Friday, February 11, 2011

Ihlara Valley

Wednesday 5th May The Ihlara Valley.

Today was truly my downfall! After a lovely breakfast we met with our tour group and guide Fatih, aka Ryan Giggs, and set off for the Ihlara Valley.

With a brief photo stop for a panoramic view over Goreme we were on our way. The group was small, there was a girl from Vancouver, two from Arkansas , a couple from Melbourne and a couple from Holland.



As we were driving along, I was itching to stop the bus to take photographs, the snow covered mountains made a beautiful backdrop to the green fields we were passing. This is why I’m not mad about bus tours - but on the other hand if we were ever to get anywhere perhaps it is the better way for me to travel. So I took a couple of photos through the bus window, there was a little reflection, but at least it was better than nothing.



So, you can imagine my delight when we arrived at Ihlara to start our 7km trek to find a lovely snowy mountain just waiting for me to take it’s photo.



After a quick trip to the loo, I bought a couple of bottles of water, asking for them in turkish of course, leading to a longer conversation with the shopkeeper and the girl from Vancouver as to why I was able to “speak” turkish. Of course I should have remembered that pride comes before a fall!



I was delighted to find nice wide stone steps down into the valley instead of rickety wooden ones that I feared might be there. We were bringing up the rear of the group when suddenly my right leg went from under me. I felt a sharp pain the the back of my calf and also in my ankle. İ had slipped on some loose gravel, much to my embarrassement.



I hopped up quickly, Hubbie insisting I take my time but I just wanted to get on. The leg wasn’t too bad and I would manage. Unfortunately, the next bit was scrambling over some rocks to complete the descent. Well, my pride was in tatters now. My 83 year old mother would have managed it better! I have been going to physiotherapy for a few weeks because I have Rotator Cuff Tendonitis in both shoulders, sounds impressive but it just means that if I move my arms the wrong way or over-stretch them, they hurt like hell.  Drama queen or what, most people get one frozen shoulder but I had to have two...with a bit of tendonitis for good luck. İt was worse because of a fall in the bath 3 months ago. Nobody is going to believe I don’t drink if I continue to make a habit of falling!



Anyway, we walked on. The valley is very scenic and dotted with churches in the steep sides of the canyon. A beautiful river runs through it. I didn’t go to see the churches because while the others climbed up, I sat and rested my injury. The group were wonderful and so was Fatih, they were very understanding that I was a little slower than the rest and the girl from the Netherlands gave me arnica to rub on my leg.

The hike was not terribly challenging, but during the first half, there were a few places where two good hands oh oh, were needed to scramble over rocks, and the ground surface was sometimes slippy with loose gravel on top of the rock. The second half of the trek is easier, without many obstacles to be crossed.



We stopped for lunch beside the river in Belisirma before heading on to Selime Catherdral. This again is an ancient rock church, but different from those we had seen before. Many of the other churches were famous for their frescos but this one is important because of it’s architecture. I took a look at it up a steep hill and decided to stay at the entrance but I sent Sean up to take photos for me.



I took some photos from the entrance and soon started a conversation with the people down at the gate. I explained why I wasn’t going up and was given an iris to cheer me up. They were amazed that an Irish woman could speak Turkish and I was soon told about their families.



I was also shown the grammar book from which the man taking the entrance fees was learning English and he told me it could help me with my Turkish too.

A short while later the lady from Melbourne came back down as she did not like heights and we were soon to be joined by her husband as he had become separated from the main group. Taking photos is a dangerous pastime!
We had a lovely chat sitting in the sun.



From here, we went to Guzelyurt to see a small underground city but on the way Fatih who had noticed me earlier taking the photos through the window, stopped the bus so we could all take photos of “Big Hasan and little Hasan” the snow covered mountains in front of us, which was very thoughtful of him.
The next stop on our tour was a visit to the underground city. Again I had to sit this one out as there was a tunnel that was a short steep drop. We then walked to the nearby mosque. It had originally been an Orthodox church but was converted to a mosque after the population exchange in 1924.



