Turkey is WONDERFUL!
Apr 25th, 2009, 05:09 PM
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Turkey is WONDERFUL!
I was writing in not to long ago asking questions about itinerary and suggestions before my trip to Turkey, well I am back and I have a lot to report!
My school was organizing a trip to Turkey for 9 days and my husband and I decided to go along. I really did not know what to expect from this trip. Our itinerary was all planned out for us and it looked good but I still was unsure about how everything would go. Our tour included 6 adults, 1 baby, and 7 kids. Our trip was very inexpensive due to sponsorship of people that donate or attend our sister schools in Turkey.
We departed Chicago Ohare on a 10pm direct flight to Istanbul on Turkish airlines. The Flight was great, the service was great, no complaints at all. The 10 hours went by so fast. The flight attendants were always availiable and on top of things throughout the entire flight. Before flying Turkish airlines I thought Air France was amazing but Turkish airlines takes the cake!
Day 1 Arrive in Istanbul at about 5pm catch our bus and check into our hotel. Grand Anka hotel...4 star hotel
http://www.grandankahotel.com/homepage.html
The hotel was really nice, the rooms were surprisingly big for being in Europe! Our room included a full size bed and a twin size bed, flat screen tv, and mini fridge. The bathroom was a little tight but overall it was nice. The hotel has a small little souvineer shop with many things to choose from, a fitness room, bar, dining area for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a sauna, meeting room, business center, and a turkish bath. After we checked in we relaxed for a short period of time then we went to eat dinner with our tour guide and his family at their home. We spend about 2-3 hours eating, talking, and unwinding. The dinner started with chicken soup and bread, then we moved on to the rice wrapped in grape leaves, rice, and chicken...everything was homemade and amazing! It was my husbands birthday so the cake that was for dessert became his birthday cake! After dinner we went back to the hotel and got ready for bed...a long day was about to follow.
Day 2 We woke up about 2-3 am, due to the jet lag and slept on an off until about 530 when the call for prayer woke us up again. I loved hearing the call to prayer...I took a short video when it was going on just to remember what it sounded like! Hearing that showed me how much religion is such a big part of the Turkish culture. Nowhere in Europe have I ever experienced that! We fell back asleep until about 7 then we woke up and went down to the dining area for breakfast. They had an awesome selection...bread, rolls, cherry juice, orange juice, tea, coffee, cheeses, olives, various fruits and vegetables, yogurt, fresh honey, strawberry, and raspberry jam or spread, eggs, there was so much to choose from. We spent an hour eating breakfast!
After breakfast we gathered the group and headed off to Miniturk. This was a cool place to see first, it kind of gives you an idea of what historical sites are in Turkey. It has all of the special sites in miniture size with an audio box at each display that gives you information on each place. There were a lot of Turksih kids there and when they found out my collegue and I were American the kids were anxious to practice their English with us! After Miniturk we went to Dolombahce Palace and the Harem of Dolombahce Palace. The palace was amazing the Harem is something we could have skipped, I was not overly impressed with the Harem, but the palace was amazing.
After the palace we went to Eminonu to catch a boat for a tour on the Bosphorus, we ate a fish sandwich from someone grilling fish right there on the water close to the docks. Our boat tour started and stopped at Eminoun. The boat tour was good but the weather on this day was very cold and cloudy. The boat tour would have been much more pleasant if we would have been able to sit outside on the boat or if the weather was nicer. Since it was so cold outside the inside of the boat must have had the heat on and it was so hot inside that everyone in our group was falling asleep, being jetlagged didnt help either. We rode up the Bosphorus on the European side to the castle then rode down the Asian side back to our starting point. After the boat tour we had dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel. I dont remember the name, something like PrimPrim or Primscan. Sorry but I dont remember probably because at this point I was pretty tired from the long day and the jet lag was starting to get to me. The food was good and plenty. We had a wonderful cucumber and tomato salad, bread, mixed grill of meat, chicken, lamb, and shiskabob, turkish pizza, and dessert. Some people had rice pudding which I tried and loved it, others had a sort of a baklava dessert I dont remember the name it but you could choose cheese or pistachio and I choose pistachio. After dinner, back to the hotel for rest before the next long day of sight seeing!
I will write more next time! Enjoy!
My school was organizing a trip to Turkey for 9 days and my husband and I decided to go along. I really did not know what to expect from this trip. Our itinerary was all planned out for us and it looked good but I still was unsure about how everything would go. Our tour included 6 adults, 1 baby, and 7 kids. Our trip was very inexpensive due to sponsorship of people that donate or attend our sister schools in Turkey.
We departed Chicago Ohare on a 10pm direct flight to Istanbul on Turkish airlines. The Flight was great, the service was great, no complaints at all. The 10 hours went by so fast. The flight attendants were always availiable and on top of things throughout the entire flight. Before flying Turkish airlines I thought Air France was amazing but Turkish airlines takes the cake!
