for 250 km - mainly because the driver decided to skip the highways and go through the national road which has lots of traffic lights. Thanks for that.

The white mountains in Pamukkale contrasting with the luxuriant vegetation at the bottom

When we arrived to Pamukkule we ate lunch in an all-you-can-eat buffet for 8 liras, which is less than 4 €uro. The drinks were paid separately and in €uro, but that's why I have a bag full of free water bottles inside. Of course they didn't had fish - lucky me. 

After that, about 3pm, we finally went to Pamukkule. My bad mood due to the lack of fish rapidly  vanished once I knew the entrance was free for EGE students. Pamukkale literally means "cotton castle" in Turkish because of the beautifull white natural pools made of travertine. On the top of the hill there is an ancient Greco-Roman city named Hierapolis (meaning "Sacred City") much like Ephesus, and the whole complex is called Hierapolis-Pamukkale.The beauty of the place is astonishing, as you can see from the photographs, and it was declared as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. As any touristic area, Pamukkale is filled with... tourists! You hear more japanese than english or even turkish.

The calcium carbonate turns in to travertine. All of these strange shapes are molded by water as the centuries pass.

The amazing landscape seen from hill's peak

The pools had an amazing view through the whole valley. Being in a natural hot warmed pool with a magnificent view, with all our new friends on the end of September was something I can only describe as being legen... wait for it... dary. We all went into a mud fight - the bottom of the pools is filled with a mud-like calcium carbonate material. The smell wasn't the best thing I've ever experienced but it was just a small detail.

You can spend hours in the heated water - if you don't mind the calcium carbonate of course.

Being almost time to go home, me and 2 friends went out of the pools (that took a lot of willpower, believe me) and tried to see a bit of Hieropolis. The beauty of the landscape stroke again and we were lost in an flabbergasting sunset and didn't see anything. We were so hypnotised we got late - 1 hour late to be more precise. The ESN guys weren't very happy with us since all of them had to wait, but if I didn't get late I wouldn't be a real Portuguese - that's a taste of my culture right there!

Part of the Hieropolis landscape

Amazing view at the end of the afternoon from Hieropolis - you see why we got late

In a nutshell, if you have the chance to go to Pamukkale don't hesitate and go!

Visiting Istanbul, part 2

So, after visiting Basilica Cistern we contoured Hagia Sophia and went into the direction of the Topkapı Palace, which had an entrance fee of 25 TL.

Entrance to the palace

This huge complex of was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At its peak, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people and covered a large area with a long shoreline.

The view to the Bosphorus

We were there at lunch hour, and still the queue was a bit long. There is a lot to see here - we were in a rush so we couldn't afford to see the entire complex with the calm we wanted. I strongly advise you to spend a whole afternoon or even a whole day there if you are interested in history - the best way to get around is to buy an audio tour or a guide book.

Entrance to the war museum inside the palace

No time for lunch, eating a 4 day-old croissant is enough

Once you enter the big gate (with guards on each side) you'll find a big park with a splendid view to the Bosphorus. If you turn left, you'll see the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. When you reach the actual palace, you'll have the ticket office at your right. Once you've passed another gate, you'll be in the front palace garden. Even inside the palace you have queues to enter in the several rooms. What most impressed me was the treasury all, with all the gold, diamonds and crazy emeralds and sapphires.Would they notice if I borrowed on of those? =)

Some of the many treasures you can see inside the palace

Like most of the monuments in Istanbul, Topkapi palace is beautifully decorated

As the centuries passed the sultans built several small buildings which had many functions - private rooms, libraries, the turbans room, the circumcision building(??), etc. If you want to enjoy your visit even more you can buy and extra ticket and see the Harem, were all the female companions of the sultan lived.

One of the many rooms/small buildings that the sultans built over the centuries

Inside the private library of the sultan

I can't stress out enough how much this complex has to see. We were in a rush, we basically entered the places, took a quick glance and left. If you want to have the full experience, take some time (and a guidebook) to really see the palace.