The imam came to give us a guided tour, Fatih translating, but the imam was frequently interrupted by an old man who corrected or added to what the imam was saying. His father had come from Greece at the age of 10 as part of the population exchange.

Later he came back, with bread, still hot from the oven for us. The imam told us that this was not something he had ever done before, it was just for our group. He had obviously taken a shine to us. İ would have loved the opportunity to talk to him at length, he had stories to tell.



From there we drove back to Pıgeon Valley to take photos and a quick trip around an onyx factory.



The previous night we had made a reservation at Dibek for their Testi Kebapi. The one night we coulod have done with staying at the hotel, we had to go downtown. Sean got a bag of ice for my ankle, which now resembled the balloon we had flown in, in both size and colour. He asked them to book us a taxi but they said they would drive us down.

We arrived at the restaurant and my first challenge was to lower myself to the cushions on the floor for eating. After removing my shoes I did a very ungraceful flop much to everyone’s, including my own, amusement.

Testi Kebapi is a local dish, cooked in a sealed clay pot for approximately three hours. The pot is brought to your table, cracked open with a hammer and served on a plate.



We had a lovely meal and I did all my talking in turkish. Our waiter wanted to give us a glass of Cappadocian wine on the house, because he appreciated my efforts to speak Turkish and my ability to laugh at myself. Unfortunately, neither of us drink! I told him that if he had a crane to get me up off the ground again, I would gratefully accept it instead.

We left the restaurant and went to a music shop I had spotted the previous night. I explained I wanted turkish music to make a backing track for a slideshow of my photos but didn’t know what to buy. He told me he would play some tracks for me to choose. Once again, there were compliments on my Turkish, pity I had a swollen ankle to go with my swollen head!

We took a taxi back to the hotel, went to the reception area to check emails and met a lovely Indian couple, Anamika and Subya, now living in Switzerland, who were also going to do the three day trip to Mt Nemrut and Sanliurfa.

We would have good company, the question was how was I going to walk up the mountain?

The Balloon Trip Goreme

Cappadocia to Mardin part 3 The Balloon Trip

Tuesday 4th May. The Balloon Trip!!

Well here’s the first negative note of the holiday. We had to get up at 05.20 for our balloon trip!!!



But it was worth it! If you are coming to Cappadocia, beg steal or borrow, but find the money for the balloon trip. And make sure you spend the extra and do the De Luxe trip.



There is no comparison between the two. There appears to be far more space on the de luxe tour We saw the other trips getting ready to take off and they were stuffed into the baskets like sardines. There were only ten of us in the basket and everyone had a excellent view.




The de luxe trip also lasts a good 90 minutes in comparison to approximately 50 for other tours. Jules was amazed we had booked the de luxe trip, considering I have an unreasonable fear of heights. However my desire to take the trip was stonger than my fear.



We were collected at our hotel and I must say for someone of my athletic ability, climbing into the basket was a bit of a challenge. I’m glad no-one was unkind enough to record it. However once installed it was up, up and away among the fairy chimneys. As we sailed close to them our pilot Hayri of Goreme Balloons informed us he was Turkey’s youngest pilot but he never tells anyone until he is in the air.



He may be young but we were in safe hands. The lift-off was barely noticeable. Sometimes we were very high and at others passing over trees and fairy chimneys by a whisker. It was amazing but even when we were at our highest I had no sense of fear. Perhaps because the sides of the basket are quite high I felt totally safe. There is also no sense of motion just a feeling of being suspended in mid air.



Both the ascent and descent is like a very smooth elevator ride. It was amazing how the pilot and ground crew brought the balloon to land on the small flatbed trailer, designed to transport the baskets to and from the launch sites. It was also fascinating to see the big majestic balloon rolled and folded up into a neat package.



Then after champagne or fruit juice, to celebrate the flight we were presented with certificates to commerate the event.
Then it was back to the hotel for breakfast, and a snooze in the hammock.