Day 1 Arrive in Istanbul at about 5pm catch our bus and check into our hotel. Grand Anka hotel...4 star hotel
http://www.grandankahotel.com/homepage.html
The hotel was really nice, the rooms were surprisingly big for being in Europe! Our room included a full size bed and a twin size bed, flat screen tv, and mini fridge. The bathroom was a little tight but overall it was nice. The hotel has a small little souvineer shop with many things to choose from, a fitness room, bar, dining area for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a sauna, meeting room, business center, and a turkish bath. After we checked in we relaxed for a short period of time then we went to eat dinner with our tour guide and his family at their home. We spend about 2-3 hours eating, talking, and unwinding. The dinner started with chicken soup and bread, then we moved on to the rice wrapped in grape leaves, rice, and chicken...everything was homemade and amazing! It was my husbands birthday so the cake that was for dessert became his birthday cake! After dinner we went back to the hotel and got ready for bed...a long day was about to follow.
Day 2 We woke up about 2-3 am, due to the jet lag and slept on an off until about 530 when the call for prayer woke us up again. I loved hearing the call to prayer...I took a short video when it was going on just to remember what it sounded like! Hearing that showed me how much religion is such a big part of the Turkish culture. Nowhere in Europe have I ever experienced that! We fell back asleep until about 7 then we woke up and went down to the dining area for breakfast. They had an awesome selection...bread, rolls, cherry juice, orange juice, tea, coffee, cheeses, olives, various fruits and vegetables, yogurt, fresh honey, strawberry, and raspberry jam or spread, eggs, there was so much to choose from. We spent an hour eating breakfast!
After breakfast we gathered the group and headed off to Miniturk. This was a cool place to see first, it kind of gives you an idea of what historical sites are in Turkey. It has all of the special sites in miniture size with an audio box at each display that gives you information on each place. There were a lot of Turksih kids there and when they found out my collegue and I were American the kids were anxious to practice their English with us! After Miniturk we went to Dolombahce Palace and the Harem of Dolombahce Palace. The palace was amazing the Harem is something we could have skipped, I was not overly impressed with the Harem, but the palace was amazing.
After the palace we went to Eminonu to catch a boat for a tour on the Bosphorus, we ate a fish sandwich from someone grilling fish right there on the water close to the docks. Our boat tour started and stopped at Eminoun. The boat tour was good but the weather on this day was very cold and cloudy. The boat tour would have been much more pleasant if we would have been able to sit outside on the boat or if the weather was nicer. Since it was so cold outside the inside of the boat must have had the heat on and it was so hot inside that everyone in our group was falling asleep, being jetlagged didnt help either. We rode up the Bosphorus on the European side to the castle then rode down the Asian side back to our starting point. After the boat tour we had dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel. I dont remember the name, something like PrimPrim or Primscan. Sorry but I dont remember probably because at this point I was pretty tired from the long day and the jet lag was starting to get to me. The food was good and plenty. We had a wonderful cucumber and tomato salad, bread, mixed grill of meat, chicken, lamb, and shiskabob, turkish pizza, and dessert. Some people had rice pudding which I tried and loved it, others had a sort of a baklava dessert I dont remember the name it but you could choose cheese or pistachio and I choose pistachio. After dinner, back to the hotel for rest before the next long day of sight seeing!
I will write more next time! Enjoy!
Apr 27th, 2009, 11:35 AM
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Ok I believe the name of the dessert was Kunefe. And my husband did not remember the name of the restaurant but YES!! the cusine of Turkey is wonderful, very tasty and different.
Ok..
Day 3 Awoke again at 3am, still not use to the time change. We slept on an off until about 7 am when we went down to have a wonderful breakfast again! Our schedule had Hagia Sophia on our itinerary but it wa Monday and it was closed. We went to Topkapia Palace museum. I thought this palace was amazing, it is more of a museum with a variety of things to see all on display in a glass case. There were a lot of people there so we had to wait to see each piece and near each piece is a little plaque with some information about the piece. It took a long time to go through the palace but it was well worth the time.
This museum houses the different types of clothing the Sultan use to wear, The Topkapi Dagger made of jewels, a variety of glass bowls, pitchers, crowns, benches, thrones etc made of jewels, an 86 carat diamond, Moses stick, Muhammeds footprints, and belongings, Johns arm and skull. So many things to see in this place it is definitley worth the visit. We did not visit the Harem and from pictures and many other reviews I heard and read it was really nice, probably better than the one at Dolmabahce palace. I am sure that would have been nice to see.
After visiting the palace we had lunch at Sultanahmet Halkin Koftecisi. The menu was small three different salads to choose from bean and lettuce salad, cucumber and tomato salad and shredded lettuce, cabbage and carrot salad. Chicken, koftecis, or shishkabob for the main dish, 2 different dessert to choose from. My husband had the chicken, I had the kofte and a salad both were pretty good, a little plain but just the right amount of food for lunch time.
After lunch we went to the basilica cistern the ancient underground cistern. This was a really cool place to see. We probably spent about 45 minutes there just hanging out, taking pictures. So old and the different types of columns were very beautiful and the medusa heads were kinda cool too. People believed this use to be an undergound city for Christians when they were persecuted and they also believe that there are many more underground cities located in various parts of Turkey.
