Tipsy in Turkey
There are some in Tipsy’s family who, when they are feeling a bit grumpy, refer to Turkey as being a bit “potus” – this roughly translates as “a bit of a dud”. But, their judgement is based on the fact that Turkey didn’t actually have any magic carpets for sale (and they had visions of travelling the world like Aladdin and Jasmine) and also, unfortunately, there were no magic lamps either, or genies, and Tipsy’s Little Pet had the flu when out there and came back home with pneumonia and Tipsy’s Big Pet cracked a rib and couldn’t laugh until it had healed.
Apart from that, Turkey wasn’t all that bad – and is actually somewhere Tipsy would like to go back to (especially because she can’t really remember much of it because she was too busy looking after her pets and administering paracetamol and keeping their fluids up).
The flight to Turkey was great, on Air Turkey, and what else would they serve, but turkey sandwiches and they were delicious. We started off in beautiful Izmir on the bay and decided to take little day drips via coach (free wifi and snacks!) and mini bus. First, we went to Ephesus – the ancient city or ‘outdoor museum’ as Turkish guidebooks like to call it. It’s hugely impressive – highlights include the library, amphitheatre and Temple of Artemis – and lots of cats came to greet Tipsy and generally lolled about on various ancient columns. Nearby, is the House of the Virgin Mary, beautifully kept and with a lovely atmosphere.
Next, we went to Pamukkale – or the Cotton Castle – which is a natural wonder of thermal waters and travertine and is spectacular. There were many people paddling about, but we didn’t go far in, as the flu bug was starting to have its affect on us. We also got a little lost on the coach coming back – and overshot – not understanding Turkish – but luckily the kind fellow passengers stopped the coach before it hit the far outskirts of Izmir and got us off and into a taxi back to our hotel.
We then flu on to Istanbul and stayed in the ancient area of Sultanahmet on the Western side of the Bosporus. Battling the flu and freezing cold weather, we went round the highlights of Istanbul – the beautiful Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace with the world’s largest topaz, Hagia Sophia, and the ancient cistern, where Tipsy met a friend from Taiwan called Open-Chan.
And that’s about all we can remember. Hopefully, next time will be flu free (and we might even find that magic carpet).
Just to let you know, we’re not being sponsored by anyone (yet) to write this blog post. But, we are trying to get ourselves a bit of pocket money, so if you click on a Booking.com link, and book something with them on the day, then I’ll get a bit of commission. 🙂