Next is the Ilhara Valley and therein hangs a tale!

Photo Safari Goreme

Monday May 2nd Photo Safari.

Today we had booked a photo safari with Heritage Travel and they added in a visit to Kaymaklı Underground City.

It was built by the Chrıstians to hide in times of persecutıon. The city is built on seven levels of which four are open to the public. İt was well worth the visit and Deniz our tour guide was wonderful. She was extremely informative and did her best to avoid the huge crowds that were there. We arrived at about 9.30 and already there were numerous tour buses there. They say that the city was never meant for continuous occupatıon but to be used only in times of danger. There are 14 known underground cities in the region and it is believed they could house up to 30,000 people at any given time. However they stored their food there in readiness for times of attack, so that in times of danger they just had to move in. The temperature inside the caves remains at a constant 15 degrees and so to this day the numerous caves that dot the region are still used to store crops. This area provides 60% of Turkey’s potatoes. The underground cities included churches, kitchens, stablesand wineries in addition to the normal living space. They also had big stones to close off each level in times of attack.



Kaymakli Underground City
We arrived back at Kelebek to find Jules, a professional photographer, waiting for us in an old World War II jeep. Our Photo Safari had begun. Now this was my idea of an organised tour. We were asked what type of photos we wanted to take. İn Cappadocia, for me, it had to be landscape. So she planned a route based on where we would get the best light. All İ can say was the day was amazing. We left the world of tour buses behind and did some light hiking around the valleys with nothing but birdsong to be heard. Jules is so enthusiastic about photography, willing to help and guide if required, but very unobtrusive. Amazing for someone with her professional background to have such patience and sense of fun with two amateurs.
Rose Valley




We broke the day with lunch at the Anatolian restaurant in Göreme and once again it was delicious. Then back to trampıng up and down the valleys. İ restraıned myself and only took 489 photographs and that doesn’t include the ones I deleted on the move.







Jules' Donkey
Uchisar
All I can do is talk in superlatives since we have arrived. I’ll let the photographs say the rest. This is the link to some more of my photos Cappadocia.

May 2010 Cappadocia to Mardin

Saturday May 1st Dublin to Göreme

Well, the journey has started and we are on our way. Those who asked me to write about our trip will be sorry because as those who know me well, know, I love the opportunity to talk!

We decided to make an early start so we headed for Dublin on Friday evening. We got a great deal in Bewleys Hotel at the airport to stay for a night and park the car for 12 days. This means we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday.

We checked in for our flight without any problem and had breakfast in the airport. I have never bumped into anyone I know in Dublin airport so I was very surprised to meet the retired principal of my school. We had worked together for 18 years. Not only did we meet but he was sitting across the aisle from us in the plane. It is his first time coming to Turkey. He plans to spend a week in Istanbul. I will have to ring him when I get home to see what he thinks of the place.

We had 5 hours between flights. Our bags had been checked through to Kayseri so we got a taxi to Bakırköy. There is a big shopping centre there so we had a mooch around and then had pide. Everyone was very surprised İ spoke turkish......even if badly but İ had great fun trying it out. My reward was the smiles and the compliments on my beautiful turkish! We had a lıttle bit of excitment on our way to the shopping centre when our taxi driver cut in front of a car coming up to traffic lights. The driver got out of his car and so too did our taxi driver and they had a very heated discussion in the street about his driving. We thought there was going to be fisticuffs for a moment. Luckily the lights went green and they both decided it was wiser to move on.
It was back to the airport then for our flight to Kayseri. The flight was uneventful and both our suitcases and orselves successfully made the transfer.

We had booked the trip through Heritage Travel and they picked us up at the airport. We arrived at the Kelebek Hotel at three in the morning and we were brought immediately to our room. Check in procedures were left until later in the morning.

We had booked room 103 in what used to be the stables. It is a junior suite and we were speechless. The room is beautiful, there is a sitting room, furnished with turkish antiques and the bedroom is a cave.