Our last stop of the day was at the Blue Mosque and Hippodrom. The area is of Hoppodrom is a large park adjacent to the Blue Mosque is it very pretty with trees and flowers. As you leave Hippodrom you enter the courtyard of the Blue mosque. The inside of the mosque is very beautiful, it is very big the colums are massive. Some of the people we were with went to pray so the others just waited looking around taking pictures. As much as this is a holy place and the fact that women have to cover their head and everyone needs to take off their shoes, it did not seem like a holy place with all of the cell phones going off, the many people talking and taking pictures. It was beautiful, dont get me wrong but it was just strange going into a mosque were men are praying in one area and the women in another yet there are so many tourists just casually walking and talking. So after leaving I did not get the feel that it was such a holy place because it seemed like too much comotion going on for a place of prayer. To end our day we had dinner at another restaurant, I am so sorry I do not remember the name!! The food again was great. My husband did not eat since he was still full from lunch. I ate lamb chops, cucumber and tomato salad, yogurt, and baklava for dessert. This restaurant was a buffett type place. You walked up to where the food was but there was a man behind the food and you just tell him what you want and he serves it to you on a plate. There were many things to choose from...rice, chicken with vegetables, fish, lamb with vegetables, cooked vegetables, lamb chops which you had to order. At the table they had bread, salad, and yogurt...yogurt there is sour not sweet, it is thicker than American yogurt, very good! All in all this was a great day, busy, but great! Then back to the hotel for some sleep before our 8am flight to Izmir.
Ok..
Day 3 Awoke again at 3am, still not use to the time change. We slept on an off until about 7 am when we went down to have a wonderful breakfast again! Our schedule had Hagia Sophia on our itinerary but it wa Monday and it was closed. We went to Topkapia Palace museum. I thought this palace was amazing, it is more of a museum with a variety of things to see all on display in a glass case. There were a lot of people there so we had to wait to see each piece and near each piece is a little plaque with some information about the piece. It took a long time to go through the palace but it was well worth the time.
This museum houses the different types of clothing the Sultan use to wear, The Topkapi Dagger made of jewels, a variety of glass bowls, pitchers, crowns, benches, thrones etc made of jewels, an 86 carat diamond, Moses stick, Muhammeds footprints, and belongings, Johns arm and skull. So many things to see in this place it is definitley worth the visit. We did not visit the Harem and from pictures and many other reviews I heard and read it was really nice, probably better than the one at Dolmabahce palace. I am sure that would have been nice to see.
After visiting the palace we had lunch at Sultanahmet Halkin Koftecisi. The menu was small three different salads to choose from bean and lettuce salad, cucumber and tomato salad and shredded lettuce, cabbage and carrot salad. Chicken, koftecis, or shishkabob for the main dish, 2 different dessert to choose from. My husband had the chicken, I had the kofte and a salad both were pretty good, a little plain but just the right amount of food for lunch time.
After lunch we went to the basilica cistern the ancient underground cistern. This was a really cool place to see. We probably spent about 45 minutes there just hanging out, taking pictures. So old and the different types of columns were very beautiful and the medusa heads were kinda cool too. People believed this use to be an undergound city for Christians when they were persecuted and they also believe that there are many more underground cities located in various parts of Turkey.
Our last stop of the day was at the Blue Mosque and Hippodrom. The area is of Hoppodrom is a large park adjacent to the Blue Mosque is it very pretty with trees and flowers. As you leave Hippodrom you enter the courtyard of the Blue mosque. The inside of the mosque is very beautiful, it is very big the colums are massive. Some of the people we were with went to pray so the others just waited looking around taking pictures. As much as this is a holy place and the fact that women have to cover their head and everyone needs to take off their shoes, it did not seem like a holy place with all of the cell phones going off, the many people talking and taking pictures. It was beautiful, dont get me wrong but it was just strange going into a mosque were men are praying in one area and the women in another yet there are so many tourists just casually walking and talking. So after leaving I did not get the feel that it was such a holy place because it seemed like too much comotion going on for a place of prayer. To end our day we had dinner at another restaurant, I am so sorry I do not remember the name!! The food again was great. My husband did not eat since he was still full from lunch. I ate lamb chops, cucumber and tomato salad, yogurt, and baklava for dessert. This restaurant was a buffett type place. You walked up to where the food was but there was a man behind the food and you just tell him what you want and he serves it to you on a plate. There were many things to choose from...rice, chicken with vegetables, fish, lamb with vegetables, cooked vegetables, lamb chops which you had to order. At the table they had bread, salad, and yogurt...yogurt there is sour not sweet, it is thicker than American yogurt, very good! All in all this was a great day, busy, but great! Then back to the hotel for some sleep before our 8am flight to Izmir.
Apr 29th, 2009, 10:29 AM
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Day 4
Wake up even before the call to prayer no breakfast at the hotel since we were leaving before breakfast was served. Leave the hotel around 430 am to get to the airport by 5am, check in and wait for our flight at 7am to Izmir. The flight was fast about an hour. We arrive in Izmir and catch our bus to meet a local sponsor family for breakfast at a restaurant called Sirincan. The breakfast was awesome and typical...fruit and veggies, bread, olives...and I have to say the olives were out of this world they were probably picked right off the tree, some still had the stem! I probably had 5 bowls of olives and I could have had more. Now, being back in the US, I cant eat the olives here, they taste like vinegar! Anyways the food was outstanding and the restaurant was right on the water. It was such a beautiful day we were so happy to be there. The local families we met were wonderful and so friendly. After breakfast we took pictures and hung out by the water for a while then we took our bus around the coast (beautiful view of the Aegean sea) to Ephesus.
