Turkey

Our visit was in October 2007. On leaving Istanbul our first destination was the Gallipoli Peninsula where we toured the areas where the ANZAC troops were heavily involved. From there, across the Dardanelles to visit the site of Troy and on to Bergama, the town below the ruins of Pergamum. The following day we visited a very crowded Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the little hillop town of Sirince and, finally, the Temple of Artemis at Selcuk.
Then, after stopping to visit the extensive site of Aphrodisiasto, on to Hierapolis and Pamukkale with its hot springs and mineral formations. The following day we crossed the Anatolian Steppes to Konya with its Mevlana Museum. Another long drive to us to the fascinating area of Cappadocia with its strange rock pillars. The long road to Ankara took us past the salt lakes of Tuz Golu. In Ankara a visit to the Ataturk Mausoleum was followed by a tour of the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations. From Ankara, another long drive took us past Gordion and on to Bursa with its Great Mosque and Silk Market. The final day of the tour brought us back to Istanbul after crossing one of the long bridges over the Bosphorus.

Here are some of the pictures taken during the tour...


Ever hopeful fishermen by the Golded Horn, Eminonou, Istanbul	The arrival platform of the Orient Express, Istanbul	A first stop for the Orient Express passengers?	A tablet marking the site of Anzac Cove


A cemetery for soldiers of the Australian and NZ Forces	The words said in 1934 by Kemal Mustafa Ataturk "They are our sons"	One of the many landing beaches near Anzac Cove	Looking SW along the Gallipoli peninsula


Lone Pine Memorial and the cemetery	A preserved Turkish trench at Chunuk Bair	Looking from Chunuk Bair towards Suvla Bay	Where else but Troy?


An excavation showing the levels of Troy 1 to Troy 2	The ramp to the Citadel	The Council Chamber	Near the eastern gate


...and the Council Chamber at Ephesus	The view from the top level of the Council Chamber	One of the many beautiful carvings to be seen	The remains of some of the shops and houses on the hillside


A very crowded Ephesus!	The front of the Library	From outside the main gateway	The commercial Agora


The huge "Great Theatre"	Want a watch? Very cheap!	The House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus	Messages and prayers on the wall below the shrine


The Temple of Artemis at Selcuk	The Tetrapylon at Aphrodisias	Looking down into the stadium at Aphrodisias	How much longer? Near the Temple of Aphrodite


The Temple at Aphrodisias was once used as a church	View from the top of Pamukkale	Some of the many visitors enjoying the warm water springs	These springs were out of bounds


The Sacred Pool of the old Roman City of Hieropolis	The Mevlana Museum, Konya	The colourful dome of the Shrine of Rumi, founder of the Order of Whirling Dervishes	The Sultanhani caravanserai on the way to Cappadocia


Carvings on a gateway within the caravanserai	Two local ladies	The central 'mescid' or covered area within the caravanserai	A first sight of the strange rock formations of Cappadocia


The Outdoor Museum in the valley of Goreme	The Goreme valley	Apprentice carpet weavers at Avanos	Extracting the silk from cocoons


The view from our hotel room at Avanos	A local craftsman carefully decorating a large platter	There are vineyards planted on the lower areas	Tops of the strangely rounded rock domes


This whole area is covered with these strange formations	The holes are the entrances to troglodytic dwellings	Some rock pillars at an earlier stage of development	Strange indeed!


Yet more examples of these unusual formations	The salt lake of Tuz Golu on the way to Ankara	The interior of the Great Mosque at Bursa	A tea garden occupying the central area of the Silk Market at Bursa