Time and again, I have often felt the need to disconnect and once again when this thought besought me, I took off – this time, smitten by the ruins of the Ottoman and Byzantian Empire, I visited Turkey to experience the unique blend of its diverse Greco-Roman & Islamic culture with the offshoots of the Western world. Turkey is the crossroad, the meeting point of two continents, Asia and Europe. It is a truly cosmopolitan place, an age-old crossroads where European charm is forever having a love affair with Oriental mystique. It is a gateway between the new and the old, a unique blend of modern and traditional.
I visited Cappadocia and Istanbul – two very diverse places with absolutely different offerings – one is peaceful and serene, the other vibrant and alive.
Cappadocia’s landscape is unlike any other place and arouses images of fairy chimneys, geological wonders, the tranquil valleys and skyful of colourful hot air balloons.
Istanbul connects the two continents, the Old City and Galata districts from the European side which are connected to the Asian side by several bridges. Istanbul is surrounded by beautiful sparkling water, the Sea of Marmara or Bosphorus – adding a gorgeous dimension to it.
Turkey boasts of several historical monuments and gastronomical delight. A mecca for shoppers, it mesmerises the mind and captures the heart. The vibrant colours of the city, its rich art – soulful music and dance – allures one and all, offering something for everyone in its mystical ways.
The Historical heritage
Ayasofya or Hagia Sophia Mosque, view of its interior
Sultanahmet Camii or Sultan Ahmed Mosque also called the Blue Mosque, one of its arcs
Inside Sultan Ahmed and Hagia Sophia
Rüstempaşa Camii or Rüstem Pasha Mosque, its exquisite interiors made with Iznik tiles
Interiors of Rustem Pasha and the well lit Hagia Sophia
Galata Kulesi or Galata Tower and Yerebatan Sarayı (Sunken Palace) or Basilica Cistern
Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı) or Topkapi Palace, a fountain inside the palace
Minaret at Hippodrome and at the Blue Mosque
Frescoes (Paintings) in churches carved in Ihlara Valley (Ihlara Vadisi), the remains of saint at the Goreme Open Air Museum
Panoramic and Spectacular landscapes
Bosphorus
Bosphorus in the evening and by the night
Churches and Chimneys churches in the rose valley
Fairy chimneys
The valleys at Cappadocia and Asian side of Bosphorus
The Flavours!!!!
The Beverages
Çay (Turkish tea) and Kahve (Turkish coffee)
Cherry juice and Orange juice
The Main Course
Testi Kebabi – Pottery kepab and vegetables. Cooked in clay pots and served with an assortment of naan, rice, salad and lemon
The Desserts
Lokums (Turkish Delights)
and Baklavas
Pistachio Aşure (sweet rice pudding), Flavoured Aşure
Dondurma (Turkish Ice cream)
The Street Food
Turkish Bagels and Roasted Nuts
The vivacious colours of shopping
Mısır Çarşısı or Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar) and Grand Bazaar or Büyük Çarşı
Spices and the aromas
Tea for all reasons and cures
Some for healing and some for ‘love’
Delectable Turkish delights in some exotic flavours too
Mementos to ward the evil eyes off
Hand painted porcelain wares – to embellish the walls
some to make eating more fun
To adorn the feet – for the young and younger ones
The lanterns to light up in many hues
Tinted candle-holders
Turkish carpets and rugs
Rare stones and gems to indulge
And some fresh blooms too
Even the streets are strewn in multiple hues – some real, some not
The fun,frolics and adventure
Hot air balloon ride
Making pots with porcelain and fishing on the street
Feeding the pigeons and dancing away at Club Reina
These are just some of the innumerable things I saw. Turkey has so much to experience and absorb that one trip will be doing disservice to self.
Turkey is more like a tree with it’s roots in Asia and it’s branches touching Europe.
Lovely pics though 🙂
Very well said Ravi. It is certainly that….thank you for your thoughts and words. 🙂
Beautiful pictures with a great story attached!!
Its the power of photographs to narrate a story to each one of us. Am glad they spoke to you. Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a lovely day.
