traipsing to see the world, our way
This being a typical package tour, a lot of activities were packed into the few days we had in Turkey. Regrettably, some of these places weren’t properly document with our camera, considering how languid I was midway into the trip. Some of the more interesting sights and scenes have been selected to be highlighted in this picture gallery.
It’s a common misnomer to think that Istanbul is the capital of this country bridging Asia and Europe. Incidentally, it is Istanbul that straddles between these two continents. It is also Istanbul that has a long history of being the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire but no, it’s not the capital during modern times. Ankara is.
Pamukkale, meaning ‘cotton castle’ in Turkish, is a town in southwestern Turkey most well-known for its mineral rich thermal waters that slowly trickle down cotton-white travertine terraces. The most pervasive image of Pamukkale most people would have has to be white terraces with numerous mini craters filled with sky blue water.
Ephesus (near Selçuk in modern day Turkey) was an important ancient landmark. Especially with respect to Christianity, since it was mentioned several times in the Bible. Even the tenth book of the New Testament was a letter from Paul dedicated to Ephesian Christians. Given its significance, it was fortuitous then, that after traversing from the Istanbul Airport to the western coast of Turkey adjacent to the Aegean Sea, our first stop was to the House of the Virgin Mary.