29 October ’04, Friday. REPUBLIC DAY…29th Day of OCTOBER Today is a national holiday commemorating the proclamation of the republic by Ataturk in 1923… Big celebration all over the country, parades, speeches, parties, and lot’s of fireworks, big ones, all along the coastline last night from 9:30 to after 11…BIG FIREWORKS…
This campground and the campsite that we are occupying said to us this morning, “Sit Back and Enjoy The Day”. Sooo, we did !!! The sun was a little hot coming into the van while we were making up breakfast and doing the morning dishes, but after that…my oh my, what a beautiful day. It topped out at about 80 and got as low as 72 last night. Louise being the “Hunter of Shell’s” walked the beach from one side to the other. We’ve got some beautiful rocks, but only 2 shells the total walk. All were left behind (thank God for the van). I don’t know if I mentioned the little village that we are in, or not. It’s Goynuk, and is located just a few km east of Kemer right on the Mediterranean. Our walk took us up the beach so that we could see two of the large beach resorts here. We’re sure that they are associated with timesharing. They just have that “Timeshare” look. One was nice, and the other was really quite nice. Of course they have all the water features…jet ski’s, water banana’s, and all the rest of the toys.
After we got back from our walk, we both got into our swimming suits and took a swim in the Med. The water was “wonderful”, and they tell us it will stay the same at least through December. By that time we will be heading for Greece. Late afternoon, we decided to do some “spring cleaning” and get rid of some of the things that we brought, never warn, probably never will, and extra luggage. Then we settled down for a light dinner of pop-corn and a beer. Just as we were finishing up, the young man who we’ve become friends with here (Oskan) brought us a full plate of these very small fish that he had lightly battered and fried up. He also brought us a plate full of this wonderful flat bread that is fried on both sides and lightly filled with this wonderful cheese. I loved the whole thing, but with Lou’s touchy stomach, she only ate some of the bread.
Tomorrow….going into Kemer for groceries, internet, and ….

28 October ’04, Thursday. Crickets are in full swing from a small stream about 40 yards to our left, the full moon rises out of the sea in front of us as we sit in our easy chairs under 4 large Pine trees. The surf is calm off of the Mediterranean with a slight breeze coming from our right. The temperature is hovering around 75 degrees and we are the only camper in town. Again, we seem to have the whole place to ourselves…well not quite, as there is a Turkish lady that lives here on the campground, and there is one other caravan that is here as well. After last night, we have found heaven. Last night started out OK, but as we started to settle into bed, a dog that we knew was next to us, started to bark and cry…ALL NIGHT LONG…. I really wanted to do something drastic, but… Anyway, somehow, we did get some sleep in between yelps and cries, but it was short.
I guess that if we are going to look for “Free Camping” in service stations, we are just going to have to put up with a little discomfort once in awhile. As it was, we did get some sleep and were out of there at 9am. Unfortunately, on top of all this, Louise has a case of the “Turkey Trots”…not good timing, but that type of thing never comes at the right time. Even tonight she is having a little difficultly. The road trip today took us on a route through some of the poorest parts of Turkey that we have seen yet. Life there was very simple to say the least. We have seen more of the “traditional dress” for the ladies in the last two days than we have seen for the whole trip. The head is covered with a printed shawl, the dress is dark and printed (in most cases), and is like “Sultan” or “Harem” pants…bloused at the legs and tight at the lower calf. Heavy socks are also part of the dress. One of the other sightings we have seen more and more of, is the small cart being pulled by a small horse or donkey. A lot of the time, we will see the whole family riding in the cart with some of the wood they have gathered for the day. With Winter coming soon, and with no central heating in any of the houses, wood and coal are the main stay for heat. Wood is by far the most used. Another note for the day…, the trucks. You would not believe the amount of trucks on the roads, and the heavy and over-sized vehicles are the norm. They stack these trucks so high and wide, that when they go down the road, they have a tough time keeping them in their lanes. And when they go through the smaller villages, it is full bore to the floor…Get the heck out of the way. When they go through the larger towns they take up so much of the lanes that it is tough to be beside them. Also, they blow the blackest diesel smoke you could imagine…EVERYWHERE.