We picked up our tour guide and our first stop was at the Virgin Mary's house. The house is located in a beautiful setting, we were able to walk through the house and then walk around the area. Before we got on the bus again we stopped for a coffee at the cafe. We then took our bus to the ancient city of Ephesus and spent the remainder of the day walking along the old city streets and looking at the awesome ruins. The day was sunny and warm, such a beautiful day! For anyone visiting Turkey, this is a must see. It is so historical and amazing!
After Ephesus we had a short but filling lunch at a restaurant but it was not a typical restaurant that you are thinking. It was off the beaten path, close to a farm, it seemed like it was on someones lot and everything like the tables and grill were set up outside. We ate chicken, rice, salad, and of course dessert. There were little huts set up where we went to enjoy some tea after lunch. Hot Tea is an after dinner tradition in Turkey, everywhere and everyone we ate with offered us tea after our meal, and good tea by the way! After lunch we headed off to an art gallery where they make hand made pottery. This place was located just off the side of the street, I would never have thought to stop. We watched a man demonstrate how he formed the clay on the wheel into bowls, vases, pots, etc, then a couple of the kids tried it. I was going to try it but I thought I would give the enjoyment to the kids! After that demonstration, in the same room there were 4 women hand painting and designing the plates, bowls, vases etc. The lady of the gallery that was giving us the tour then took us into the gallery and told us anything we buy...whatever the price is we will pay only half! This place was amazing when we entered the gallery we saw one section with bowls, then another section with plates, another section with vases, this goes on and on. The gallery had so many rooms with so many various types of hand made pottery it was overwhelming! I bought two bowls, a vase, a candy bowl, and a tiny bowl to put rings or jewlery in. I could have spent all day in the gallery and i would have loved to go back. I took a brochure and decided that I wanted a few more things so i am currently in communication with them on ordering a few more thing...at a good price of course. The name of the place is Art Ceramics The Art of Life located in Selcuk.
Moving on from the art gallery we went to the 6th century church of St John, where St John is buried, now at this point it started to rain lightly. I really wanted to see this place and I wish we could have spent more time at these ruins but we did get some good pictures and it was a really cool place to visit. After St John we went down the street to Isabey Mosque= Jesus Mosque.
Our day in Ephesus and Selcuk was finished now it was time for dinner. Noone was really hungry since we had a late lunch but it was on our schedule. our dinner was at yamanlar college, a sister school. They made so much food for us so we had to eat just a little! We had vegetable soup, salad, and a plate with a variety of meat cooked in different ways. Chicken stuffed with liver, chicken with mushrooms, baked chicken, some type of balls fried with ground beef inside, then for dessert we had rice pudding. Honestly the food was not really that good and everyone ate very little. Finally our day was complete and we went to our hotel, checked in and went to sleep. Throughout this whole day we kept our luggage in the bus and did our sight seeing before we went to the hotel. Some people were not happy about it, but it was just the way it worked out. The hotel was Marla motel. The hotel was not very nice, the walls were as thin as paper, you could hear everything going on in the next room, and the rooms were tiny. I probably wouldnt pick this hotel/motel to stay at long term. We were only there for the night, basically just to sleep because we had a flight to Antalya early the next day.
Wake up even before the call to prayer no breakfast at the hotel since we were leaving before breakfast was served. Leave the hotel around 430 am to get to the airport by 5am, check in and wait for our flight at 7am to Izmir. The flight was fast about an hour. We arrive in Izmir and catch our bus to meet a local sponsor family for breakfast at a restaurant called Sirincan. The breakfast was awesome and typical...fruit and veggies, bread, olives...and I have to say the olives were out of this world they were probably picked right off the tree, some still had the stem! I probably had 5 bowls of olives and I could have had more. Now, being back in the US, I cant eat the olives here, they taste like vinegar! Anyways the food was outstanding and the restaurant was right on the water. It was such a beautiful day we were so happy to be there. The local families we met were wonderful and so friendly. After breakfast we took pictures and hung out by the water for a while then we took our bus around the coast (beautiful view of the Aegean sea) to Ephesus.
We picked up our tour guide and our first stop was at the Virgin Mary's house. The house is located in a beautiful setting, we were able to walk through the house and then walk around the area. Before we got on the bus again we stopped for a coffee at the cafe. We then took our bus to the ancient city of Ephesus and spent the remainder of the day walking along the old city streets and looking at the awesome ruins. The day was sunny and warm, such a beautiful day! For anyone visiting Turkey, this is a must see. It is so historical and amazing!
After Ephesus we had a short but filling lunch at a restaurant but it was not a typical restaurant that you are thinking. It was off the beaten path, close to a farm, it seemed like it was on someones lot and everything like the tables and grill were set up outside. We ate chicken, rice, salad, and of course dessert. There were little huts set up where we went to enjoy some tea after lunch. Hot Tea is an after dinner tradition in Turkey, everywhere and everyone we ate with offered us tea after our meal, and good tea by the way! After lunch we headed off to an art gallery where they make hand made pottery. This place was located just off the side of the street, I would never have thought to stop. We watched a man demonstrate how he formed the clay on the wheel into bowls, vases, pots, etc, then a couple of the kids tried it. I was going to try it but I thought I would give the enjoyment to the kids! After that demonstration, in the same room there were 4 women hand painting and designing the plates, bowls, vases etc. The lady of the gallery that was giving us the tour then took us into the gallery and told us anything we buy...whatever the price is we will pay only half! This place was amazing when we entered the gallery we saw one section with bowls, then another section with plates, another section with vases, this goes on and on. The gallery had so many rooms with so many various types of hand made pottery it was overwhelming! I bought two bowls, a vase, a candy bowl, and a tiny bowl to put rings or jewlery in. I could have spent all day in the gallery and i would have loved to go back. I took a brochure and decided that I wanted a few more things so i am currently in communication with them on ordering a few more thing...at a good price of course. The name of the place is Art Ceramics The Art of Life located in Selcuk.
