Day 8: Kusadasi

I know that I have been slow in blogging about our trip lately, but time has gotten away from me the past week.  I hope that at least someone is still interested in out trip because I love to remember and share everything from our amazing trip.

So, to continue...

Wednesday in Kusadasi was a relaxing day for us and we got in a lot of family bonding.  Aunt Deniz and Uncle Askin picked us up at the hotel on their boat and took us out to sea.  The water was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect!  However, the water was FREEZING.  Those who know how much I hate being cold will not be suprised to hear that I was the only one who did not swim in the sea.  I took a quick dip and immediately returned to the boat to warm up in the sun.

Captain Deniz

Look at how beautiful the water is!

Erol, Askin, and Selin braving the cold water.

Erol loved it!

Another breathtaking view! 



Day 6 & 7 - Kusadasi

I will now continue the story of our Turkish adventures... :)

Tuesday in Kusadasi was beautiful but HOT!  We slept in a little and then met Aunt Deniz who took us to Ephesus.  In case you need a quick history lesson, Ephesus was an ancient Greek city.  It was the second largest city in the Roman Empire.  It dates back to the 1st century A.D!  So, in other words, it's really old.

We explored Ephesus for a couple hours that morning.  It was a very interesting sight to see with all the old buildings and statues.  It was so hot this day, that towards the end of the trip we had to forego seeing some of the sights.  We were not all that prepared for the blazing sun so Aunt Deniz bought us hats for our adventure and it was well worth it!  Here are some pictures from Ephesus:

Got to love the toursit look!

The small theater

A headless statue... haha!

Ancient toilets.  Apparentaly there was no privacy back in the day

 

Town library

The Big Theater



After our tour of Ephesus, our chauffeur, I mean Aunt Deniz (haha!) picked us up and took us on a beautiful ride up the mountain to a small town called Sirence, I think, where we had an outstanding lunch.  It was one of the best Turkish meals I had!  Then, we went shopping through the cute little town.  While we were there, Aunt Deniz bought us the most beautiful souveniers.  First, she bought us a hand-painted plate that was full of all the colors that I love. And then, we went to a little jewelry shop where Deniz bought me a ring.  It is beautiful.  It is hand-made in Turkey and something that I will treasure forever!  (I will take pictures of both items and share them later)

Me and Aunt Deniz while shopping

In the town, we stopped at a quaint, but beautiful church that was once the church of John the Baptist.  It had amazing views of the mountains as well!



After Sirence, we went to the Home of the Virgin Mary where it is believed that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, moved to about 5-7 years after His death.  It is a very small home where many Christians and other believers go to pray.

I said a prayer with a napkin...or something like that

This is a drinking fountain that is said to bring you a long healthy life if you drink the water

So, we drank it!



Then, we headed back to the hotel for some pampering time!  Aunt Deniz made an appointment for all three of us to have a Turkish hamam (or Turkish bath).  If you ever have the chance to have a Turkish bath, you MUST do it! (if you are googling it right now to see what it is, please keep in mind that we were all wearing our bathing suits...haha!)  In a turkish bath, you lay down on a warm stone bed.  Then, the staff scrubs you down with an exfoliating sponge.  And you would not believe how much dead skin they remove!  Then, they cover you with soap and wash your entire body.  Afterwards, your skin feels amazingly smooth and you smell nice too!  After the Turkish Bath, Erol and I were pampered some more with a couples' massage.  To say the least, we were spoiled rotten!

That night we celebrated Grandma's 78th birthday at the hotel.  Her first cousin came to dinner with us with her children and grandchildren.  It was so good to meet more members of the family.  Friends of Deniz's and Askin's also came to dinner with us.  We had a great time and the food was delicious!

Erol and Grandma

Get 'em Grandma!

Us with Aunt Deniz



What an awesome day and night we had!  Every day has been full of adventure with many more to come!

Stay tuned for more...

Day 5- Kusadasi Family Time!

On Monday, we boarded a plane and flew to Kusadasi (on the coast of Turkey) for our long-awaited visits to the family.  Aunt Deniz picked us up from the airport and took us to Uncle Askin's resort, Aqua Fantasy.  The drive to Kusadasi was beautiful with all the mountains and the coast!  Also, the resort was HUGE with so many things to do, including a water park!

When we arrived at Aqua Fantasy and was greeted by Uncle Askin,Cousin Selin, and Grandma!

We went to our hotel room and saw that the hotel had decorated our suite just for us!  Askin said it was the "honeymoon" special!

With our own jacuzzi...

and bottle of wine, fruit, and pastries.

The view from our balcony was amazing!

After we got settled into our room, we joined Erol's cousin Selin at the water park.  Since she is nine years old, she knew exactly what to do and where to go.  We had a great tour guide with us for that but she really wore me out!

That night, we had a wonderful dinner at the resort with the family and their friends.  We were so happy to finally be with everyone!

Erol and Aunt Deniz

I had to get a picture too!

After dinner we had drinks on the beach and then headed to the room for some rest and relaxation before another busy day of exploring the country of Turkey....





Day 3 & 4 - Istanbul

Saturday in Istanbul started out the same as Friday.  We had breakfast in the hotel and then met our tour guide for another long day of exploring the city.  We were grouped with 3 older couples from Australia.  They were fun companions for the day with funny stories to tell.

We began the tour at the Topkapi Palace which was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years!  The palace is HUGE and has so much history!  Here are some pictures we took of the palace and grounds:

Church on the Palace Gounds

View from the Palace Terrace

Swimming pool (without water)

Me, looking like a Sultan's wife :)

After the Palace, we went to another lunch at a another Turkish restaraunt.  We enjoyed the Turkish cuisine and talking to the Australians.  They were pretty interesting people to say the least...haha!  After lunch, our guide took us on a walk towards the Blue Mosque.

On the way, we saw the Hippodrome which was the sporting and and social center of Constantinople:

Then, we arrived at the beautiful Blue Mosque!  It is an amazing mosque with incredible architecture and decor.

Women had to cover there legs and shoulders before entering. So, I tried to follow the rules :)



We found this guy outside the Blue Mosque enjoying the sun!



After the mosque, we went to the very anticipated Grand Bazaar where there are over 4,000 shops to "make our credit cards lighter" (as said by our tour guide... bad english translation).

Entrance to the bazaar



You wouldn't believe the many many beautiful things there are to buy here!  I wanted to buy the linens, rugs, scarves, plates, and jewelry.  I couldn't leave without haggling for something so after an hour of shopping we bought a beautiful hand-painted plate.  Price tag: 130 TL.  We paid 50 TL.  I would say that's a pretty good deal!

That night we went to a wonderful seafood restaraut on the Galatasary Island.  If you remember from yesterday's post, it is the man-made island on the Bosphorous where "high society" dine and socialize.  Well, Erol's Uncle Askin has friend who manages the restaurant so he was able to get us a reservation!  We had to take a small boat to the island.  The seafood was so fresh and fantastic and the view was even more amazing!

At the hotel, before going to dinner

Pool at the island

Are we in Asia or Europe.....???



What a long day we had! We were completely stuffed from dinner and tired from the long day.  We went back to the hotel to get ready for Sunday...

On Sunday, we were able to explore on our own without a tour guide.  We walked the streets around our hotel.

 Trolley

We found a beautiful Catholic Church

Takism Square



That night we had our usual cheap beer at happy hour

And bottle of Raki

After the raki, we decided to head home and pack for our flight to Kusadasi on Monday where we were meeting Erol's family!

To be continued (again)...