Europe 2014: Pamakkale

To Pamakkale.........

After a fairly uneventful taxi ride, we began to see the white cliffs of Pamakkale (the travertines). We went through many little towns and enjoyed the drive immensely. We travelled from Kusadasi on the coast and went inland to Pamakkale through Aydin (if you are following our trip on the map). The countryside is full of olive and pomegranate trees and a variety of other agriculture including corn...yes corn and it was already knee high.

We arrived at Anatolia Hotel and were greeted with world renowned hospitality. The Turks sure do know the meaning of true hospitality. We arrived and instead of us having to go out to eat they made us a traditional Turkish lunch of rice...amazing rice.....and stewed eggplant. The food in Turkey is similar to Greece, but they definitely have their own style. Turkish rice is some of the best rice I've ever had.

The next day we saw the travertines and the ancient site of Hierapolis. The travertines are sedimentary rock deposited by water from a natural hot spring created by an earthquake. These are unlike anything you have ever seen or felt. They look like cliffs covered in snow with running water down them from the top of the cliff. They look like they would be slick, but because of the hardening of the calcium carbonate, they are not slick, but a bit rough. You have to take your shoes off and walk barefoot the entire way up these cliffs. Every few 100 feet there are natural pools that are shallow and have this chalk material on the bottom. I can honestly say it was one of the most mind blowing experiences of my life. It defies your idea of nature.

After the walk up we explored the site of Hierapolis. It was quite an extensive site that covered the top of this cliff. It had all the traditional portions of an ancient city including burial tombs, latrines, an agora (market area), temples, a theatre, and churches. This site also houses the tomb of St. Phillip. We ended up taking the back way to this portion of the site, from the theatre to the tomb of St. Phillip, and on our way back we ended up walking through an excavation area and didn't know it as we were coming from the back. Oops! We thought it looked really cool, but wasn't taped off or anything and then got to the end of the street and saw the excavation sign....oops sorry!

We enjoyed a small lunch and ice cream at the local hot spring and then headed back down the travertines taking photos as we walked. Adam went a little crazy with the camera...we have a ton of pictures from the walk down! Haha! Here are a few---->

The next day we took a bus trip to Aphrodisias. This was an incredible site and is one of the most well preserved in the country. The tour groups haven't caught sight of this yet so there weren't a ton of people. It was a peaceful and beautiful day exploring this ancient site. It also had all the usual areas that these cities had such as Turkish baths, a theatre, council house, community housing, temples, and churches. Most of these ancient sites were overthrown and changed over many years and have temples to the Ancient Greek gods and were later converted to Christian churches. This site had 2 unique areas: a stadium and a large agora with a huge pool. The stadium was enormous and would have held thousands of spectators. It was incredible and was still preserved. The pool was still being excavated, but it was enormous. Probably atleast the size of an Olympic pool. These ancient sites are so interesting and the museums often make graphic design renderings of what they would have likely looked like, which really puts to life the ruins we see. The museum was very well done and contained many, many sculptures.

After our lovely trip to Aphrodisias, we came back and enjoyed our last meal in Pamakkale. After dinner we enjoyed a local ritual of a hookah, which is basically a camber with flavored liquid in the bottom and the tobacco in the top with coals to help make the smoke. Surprisingly, it didn't effect my asthma at all. Due to the chamber and liquid effect it felt more like a humidifier than smoke. The smoke-like fluid that comes out is more like steam and less like smoke and has a slight flavor....our choice was peach. It was a very interesting experience. Some say this is a scandalous adventure, but I assure you it was not. From what we could tell there was no buzz at all...about the same amount of buzz you get from a glass of water. The intrigue is simply that it is a cultural experience.

Gramma chilling in the bean bag!!!

Next stop ----> Bergama to see ancient Pergamom!

Blessings,

Adam & Kristin

 

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I'm a Stranger Here Myself

I hope Bill Bryson can forgive my shameless plagiarism of his memorable title (a must read), but it neatly sums up my thoughts on traveling in the near east. We undertook this expedition largely as an escape, conveniently termed 'sabbatical', to mark the transition between two radically different epochs in our lives: we loosely planned to discuss what changes we would like to see in ourselves and our situation but never set any particular goals. Despite this, our experiences in Europe and Asia gave some ideas and inspirations we would like to bring home with us and I would like to share with you, my friends.