Moving on from the art gallery we went to the 6th century church of St John, where St John is buried, now at this point it started to rain lightly. I really wanted to see this place and I wish we could have spent more time at these ruins but we did get some good pictures and it was a really cool place to visit. After St John we went down the street to Isabey Mosque= Jesus Mosque.
Our day in Ephesus and Selcuk was finished now it was time for dinner. Noone was really hungry since we had a late lunch but it was on our schedule. our dinner was at yamanlar college, a sister school. They made so much food for us so we had to eat just a little! We had vegetable soup, salad, and a plate with a variety of meat cooked in different ways. Chicken stuffed with liver, chicken with mushrooms, baked chicken, some type of balls fried with ground beef inside, then for dessert we had rice pudding. Honestly the food was not really that good and everyone ate very little. Finally our day was complete and we went to our hotel, checked in and went to sleep. Throughout this whole day we kept our luggage in the bus and did our sight seeing before we went to the hotel. Some people were not happy about it, but it was just the way it worked out. The hotel was Marla motel. The hotel was not very nice, the walls were as thin as paper, you could hear everything going on in the next room, and the rooms were tiny. I probably wouldnt pick this hotel/motel to stay at long term. We were only there for the night, basically just to sleep because we had a flight to Antalya early the next day.
Apr 29th, 2009, 06:00 PM
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Sounds like you're having a great trip. I went to Turkey in 1996 and again in 2007. It's such a fascinating country. I have recommended Turkey to so many people. Hope you continue to have a wonderful time.
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May 5th, 2009, 06:11 PM
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We went with Concept Schools. I think Turkey is a very fascinating country and I cant wait to go back again some day!
Day 5
Leave from Izmir to Antalya, the flight was short maybe 45-60 minutes. The weather was beautiful, it was early in the morning but you could tell it was going to be a great day! Once our guide picked us up from the airport we took the bus to the hotel! This hotel was amazing!!! 5 stars the name is Delphin Diva http://www.antalyaresorts.com/listin...+Diva+Premiere
This place is so nice it is huge, basically it is a resort. Once we got to the hotel we waited for a while because our rooms were not ready but we were in time for lunch so we decided to eat. As soon as you walk in there is a grand piano and a nice table set up with lemonade and mint, the reception desk has an unlimited amount of Turkish delight and the espresso bar has an unlimited amount of cookies and cakes and delicious espresso. I checked out the spa and made an appointment for the next day for 5 hours of massages, Turkish massages, and relaxation!! Lunch was wonderful, it was buffet after buffet and outside theres a grill with more and more food! The hotel is located on the beach and on your way down to the beach is a pool, a bar, little huts to relax in, wonderful! Throughout the hotel are little shops, bars, hookah bars, everything.
After lunch we went to see the Duden waterfalls. This was a nice walk throughout the waterfall area, we took so many pictures because it was just beautiful. We left the waterfall and walked around Antalya we went to a few shops, I think we were suppose to visit a mosque but we were running behind schedule. I wished we could have just shopped a little more, there were many shops we passed but we walked down the street and then got onto the bus! After seeing some of the bedspreads, I would have liked to purchase one...o well!! We then went back to the hotel, got our room keys, dropped off our luggage and hung around the hotel for a little while. Everyone was so anxious to get back to the hotel to enjoy the amenities. We walked around, went into the game room, played a few games of pool, used the internet, had a few snacks and just relaxed.
Dinner time was just around the corner so everyone got together and previously we decided to split up into two groups because we were going to visit two different families. The bus took the first group to one family then took us from to the second family (ours was about an hour away). So we arrive at this house, which was beautiful, sat down at the dinner table...we were unsure if we should sit in the living room or dining room first!! So everyone was comfortable at the dinner table. One of the other teachers that I work with, who is Turkish was with us and told us to just talk, ask anything, talk about anything etc! He was our translator! So we start out with just small talk, work, vacations, schools, etc. Then, my husband opened up the topic of religion...I wanted to ask, especially after seeing all of the things we have seen at the Palaces and brief conversation with my collegue, but you never know, sometimes people dont want to talk about it or feel strange. This opened up a huge new world for us and our conversation went on for hours! Of course the media demoralizes everything and we talked about that. We talked deep about the Islamic religion and everything that goes along with it, how it came about, everything they believe....just wonderful conversation and an eye opening experience! We made new friends and exchanged addresses and they gave us a very special jelly that is unique to that area! The trip was amazing and everything we saw was incrediable but just these few hours with this family that opened their house to complete strangers was probably the best thing about this trip! So besides the conversation and the family the food was delicious! WE started with soup, of course, we had the rice wrapped in grapeleaves and rice wrapped in redpepper...very good! The wife of the family made these little pastas with meat inside covered in a yogurt type sauce....excellent and something very special in Turkey! We also had a plate of meat, lamb and of course the infamous baklava! Finally after all that...we were really behind schedule...we had to go pick up the other group and go to sleep! So we departed, but we left with so much that night!
