Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus, Acropolis…

Date of visit: December 2018

As you can tell from the pictures, Turkey is such a diverse country. From the bustling, urban city of Istanbul, to the mystic aura of Cappadocia, and the ruins of Ephesus. A trip to Turkey offers so many different sights, and I have only named the highlights of the trip.

Before I visited Turkey, I had the impression that it was a strict Islamic country that didn’t have much to offer. In fact, when my parents first suggested a trip to Turkey, I was reluctant, as I didn’t think the itinerary was interesting, and in addition, was worried about safety.

My impression changed drastically when I arrived there. Because of the risk of terrorism, heavily armed security forces were always present at important historical sights, and it made me feel rather safe. Instead of being the strict Islamic countries its neighbours are, Turkey is in fact a secular society with only some Islamic influence. As our guide put it, during Ramadan (the fasting month), most restaurants in the neighbouring countries would be closed, and the mosques would be filled. In Turkey however, the restaurants would all remain opened, and the mosques would stand empty. It was really surprising to learn this.

In addition, Turkey was such an amazing country with so many interesting sights to visit.

Istanbul

Istanbul is a really special city. It straddles two continents – Asia and Europe, and it shows in the culture. Contrary to popular belief, Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey, but it is the largest city. The food is mainly Middle Eastern, with some Asian influence. I was really excited to visit Istanbul because that’s where my favourite volleyball team, Vakifbank Spor Kulubu is based at. When we arrived in Istanbul, we were taken aback by the cold weather there, which we didn’t expect. That aside, Istanbul’s famous sights, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia were intriguing to visit. It was interesting to see a mixture of Christian and Islamic decor in one single building. The Bosphorus cruise trip, though not as interesting as some of the river cruise trips I’ve been on, really allowed me to understand and explore the city well.

Cappadocia

Cappadocia (or Kapadokya), one of the highlights of the trip. Visiting this place really feels like I’ve landed on another planet. Of course, the highlight of the trip was the hot air balloon ride, which was as stable as a lift ride. Hot air balloon rides are highly weather-dependent, and can only operate if the wind speeds are less than 10 km/h. We were extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to take the hot air balloon the very first day we were there, especially since they had not been able to fly the hot air balloon for eleven days prior to our arrival. So I’m extremely thankful even though we didn’t get to see something like this:

Other than that, we also got to take a jeep ride through the valleys to explore the caves.

Ephesus

I was extremely excited to visit Ephesus because I had read about it in the Bible since I was a kid. I walked along the streets of Ephesus, and imagined what life was like then, but the longer I spent there, the more I can to realise ruins were just what they were…ruins. It was difficult to picture the original city appearance just by looking at the rocks, even though Ephesus is one of the most well-preserved ancient city ruins in the world…

But never had I been more excited about visiting a toilet

This was a toilet for the rich. Absolutely zero privacy!! Apparently during the winter, the rich man would send their slaves ahead to the toilet to warm the seats for them so that they could do their business comfortably.

I was also excited to visit the Temple of Artemis, even though our guide warned us not to expect too much. I had expected something like this:

It turned out to be like this:

The Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. What was left was really ruins…only one and a half pillars were left standing.

---

There are so many more sights that we’ve visited that are as intriguing. I’ve mentioned these three places as they were the ones I was most looking forward to, and have been the most memorable.

Of course, because Turkey is such a large country, one must be prepared for long drives between destinations. I personally do not mind long drives, as I like to zone out and have some me-time on those rides. But if you’re like my brother, who likes to maximise the number of sights visited in one day, then perhaps Turkey may not meet your expectations. I assure you however, this country is really worth a visit. Forget your stereotypes, your preconceived notions. Just book a trip there.