Lovely pics!! So glad I could see so much from Turkey through your blog! Always wanted to visit (still do) after I read a novel about it! 🙂
randomlyabstract, I fell in love with Turkey through a book too 🙂 The author was Orhan Pahmuk.
I am very happy that you could live through the country through my pics and I wish you plan a trip soon and then share Turkey through your experience.
Thank you for taking the time out and for appreciating my musings. Good luck, have a great weekend.
Oh cool! I must grab Orhan’s book soon now! 🙂
To visit Turkey is such a dream – those places you mentioned all struck some chords – thanks to the book by Nimra Ahmed that I read. It’s in Urdu though.
Have a wonderful weekend. =)
aah, lucky you…am sure the book must be great and now you get to read the other great work…wherein am sitting and twiddling my thumbs here as I don’t know Urdu.
Jokes apart, let me know if you like them 🙂
haha well, Urdu is my national language.
I will let you know about this one though, what’s the title?
well there are aplenty…but i have read only a few of them – Istanbul: Memories and the City, My name is Red, The Museum of Innocence.
See which one holds your interest
Great! All of them have got attractive titles. So I will make sure to get them, at least ‘my name is red for sure’!! 🙂
great. hope you like them 🙂
Lovely post! I was born in Turkey but my family migrated to Australia when I was a baby. I have travelled there many times as an adult and love the hospitality, the heart and the generous nature of Turkish people. Nothing quite compares to having tea in a fincan at sunset under the Galata bridge. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Yes indeed. The Turkish people exude this warmth – whether its in their cup of çay or their spices or just their smiles. I feel happy and cosy thinking of my time there and secretly pray to be among them soon.
Thank you for letting me re-live some of those times yet again. 🙂
I didn’t know it was so beautiful!! Thank you for sharing your experience.. I think I need to take a visit there someday!
dear cupcake,
while posting these pictures and sharing my experience, I never felt it would look that beautiful 🙂
once you will get there, you will see that my pictures are the least pretty things. that place has gorgeousness etched everywhere 🙂
a must visit! happy travels.
What amazing photographs! When you visited my blog from Freshly Pressed, you would not have known that the story I’m writing, and having so much ‘fun’ editing, is set in Turkey. It was a lovely moment of synergy, to land on your blog and see your post and pictures.
hah! such are coincidences, who would have known 😀
…am glad to have stopped by…glad you liked the photographs, thank you for your kind words
I AM SOOO JEALOUS OF YOU!!! I have always wanted to go to Istanbul! Hopefully my music will be a success and I will sing there one day! LOVELY images thanks SO much for sharing!
am sure you will get there soon and your music will take you there…wishing you the successes and am happy that you like the pictures…thank you for appreciating and good luck
Good luck to you!!!
Your pictures are wonderful. I want to go too!
thank you…it is a beautiful place…you must plan a trip there and experience it for yourself:)
Pictures are worth thousands of words, it’s nice to see the attention to detail from your end. Thanks
When the place paints such gorgeous pictures, details come naturally as they deserve much more…thank you for appreciating it.
Your site really interesting, especially the pictures, I am happy to get a blog as nice as I can find, Thank you dear, Keep The Good Work
Thank you Anne. It is lovely to be encouraged by such sweet appreciation
My grandmother was born in Turkey (or Asia Minor as it was known to the Greeks). Her father was a Greek tobacco merchant, but the “population exchange” of 1923 changed everything. She ended up in her “homeland” of Greece in her teens — but, of course, if that hadn’t happened she wouldn’t have met my grandfather, a fisherman from Antiparos.
My partner, Sean, and I are hoping to get to Turkey this winter or next spring, as I’d like to research my family, if possible, and write about the story.
Oh, and I really enjoyed reading this, too! You paint a good picture of Istanbul, and Turkey generally, in both words and images.
thank you for sharing about your family and I look forward to reading your story if it is for public. Mufidah, you and Sean are kind and am happy that you liked whatever little bit of Turkey I encaptured.
wish you two a lovely holiday.