Turkiye: Day 4

KUSADASI
1. Woke up to an amazing view of the ocean
2. Stopped by Elegant-deri leatherhouse. They hosted a fashion show for us. Towards the end I got pulled backstage to 'model' a jacket... Well more like one of the model made me dance with him.
3. Visited Efes (Ephesus).
It was an ancient Greek city on the west coast of Anatolia, near present day Izmir (where Homer, and coincidentally our tour guide is from), Turkey. Efes was for many years the second largest city of the Roman empire, ranking behind Rome, the empire's capital. Efes had a population of > 250,000 in the 1st century BC, which also made it the second largest city in the world. Only an estimated 15% has been excavated and what we saw already gave an idea of how splendid civilisation was!

On the left and right were shopping lots. A whole stretch of shopping right till the library at the end!

Temple of Hadrian

Library of Celsus with the ladies of the family :)

up close...2 stories high! (felt like 5 stories)
*gasp* frkn hugeeeee LIBRARY!!!!!Amphiteatre...also where gladiators fought
Seated 24,000 + Stands 1,000What used to be a harbor before it was slowly silted up by the Cayster River. (Also a reason for it losing its commercial importance)

^8 Cee

Turkiye: Day 3

CANNAKALE - KUSADASI
1. Spent first half of the day in Troia (aka Troy)

First of all, I never knew Troy was in Turkey. It was a half an hour trip from our hotel in Cannakale.

The legend of the Trojan War was apparently not really a fight between mortals but a fight amongst the God.

• It started with a beauty pageant between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The Trojan prince Paris was asked to judge which of the three Olympian goddesses was the most beautiful. Hera and Athena had tried to bribe him with power and victory in battle. Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the world - Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite.
• Kingdoms allied to Greece had taken an oath to protect the marriage of Menelaus and Helen and when she was abducted, war started btwn Greece and its allies against Troy with Hera and Athena siding the Greeks and Aphrodite siding the Trojans. The war went on for 10 years.
  
• It was upon the 10th year that the Greeks faked retreat and tricked the Trojans with the infamous Trojan Horse which could fit 40 of its strongest warriors. The Trojans broke their walls down to bring the huge horse in thinking that it could please Athena, the goddess of war.
  
• At nightfall, the hidden warriors attacked the city from the inside and that was the downfall of Troy.
  

Whether the mythical war took place is debatable as the earliest record of it was by Homer (also from Turkey and not Greece!) some 400 years after the war supposedly took place. But the city did exist and it could have been destroyed by earthquakes.

The tiny horse...

...NOT! This horse was built in the 19th century and acts as a symbol for the place.

Against the remaining walls of Troy

Was once part of Athena's temple

The wells where they used to sacrifice animals

2. Visited Acropolis after lunch.
Clearly not the Acropolis of Athens. There are many acropolis in the world. Acropolis means "up town" or "highest city". As you can imagine, the view was amazing!

Our tourguide, Tamer (2nd from right) pointing out the city belowAll 21 of us!The amphiteatre. Sunset :)

^8

Turkiye: Day 2

ISTANBUL
1. I got 11 hours of sleep after a week of so little sleep :)

So fresh!

2. Visited Dolmabahce palace.

It was built in the 19th century with elements of Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles. Apparently built because Topkapi (see previous day) was too simple and lacking in grandeur. Well trust me, this palace is very impressive. Even better than the one I saw in Vienna. No pictures allowed and I cant even begin to describe how regal and grand it was. The rich colours, the crystals, the intricate laces, the well preserved marbles, the high ceilings, the view outside to the Bosphorus straits...*sigh* Even the crystal staircase was enough for me to think of Beauty and the Beast. Hmmm but the library was disappointing tho...ooooh but there was a book with a carving the size of a bottle in between the pages ;)
(Pictures below dont do justice as they dont capture the inside of the palace. All I can say is that I really recommend a tour here)

ISTANBUL - CANNAKALE
1. 6 hours on the bus! Played poker and winner had to eat a piece of Turkish delight since we had no poker chips. It was yummy but we had a tad too much.
2. Buffet at hotel and they served Turkey. Hehe of course I just had to have it soooo that I can say I ate Turkey in Turkey!! I realise I am lame thank you very much.

^8