Tomorrow…A new day to look forward too

27 October ’04, Wednesday. A little about yesterday…we had our last Dr’s appointment at 9:30am and then we were on our way heading East/South East. The day was TOTALLY filled with air pollution from Istanbul to far beyond Bersa. Our trip will take us from Istanbul, across the Bosphorus, around the Marara Sea coast, down to Bersa, then to heading toward Bosuyuk. Night was coming on fast, so we decided to pull into a gas station for gas. Once we were there and filled our tank, I ask them if they would mind if we had dinner and spent the night on their premises. “No problem, and welcome”, so we pulled up on this little knoll above the station. I started to get the site all set up as Louise started dinner. It didn’t take long before I heard from Louise….”THERE ARE FLIES EVERYWHERE !!!” By the time I got to the door and had a look, there were at least 50 or more all around her watching her cook. It didn’t bother me so much, but Lou, well let’s say it was driving her crazy. We did finally have our dinner without being bothered. For some reason, they only wanted inside so we ate outside…smart don’t you think??? After we ate, we franticly searched for our insect “KILLER” to take care of the little varmints. The outcome was, we slept through the night without one interruption.. This morning, we were underway by 9:30am and heading for our first destination…Aizanoi, which is just outside of Cavdarhisar. The scenery in really different. We have passed so many different colors of soil and rocks, trees that stand tall, but have all of a sudden started growing their own ground cover (it makes the trees look like they are “melting”). The Fall colors are definitely in full change…brilliant… We passed many “strip” mines, that were mining materials for porcelain. Porcelain is a product that dates back to 14th Century. Even some of the buildings we have seen today are covered with porcelain tiles from this area. We visited the “Temple of Zeus”, the theater, stadium, and the bathes. We also drove over a Roman built bridge that dates to the 2nd century BC. The Temple was dedicated to the worship of Zeus, or Jupiter, and to the Anatolian fertility goddess Cybele. A lot of damage was done by an earthquake in 1970, but what remains is absolutely wonderful. It didn’t take long to see the exterior of the Temple but, our host at the gate, opened the locked gate to Cybel’s burial chamber. It is a large room with a high dome ceiling and openings at the top of the walls to the outside. Cybel, (Kybel) was one of the earliest Anatolian goddesses. Sometime after 1000 BC, when Greek colonists began settling on the eastern shore of the Aegean, her cult was merged with that of Artemis, the lunar hunter goddess. In legend, Cybele is often paired with Attis, a handsome and highly desirable shepherd. Legend has it, Cybele is often paired with Attis, Attis falls in love with a nymph, and Cybele kills her rival in a jealous rage. Attis then goes mad and cuts off his testicles with a sharp rock and dies. I love these “Love Stories”… We have now made our way down past Usak and found another gas station to stay the night at Sivasti. The problem that has all of a sudden popped it’s head, is a barking dog right next to our van….anyone got a shoe???
Tomorrow…Onward toward Analya on the Med.

