Beer of Turkey

After a countless tries of watered-down beer in China and Central Asia, finally a glass of beer with a bold flavor. But according to Greeks I met on the street, beer here has no "taste" in comparison to those of Greece.

Efes Pilsen, pilsner, 5.0%, Efes

  Efes Dark, 5.5%, Efes

Ballon Fight in Goreme

The bus arrived Nevesehir, the hub terminal for Cappadocia region, at six in the morning. We woke up to a local passenger calling us, and were escorted off the bus into the terminal building half asleep, not knowing who he is. He turned out to be a travel agent trying to sell us a guided tour. Disappointed to see such people outside of mega-city, we declined to take his offer and waited for the shuttle bus to Goreme.

 

Shoe String Hostel

Goreme is a small town located in the middle of a landscape full of cone-shaped rocks sticking out earth. Erupted volcano covered the earth with a great amount of ashes thousands of years ago, and some area became petrified, others were washed away by rain and wind over the years. What remains today, teeth-like rock formation with nooks, were used as caved residence for people settled in this area.

The first things in site off the minibus, were stone buildings in between sharp statue of rocks and a countless number of hot-air balloons floating in the sky. We walked around town, calm in the early sunlight, looking for a place to stay. We found a hostel with a cave room as per Sahe's wish, and after a rest, we walked around the beige town. Although the streets are lined with shops and cafe, there were no one trying to pulley us into their territory as they shamelessly did in Istanbul. Seeing selflessly friendly people made me realize never to judge the locals while in a city.

There was one other thing that Sahe wanted to do while in Goreme. It is to go on a hot-air balloon ride. From 500 meters (1,500 ft) to less than a meter off the ground, the direction solely depends on the way of the wind. There are over ten balloon companies in Goreme, and it is one of the common attraction to see the rock formation from above. As much as I wanted to try it, going up high is something I always wish to avoid, and so I sent Sahe off alone.

Hot-air ballon can only go up when the air is cold. A shuttle bus came to pick her up at five in the morning, and I decided to watch her from the highest point I can allow myself to be in. I found a nice area to situate myself and saw dozens of balloons on the ground, growing their domes like mushrooms. One ballon was already off the ground, but others waited for the dawn. One slowly slid off the ground, and then another, then another. Soon the sky was filled with siluhette of balloons, appeared like holes in the sky. When the sun finally rose above the mountain in the distance, bright colors of balloons lit up as they moved away from the ray towards the town, and one by one they landed on the hill on tue other side.

Sahe was on the one in the middle

It was nice to start off a morning after seeing the sunrise. Later in the day, Sahe and I made sure to see the sunset together from the same altitude.

A hidden town

In a desperate need to leave the mammoth city of Istanbul, population 12.5 million, we began our research for domestic destination possibilities. Turkey, known for nine impressive world-heritage sites listed at UNESCO, has much to offer both in nature and culture. This meant that if we do not select carefully then we will end up reuniting with tour groups. We chose Amasra, a small town on the coast of Black Sea, Trabzon, another town on the coast further east, and Cappadocia, a world heritage site known for its unique landscape and historical culture. We allowed ourselves to spend about seven to ten days total on this mini-adventure.

As soon as decided, we went to the terminal, selected a bus company out of hundreds of rivals, that would take us overnight to the first destination. We went back with our recovered backpacks in the evening, an hour and a half earlier to locate the departure station and the vehicle. Apparently buses are commonly used by locals for long-distance traveling, and vehicles are often well equipped and appear brand new. When a bus pulls into a terminal, a boy with a brush and a bucket would run up to clean it. Inside, an attendant will serve drinks and snack while on the road. Seats may not be the most comfortable for a sleeping purpose, but the service is exquisite.

 

 

 

We arrived Amasra at 7:00, a town just waking up to the late sunrise peeking above cliffs that surrounds the secluded coast. This is exactly what we wanted. Sahe and I looked at each other, and went on looking for a place to eat. After a delight Turkish coffee and çai, we then went to the ticket office to find out about our next bus. The destination was able to be reached by single transfer, but since we were not sure how long we would stay in Amasra, we left with no reservation and started looking for our home for the night. This was easy, as owners with available rooms are walking around the town looking for visitors. We met an elder lady and a daughter, who kept saying, "she-vuyu, she-vuyu". Sure, a sea view would be nice. Her soft and kind smile was all that took to convince us. We walked uphill, then onto steps, then finally stairs to reach the room, and the place was magnificent. Apparently, the furnished apartment owned by her sister is now empty and was used for accommodation during the summer. With a kitchen, a living room, and a sun-room with a great view, we couldn't believe that the price was almost the same as what we paid for in Istanbul for our 30-bed dormitory.