Fine view to Istanbul's old town from the palace

Part of the Milion

The next stop was Divan Yolu street, at the right of Ayasofia. This street was once the imperial road from Constantinople to Rome, laid out by Constantine the Great in the early 300s AD. The beginning-point of was marked by the Milion: four towers at the corners of a square footing, topped by a dome. The Milion was apparently razed in the 15th century, but remnants of it were discovered in the 1960s, and a short marble shaft was re-erected at the northeastern end of Sultanahmet Square in the little park above Basilica Cistern. You'll have to look for it, because it's  a small monument and can be easily missed. Divan Yolu is now the main avenue through historic Old Istanbul, starting at Sultanahmet Square (the square between Ayasofia and the Blue Mosque) and the Hippodrome and heading westward to the Grand Bazaar.

Part of the ancient city walls can be spotted at several places in the city 

The Burnt Column

The road is full of shops and restaurants, past Ottoman sultans' tombs, mosques and souvenirs shops. If you want to bargain a bit, try it here. Further along the road you'll find Çemberlitaş, the Burnt Column -a Roman monumental column constructed on the orders of the Roman emperor Constantine in 330 AD. It commemorates the declaration of Byzantium as the new capital city of the Roman Empire. The Column of Constantine is one of the most important examples of Roman art in Istanbul. The column is 35 meters tall today. Restoration work has been going on since 1955. Cracks in the porphyry were filled and the metal brackets renewed in 1972. On its erection, the column was 50 meters tall, constructed of nine cylindrical porphyry blocks surmounted by a statue of Constantine in the figure of Apollo. Earthquakes and a fire in 1779 destroyed the neighborhood surrounding the column, leaving it with black scorch marks and earning it the name 'Burnt Column'.

A few dozen of meters ahead, you'll find the Grand Bazaar at your right. The bazaar is is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops. Once you get in, you'll have to orientate yourself because you can get easily lost. The market is packed with the most bedazzling stores - you can find everything there from souvenirs, fridge magnets, leather to real diamonds. You can and should bargain, but know that if you just want simple souvenirs like magnets or t-shirts, you'll probably find better prices on the streets.

One of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar

A jewelery with lots and lots of gold in the bazaar

A fine selection of natural herbs you can find in the bazaar

Once we bought the sought-after souvenirs (at a slightly higher price I might add), we went to our last spot for the day, Beyazıt Square, were we could find the imponent Istanbul University's gate. The walled Istanbul University campus was built as the Ottoman Ministry of War, which accounts for its martial, fortress-like aspect. There was plenty to see here, such as the Mosque of Sultan Süleyman or the spice market, but after a day like this we were completely exhausted and went back to Divan Yolu street to eat something and went to the hotel.

Istanbul University's gate at Beyazıt Square

The following day, a bit more refreshed, we woke up at 8 am an went straight to the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, located just before the gate to Topkapı Palace with an entrance fee of 10 TL. The Archaeolgy museums are constituted by three buildings: Archaeological Museum (in the main building), the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Museum of Islamic Art. On the way to the buildings you'll find relics in the sidewalk!

To many artifacts - why not put them on the sidewalk?

We first visited the museum of Ancient Orient, with many, many interesting relics including the Kadesh Peace Treaty, the oldest known peace treaty in the world. You can also see artifacts of many civilizations  the Egyptian, Sumerian among others.

Part of the Kadesh Peace Treaty

Egyptians artifacts

The next building was the Museum of Islamic Art. It's quite small, but the decoration is awesome! The tiles are amazing, you can really see the best of the Islamic decoration there.

Tiles from the Museum of Islamic Art

Last but not the least, the Archaeological Museum, the main building, is pretty big and has lots and lots of interesting stuff to see. I found artifacts from nearly every place I went, like parts of the Serpent Column in the Hippodrome, Ayasofia and even the story of the Küçuk Ayasofya, that old mosque in front of our hotel! One of the most famous pieces is the Alexander Sarcophagus, once believed to be prepared for Alexander the Great.

The main building, the Archaeological Museum

Alexander Sarcophagus 

This place really has a lot to see, but since we were in a hurry (the airport transfer was scheduled to 12pm) we couldn't appreciate it the way I wanted - 3 hours went really fast.

