Author Archives: somewhatinterested
Some photos from Istanbul
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We were lucky to be able to spend a week and a half in Istanbul – an amazing city. Here’s a few photos.
Nikki at the Blue Mosque at night in Istanbul
The cistern in Istanbul
Inside Haghia Sophia, Istanbul
Inside Haghia Sophia, Istanbul
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Sulimanye Mosque, Istanbul
Dancing 65 year old hippies and the 5 Tibetan rights
On our second last night in Istanbul we decided to head out for a nice meal and some drinks. For dinner we chose Pasazade on recommendation from TripAdvisor. There are heaps of ordinary over-priced restaurants in the tourist area (Sultanhament) but this restaurant was way better and much better value. Highly recommended – for great Ottoman cuisine (think Turkish but a bit more Middle Eastern).
After dinner we headed to the Sah Bar – again a TripAdvisor recommendation.
It was pretty quiet when we got there (around 9.30pm), and we were thinking of leaving after our first drink. But this older guy who was the only other person on our side of the bar, started chatting to us.
Whenever an older guy by himself starts chatting to you in a bar, it’s not normally a sign that things are about to get crazy. But that’s exactly what happened thanks to Stolp, our new friend. He proceeded to be great value, telling us lots of stories about his various escapades from his days as a hippy (he used to hang out with Bianca Jagger at Studio 54 apparently), to his 30 minute dance-off with a 24 year old Brazillian in Ibiza (he won), to his various businesses in Istanbul through the 70’s and 80’s (selling antiques and rugs). He was lots of fun and later on he set the dance-floor on fire with some amazing James Brown moves – no mean feat at age 65. (We took a few videos of his dancing, but sadly none of the footage came out).
His secret? The 5 Tibetan rights – a daily exercise routine he had learned back in the 70’s from some monks. He and his very droll friend Bernard have been doing these ever day since then, and despite probably a lot of drinking, they certainly both looked great for their age.
We were joined at various points of the evening by Stolp, Bernard, a very dramatic but lovely South Korean lady having a weekend break from her “fucking boring” job at the Korean embassy in Azerbaijan, and a very intense Swedish girl, who despite being attached to her Turkish boyfriend, seemed to fall intensely in love with Nikki in around 5 minutes. The kind of random fun night you can only ever have when on holidays.
Goats cheese-stuffed Chicken at Pasazade restaurant, Istanbul
Stolp the Magnificent, Nikki, Bernard and our South Korean friend (sorry can’t remember your name!)
The latinas breaking out at the Sah Bar
The Bieber effect
One of the most wonderful things about travelling is realising how much Justin Bieber has influenced the world with his messages of hope and joy. And buying merchandise.
(insert twitter war with Justin’s fans here)
Actually I don’t think Justin’s fans are reading this blog. Lucky for us.
Anyway everywhere we have been Justin’s merchandise has been on display
among the youth. Which is wonderful. Because he brings us all together.
Thank you Justin. Thank you.
Selcuk and Ephesus
Due to dwindling finances, we could only really spend 3 weeks in Turkey, and so had to limit where we travelled to. A must see for me was Ephesus.
We went there via Izmir, where we spent a few days. It was also well worth going to, with a great castle, Roman ruins and a nice seaside vibe.
We then caught the train to Selcuk, a lovely town that is only a few kilometres from Ephesus. It is well worth stopping at for a few days as it has a lot to see besides Ephesus – St Johns Basilica, the Virgin Mary’s house, The Temple of Artemis, a number of other interesting older buildings. There’s also a really beautiful village called Sirince just 8km away which is an easy 20 minute trip by local bus.
The main site I wanted to see was the ancient city of Ephesus, once home to 200,0000 people, and now a well-preserved tourist attraction. Here’s some photos of Ephesus and Selcuk.
The Roman aqueduct in Selcuk
Message of prayer at St Mary’s House near Selcuk. A lot of the messages seemed to be prayers for wealth. Very Christian.