 

 

The town is built around a fort-like walls built during the Roman and Byzantine Empire periods, and houses appear to be stacked on top of one another. We got ourselves lost trying to find the way to the highest point going through narrow paths, and we finally found a light house at the peak. Black Sea extended out until it disappeared in the horizon, and down below, a small beach was now occupied with local people swimming and tanning. We decided to join them. The time moved as slowly as the calm breeze, and we enjoyed the productive day of doing nothing. As much as we wanted to spend our rest of our stay in Turkey, we decided to plan to leave the next day.

 

 

 

We continued to stay relaxed in the morning, and went to book a bus ticket at noon, only to learn that there is only one seat left on the bus to Trabzon. Oops. We got too comfortable. With a help from locals, we visited other bus companies but we would have to waste a day by traveling non-direct. So we changed our plan and decided to leave in the evening to Ankara, and then take the 1:30 bus to Goreme in Cappadocia instead.

 

We walked to the terminal in the evening, to find our one-day landlord there. She called us over to give me the adaptor for my cell phone. She wanted to give it back to us so she was carrying it in her purse all day to find us. If we had kept the original plan to leave early we would have been long gone, so it was a relief to know at least one positive thing came out of our procrastination.

Istanbul, the tourist mecca

Due to time consuming procedure to obtain visas for Uzbekistan, we decide to fly from Bishkek to Istanbul. Flying over Caspian Sea, we landed briefly in Kiev, Ukraine, and then on to Istanbul. 7-hour plane ride was nothing compared to 37-hour Chinese bus, however, we did not realize that we were to face new challenges upon arrival.

1. Lost Backpacks: Two backpacks checked in at Bishkek Airport decided to take a trip of their own. When we learned that our baggage were unable to be claimed at the conveyer belt, we visited the Lost & Found to see other bags lined up. Not a good sign. We filed a lost report and were told to be contacted as soon as they turn up. Luckily, they were found and sent to Istanbul Airport the next day, but we ended up spending a half day picking them up. We were later told that bags were left back in Kiev.

2. A popular place to be: Istanbul receives many tourists during the summer. The number of people are overwhelming, especially since we came from quiet Central Asian cities. Brand-new Mercedes Benz buses take over small streets in Sultanahmet, and stylish travelers with a suitcase and a purse wearing heels elegantly step off. The same latest pop remix is blasting from cafe to attract herd of party-goers, and it is everywhere. Visitors seem less friendly, as they are trying to cram their limited time with a full-packed plan with not a minute to spare. There were only little ways to exchange information with others.

3. Friendly Turks: When walking down a street with an Asian appearance, you hear, "Ni hao. Annyeong-haseyo. Konnichiwa", all in one phrase. Theses are the infamous Turk merchants trying to get your attention. We got caught off guard by a carpet salesman on our first day. A man with a smile approached us and before we knew, we were in his small gallery. He started rolling out two dozen carpets onto the floor and asked us to choose one. He then named a price, about USD800, and asked us what we would pay for. After telling him over and over how we have no reference to name a price, he forcefully gave me a new price, now a third of the original. That didn't do much for us as we had no intention of purchasing a rug bigger than our backpack, we told his so again as his facial expression now gloomy and he finally walked out on us in anger ... We can leave now, right?? Although their business tactic does not seem clever, their passion to force you to buy things are more than what we can handle before lunch.

4. Everything is ready for visitors: Tourism being a big part of their economy, the city is made very comfortable for tourists. Maps are handed to you upon your arrival at the airport, and all signs are written in English. Dollars and Euros are accepted as well as their own currency, Lira. Everything from the public transportation to accommodation,  to a park, things are kept very clean and neat, which made us feel like being in an amusement park. Coming from countries where looking for a postcard was a half-day voyage, this type of convenience made the visit less adventurous.

Although I have listed a number of negative experiences, the city has so much to offer, including the deep-rooted history and culture seen from magnificent structures remaining in a great condition, that not coming here would have been a big loss.

But we had to get away from all of this noise. So we booked the bus out towards east as soon as our bags were returned.