Day 6 will be on the next post -Religious Garden in Belek and Aspendos!
Day 5
Leave from Izmir to Antalya, the flight was short maybe 45-60 minutes. The weather was beautiful, it was early in the morning but you could tell it was going to be a great day! Once our guide picked us up from the airport we took the bus to the hotel! This hotel was amazing!!! 5 stars the name is Delphin Diva http://www.antalyaresorts.com/listin...+Diva+Premiere
This place is so nice it is huge, basically it is a resort. Once we got to the hotel we waited for a while because our rooms were not ready but we were in time for lunch so we decided to eat. As soon as you walk in there is a grand piano and a nice table set up with lemonade and mint, the reception desk has an unlimited amount of Turkish delight and the espresso bar has an unlimited amount of cookies and cakes and delicious espresso. I checked out the spa and made an appointment for the next day for 5 hours of massages, Turkish massages, and relaxation!! Lunch was wonderful, it was buffet after buffet and outside theres a grill with more and more food! The hotel is located on the beach and on your way down to the beach is a pool, a bar, little huts to relax in, wonderful! Throughout the hotel are little shops, bars, hookah bars, everything.
After lunch we went to see the Duden waterfalls. This was a nice walk throughout the waterfall area, we took so many pictures because it was just beautiful. We left the waterfall and walked around Antalya we went to a few shops, I think we were suppose to visit a mosque but we were running behind schedule. I wished we could have just shopped a little more, there were many shops we passed but we walked down the street and then got onto the bus! After seeing some of the bedspreads, I would have liked to purchase one...o well!! We then went back to the hotel, got our room keys, dropped off our luggage and hung around the hotel for a little while. Everyone was so anxious to get back to the hotel to enjoy the amenities. We walked around, went into the game room, played a few games of pool, used the internet, had a few snacks and just relaxed.
Dinner time was just around the corner so everyone got together and previously we decided to split up into two groups because we were going to visit two different families. The bus took the first group to one family then took us from to the second family (ours was about an hour away). So we arrive at this house, which was beautiful, sat down at the dinner table...we were unsure if we should sit in the living room or dining room first!! So everyone was comfortable at the dinner table. One of the other teachers that I work with, who is Turkish was with us and told us to just talk, ask anything, talk about anything etc! He was our translator! So we start out with just small talk, work, vacations, schools, etc. Then, my husband opened up the topic of religion...I wanted to ask, especially after seeing all of the things we have seen at the Palaces and brief conversation with my collegue, but you never know, sometimes people dont want to talk about it or feel strange. This opened up a huge new world for us and our conversation went on for hours! Of course the media demoralizes everything and we talked about that. We talked deep about the Islamic religion and everything that goes along with it, how it came about, everything they believe....just wonderful conversation and an eye opening experience! We made new friends and exchanged addresses and they gave us a very special jelly that is unique to that area! The trip was amazing and everything we saw was incrediable but just these few hours with this family that opened their house to complete strangers was probably the best thing about this trip! So besides the conversation and the family the food was delicious! WE started with soup, of course, we had the rice wrapped in grapeleaves and rice wrapped in redpepper...very good! The wife of the family made these little pastas with meat inside covered in a yogurt type sauce....excellent and something very special in Turkey! We also had a plate of meat, lamb and of course the infamous baklava! Finally after all that...we were really behind schedule...we had to go pick up the other group and go to sleep! So we departed, but we left with so much that night!
Day 6 will be on the next post -Religious Garden in Belek and Aspendos!
May 20th, 2009, 12:23 PM
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Sorry it has taken so long to post to this trip report.
Day 6 Well when we got back to the hotel after our dinner with the family we hung out around the hotel and they had a coffee bar open with free tea, coffee, hookah so we had a little of everything. Then we went up to sleep and woke up the next day to an awesome breakfast buffet, great espresso, great food and a beautiful day! First we went to the Religious Garden in Belek. We visited a small church, synagogue and mosque. This was a nice little area and services were not going on at the time so we were able to go inside each place and look around and take pictures and talk about the various things within the mosque. Our guide explained the different things in the mosque and how they were used. When we left there was a group of small children lined up ready to visit the area as well, looked like a type of field trip.
Then we were off to the Roman Theater in Aspendos, it was awesome! It is the best preserved antique theater built sometime in 150! We spent a lot of time here just walking around taking pictures and after we left they were giving camel rides outside of the theater. By now it was lunch time and we had lunch at a local sister school in Manavgat. The lunch was awesome, the usual soup, bread, meat dessert. Compared to the previous school the lunch was delicious. Then we met with some students from the school who were anxious to meet us and speak English. The principal showed us around the school the classrooms and the gym, it was a very nice, clean, big school. The only problem was the bathroom....it was the bathroom that you had to squat over, so the girls were not very happy about that!
After lunch and our school tour we headed back to our hotel for a day of enjoyment. I opted for a day of pampering, oil massage, turkish bath, stone massage, deep tissue massage, chocolate face mask...the whole nine yards! When I was finished I ate dinner from the amazing buffet, we had a cup of tea and some hookah and off to bed. The others enjoyed the hotel...some played beach volleyball others hung out in the game room. I mean there was so much to do at this hotel it was amazing.
