Sunday 7 October – Singapore: sensational structures, statues and super-heroes.

Last Thursday morning (it seems so long ago now, as I write this on Sunday afternoon!) we had our last walk in Istanbul, down the busy road from our hotel, the imposing Conrad Hilton in Beşiktaş, for a walk through the local fish market, where we spied a cat patiently awaiting its dinner.  Then to the airport for the fifteen hour journey to Singapore via Frankfurt, arriving late Friday afternoon.  We booked into our hotel, the Village Hotel Albert Court, where our old friend Josephine, who has served us breakfast and afternoon drinks for the past several years, was on hand to greet us. A quick freshen up, then a walk to the busy Bugis market.

Saturday was an easy day in the stifling heat; a walk through Little India, a rest, a return visit to Bugis market and a walk around the surrounding streets, an evening return to Little India to see the lights and then back for a spa and an early night.

Today (Sunday) we have been a bit more adventurous and a little less jet-lagged.  We set off to see the new Park View centre, an enormous but tasteful art-deco building with statues everywhere, vaulted ceilings in the huge foyer and a private museum – the object of our visit – that we could not see because it is closed on Sundays.  So we jumped on the MRT and alighted at Bayfront to visit the Marina Bay Sands, a huge hotel comprising three separate towers, atop which is a boat-shaped structure that dominates and overhangs all three.  We caught the lift to the 57^th floor for spectacular views. After a delicious lunch we went for a stroll past the many, many shops with names such as Cartier, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Dior, Mont Blanc…. we could go on.  We paused to overlook the underlit kids' play area, passed a tempting cake shop (without stopping) and found the DC Comics Super Heroes Café, which allowed us to pose with our favourite super-heroes.  We then made the long walk back to our hotel, through the parks and shopping centres, past St Andrews Cathedral and, again, through Bugis markets.  Rest, packing, out to the local food hall for dinner, then bed - and that’s it for this time.

This is our last blog; we will be on our way to the airport early tomorrow morning for our flight home.  Thanks to those of you who have shared our journey.  It has been incredible – Moscow and St Petersburg gave us an insight into the friendly Russian people and the opportunity to visit two extraordinarily beautiful cities with proud histories.  The Baltic countries – Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – were enlightening; they have all been occupied and ruled by other, more powerful countries and states at various times during their long histories including, most recently, by Russia, but have retained their own identity, character and cultures. 

And Turkey, a land of beautiful, friendly, easy-going and optimistic people whose eyes light up when they realise we are Australians.  There is so much history of the human race in this region and much of the development of dominant religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – can be traced to here.  Everywhere we went there was real evidence of human occupation in the form of the remains of cities and civilisations dating back many thousands of years.  We travelled almost four thousand kilometres, along the stunning Aegean and Mediterranean coastlines, across the broad plains, past salt lakes, over high mountains and through lush valleys, and through that magical region, Cappadocia.  Everywhere we went we were overawed by the grandeur and beauty of the country, and by the friendliness of the people.

We are very fortunate to have been able to experience it all.

Wednesday 3 October – Toodeloo Turkey, see you soon Singapore.

Today was the last day of our thoroughly enjoyable Turkish Odyssey tour.  We spent much of it on the 400 kilometre drive from Ankara to Istanbul, arriving at our Istanbul hotel late in the afternoon.  We took the time to repack our suitcases and then left for our last drive over the Bosporus to the bustling seafood restaurant quarter for our farewell dinner.  A delicious whole-fish meal, a couple of speeches, plenty of hugs and promises to keep in touch, all within an atmosphere provided by several roving musicians, then back to the hotel where we joined Jenny and Steve for a farewell drink at the Summit Bar, overlooking the city and the Bosporus, for our own farewell (they are staying on in Istanbul for a few days as we move on to Singapore).  It has been wonderful travelling with them, and Sue, for the past several weeks.

We are sorry to be leaving Turkey.  It is a wonderful country of contrasts.  A modern country with ancient traditions, extant evidence of millennia of human occupation and great civilisations, spectacular scenery and beautiful people.  It has a special place in human history and, fortunately, its historical heritage is being protected and promoted through carefully managed tourist access.  We have seen much, but there is so much more to see. We have been so lucky to share this journey with a great bunch of people with a shared love of history and adventure - and a shared sense of humour. Our wonderful guide Gőkçe and our extraordinary driver Yűcel have made this holiday very special.  Our exploration of Turkey may be over but will never be forgotten.

Tuesday 2 October – Underground homes and archaeological treasures.

We reluctantly left our cave hotel at Cappadocia and headed towards Ankara, Turkey’s capital.  En-route we visited an underground city dating back more than two millennia, carved out of the soft rock as a refuge for early Christians.  We walked through rooms where stock were kept, through living areas, kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, with some of the passages so low that you had to almost double up to get through.

From there we continued on to Ankara, passing lakes that comprise thirty per cent salt, which means that no plant or animal life can survive in the area.  On arrival in Ankara we visited the Museum of Anatolian Civilisation, housed in two 15^th century buildings and containing relics and artefacts from the Bronze Age as well as the most valuable collection of Hittite artefacts in the world.

That was it for the day; we headed off to our hotel, passing the site of the 2015 bombing that killed one hundred and seven people, and getting a glimpse of the small photographic memorial to the victims. After a delicious three-course dinner we are having an early night before our last day tomorrow of what has been a wonderful tour.

Monday 1 October – Disappointment, digging in, and dervishes.

Unfortunately our eagerly-awaited hot-air balloon ride has been cancelled due to upper air turbulence. So, after a more leisurely breakfast, our first stop today was at a local pottery, where John was invited to demonstrate his potential to become a Pottery Master if we ever decide to move to Turkey.  We took time to watch the skilled artisans delicately painting their works, with different experts being assigned different parts of the process.  Fascinating.

Then we made our way to the indescribable “fairy chimneys” for which this region is famous. Sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams and ignimbrite deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately nine to three million years ago, during the late Miocene to Pliocene epochs. In time, the rocks of Cappadocia near Göreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The area has been occupied by humans as far back as the late Bronze Age and people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits.

We moved from place to place, marvelling at the formations, walking in and out of churches dating back almost a thousand years and viewing the frescoes within the churches, some still in excellent condition (unfortunately we were not allowed to take photographs inside the churches).  We paused for a delicious lunch and then continued to a jewellery factory where we inspected a large range of precious and semi-precious stones including emeralds, diamonds, turquoise (of course – we are in Turkey), opals and Zultanite, a indigenous stone that changes colour according to the light – and we purchased one such stone for a pendant for Elizabeth.

Then to a brief wine tasting of the local wines, then to one of our guide’s very favourite places with a spectacular view, for a further wine tasting and photos.  Last stop for the day was to witness a Whirling Dervishes display, a mystic Sufi Muslim ritual dating back to the 13^th century where the men go into a trance-like state and continuously twirl around to the accompaniment of haunting music.  An absolutely brilliant day, despite the disappointment of missing out on our balloon ride.