snaps of turkey: the fairy chimneys

nate, ann, and i biked through some of cappadocia and visited the famed fairy chimneys. two different layers of volcanic rock have eroded at different rates, leaving unique formations in the sandy, rocky landscape in the center of turkey.





d.i.y. diplomacy - we talk travel with some people visiting turkey from iran.

snaps of turkey: avanos

avanos is known for it's pottery. the nearby riverbeds are rich with various clays, and the town with various pottery shops. after wandering up one street, we are met by a runner and quickly sheparded into one such shop filled with beautiful goods in the front. and in the back...


...the Hair Museum. locks of hair, all from women, line several rooms. most accompanied by a name, town and country. some with all manner of contact information. the creepiest phone book ever.


one of a million or so submissions.


nate trying his hand and foot at the potter's wheel.


nice ashtray, nate.


this way.

snaps of turkey: goreme

morning in goreme.

cave church



exploring some carved dwellings



ann, totally relaxed after her time at the turkish bath house.



downtown goreme.

snaps of turkey: antalya

want a hint that you're in antalya? look for the famous fluted minaret. it's a dead giveaway.


view from the roof balcony of our second try at digs. after a night in a less than satisfactory hotel, we find a grandmotherly type running this place, and decide to stay with her and the lovely view, despite the ceramic figurines of dolphins and cherubic black boys lining the shelves in room number 7.



yummy coast.


we go to the pebble beach. arrive in the late afternoon and hang out with the locals.



look past nate's spectacular farmer's tan - see the droplets of water on his skin? proof nate went swimming in the sea! hooray!



you can lead a horse to water... a lady brings a horse to the sea, apparently trying to get it to go swimming. it's more than reluctant. after trying a few times to see if the horse will change it's mind, they start to leave, delayed by several kids who run up to say hello.



when special people came to visit our household when i was growing up, we might make a special dessert or perhaps take our honored guest out on the town. if you were emperor hadrianos, you had a massive monument in stone made and named after you. hadrian's gate is a good landmark for entering or exiting the old city of antalya. within the old city walls, small and personalty-filled cobbled streets lined with buildings restored as hotels and shops as well as ruins. outside, a bustling modern city, complete with fast food chains, internet cafes, and boring office building landscapes.

nate's pictures from antalya

snaps of turkey: kayakoyu, a ghost town

inside the church. indicative of the rest of the town, anything removable has been removed. no efforts to repair or restore evident. and, like the rest of the town, no part is off limits. climbing, scrambling, and generally playing adventurer raises no eyebrow. the town is described as having been first populated by people whose ancestors were christian greeks who were then relocated (perhaps they were "relocated"), and replaced by a population of muslims from macedonia, who decided they prefered their own, more fertile, lands better and moved back.



detail from mosaic flooring outside the church, made from black and white stones laid on their sides.



the steep road paved with large stone slabs running from the flat of the land near the church up to some of the highest-placed structures. nate soldiers on ahead.



on the highest hill is a lookout tower. on one side of the hill you can see all the many structures dotting the land of this town once inhabited by people of greek descent. and on the other side...



...the uncleared land leading down to the clear blue mediterannean sea, and other hilly parts of the shoreline. follow the hillside down for about 2 hours and you would make it to the oludeniz beach, a destination in it's own right for many of the other tourists who crossed our path.



lots of thistle on this hilltop.

snaps of turkey: fethiye

i love visiting local grocery stores to get a feel for the food priorities of a place. in fethiye we discovered high concentrations of olives ( all varieties, most available fresh at the deli counter), much cheese, lots of yogurt and fresh produce, as well as plenty of bread baked on the premises. also interesting, this special deal: 2 bottles of coca cola with a free package of coca cola branded rice.



at the waterfront promenade people-watching and snacking on sesame-covered breadsticks and fruko soda, so potently carbonated we were belching like big rigs.

nate's pictures from fethiye

snaps of turkey: ruins at efes

sitting in the theater and looking out to a wide avenue lined with columns.



from inside a covered passageway into the theater on the hill.



too bad i don't know that dude on the hill, would've been the perfect shot. nate kindly took my direction and climbed around, but i made a mockery of that shot, so i refuse to show it.



one small detail of carving from the entire city site.



beautifully restored facade.




the site at efes is a paltry few kilometers from selcuk. to get there we took a dolmus (shared minibus with low prices that go around and between towns). on the way back, we walked. armed with water, head coverings, and the tree-lined main drag, we survived the heat of the day. we also stopped to watch the herding of some cows.

nate's pictures from efes