Back to the hotel, with 20 minutes to spare, we checked out, headed towards the airport and left for our next and final stop: Izmir.

My conclusion: Istanbul seems to be a bubbling city filled with life and lots and lots to see. With only one day and one morning I wasn't able to see the Sultanahmet area properly - only took a quick look and moved on. If you want to see the entire city, you'd need more than one week, perhaps two. It's really gigantic, but if you have the means to do so, you won't regret it.

One last glance to Istanbul...

... and a merhaba to Izmir!

Visiting Istanbul, part 1

My first contact with Turkey was made in Istanbul, more precisely the Atatürk International Airport. I arrived in the night what could make using the public transportation to reach the hotel a bit complicated - so I decided to book a transfer from the airport to my hotel. Once I arrived, I tried to withdraw money - Turkish Lira - but the ATM gave me errors instead. Twice. I later knew that I shouldn't have asked for a receipt, hence the error. Even though I had no success getting the money, the full amount was discounted from my bank account, and it took two longs weeks and inumerous phone calls to solve the problem.
As soon as I left the arrivals area of the airport, there was a man waiting for me and my mate, and took us to the hotel - Antik Sofia Otel. Because the hotel is located in a family neighborhood  in the historical district of Sultanahmet, we really could feel the ambiance of life in Istanbul - although it was a bit small, the owner and the location were just right, so if you are on budget I would recommend it. Hearing the callings for praying from the old mosque at 5 am has it charm.

The Antik Sofia Hotel

The Küçuk Ayasofya Mosque -  formerly the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus -  right in front of the hotel.

Since we only had 2 days, more specifically one full day and a morning to see the entire area, I planned the trip in advance - we only visited Sultanahmet, but went to the most eye-catching places. We were really close to the touristic area, so we walked all the way without taking transports.

Everything had to be planned in advance. Turkey Travel Planner helped a lot!

The first stop was the Hippodrome - a big square right next to the Blue Mosque. In the ancient times it was the heart of Constantinople's political and sporting life. Now it's called the "At Meydanı" (Horse Grounds) because of its function in Ottoman times. Travel guides says that there is free wifi - I couldn't access a free network though. The Hippodrome has several monuments:

The Thutmose Obelisk in the hippodrome

• Serpent Column - All that remains is the base, the column was cast to celebrate the victory of the Greeks over the Persians during the Persian Wars in the 5th century BC. Constantine ordered the Tripod to be moved from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and set in middle of the Hippodrome.  Parts of the heads were recovered and are displayed at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.
• Obelisk of Thutmose III - brought by emperator Theodosius in 390, the obelisk from Egypt was erected inside the racing track. Carved from pink granite, it was originally erected at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor during the reign of Tuthmosis III in about 1490 BC. Theodosius had the obelisk cut into three pieces and brought to Constantinople. The top section survives, and it stands today where Theodosius placed it, on a marble pedestal. The obelisk has survived nearly 3,500 years in astonishingly good condition.

• Walled Obelisk - built in the 10th century the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. It was originally covered with gilded bronze plaques, but they were sacked by Latin troops in the Fourth Crusade.

The Walled Obelisk

Since the Hippodrome is close to the main touristic places - Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, the Blue Mosque and the the Basilica Cistern, we could easily choose what to visit next. We decided that the next stop would be Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) - since we were there early, about 9 am, we could enter the museum without having to wait too much. And that was wise since a few hours later the queue was several meters long! The entrance costs 25 TL, but it's well worth it - this building is almost 1500 years old, being built as a church in 537 AD.  It was proclaimed a mosque soon after the conquest of the city from the Byzantines in 1453. When it was transformed into a mosque, the christian mosaics were covered in plaster but not destroyed. It served as Istanbul's most revered mosque until 1935 when Atatürk, recognizing its world-historical significance, had it proclaimed a museum, as it is now. Most of the 30 million gold mosaic tiles which cover the church's interior—especially the dome—have recently been restored.

