Turkey!

Adam and I went with one of my co-workers and friend, Jennifer, to Turkey at the end of March. Adam and Jennifer had found some great prices on tickets in January that were too good to pass up, so away we went! We had a great time! We left on March 19 for a long leg of flights, and arrived in Istanbul late on March 20. We spent Friday in Istanbul, but unfortunately Adam was feeling under the weather. We then spent a few days in Cappadocia (amazing), a day in Bergama (great views from the Acropolis), a few days in Selcuk/Ephesus, and then wrapped up the rest of our trip in Istanbul. The food was good, the people were friendly, and the sites were very neat! I've posted some pictures below...the scary thing is that I took almost 1,000 photos, so if you want to see more, just let me know because I definitely have them!

Turkish breakfast- hardboiled egg, bread and jam, olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes all served with some Turkish tea or coffee

The Blue Mosque, which was literally a 2 minute walk from our hotel

The three of us in Cappadocia- the first stop in Devrent Valley

Fairy chimneys in Cappadocia

Visiting the underground cave cities in Cappadocia...and getting separated from the group among the maze of stairs and tunnels!

Some of the cave homes in Cappadocia- those are windows and doors!

A lunch of kofte meatballs and rice! Yummy!

You can't tell from the picture but it was so windy that day- we went home with so much dirt in our ears and our hair...but it looks neat!

One of the many Turkish Airline planes that we rode on this trip. The airline is great- good legroom and they even serve you food on a one-hour flight. Don't ask why I look like I was caught in a tornado and Jennifer looks fine.

Adam and Emily on the steps of the Roman Theater at the Asclepion in Bergama.

View of the Acropolis with Bergama below

A woman making our gozleme (Turkish pancakes)- so good!

Adam at the Seven Sleepers restaurant- we sat on pillows eating gozleme! Fun!

The Seven Sleepers Cave in Ephesus

We visited the House of Virgin Mary, which is thought to be where she spent her last days

Adam and I at the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The ruins of the Library of Celsus at Ephesus

Remains of the Terrace Houses in Ephesus

Closer view of the Library of Celsus

Thank goodness for umbrellas- the storm came out of nowhere!

We thought it was going to be terribly cold in Turkey, but it was definitely springtime there!

Our driver who was supposed to pick us up...he kind of forgot

The road on our walk home from Ephesus to Selcuk

Cute homes in Sirince- the area is surrounded by olive trees to and orchards to make fruit wines. We were only able to visit for a half hour

Back in Istanbul!
Back in Istanbul- The Aya Sofya was first an orthodox church, then a mosque, and now a museum

Inside the Aya Sofya

The Blue Mosque, which sits across from the Aya Sofya

Inside the Blue Mosque

Fisherman on the Galata Bridge- we passed them on our quest for the oldest Chinese restaurant in Istanbul

Why is Jennifer so sad? Because we spent almost 2 hours walking and searching for the restaurant, only to find that it had closed down. Too funny!

Picture of Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. His picture is everywhere, including on money and in public areas (this one was at Beykent University)

Blue Mosque at night

Taking a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul (in case you didn't know, the city of Istanbul is located both in Europe and in Asia)

Flower sellers on the street

We found a cute park to take a break in

Tons of spices in the Egyptian Spice Bazaar

More foods at the Spice Market

Five times a day there was a call to prayer from the mosques. This shaky video is during an afternoon call to prayer while we were at the Blue Mosque.