Turkey
Most tourists probably visit the Aya Sofya (left) and the Sultanahmet
or Blue Mosque (right) in their first two days in Turkey. I
didn't get around to Istanbul until my last week in Turkey, and while I
was disappointed overall by Istanbul, these two exquisite structures do
not disappoint. They justly deserve their reputation, along with
the Sultaniye mosque which is very similar to the Blue Mosque, among
the pantheon of the most divine architectural creations in the world.
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Arguably the most underwhelming of the
"great" sites of Turkey is Ephesus, the Roman ruins near Izmir on the
Aegean west coast of Turkey. If all the photos you see of the
site are of the famous Celsus library (top) that's probably because
it's the only photogenic object on the site. Here at least, I'm
throwing in a picture of a statue from the facade of the Celsus library
(middle) and costumed actors playing Roman centurions in the courtyard
outside the Celsus library (bottom) for the groups of schoolkids
visiting the site.
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Despite hordes of tourists in the base
town of Goreme, the weird rock formations and troglodyte cave houses of
Cappadocia remain one of the grandest highlights of the middle
east. There are other similar regions in the world, but none as
vast and comprehensive and limitless in its whimsical possibilities as
Cappadocia. You don't have to walk more than 20 minutes out of
Goreme to be alone in a constantly changing sea of rock
formations. The phallically named Love Valley shown here is
hardly ever visited, but stands only a ten minute walk from town.
Goreme attracts its share of new age backpackers like you see in India,
lured by mystical vibes and, probably more to the point, dirt cheap
housing.

I just like this picture of an old man
standing outside his home in Chavusin, a neighbouring village to
Goreme,


The heads at the summit of Mt Nemrut in
east-central Turkey are probably more impressive in photos than in
reality but they'reworth visiting despite the hassle to get
there. The only way to get to Nemrut without paying insane prices
to rapacious tour organiser sharks in nearby cities is to walk or
hitchhike the last 8 km on foot and that's what I did. The summit
trail is hell-a-windy and the summit cold even in the summer, but the
payoff was seeing these heads on the western terrace under the warm
sunset light. In truth, they're not as big as I was hoping, but
they are remarkably well preserved. The eastern terrace also has
heads but I didn't stay the night at the summit to see them illuminated
by dawn light.
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The frontier town of Dogubeyazit, just 10
km from the Iranian border, was a pleasant surprise. Cheap,
friendly, hassle-free, and easygoing, it is also the home to two of the
most beautiful stunningn views in all of Turkey: over Ishak Pasa
palace (top) and of the monstrous Mt Ararat (bottom). Just behind
the mountain, which stands completely on Turkish soil, are the borders
to Iran, Armenia, and the Azerbaijani enclave of Naxcivan.
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Quite a few travellers cite Akdamar island
as their favourite place in Turkey and I can see why. The tiny
island is surrounded by the electric turquoise waters of Lake Van,
which itself is ringed by snowcapped mountains in all directions.
On the island, the Akdamar church is considered one of the
supreme masterpieces in Armenian church architecture. And it's a
pleasant place to have a picnic, climb around on the mountains with
awesome views all around, and relax.
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