Turkey Traveller

So I finally experienced my first earthquake, I had already accepted that it was likely that I would eventually experience one as it seems and unlikely that I would be able to spend this much time in Turkey without it happening at some point. We were having a pleasant sunny afternoon stroll in Kaş when the earthquake struck. Walking down a fairly steep hill in the old part of town my wife suddenly lost her footing in a weird way, I asked if she wanted me to take the pushchair but the atmosphere was odd and she just stared down the hill suddenly turning to me saying “earthquake”. Simultaneously the Earth emitted a low groan and absolutely everything began to shudder causing me to stumble slightly. The main quake was over in a matter of seconds but the area seemed to continue to vibrate in an almost imperceptible way, for some time after you clearly see light fittings vibrating. Obviously this caused a degree of panic and within a minute everyone was in the street. The people who had...

The modern town of Bergama is not particularly picturesque town and I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a destination from which too base your holiday, however it has a fascinating history making it perfect for a day trip.  The older part of the town has some old style town houses and its not overly touristy so can be a nice place to observe the Turks going around their day to day business. Attractions at Bergama include two large archaeological sites, a museum of archaeology and a gargantuan brick temple earmarked as the throne of the devil in the coming Armageddon. Museum of Archaeology in Bergama The museum at Bergama is well established having been built on the orders of Fevzi Çakmak in 1932. Recently it has been refurbished to a high standard. The exhibits are mostly from nearby Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman remains. Outside the front of the museum there is a collection of sculptures and decoratively carved Islamic tombs and grave markers. Inside there are m...

The Bonjour Pansiyon in Ayvalik is an interesting bed & breakfast situated in a restored house that Formerly belonged to the French ambassador to the Sultan. The house is deceptively big and somewhere in this building there are 12 rooms. Restored to a high standard with lots of interesting original features and added decorative items gives the place a romantic old world feel. The ceilings have also been decorated with some authentic looking frescos. The rooms are basic as you would expect, nicely decorated and include air con/heating. There are shared bathroom facilities throughout the pansiyon. Breakfast is served in a walled courtyard and includes, bread, local olives, cheese, eggs, Turkish fried bread, jams, honey and hot and cold beverages. We paid 45 YTL per person per night including breakfast, the pansiyon is located about 5 minutes walk from the otogar (bus station) at this address Fevzi Cakmak Cad. Cesme Sok. No:5,  .

Turkish coffee ( Türk kahvesi ) is extremely strong, dark and bitter. Prepared using finely ground roasted coffee beans that have been slowly heated to boiling in a small pot called a cezva . Turkish coffee is always served black and the sugar is added whilst the coffee is being boiled. If you want it with sugar order şekerli without sugar is sade or plain. Turkish coffee is sipped slowly and is so thick that the bottom of the cup is normally an undrinkable dark sludge, if your lucky enough to be drinking with a group of Turkish women they will often turn the cup upside down on the saucer allow the sludge to run down the sides and dry, ten minutes later the will read your coffee fortunes ( Falına Bakmak ) predicting your future by the patterns and pictures left in the dried coffee. If you want more European/Western style coffee order Nescafe, recently you will also find European style coffee shops selling caffe latte and cappuccino's. .

Gemiler Island also known as the Island of St Nicholas is located on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey between Olu Deniz and Fethiye. The Island is only small approximately 1000m long by 400m wide but that small area is littered with the remains of an historic monastic retreat containing among other things the original resting place of St Nicholas. The Island offers the perfect opportunity to take a break from sunbathing and spend an hour exploring the medieval remains, that for centuries attracted pilgrims from all over Christendom. On the island are the remains of four churches, related religious buildings, Byzantine dwellings, harbour, cistern, stone tombs, graveyard and ceremonial passageway. The views from the top of the Island across the Mediterranean and back inland are also quite stunning and well worth the walk. The Tomb of St Nicholas St Nicholas better known now days as Father Christmas or Santa Claus was the Bishop of Myra, which is just a few miles from from Gemiler Isl...

This is a sponsored post in courtesy of The Pen Company Ottoman calligraphy began its life when the Turks migrated from Central Asia towards Asia Minor coming into contact with Islam along the way, they abandoned the traditional Uyghur text and adopted a hybrid written language based on Persian and Arabic tradition. In Islamic theology the text of the Qur'an is considered sacred as it is the word of Allah himself as revealed to the prophet Muhammed. This combined with the fact that artworks picturing human and animal forms are prohibited, meant that calligraphy as an art form flourished in the Ottoman empire with the most impressive works being undertaken in Istanbul. Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman state in 1453 after Fatih Mehmet took the city effectively ending the Byzantium empire. Within Istanbul there are many fine examples of Turkish calligraphy one of the most famous being engraved in 1478 over the imperial gate at Topkapi palace by Ali Sofi a calligrapher in t...