The sitting area of our suite
If you want all the mod cons like wi-fi and mini-bars in your room this is not the place for you but if it is atmosphere and peace and quiet you want, it is perfect.


The bedroom
The view from the breakfast room is amazing. It would certainly put the grumpiest of risers into a good mood.


View from the breakfast terrace
Check-in formalities completed we spent a little time soaking up the sunshine in the hammock in the rose garden before we set out for the Open Air Museum here in Göreme. We opted to take the guıded tour organısed by Herıtage Travel here at the hotel. There were just three of us and the guide. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. İt has been a long time since we have taken guided tours, usually gettıng about ourselves with the aid of a guide book, and we had forgotten how much extra information you receive.

İt was very relaxed, we were not rushed from place to place and given plenty of times to take our photographs. Even though there were many tour buses at the museum, entrance to the churches was very well stewarded and only a certain number allowed in at a time. The frescos were amazing and very well preserved especially in the ‘karanlık kilise’ the dark church.


Frescos in the Open Air Museum in Goreme

This was also to be seen at the entrance to the museum


Natural rock formation 
Later this evening we went downtown and found the restaurant Nazar Börek, recommended on Trip Advisor, and, true to the reviews, the food was wonderful. İn addition to the food we had live folk music which added to the occasion. The restaurant filled rapidly and so we shared our table with a young couple from Libya and their two month old baby. İt made for a very interesting and enjoyable evening.


Music while we eat
If the rest of the holiday is as enjoyable as today, we truly will have the holiday of a lifetime.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

And where's your house?

I decided that the best way to get to know people would be to learn turkish. İ purchased a Linguaphone PDQ Turkish course and made a start. However İ discovered that there were turkish classes in Dublin in the Sandford Institute, so crazy as İ am, İ began to drive 100km each way to the classes.

My work colleagues were teasing me before İ started and said everyone will be asking 'and where is your house?'

Well, they couldn't have been more wrong. İ was the Granny of the class and everyone was asking 'and where is your boyfriend?' However, at the end of the term there were only two of us left so İ guess the house was a better motivation to learn turkish than the boyfriend. Four years later İ'm still learning turkish and İ still have the house!

Mum's visit to Turkey

My Mum was 79 when she came to Bodrum in the middle of the blaring August heat but she was game for anything. My "Çılgın kız" genes had to come from somewhere.
I had not as yet braved driving in Turkey - it was to be a few years yet before I drove at 50kmph in towards Bodrum with my heart in my mouth - so we went everywhere by dolmuş.

We set off on a two day bus trip to Ephesus and Pammukale. The heat was intense but she wandered around taking it all in......under the shade of an umbrella. There should have been a health warning on that umbrella as I think several individuals nearly lost an eye.

She also swam in the Pool of Cleopatra in Pammukale and came out looking like a 69 year old. She revelled in the fact that everyone wanted to know her age, she had snow white hair and proudly proclaimed she was 79 to a chorus of Maşallahs

There was just one dodgy moment on the holiday. We went shopping in Bodrum and in one shop we were asked where were our men. İ said İ had left mine at home as he hated shopping but Mum told them that unfortunately her man was dead. This immediately led to being asked her age as the owner had a grandfather who was also on his own.

Mum asked his grandfather's age and on learning he was 75 she said he was too young for her. She was then told, that in Turkey there is no problem with an older woman and a younger man........everyone knew it was just for the sex! İ didn't know where to look, needless to say there was no sale made here. My mum was of a different generation.

June 2005 - At last

Finally the house was ours. Military permission was granted and we owned our own little bit of heaven. We went out for three weeks and after a few days we were ready to move in. Kelebek arrived early in the morning and so did our table tennis table. That morning everything happened at the one time. Our patio furniture arrived and so did our white goods from Beko.

The service from Beko was unbelievable. One group came and delivered the goods, opened and removed the packing.....which they took away with them and then another person came to plug in the appliance and give instructions on how to use the item.