The most important lesson I learned was hospitality. Hospitality in the west is focused more on the generosity of the host, whereas countries like Turkey promote a form of hospitality that focuses on the honor a host is paid when a guest chooses to grace the host with her or his presence. To those in Turkey it is a great honor to have a guest come to visit; the host is willing to give of any possession and make great sacrifice of time and effort to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of the hosted. I believe we in the west forget that it is a much greater honor that our friends and family should choose to spend time with us in our homes rather than in their own. This epitomizes genuine, self-less hospitality.

The second lesson, no less emphatic or noble, is that bidets are an essential bathroom feature. No civilized society should be without! (Indeed, one could argue the degree to which a society without bidets could possibly be considered civilized...)

Finally, a lesson to those visiting countries in which English is not the primary language; learn at least rudimentary communication in the vernacular of the country you are visiting. Difficulty is, by the way, absolutely no excuse. If a six year old could say it, you should be able as well. All it takes is a few hours here and there before your trip, an investment well worth the many compliments and greatly eased communication your study will provide.

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude (and money) to all of our friends and family (and creditors) for their support in the preparation and execution of this incredible experience. To each of you who sent encouragement and good tidings our way, we thank you sincerely. Thank you all for your support, we cannot wait to tell you all the stories of our adventures and hear of yours during our time away.

Gule gule (smiling, smiling),

-Adam and Kristin Veteto

 

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Europe 2014: Kusadasi

Kusadasi, pronounced "Koo-sha-da-see," is known as the Las Vegas of Turkey. We arrived here on a ferry boat from Rhodes, Greece. Tangent----> One expense you don't always account for is entrance and export taxes to leave and enter different countries. We payed a per person exit fee from Greece and an entrance fee for Turkey...and we needed a visa to get into Turkey. So at the port we were able to purchase these for 25 euros per person....times that by 2 people = 50 euros for the Vetetos...yikes! Even though it is cheaper to travel with more people when sharing taxis (spelled "taksi" in Turkey), etc......it sort of blows your mind when you are paying for not one but 2 people out of the same pocket for things such as this.

So...we arrived late to our resort after hitching a ride from the port at Marmaris to Kusadasi for a reasonable price for a four hour drive. All 5 of us pile in this taxi and head to the resort. We also got to see the country side of Turkey and a beautiful sunset on our drive.

We finally arrive and get our 4 person condo...for 5 people and realize quickly that it isn't even equipped for 4 let alone 5. So we get an extra bed and shove it in the only usable space available and go to sleep. The next morning we get a few things sorted out and end up staying in the same location and took a taxi into town. The resort we are staying in with Gramma's RCI exchange is this huge all inclusive resort. It is amazing! Jan refers to it as a " cruise boat on land".......and she is right. It was filled with people and it is an off season and it was full. Families from all around the world were there. This place even has its own water park and marina. It is huge and basically on a peninsula off the coast of Turkey...what am I saying...it is the peninsula! Haha

So while in town we have lunch at this quaint water front taverna where we enjoyed a beautiful lunch! We picked up a few groceries and headed back to the condo to make bruschetta with fresh tomatoes. Yum! Great night of walking around watching the sunset and enjoying the beautiful and luxurious location.

The next day we woke early because Adam and I made reservations for a 2 hour traditional Turkish bath and massage. I have never in my life had a massage and I was a bit nervous. We started at 8:30 am and it was a full 2 hours of full on pampering....I LOVED it! We started with the sauna then transferred to a steam room to prep our skin. We were then led into the traditional Turkish bath in a room of marble. They had us lay on either side of a marble slab while they (the masseuse) provided the bath by splashing water on us as we lay there and then did a peeling ritual where they use basically a pumice glove to vigorously peel the top layers of skin off. Are you thinking "ouch"......that's about right at the beginning, but you eventually get use to it. Note: I had a male masseuse and Adam had a female.

Following the full body peeling we had a full body clay mask where they rub and massage clay all over your body and you sit there until it starts to harden and does its magic! Haha.....at one point we were laying there with just covers over our important parts covered in clay and all I could think of was that at any moment I would become the sacrifice. It was certainly a new experience laying on a marble slab covered in clay. After the clay mask we were given a soap massage where they take this beautifully smelling soap and cover you in bubbles and then use the soap for a full body massage.

Following the Turkish bath and massage we were guided into a quiet room with relaxing music for a face mask. I loved the face mask and my skin was incredibly smooth when we washed it off. Lastly, we were guided into this beautifully prepared and romantic room for our couple aromatherapy massage. The gentlemen that provided my massage throughout the entire 2 hours sure got his work out. I've never had a massage before, but it felt and sounded like it was a workout for him. We exited the room barely able to walk as each part of our body was so relaxed. We also looked like we had just came from a crazy night because our hair had also been massaged in the process of the face massage .....just imagine what our hair looked like mangled and rubbed with oil. I was embarrassed to be seen in public, not to mention I felt like I had just woken from a coma.