Hagia Sophia in the early morning

Hagia Sophia by night

The amazing mosaics from the time when it was a church

The interior of the museum

When you leave Ayasofya you can turn left, and then left again to see the Sultan Tombs. The entrance is free, and there isn't much to see here except for... tombs. The entrance is free, so if you have the time take a look. The mausoleums are decorated with an Arab style and you'll have to take your shoes off to enter. If you like history you'll see the tombs lots of well-known sultans.

The interior of one of the mausoleum

Right in front the tombs and Ayasofya is the Blue Mosque, also called the Sultanahmet Camii. It earned its name because of the blue interior tiles. Being one of Istanbul's premier sights, we had to wait in the queue for a bit. Since it's a working mosque, you can enter for free (though donations are gratefully received at the exit). It's closed to non-worshippers for a half hour or so during the five daily prayers, and may be closed for a longer time from midday on Friday, the Muslim holy day. At the entrance we were asked to put our shoes in a plastic bag, and the ladies who had her beautiful legs too exposed were asked to cover them with a scarf. The interior of the mosque was astonishing - being my first time on a real mosque, I was really impressed. There are no statues like in the catholic churches, just a big open space with a carpet. The interior is really well adorned as you can see from the pictures.

The Blue Mosque from the Hippodrome

The Blue Mosque

A working mosque - prayer times

The beautiful ceilings of the Blue Mosque

Our next stop was the Basilica Cistern - one of the hundreds of Byzantine cisterns on the underground of Istanbul, from the days it was Constantinople. It really big, covering almost 1 km2 and having 336 marble columns, costing 10 TL to enter. Built by Justinian after 532, the Basilica Cistern stored water for the Great Palace and nearby buildings. Lost to memory, it was rediscovered by Petrus Gyllius, who noticed that local people got their water by lowering buckets through holes in the floors of their houses, found an entrance and thus put it back on the map. Once you get in you can feel the saturated atmosphere and the dark illumination to set the mood. It's a shame that the whole environment is spoiled by people shouting trying to sell pictures and souvenirs. Even so, really worth a visit.

The interior of the Basilica Cistern with its 336 marble columns taken from pagan temples in Anatolya

Aaaand it's enough for this post, don't forget to see part 2 ;)

About Turkey

There are some preconceptions about Turkey that are completely wrong. Due to it's geographical position and main religion, many (or most) people think it's a country with many instability, conflicts and that pet hate towards the people from the west. It couldn't be farther away from the truth. But lets go the data first.

Turkey within the European Union

Area: 783,562 km2	Language: Turkish
Religion: 97% Muslim, 1% Atheist, 0,6% Christians	Population: 75 million
Largest cities: Istanbul, Ankara (capital), Izmir	Ethic groups: 70–75% Turks, 18% Kurds
Currency: Turkish Lira (1€ = 2,30 TL) as of 09/2012	Human Development Index: Hight (92nd of 187) as of  2011

Turkish Provinces

Turkey is located both in Europe (3%, that left part from Istanbul) and Asia - what means you're doing Erasmus in another continent x)

Weather

The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. I came to Izmir in the middle of September and had temperatures around 33ºC during the day and 20ºC during the night - if you come from a northern country prepare yourself for some very hot weeks. In the interior, in Ankara for example, the temperatures are more extreme, with even high values during the day and negative temperatures during the night.

Feeling too hot? What about a trip to Çesme?

Economy and Prices

Judging by the countries around Turkey, I wasn't expecting such a thriving economy as I've seen. Turkey is one of the most powerful word economies being part of the G-20, and one of the few that it's actually growing and not contracting. It seems like every Turkish has the new iPhone or Samsung Galaxy - even though they are more expensive here than in other parts of Europe!

The food is really cheap and you can eat for 5/6 TL in some places. The supermarkets can have really nice promotions (like a bag of chocolate cookies for 1 TL). The main hypermarket here is Kipa (kind of like Tesco in the UK or Continente in Portugal). 

The prices are generally cheaper than in the western part of Europe, except for the milk (and if it's soy milk, oh boy, you'll pay big bucks for that), cereals and alcoholic drinks. Yeah, you read it right! The prices here are stupidly high and if you're a heavy drinker you'll have to bring that extra cash.