Selcuk Castle at night
St John’s tomb in Selcuk
THe view from St Johns Basilicia, Ephesus
The library in Ephesus
The main promenade in Ephesus. Back in the day this path was lined with dozens of statues.
The main amphitheatre at Ephesus, which seats 20,000 people. St Paul make his famous speech here, to try and convert the population to Christianity. It didn’t go down too well.
The main amphitheatre in Ephesus, used for theatre and later on gladiator fights, when the population got bored with theatre.
The one remaining pillar of the once great Temple of Artemis, Selcuk, one of the wonders of the ancient world. NIkki is taking photos of turtles.
Fine wine and glorious sunshine in Sirince
Yesterday we arrived in Selcuk, the town closest to the amazing ruins of Ephesus. But first we headed out of town to the nearby village of Sirince. It’s very touristy, but very beautiful and still retains it’s small town charm.
We had an amazing meal and fantastic bottle of Turkish sauvignon blanc (from nearby Izmir). The perfect way to spend an afternoon after a week in cold and rainy Istanbul!
The cats of Turkey
There are cats everywhere in Turkey. Down every city street, behind bins, in shop windows, in parks. They are clearly strays, but are well looked after – people put out food for them, and we never saw anyone chasing one off. As a result they are very friendly.
The most amazing cat we saw was a big fluffy white one lying in the window display of a Swarovski Crystal shop. Brilliant – but sadly we didn’t get a photo of that – here are some other cats we came across though….
Another cat in Selcuk
Cat in Mosque garden, Istanbul
Cat at Mosque in Istanbul
Cat in Selcuk
Cat in streets of Istanbul
Glamour photos gone wrong
There are a lot of glamour photo businesses in Egypt, and most have pretty amazing examples of their work on display in their window.
This is one of the best in Luxor.
I think every mother should have
a photo of their child carrying
weapons. So sweet!
Ten million camels are not enough
Today I was told that 10 million camels would not be enough to buy me.
In case you’re wondering, this is the ‘look’ required to launch 10 million camels (or more)…
Sailing down the Nile
In January 2013 we went on a fantastic 4 day/3nights Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor.
We’d booked through a travel agent in Cairo – but due to the low numbers of tourists in Egypt at the moment, there’s no real need to book in advance. There are dozens and dozens of boats – they are all very similar (most claim to be 5 star) and offer similar prices. We were booked on a boat called the “Grand Princess” which was lovely.
It was only US$55 per person per night including all meals (in a double room – all rooms have river views).
Like most of the cruises this leaves Aswan on Friday evening and arrives in Luxor on Saturday evening, but most people seemed to stay for 3 nights, and head off the boat during the days in Aswan and Luxor to do tours.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all pretty good (buffet style) and entertainment was offered every second night. There was also a great bar (expensive drinks) and a very cool rooftop with sun loungers and a pool.
When the boat was travelling down the Nile, it was lovely to just spend time in the room, which all have sliding glass doors which you can open to the amazing Nile views. The rooftop was also a great place to watch life on the Nile go by.
On the way to Luxor all of the boats stopped at the temples of Kom Ombo (and crocodile mummy museum) and Edfu, giving you time to head off the boat and check them out. Both are worth visiting, and despite turning up at the same time as about 6 other boats, were not crowded.
The Nile is a beautiful river with amazing history and this stretch of it is relatively quiet and not too developed – most of the scenery was farmlands and small villages. It was a very relaxing way to spend 4 days and a highly recommended trip!
The top deck of the Grand Princess, complete with sun loungers, pool, bar and minimalist gym!
Nile cruise boat in Aswan
Amazing sunshine in the cabin on the Nile
View of Luxor Temple from the boat
Sunset on the Nile in Luxor
The temple of Kom Ombo on the Nile River
Mummified crocodiles at Kom Ombo. Crocodiles were worshipped by ancient Egyptians as they were believed to be powerful beings, strongly connected to the all-important Nile River.
The massive temple of Edfu
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