25 October ’04, Monday. Yesterday was one of those days that were just made for kicking back. I had a little more laundry to do in the morning, but after that, we both found our “easy chairs” and made the best of use out of them. We both have good books that we are enjoying, so mixed with the great weather, and wonderful campground, we seem to have it made. In the late afternoon, we walked across the street from the campground, pulled off our sandals, and walked the shoreline of the Black Sea. Now it was a beautifully warm day, but I probably wouldn’t have gone into the Sea to swim…well, I didn’t, but there were a few of those who’s blood is a lot thicker than mine who did. As it was, this walk was one of absolute beauty. I’m glad we put the Black Sea on the agenda. And this campground, it seems to be magical and the people that own and run it are the greatest, although our communication was done only by smiles, hand gestures and words, that only the speaker knew what was said. After our walk, we pulled out the barbeque and set ourselves up with a great early dinner of hamburger patties and the most delicious squash. We are doing it right. Speaking of doing it right….we initially had reservations about Turkey, as it was really hard to find anyone who had made the journey before us, and all we had was the travel books to deliver all of the “travel” information to us. Unfortunately, the travel books are out dated almost as soon as they hit the presses. If it wasn’t for the email that we got from Bonnie and Doug saying that this was were they wanted to meet us, we might not have made it. What a terrible mistake that would have been. We have now been in Turkey for over 3 weeks, and traveled quite a lot of the country. We have been in the largest city, and we have been in some of the smallest villages. We have even been in one of the largest “party towns” Turkey has to offer. We have flown in hot air balloons, we have been to 3 Seas, and 2 straights, and now, we have made the decision to stay in Turkey for at least another month or more. We will stay here until sometime in December, and then travel to Greece for Christmas and the New Year. Turkey has offered us the friendliest people, great hospitality, wonderful food, beautiful country sides to visit, unmatched history, good roads to travel on, and unfortunately the highest gas prices.
This afternoon we arrived back in Istanbul. We have a doctors appointment in the morning and then back on the road heading south/southeast. We dropped into Angels Home Hotel and saw everyone there again. It seems that we left our radio/cd player there last time. Hakan tried to email us, but Louise had given him the wrong address, but everything worked out. Thanks again Hakan, we thought we had lost it sometime after our stay with you, but getting it back was a wonderful surprise. Angel’s Home Hotel has been like a personal home to us from our 1st week in Turkey, and I guarantee that it wont end there…. www.hotelangelshome.com
Tomorrow….more good things

23 October ’04, Saturday. Sun is out bright, it is warm (70º), slight wind off the Black Sea, and it makes a perfect day to get some washing done and hung out to dry. So, that is exactly what we did. After getting it all hung up, we went looking for lunch and tonight’s dinner. Yesterday we looked down onto the harbor, so today we went down there to see what was happening. We have watched about 4 or 5 boats running back-n-forth across the beach area in front of our campground and wondering just what they were catching. Well, this afternoon, we found out. They are picking the tiniest little clams you could imagine. Bushel Bags full, all going to Japan and France, for the “Big Bucks”. These clams were smaller than the fingernail on my thumb. As we walked the marina, we had noticed from afar, a huge old tanker tied to the dock. Well, what it turned out to be, was a tanker that had sunk quite a long time ago. There were barnacles all over it, from bow to stern, from bottom to top of the bent masts. I would have guesses it was under for at least 25 years and probably much more. Now, I would guess it was about ready to go to the scrap metal shoppes. Leaving our tanker behind, we went looking for lunch. Just down the wharf, we found a little restaurant…gravel/dirt flooring, thatched roof, log railing surrounding the 8 tables inside. Sitting inside already, were people eating at 2 tables. Looking over what they were eating, we made our choice…”Just What They Are Having, But Only One Order Please”….Uh ha, Yep, You know it… I don’t know what it is about ordering our food in a restaurant, but if you only want one thing, everything goes..BAAMMM…NO COMPUTE !!! Well, it was good, but how the bill got that high, I’ll never understand. I think they definitely have 2 price sheets, one for the locals, and one for us. Oh well, we’ve got to support the economy one way or the other.
