"Yes please! My friend"

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

I arrived in Istanbul with a smile on my face, knowing that I had just entered a new country I had never been in before and one that was vastly different than most of the places I have been in the past. I also had an understanding that Turkey is a hot country, very hot. What I did not know was that there is a relative humidity level that would give a steam room a run for its money. I have had spells of humidity that have left me sweating for consecutive hours without a problem, this however, is a different story; I'm working on 408 consecutive hours...and counting.

Turkey is a stunning country, with some of the most unique and beautiful landscapes, unbelievable coastline, great people (as long as their not trying to sell you something, which is rare) and AMAZING watermelon. But DON'T COME IN AUGUST. It would be far easier and more cost effective to simply crawl into your oven with a steam cleaner.  This however, is a prime example of one of the golden rules of travelling: adapt and get over it.  My first day in Istanbul was miserable because all I could think about was how much i was sweating and ways in which to stop sweating. I soon realized that there is no answer to that problem, I must except the sweat; be one with the sweat.  That's what the locals do, and you know if the locals are sweating then you have no chance!

Being a muslim country, I had several assumptions of what to expect when I arrived, but some places are clearly more serious than others. Whether you call it westernization, modernization, or maybe just natural progression, or maybe they are all one in the same, one thing is seems to be pretty clear: Istanbul is one big contradiction.  The cityscape is rittled with ancient minarets poking out above the tv antenaes and satelite dishes and every few hours the call to prayer blasts from them, yet nobody seems to do anything. Life just keeps plugging along, the men and kids (boys and girls) wearing their knockoff Armani, Prada, and blue jeans, and the women wearing a simple headscarf to satisfy the modest dress code but without infringing on Turkish law which has actually ourlawed religious dress in public areas.  Beer and alcohol is sold everywhere, there is a great nightlife, and restaurants are open all day filled with locals, yet we're in the middle of Ramadan.  It was very interesting to see, but at the same time a little disappointing because it was very difficult to find where tourist Istanbul stopped and real Istanbul began.  One of my days I went looking for real Istanbul, I left the main tourist area then picked an alleyway and started walking. It took me through a number of different zones from retail, to labour, to a small hole in the wall dart hall, and back to labour. The vast majority of work in that area seemed to be basic labour, making coat hangers, or piles of wooden feet for shoes on display, carpet shops or metal work.  I ended up having lunch at a small corner café where locals congregate to play backgammon and have an afternoon tea. I had a great conversation with the owner, an old airplane mechanic who worked 8 years in Ontario for Boeing, then retired to run his little family buisness.  It was a really nice experience to get a taste of some of the everyday culture rather than the constant 'yes please my friend, you are American yes? I give you good price!'
Now to cover my bases: this is just something I noticed in the areas I visited in Istanbul and found it quite interesting. I would definately call it a generalization, because istanbul is a massive city and I only saw a fraction of it. But, interesting none the less!

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

From Istanbul I headed south down to Selçuk via night bus.  Transportaion in Turkey is very much dominated by buses, the train system is non-existent or bismal. Selçuk is where the ancient Greek city of Ephesus lies, an area that has been inhabited since 6000BC, and was home to 250,000 Greeks at it's 1st century peak.

Main road leading to Epheses amphitheatre

Other than that there really isn't much in the way of things to see and given that it's not right on the beach I spent only one night there then moved on down to Fethiye on the south coast. I used the day well though, I took a round about way which brought me through Pamukkale, another ancient city complete with amphitheatre (which i thought was more impressive than Epheses.)  What makes Pamukkale special though is the hill side completely covered by travertine terraces.  Travertine is a rock formed when calcium carbonate (this is for you Tom) from the water is deposited after it bubbles out of the ground. It's a bit of a mind bender when you arrive in 40 degree heat to a hillside completely covered in what looks like fresh powder.  Several hours wandering through the mud baths and ruins behind and I was back on the bus for Fethiye. A trip that was supposed to take 4 hours quickly turned into a 6 hour milk run picking people up and dropping people off seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  In the end I made it and apart from the 2 hour delay, it was quite uneventful.Bring on the South coast, swimming, beach sleeping, and gület cruising!   

'Snow' covered hillside at Pamukkale

Travertine terraces

Pamukkale amphitheatre