We arrived back to the condo, still in a relaxed coma to find that we were all moving to a new condo room. So we quickly packed, had lunch at the marina and moved into the new 2 bedroom condo without any additional charge. Adam and I then went snorkeling for the afternoon in the very cool Mediterranean water and saw some really cool fish. We enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner at the condo restaurant with mesikan (Mexican) style food and free drinks to seal off a wonderful day.

Our 3rd full day in Turkey we hired a taxi for the full day to take us to the House of the Virgin Mary, the archeological site of Ephesus, and the wine town of Sirince. The House of the Virgin Mary is basically a shrine to commemorate the Virgin Mary. The location is supposedly where she travelled with John following the death and resurrection of Christ. It was a lovely location and a small shrine where people from all around the world bring notes and prayers and tie them to the wall outside.

We then went to Ephesus. It was enormous and probably the most extensive site we've seen. It was full of tourists, but we were still able to feel the life of the ruins. The cobbled streets were beautiful alongside the emaculate theater(s) and library. The library itself was a site to see....standing in front of it was as if it was just me and it and all the history it held. It was as if it told me the history of the growth of the city, the lives that were lived, and about its eventual destruction. I teared up as I stood there and looked up at its magnificent size, elaborate architecture, and incredible history. A moment I will never forget!

We then stopped by a traditional Turkish delight factory and had the full court press to buy something....we got samples..yum! We then made it to the small village of Sirince. This village has wonderful history and is now well know for its local production of wine. We had lunch at a lovely home run restaurant and enjoyed stuffed vine leaves and a fresh salad. We then had a wine tasting of a few of their sweet, fruit wines. I bought the black mulberry wine which is basically a sweet dessert red. We will have it for dessert with chocolate! After the tasting we walked through the town and went through their local shops, met local people, and enjoyed the atmosphere of the town.

On our return from Sirince, the taxi driver had an agenda to take us to a rug distributor.......like the Turkish delight factory and the leather factory. He kept saying something to the effect off " good product, guarantee.........etc.". I think this gentleman might be getting a comission or some sort of incentive for bringing tourists to these shops. Great way to do business I guess. Side note: while on our way to Sirince the taxi driver stops in the middle of the road and buys a watermelon and then proceeds to drive and drop it off at his house on our way out of town.........only in Europe is it ok to do a personal errand while on the job! Haha...I love Europe!

So we ended up at this fair trade rug shop whether we wanted to or not, went inside and had a lovely, lovely time. They greeted us like kings and queens, showed us the process, and served us tea and coffee. This is an organization where they are focused on training a new generation of the art of rug making and focused on giving the majority of the profit to the artist. So we also find out that to get silk you actually have to pick the caterpillars after they make their cocoon and before they exit to keep the silk strand. To do this they basically take these live caterpillars in the silk cocoons and drop them into boiling water and murder them and take their silk. Somehow as a vegetarian and vegan......we felt really bad about this. Anyway.....they continue by showing us the differnt types of looms and styles of rugs......all very interesting and certainly art. They even showed us a huge silk on silk rug worth $100,000! What? It was beautiful but all I could think of was ......how many poor caterpillars had to be boiled alive to make this. The answer was too many! We managed to make it out of the shop with only one cotton on wool rug (bought by Gramma) and finally made it back to the resort after multiple attempts by the taxi driver to take us to another rug or leather shop...."good price, guarantee."

Day 4 we stayed in.....slept in and enjoyed the day of swimming, sun bathing, and taking advantage of the multiple amenities the resort had to offer. That night after a good workout run up and down the hills of the resort we dressed up, enjoyed the sunset and had dinner at the lovely restaurant. We spent the night listening to live music and enjoying free drinks from the sunset bar. What a great night!

It was a beautiful resort and the amenities were delightful, but we are ready to see more of Turkey. After a beautiful run around the complex and a delightful breakfast we polled in a taxi and made it to Pamukkale. Our next adventure awaits!

Interesting note: we read all about the Turkish hospitality and that these people are world renowned for their hospitality......it is totally true! The Turkish people go out of their way to be kind and it is endearing. We are falling in love with this country and it's people.

Blessings,

Adam & Kristin Noel

 

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