Where the muezzin calls!

 

Hoş Geldiniz – Welcome to our first lines from the multifaceted beauty of Turkey!

After a smooth border crossing, the first stamp on this journey is in our passports. we are allowed to stay without a visa for 90 days! Sounds like a lot at first, as we have never been in a country for such a long time before. But after the first few kilometres we realise that the distances are different here. Turkey is twice as big as Germany in terms of area.

 

The gateway to … Turkey!

 

A ferry ride takes us across the Dardanelles, the strait that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea. The diversions via Istanbul is not necessary and saves us some kilometres. We only want to visit the city of millions on our way back to Europe.

We pass the archaeological site of ancient Troy and continue along the coast of the Turkish Aegean Sea.

 

Not only modern films, but also significant world literature has shaped Troy since time immemorial.

 

Troy was settled for over 5,000 years. Several layers from different eras have been found

 

Troy – legendary, but nowadays at first sight not very spectacular

 

In the town of Ayvalik we dive into the hustle and bustle for the first time and are more than pleasantly surprised. It’s market day! Anyone who has already visited Turkey for a seaside holiday surely has the image of the pushy, German-speaking bazaar sellers who want to sell their leather goods, carpets or jewellery at any price to the tourist 😉

We find a completely different picture and experience in Ayvalik. We stroll unnoticed through the alleys of the old town and can look around at our leisure. Whether at the market stalls or the shops, we are greeted in Turkish in a very friendly manner and it is absolutely fine if nothing is bought in the end.

As far as can be seen, there are no foreign tourists on the streets apart from us. This probably explains why, for the most part, only the local language is spoken. We are therefore all the more pleased that we have already started to learn some of the most important short sentences, numbers and words of the Turkish language in Greece. So we are sitting relatively quickly in front of our first vegetarian lunch ordered completely in Turkish and are very proud of ourselves 😉

Our dog Tenio is out and about in the city, and his reactions are consistently positive. This confirms that the reaction to dogs is not fundamentally dependent on whether the destination is Muslim or not.

Two children ask us if they can pet Tenio. The beginning of a great city tour! Until dusk, the two of them lead us to various mosques and interesting buildings in the city. They enjoy communicating with us in Turkish, “hands and feet” and, thanks to technology, also in English.

You can find a few pictures of our visit to the city in the following gallery:

 

 

The following days we continue along the coast, often accompanied by the calls of the muezzins. They like to make us pause for a moment.

Spontaneously, we meet Eli and Beni, the Swiss couple we met in Bulgaria and saw there for the last time, at one of the beautiful campsites by the sea. By chance, we had put a cake on the cooker to bake shortly before they arrived. We start with coffee, whipped cream and vegan chocolate-nut sponge cake and it turns out to be a really great and sociable afternoon and evening!

 

The Chris baker has called! 🙂

 

Happy reunion! 🙂

 

While we stay at the campsite for a few more days, they move on the next day. Our next big destination is supposed to be the archaeological site of Ephesus. The weather is pleasantly warm and sunny for the first few days in Turkey, but then changes relatively quickly to windy and rainy. So we use the almost unlimited time available to us and “wait” for a dry day to visit Ephesus.

As in Troy, the car park in Ephesus has to be paid for. In itself and by European standards, the charges are not high. But in the meantime we have a first feeling for the prices in this country and Chris in particular, as an “old Swabian”, is reluctant to pay. Because converted, it is the price of a lunch for one person or, believe it or not, 10-15 flatbreads! In addition, it is always possible to park a short distance beforehand free of charge 😉

We then prefer to pay for the entrance fees all the more! Especially when, as in the case of Ephesus, there is so much to see and marvel at. The city was an important port city from 296 BC until the 6th century AD. Nowadays, the sea coast is several kilometres away due to sediment deposition.

Very well preserved or rebuilt here are, among other things, the impressive amphitheatre, the Mazaeus-Mithridates Gate, the magnificent Celsus Library and Hadrian’s Temple.

Click on the following gallery to immerse yourself in ancient Ephesus:

 

 

The temperatures drop but it remains dry and so we plan to visit another highlight the following day. The snow-white limestone terraces of Pamukkale!

They tower above the town like a giant glacier. They were formed over thousands of years by hot calcareous water.

t is not only the extensive terraces that can be marvelled at on the site. The healing properties of the water were already known in antiquity, and the remains of the former city of Hierapolis can still be found here. We especially liked the reconstructed stage set of the theatre.

Have a look at the following gallery, which opens with a click:

 

 

So we were able to visit two of the most visited places in Turkey during the high season with a relatively manageable amount of other tourists.

You can already look forward to the next article, in which we will take you to two places that are completely off the beaten track and therefore have their very own magic.

Hoşçakal!

Chris & Sophia

 

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