Tomorrow…Our last day and night in Þile

22 October ’04, Friday. Believe it or not, but we went to bed at 8:30pm and didn’t get up until just before 8am this morning. For some reason we were just pooped… Our campground was supposed to have hot water for showers (according to our receptionist), but that just isn’t the case. We have read and experienced the campgrounds that have solar hot water and so far only one has had anything close to warm for us to shower in. Oh well, SWSWSW (Some Will, Some Wont, So What)….next. This morning it was cereal, toast, and coffee and then off for a long walk into ªile. With high clouds overhead, we were just hoping that it wouldn’t want to rain on us. Our goal today is to just explore the town and find the grocery store, bakery, and internet café. On our way into town yesterday we did see three or four grocery stores, a couple of bakeries, and one internet café, so I guess our work was done before it started. It was interesting to see about 20-25 men on the streets of the town, compared to 1 woman. There has always been more men present in the restaurants, but on the streets, you have always seen a higher percentage of women than what we have seen here. As we got deeper into town we heard a band playing somewhere ahead. Curious, we went looking for the source. It happened to be at the school (equivalent of our high school). All the students and facility were out in front of the school listening to a Turkish Army Band from Istanbul. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying the music. Louise and I found a location close to the fence to see and listen, but that didn’t last long, as we were approached by one of the school facility members. He couldn’t speak any English (and of course, we couldn’t speak any Turkish, darn it…), but he invited us up were the rest of the facility was listening, and wouldn’t take “No Thanks” for an answer. So up we went. We did find ourselves with better seats… Next to me was a man (school security officer) that did speak English and we had a great conversation. This school assembly was great, as the students were really enjoying the band music and, enjoying the opportunity to be entertained by the “Army Band”. When it was all over, we were delighted to see the interaction of the students and the army men. The girls especially were taken with them being there. Excitement over, we said our “Good-Byes” and headed back down the street. Luck would have it, as we walked into a huge bazaar/market going on just around the corner. One of the most memorable items at the market was the cabbage…Not just a cabbage, but all the HUGE CABBAGES !!!! They were beyond huge really. We had to take pictures. We did our shopping and headed out for lunch and then the walk back to “Bumble Bee”. Another great day in our many days of this journey…
Tomorrow…A little depends on the weather, but…

21 October ’04, Thursday. Well after a couple of days of “just do nothing”, and a couple of visits to the doctor, we said good-bye to our friends at “Angels Home Hotel”, and headed off to see the Black Sea coast. We had heard so much about the town of ªile, that we made that our destination. You don’t see the sea until you have just about driven all the way into town. This whole village is set on hills. You go up one and then down a little, just before you go up again. The skinny little main street through town is up and down as well as twisting back-n-forth. If you park, you’ve got to be almost right on top of the curb, as the streets are so narrow. The “tourists” are gone and the towns people are all about the street. It seems that when I’m the pedestrian, the cars have all the right-a-way, but when I’m the driver of a big car, the pedestrians could care less….it just isn’t fair. Well, we didn’t come here to play games with the towns people, so we had better find a campsite. We had no idea of were to look, or even if there really was one to be found. Lucky for us, we did stumble onto one. It is a small hotel/restaurant/campsite all in one. Fortunately for us, we are the only people here. I say fortunately, because I really don’t know how they could fit more than 2 campers in here anyway. The rooms look very nice and the large pool is absolutely beautiful. All the apron around the pool is a beautiful travertine. Again, it is a beauty. Across the street is the Black Sea and a nice beach. The first thing we did after arriving was to go over and walk the beach for awhile. Very Nice…. Tomorrow…a walk through ªile

18 October ’04, Monday. I’ve got to tell you something about our drive into Istanbul last night…on the other hand, maybe I shouldn’t. Anyway, I was navigator and Doug was driving…it was about 6:30pm and getting dark just about 40 km outside of the “Big City”. Our maps, well, they need help for us tourists to fully read and understand them. I knew that the turn we wanted off the toll way, was the last one before the big bridge that would take us over to the Asia Minor side. As it got darker and darker, I became more anxious and sure as heck, I ordered the van off too soon…. Oh well (I said), I think we are not too far off the track (we should have gotten right back on the toll way again)…