Kelebek was the same. Everything was assembled, packaging removed and the place tidied up. Ali loaned us some allen keys to assemble the patio table and chairs and we had to wait for a day to get the table tennis tabl;e up and running......my God what a delay!

We quickly settled into life in our new home and before we knew it our three weeks were up.

However I had a cunning plan. I really thought my mum should see our new home so I invited her out for two weeks in August and of course I had to accompany her.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Waiting!!

We were told that it should take 2-3 months to get military permission to buy our house. So with that in mind I booked a holiday at Easter to furnish the house and get it ready for the summer.

That was before I realised what 2-3 months actually meant. January came and went and so did February. I now had to book a hotel to stay in as it looked like the house was not going to be ours in a hurry! So this time we booked the Delphi Hotel in Bodrum. The location was great but the hotel looked if it was only just opening.

Several things stand out in my memory about this holiday. The weather was mixed, in the shelter it was warm but here was a cool breeze. There was a swimming pool but it was full of green water and old mandarins that had fallen fron the trees.

Under the trees, middleaged men sat playing Tavla, there was a tournament in progress.

We asked if there were sunbeds so we could sit in the sun and they looked at us in horror, it was March, they were still wearing fleeces, were we crazy! However in fairness, they dragged them out and cleaned them. Next day, of course, there were a couple of Germans staying at the same time and they got up early and claimed them.

We spent our holiday looking at furniture and eventually met Ali from Kelebek who was very helpful. He said he had a wife in Dublin but they had no plans to live together!! His main concern was that his Easter egg would arrive!

We arranged what furniture we wanted and as soon as our permission arrived and we completed the sale we would send them the money and we'd arrange delivery. So the holiday wasn't wasted.

A couple of other memories that spring to mind are walking along the seafront in Yalikavak in warm sunshine, a portent of things to come.

I also remember Orhan. He worked in one of the many hairdressers that we passed everyday and he would always run out to chat to us. He was trying to improve his english. One evening his boss was there too and we got a demonstration on removing facial hair with thread. I could feel the pain as I watched his bosses eyes water while Orhan went to work!!

We returned home and still the house was not ours!

Buying a house. October 2004

In the early "naughties" one of my favourite occupations was coming home from school on a cold winter's day and curling up in front of the fire and watching the latest offering from "A Place in the Sun" It was a favourite daydream of mine to imagine being lucky enough to own a home abroad. Then at the end of August 2004 I saw an ad in the local paper for apartments in Alanya for 25,000 euro.
This set me thinking......owning a place in the sun might indeed be possible and choosing the right moment I broached the matter with Sean. I think it was the fact it was Turkey and we had had two wonderful holidays there but I got the green light to begin investigations.
The poor man hadn't a chance. Before he knew it he was booked on a last minute package holiday to Bodrum with the warning that if we started looking, knowing me, there was no way we would come home without a house.
We had been to a property exhibition and chose Bodrum as the place to start our search because the property there is low rise.
We stayed in the Mert Hotel and apartments. I will remember it forever and with fondness. The first thing was that the lock on the door was broken, two men came to repair it and after much discussion, about two hours later the job was done. The furnishings were memorable, purple walls with lime green sofas but the bed was comfortable, and a spray of flowers left on the duvet every evening. If it wasn't for the barking dogs and the crowing roosters it would have made for a very comfortable stay.
I had appointments made with several local emlaks to view. Criteria, low rise building, swimming pool, three bedrooms and a reasonable budget. We had put a holding deposit on one particular house. It was in the Yalikavak area, on a hill looking out west to the sea. The setting was magnificent but there were a couple of problems. One was there was a pole in the wrong place in the living area, making the division of the living and eating space difficult but the main difficulty was there wasn't any sign of a small market in the vicinity. This meant car hire was going to be a necessity. It would be a major trip to do the weekly shopping but this could be overcome if there was somewhere close by to get bread and milk.
We saw so many houses in the first three days, I took copious notes and photos. Eventually we narrowed it down to three, the one we had come to see, a new build which was just at the planning stage and a resale.
The resale was bigger than we had planned but it deserved a second look. We have four daughters, so a lot of space could be a good thing. Most importantly, there was room for that all important item on my shopping list, a table tennis table!
We went back to see it on our own and walk around the area, it was on a small complex, 4 bedrooms, three terraces with great sea views from two of them and situated in a small village that was mainly Turkish. Our own little bit of heaven. We got somebody to look at the building and check it out for us. We also checked the tapu. everything was present and correct. Six years ago I hadn't heard of an iskan and didn't realise this was something that was necessary. So the deed was done. We made our offer, and it was accepted. All I had to hope now was that they didn't contact my parish priest for a reference when they were doing the military checks!! I"d have no hope as he regularly thanked God that there were no women priests. He used to tell me that if I was his curate his life wouldn't be worth living.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Turkey