Day 7
Wake up early to eat our last amazing buffet breakfast and espresso we then are off to the airport to catch our flight to Istanbul. The flight was not even 2 hours and it went by fast. We got our bus and went to the same hotel Grand Anka Hotel. Now after being in Antalya at this fancy resort...the Grand Anak wasnt so beautiful, but it was good enough!! We check in put our stuff away and head off to lunch at Sultanahmet Halkin Koftecisi after a quick lunch off to Hagia Sophia. This was not on our itinerary but we told our guide...we only have 2 more days in Istanbul, the kids are learning about it in school...we MUST see it! Glad we did, I would have been very upset to miss out on seeing this amazing mosque. I am not going to go into detail because it has been mentioned numerous times how wonderful this place is and you can search it anywhere! This is a must see in Istanbul it is so beautiful. After seeing Hagia Sophia we went to the Grand Bazaar. I was not overly impressed with this place. People say that you can bargin but I didnt think so. The people at the shops told us prices were fixed and those that did not have fixed prices did not really want to go down on their price...o well. Our guide had family that owned some shops so we went there and bought a few things. I told my guide the few things that I wanted so him and his family member took us to the shops that were good and we bought the things we needed. At our hotel there was a man that had a small shop inside and his prices were comparable to the grand bazaar. Plus there were a million people in the bazaar the shop owners probably figured...if I dont get the price from this person, I'll get it from the next. It was neat to see but not as great as some people make it out to be. We went back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We were going to have dinner with another family. Our bus takes us to our family first then takes the other group to their family. Our driver was not the best...the second family was close to ours and the driver got lost and it they were an hour and a half late to dinner which happened to be right down the street. Anyways...thats just a whole different issue. We enter the home and it was very nice, big..two stories. Dinner was ready so we sat down and began small talk and started to eat. This family included a mother, father, teenage girl and boy and a young boy 7 or 8. They were very nice. The teenage girl spoke English very well and so did the father. The girl had been in the United States to visit and had a great time. Dinner was amazing as usual and the conversation this time after dinner lasted until after midnight!!! Also because our driver picked up the second group first and then got lost coming to get us!!
Regardless, we had an amazing time...we met a great family, they gave us some goodies and welcomed us into their home without any reserve! After dinner we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. Day 8-our final day will be on another post...posted sooner than this one, I promise!
Day 6 Well when we got back to the hotel after our dinner with the family we hung out around the hotel and they had a coffee bar open with free tea, coffee, hookah so we had a little of everything. Then we went up to sleep and woke up the next day to an awesome breakfast buffet, great espresso, great food and a beautiful day! First we went to the Religious Garden in Belek. We visited a small church, synagogue and mosque. This was a nice little area and services were not going on at the time so we were able to go inside each place and look around and take pictures and talk about the various things within the mosque. Our guide explained the different things in the mosque and how they were used. When we left there was a group of small children lined up ready to visit the area as well, looked like a type of field trip.
Then we were off to the Roman Theater in Aspendos, it was awesome! It is the best preserved antique theater built sometime in 150! We spent a lot of time here just walking around taking pictures and after we left they were giving camel rides outside of the theater. By now it was lunch time and we had lunch at a local sister school in Manavgat. The lunch was awesome, the usual soup, bread, meat dessert. Compared to the previous school the lunch was delicious. Then we met with some students from the school who were anxious to meet us and speak English. The principal showed us around the school the classrooms and the gym, it was a very nice, clean, big school. The only problem was the bathroom....it was the bathroom that you had to squat over, so the girls were not very happy about that!
After lunch and our school tour we headed back to our hotel for a day of enjoyment. I opted for a day of pampering, oil massage, turkish bath, stone massage, deep tissue massage, chocolate face mask...the whole nine yards! When I was finished I ate dinner from the amazing buffet, we had a cup of tea and some hookah and off to bed. The others enjoyed the hotel...some played beach volleyball others hung out in the game room. I mean there was so much to do at this hotel it was amazing.
Day 7
Wake up early to eat our last amazing buffet breakfast and espresso we then are off to the airport to catch our flight to Istanbul. The flight was not even 2 hours and it went by fast. We got our bus and went to the same hotel Grand Anka Hotel. Now after being in Antalya at this fancy resort...the Grand Anak wasnt so beautiful, but it was good enough!! We check in put our stuff away and head off to lunch at Sultanahmet Halkin Koftecisi after a quick lunch off to Hagia Sophia. This was not on our itinerary but we told our guide...we only have 2 more days in Istanbul, the kids are learning about it in school...we MUST see it! Glad we did, I would have been very upset to miss out on seeing this amazing mosque. I am not going to go into detail because it has been mentioned numerous times how wonderful this place is and you can search it anywhere! This is a must see in Istanbul it is so beautiful. After seeing Hagia Sophia we went to the Grand Bazaar. I was not overly impressed with this place. People say that you can bargin but I didnt think so. The people at the shops told us prices were fixed and those that did not have fixed prices did not really want to go down on their price...o well. Our guide had family that owned some shops so we went there and bought a few things. I told my guide the few things that I wanted so him and his family member took us to the shops that were good and we bought the things we needed. At our hotel there was a man that had a small shop inside and his prices were comparable to the grand bazaar. Plus there were a million people in the bazaar the shop owners probably figured...if I dont get the price from this person, I'll get it from the next. It was neat to see but not as great as some people make it out to be. We went back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We were going to have dinner with another family. Our bus takes us to our family first then takes the other group to their family. Our driver was not the best...the second family was close to ours and the driver got lost and it they were an hour and a half late to dinner which happened to be right down the street. Anyways...thats just a whole different issue. We enter the home and it was very nice, big..two stories. Dinner was ready so we sat down and began small talk and started to eat. This family included a mother, father, teenage girl and boy and a young boy 7 or 8. They were very nice. The teenage girl spoke English very well and so did the father. The girl had been in the United States to visit and had a great time. Dinner was amazing as usual and the conversation this time after dinner lasted until after midnight!!! Also because our driver picked up the second group first and then got lost coming to get us!!