Apart from that, everything seems to be cheaper - the bus rides, the domestic flights, the food, the transport, the clothes, etc, etc. One thing you'll have to do is bargain. If you never did that before, you will master the art! 20 TL for a hat? No way, you can have it for 10, just bargain with the salesman. If you just accept the normal price without bargain I think the sellers will think you're not normal!

The people

The Türk are reaaaally nice to foreigners. They will try to help you in what they can, even though they can't understand you and vice-versa. They're very welcoming and will invite you for a cup of tea - a very hot Çay. One sentence that will be very helpfull is "Türkce bilmiyorum" - I don't speak Turkish - it's by far the most useful sentence I've ever learn! Some people will still speak turkish to you even with you saying you can't speak it. When that happens just say yes (evet) to everything, smile and go away x)

They have a great deal of admiration towards Atatürk - literally the father of the Turkish - with pictures and statues of him in every public building, squares and at their houses. But I'll do another post about it.

The Turkish are also very tolerant, specially the ones from big cities - so it's natural so see girls in short skirts or with a cleavage, people from other religions or even transgenders as in many other western countries. 

A very conservative country? Here's transgender in a boat party!

The food

The first thing you should know is that you won't definitely find pork here. Even if you can find, it will be a salami-type of meat, so forget about that amazing beef you like so much. The Turkish cuisine is heavily influenced by the the heritage of Ottoman cuisine - luckily olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking, which I appreciate since I'm Portuguese.

Simit is a special type of circular bread with sesame seeds you'll see everywhere, generelally for breakfast or lunch. It's quite good actually, the first time I ate it was in a private class and it was offered by the professor (how about that Turkish hospitality!).

Selling Simit on the street

Çay - the Turkish black tea - is consumed in every part of the day, breakfast, after lunch, in the afternoon, evening, after dinner, etc, being traditionally offered to guest. The çay is traditionally offered in small tulip-shaped glasses which are usually held by the rim, in order to save the drinker's fingertips from being burned, as the tea is served boiling hot. Çay is drunken in the same way that the Portuguese and Italians drink their Espressos. The Turkish Coffe (Türk Kahve) is also very popular, consisting in a strong non-filtered cup of coffe. and you'll find people who can read your future in the coffe grounds - your future in the cup and your family's in the saucer.

Çay served in a very distinctive cup - half drunk of course!

Turkish coffe with turkish delights

Wanna know your future?

For the actual meal, you can easily find the tradicional köfte, döner or kebabs anywhere. Rice (pilav) or Bulgur (kind of a special rice) are key ingredients, and you'll find that eating chicken (tavuk) twice a day almost everyday is quite normal. Fish is nowhere to be seen, at least where I'm living (Bornova, Izmir). The eggplant (aubergine) is normally present in every meal, cooked in several kinds of ways. Biber (a kind of peper) is also heavily used. For the salad, cucumber is the key ingredient.

A dish like this costs no more thant 2,5 €. You won't miss chicken since it's everywhere.

Bulgur with beans in a low-cost restaurant

Kumru - traditional sandwich of Çesme.

Yoghurt is also a very important element in Turkish cuisine (the word yoghurt derives from the Turkish word yoğur). Yoghurt can accompany almost all meat dishes (kebabs, köfte), vegetable dishes (especially fried eggplant). In villages, yoghurt is regularly eaten with rice or bread. They eat their yoghurt in the natural way here, which means no sugar and no added flavors. Tough luck! One interesting thing is that they made a special beberage made of yoghurt called Ayran, wich is a cold beverage of yogurt mixed with cold water and sometimes salt, pouring from a fountain-like machine. I haven't tasted it yet, so I won't speak much about it =)

Although it's not a food an more of a cultural habit, the Turkish love to smoke the waterpipe, known as Nargile. It's very normal to go out and see lots of people, old and young, smoking and socializing.

The nargile - whaterpipe

The traffic

It's just crazy. I feared for my life, but it deserves a whole post dedicated to it!