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| The beginning of the Turkey trip was spent in Istanbul. The Blue Mosque is, perhaps, the most famous landmark of the city, but there are plenty of other mosques and famous sites scattered about. Included among these is the Grand Bazaar at the heart of Istanbul. It's a fantastic place to spend several hours just wandering around all the stalls and bargaining for a variety of goods. |
| The center of Turkey features the region of Cappadocia. While I found it to be rather dry and dusty, there were some interesting and beautiful rock formations and ancient cave dwellings. The formations were formed by volcanic activity thousands of years ago, while the rock churches and homes are relatively new. They were carved by Greek settlers in the 18th century. |
| Back in the far west of the country, there are lots of Roman and Greek ruins. Pictured on the right is the facade of a library from the Roman city of Ephesus (Efes). Turkey, believe it or not, has been home for a number of famous historical figures. Homer, Heroditous, and St. Nicolas (Santa Claus) were born there; and the Spartans, Trojans, Amazons, St. John, and the Virgin Mary all spent significant amounts of time there. Noah is also believed to have landed the Ark on Mt. Nemrut in Turkey's far east. |