Regardless, we had an amazing time...we met a great family, they gave us some goodies and welcomed us into their home without any reserve! After dinner we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. Day 8-our final day will be on another post...posted sooner than this one, I promise!
Jul 25th, 2009, 10:15 AM
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I believe the restaurant that you are thinking of is called Pirpirim. Here is the website- http://www.pirpirimocakbasi.com/main.php?dil=en
Why didn't you post about Day 8? Thanks for all of the great information Turkey!
Anna
Why didn't you post about Day 8? Thanks for all of the great information Turkey!
Anna
Aug 12th, 2009, 12:25 PM
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I was just cleaning out my office and found my Turkey itinerary and realized I did not post about day 8!! sorry!
Day 8 our final full day in Istanbul, the weather was amazing, very warm and sunny. We went drove up to Camacilla Hill (not sure of the spelling) over the Golden Horn (crowded with cars) we walked around there had coffee at a typical ottoman coffee house up on the hill and it was just amazing.
Our guide said that Camacillia hill is the place where lovers go. We walked around the hill and we had an amazing view of the Bosphurs and Istanbul from there. Took pictures around the garden full of tulips. Just a beautiful day. Then this is the best part on Camacilla Hill they sell these things called Gozleme and it was only like 2TL. They are hand made, the women are making them right in front of you. They are rolling the dough inside this little hut looking thing, then they fill it up with either potato, spinach, or cheese...fresh of course folds it over then hands it to the woman outside of the little bungalo and she grills it on this huge round shaped grill type of a thing!!! OMG amazing, of course my husband said no he didnt want one and I said we came here just for this so, i had one spinach and one cheese and after my husband had one bite he loved it and then i had to share! It was perfect, a light lunch ontop of the hill with an amazing view of Istanbul from the Asian side.
After Camacilla hill we went to another one of our sister schools. This school was amazing, it over looked the Bosphurs from the Asian side. The school was very big each grade had their own little building. We visited with them for a while, had some tea and then went back to the hotel for our final dinner. After dinner we relaxed and talked a little with everyone and then off to bed packing for our return to USA.
On departure day we had a nice breakfast at the hotel and off to the airport where it was crowded. Finally after a long wait to check in we departed back to Chicago. The flight was very empty so we had a lot of room to walk around and sleep comfortably!
Turkey was amazing, it changed our lives forever. I cannot say enough great things about the Turks and their wonderful country. Hopefully if the school plans another trip for next year we will be lucky enough to go! Thanks for reading and yes I believe prim prim was the name of the restaurant!
Day 8 our final full day in Istanbul, the weather was amazing, very warm and sunny. We went drove up to Camacilla Hill (not sure of the spelling) over the Golden Horn (crowded with cars) we walked around there had coffee at a typical ottoman coffee house up on the hill and it was just amazing.
Our guide said that Camacillia hill is the place where lovers go. We walked around the hill and we had an amazing view of the Bosphurs and Istanbul from there. Took pictures around the garden full of tulips. Just a beautiful day. Then this is the best part on Camacilla Hill they sell these things called Gozleme and it was only like 2TL. They are hand made, the women are making them right in front of you. They are rolling the dough inside this little hut looking thing, then they fill it up with either potato, spinach, or cheese...fresh of course folds it over then hands it to the woman outside of the little bungalo and she grills it on this huge round shaped grill type of a thing!!! OMG amazing, of course my husband said no he didnt want one and I said we came here just for this so, i had one spinach and one cheese and after my husband had one bite he loved it and then i had to share! It was perfect, a light lunch ontop of the hill with an amazing view of Istanbul from the Asian side.
After Camacilla hill we went to another one of our sister schools. This school was amazing, it over looked the Bosphurs from the Asian side. The school was very big each grade had their own little building. We visited with them for a while, had some tea and then went back to the hotel for our final dinner. After dinner we relaxed and talked a little with everyone and then off to bed packing for our return to USA.
On departure day we had a nice breakfast at the hotel and off to the airport where it was crowded. Finally after a long wait to check in we departed back to Chicago. The flight was very empty so we had a lot of room to walk around and sleep comfortably!
Turkey was amazing, it changed our lives forever. I cannot say enough great things about the Turks and their wonderful country. Hopefully if the school plans another trip for next year we will be lucky enough to go! Thanks for reading and yes I believe prim prim was the name of the restaurant!
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