My love affair with Turkey started back in 1998, when Sean, my other half, and I went to Marmaris on a package holiday. It was our first holiday abroad together since we had got married 17 years earlier and we were too busy, or should I say too poor, rearing four daughters to travel.



In spite of the extreme heat, we had a wonderful time, we did all the tourist things, including a jeep safari and also did a two day trip to Ephesus and Pammukale. We watched a concert rehearsal in an amphitheatre and shopped til Sean dropped. As you may guess, shopping is not his favourite activity.



However, it was when we returned in 2002, when we returned again with our four teenage daughters and my niece, that we really fell in love with Turkey.

Two of our girls had done their Leaving Certificate exams and so had my niece, so we decided to bring them to Icmeler, near Marmaris, for a holiday while they awaited their results and university placements.



We had arrived on a night flight and our youngest wasn't feeling very well. We checked into our apartments and decided that we would have a lazy day at the pool instead of going to bed. We would then go out for a meal and have an early night.



This we duly did. We came back to the apartment but stopped at a little shop to buy cold drinks. Our youngest promptly threw up all over the place outside the shop. The shopkeeper immediately rushed out to render assistance in the form of lemon cologne! One whiff of this and she came to.... very quickly!



The shop owner "Lovely Jubbly" as he soon became known to us became Laura's champion for the rest of the holiday. Everytime Sean went to the shop, he came home with a lollipop or fruit for Laura. She had become a favourite, in spite of leaving him a present he didn't want on their first meeting!



However, this is not the amazing story of the night. We arrived back at our apartment and Sean discovered his credit card was not in his pocket. Doing our best not to panic, 5 girls and no money, we made our way back to the restaurant in case he had left the card there.



Unfortunately, they had not seen it and were a little concerned in case we thought they had taken it. Sean, explained he had it in a seperate wallet in his pocket and it must have fallen out.



We were asked about where we had been, having explained we had taken the dolmus (local minibus) and gone straight back to the apartment. The owner, took off his apron and showed us to his car and drove us to the bus station. There, having ascertained the time and place of pick up we were told that particular driver had gone off duty and lived in a village 5km away in the hills.



The restaurant owner then insisted on driving us there, found the dolmus owner in the local cafe. He then went to his dolmus and opened it, and there on the floor under the seat where we had been sitting, was Sean's card. We were then driven back to our apartment.



This story sums up the warmth and friendliness of many turkish people and why I love the country so.

About me

Warning!
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people’s gardens
and learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
(Jenny Joseph – b.1932 – poem written 1961)


This poem is the best way I can describe myself. I have spent the last 32 years living and teaching in a small village and I'm waiting for the day to cut loose.
As the poem says, though, I have started a little in advance so the shock will not be too much for others to bear when that day comes.

Birth of a blog

I have considered myself to be many things, among them a çılgın kız - crazy girl - as many of my turkish friends call me, well, girl is a little bit of a euphemism. However, I never thought I'd see the day that I would become a blogger.

I know I can talk up a storm but writing was something I left to my husband and more recently my daughter. But after writing an account of a holiday in Turkey I have been encouraged to create a blog and so never one to refuse a challenge this is it.