Monday, March 14, 2011

Where to Next? - Turkey


Every time I think about the fact that I am going to Turkey, I think of two things:


1) An actual turkey


and

2) This classic song, "Istanbul" by The Four Lads. It's been in my head on and off for the past month. "Even old New York was once New Amsterdam..."

By the way, if you've never heard the song I'm referring to, click below. There are nice pics of many of Istanbul's famous sights, so listen and enjoy the views.




Husband J and I leave from Turkey later this week, and I'm really looking forward to it. At the same time, I'm a little nervous. Even with all of my meticulous planning (hopefully it was meticulous), for some reason I am worried about possibly screwing something up. Did I plan the flights for the right days? Will we get to the airport shuttle okay? Don't ask me where this is coming from 'cause I'm usually not like this. Maybe this is because this trip is one of the most logistically challenging trips I've planned all by myself? It wasn't too hard to do. It just took a lot of note taking and brain power (which may be why I'm freaked. Ha!)

Just based on what I've read in our guidebook so far, Turkey's historical significance is much more than I realized and its cuisine so extensive that it apparently ranks up there with Chinese cuisine in terms of breadth and variety. There will be lots to learn and most importantly lots to EAT!

I think I'm most looking forward to Cappadocia.

If the Cappadocian countryside looks like this in pictures, I can only imagine what it looks like in person. Hot air ballooning is a pretty popular activity there.


We'll also be making a short stop in Ephesus. Paul (He wrote a good chunk of the Bible's New Testament) wrote to one of the early Christian churches here. Ephesus is the site of one of the best preserved Roman cities next to Pompeii in Italy (at least that's what I've read).

Celsus Library, Ephesus

I'll be around this week, but posting will be light next week. I may have a few surprises for you while I'm gone. :)

Does anyone have any recommendations, suggestions or travel stories about Turkey? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section.

4 comments:

lavenderpug said...

how exciting! i bet the food is going to be awesome. i haven't been there, so i can't wait to hear about your travels!

BigAppleNosh said...

So cool! Looking forward to reading all about it :)

Tiffany said...

That looks like an AMAZING trip! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Unknown said...

Such stunning photos. Please take a hot air balloon ride for us! Next time we see that same photo you and husband J will be waving from the hot air balloon! I think after you finally get over there all the worrying will go away and you will have an amazing experience together. Enjoy! :)

 

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