Türkiye

I'm back in Kandy after a wonderful holiday in Türkiye. I was secretly hoping that the cloud of volcanic ash would make its way to İstanbul so that I'd have to spend an extra week or so in Türkiye, but no such luck. There were lots of cancelled flights from İstanbul though when I was at the airport on Monday evening and apparently a number of teachers in Colombo who were in Europe during the break didn't make it back in time for the beginning of the term.

Although I only got back to Kandy last Tuesday, Türkiye already seems like a distant memory as I've been flat out at work since I got back. While I was on holiday I didn't think about work at all, but now that I'm back it's all I seem to be thinking about - especially as for the next two terms I'm adult learning co-ordinator - sounds impressive, doesn't it?

The first part of the trip I spent with Kiya in Kapadokya in central Anatolia. Kiya spent the summer in İstanbul a couple of years ago and as she only had a week off work we decided to take an overnight bus directly to Kapadokya and spend as much time as possible there. I wasn't particularly looking forward to an overnight bus journey, but bus travel in Türkiye is fantastic and although I didn't sleep that much, the bus was really comfortable and it meant we were in Kapadokya early the following morning. Kapadokya was amazing - have never seen anything quite like it in terms of the landscape. We stayed in a fantastic hotel - in a 'cave' room - and rented a car for a couple of days as well so we could explore some of the less explored areas of the region.

The guy who ran the hotel we stayed at introduced us to his father and a couple of his brothers who have a carpet shop. The father was quite a character and as it turns out Kiya had bought a couple of carpets at an exhibition that a couple of Australians had organised with him in Perth about 10 years ago. Although Kiya wasn't intending on buying any more carpets, she ended up going home with 3 and we spent a good few hours sitting in this amazing room that was piled high with over 2000 carpets drinking tea, talking and looking at various carpets.

From Kapadokya we made our way west to Konya, which is where the Mevlana - better known as Celaleddin Rumi - spent much of his life. His mausoleum - located next to a former dervish lodge - is part of a museum complex and although it was packed with visitors - both foreigners and Türks - it was a very mystical and beautiful place. Kiya flew back to İstanbul from Konya the following morning, but I decided to stay around for another day to explore some more of the city, which is not on the tourist trail. Unfortunately it was bitterly cold in Konya and although I thought about staying for another night to attend the weekly sema (whirling dervish ceremony), I decided to make my way to Antalya on the Mediterranean, which thankfully was a lot warmer.

In Antalya I couch-surfed for the first time and stayed with a lovely woman called Fevy. Although she was really busy, we had some really interesting talks and it was great getting to know something about life in Antalya. She also put me in touch with some of the other couch-surfers in Antalya and I met up with some of them in the old part of Antalya for a drink one evening. I stayed with Fevy for 4 nights and ended up renting a car for 2 days with a fellow couch surfer from Portugal as she was also interested in seeing some of the places around Antalya. The most impressive place we went to was a place called Termessos - a ruined town high up in the mountains outside of Antalya. Driving was fine - in fact it was a breeze after driving here - although we did manage to get hopelessly lost in the centre of Antalya on the second evening as a number of roads had been closed for re-surficing. Antalya itself is fairly modern, but Kaleiçi - the old part of the town - is really interesting, although very touristy, and the views along the coast to the mountains are stunning.

I flew back to İstanbul from Antalya as it's an 11-hour bus journey. I had 5 days in İstanbul and although I didn't get to see everything, I had a wonderful time. It wasn't as warm in İstanbul as it'd been in Antalya, but spring was definitely in the air and the parks were full of tulips. I was hoping to couch surf in İstanbul as well, but everyone I contacted was either busy or had someone staying with them, so in the end I stayed in a guesthouse in Sultanahmet in the old part of İstanbul - a few minutes walk from the Aya Sofiya. I did meet up for a drink with one guy I contacted though.

I spent a lot of time in İstanbul just wandering, which is a really good way to get to know the city. It's a big place, but the centre is fairly compact and easy to get about on foot and by public transport. I saw most of the famous sights - but also managed to go to a few less-visited places. One of the highlights was the cruise up the Bosphorus. It's very touristy, but was a great way to see all the waterfront mansions that line both the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus and as I decided to make my own way back into central İstanbul, I also got to visit some of the places I'd seen on the way up.

I've actually been thinking that I might look for work in İstanbul, if I decide to leave Sri Lanka. According to Kiya university work is fairly well paid and accommodation is usually provided. Will have to look into it. Since I got back to Kandy it's been very stormy and unsettled and I have a feeling there's going to be another storm this afternoon as I can hear thunder in the distance. The mornings are beautiful though, so this morning I went for a swim. Don't have any plans for the rest of the day, although will probably talk to my Grandma later this afternoon as she's usually at my aunt's house on Tuesdays.

The photo is of a beautiful mosque in Ortaköy, an old fishing village on the European side of the Bosphorus that is now a suburb of İstanbul. There's a very popular market held there on a Sunday and it was a great place to while a way a couple of hours on a sunny, spring afternoon.