What a night, and I’m sure that Bonnie and Doug won’t want to visit us again EVER…I’m sorry…honestly…please come back… As it was, Doug got out of the van to ask directions 2 or 3 times, and then we finally, for sure, saw where we were and we were able to make it to “Angel’s Home Hotel” once more. At breakfast we all sat discussing what we wanted to see “this last full day” before the Rohrers were to fly home. The majority wanted to visit the “Grand Bazaar”, so off we went….money in hand. That’s what last days in town are all about…spend, spend, spend. Bonnie, you did a good job, and we can’t wait to see the photos of the kids in their new outfits. This medieval 15th century shopping mall has some 4500 shoppes together with mosques, banks, police stations, restaurants and workshops. It is a great place to wonder around in and most likely, you will get lost. We found that shopping there was fun, picturesque, and fulfilling all at once. Yes, there were those that would try to get you into their shops, but it definitely wasn’t hassling. The bazaar is divided into several different areas specializing in carpets, jewelry, clothing, silverware and so on. We even stopped for tea. It was served on a table that was no more than 10 inches off the floor and our stools were about the same…I thought they were made for little people, but no, they were made for us to suffer on. Now I must admit, one thing that we haven’t neglected, is a good meal. We have had wonderful meals at each and every corner we have gone. The Turkish people, they have great food. You might have to watch the water once in awhile, but the food is wonderful. I know that one thing that we all have agreed, the people of Turkey have been the warmest, friendliest, and most delightful. Fortunately, Louise and I will be here for much more. Well, that time has come. We all climbed into “Bumble Bee” and headed off to the airport. It was time for Bon and Doug to head back home…Thanks for coming, we really enjoyed your visit a lot.
Tomorrow…See the Doctor

17 October ’04, Sunday. First I must tell you about our beds since we have been sleeping outside of “Bumble Bee”. All of our beds have been single beds that have been slid together…so far not a big deal… Now this is were I start having a small problem…the sheets are singles that are laid across the beds. Now we each have 2 sheets, one covering the top half and the other the bottom half. The big problem comes now…THEY DON’T STAY ON !!!! They end up all bunched up under you, and uncomfortable as heck. There also is no top sheet…you only have a “single” heavy comforter that will not stay in place…my toes are always out, or I’m out…no in between. Ok, that’s all out, now back to our leaving the hotel across from the beach and the village I didn’t know the name of… Our drive today was taking us along the Aegean Sea coast-line. We would pretty much follow it all the way up to Canakkale, were we would catch a ferry across the Dardanelles. Crossing the Dardanelles was interesting to say the least. First, the passage through the Dardanelles, to the Marmara Sea, the Straits of the Bosperus, and then into the Black Sea is one of the heaviest traveled by tanker ships anywhere in the world. Now this ferry must be able to slip it’s way across all the shipping channels of incoming and outgoing ships, in water that seems to be boiling….white caps were everywhere and the ferry seemed to find each and everyone of them to slip an slide on. It was a rough ride. Besides that, when they load the boat, they are loading it with small cars to HUGE TRUCKS, and they don’t have any rhyme or reason as to the loading pattern….we were hoping that it was balanced good enough for a safe passage….thank God it was. After our safe landing, we headed over to see Gallipoli Peninsula. Just 1.4 km wide at its narrowest point, the Strait of “Canakkale” Dardanelles, has always offered the best opportunity for armies to cross between Europe and Asia Minor. From King Xerxes of Prsia in 481 BC, Alexander the Great 150 years later, and on and on. During the 19th Century, England and France competed with Russia for influence over the declining Ottoman Empire. At the start of WWI, an all-out war was fought on this peninsula with heavy losses all around….The British..200,000 casualties, with 36,000 dead, French...47,000 casualties, 500,000 Ottoman troops became casualties with more than 55,000 dead. Take a look at the size of the Gallipoli Peninsula…it took us about 45 minutes to drive completely around the battle field…it just doesn’t seem possible that so many could have lost their lives or been one of the casualties here….why? To secure a passage way for who? Why don’t we make ALL the heads of government make a trip here before they can be sworn into office, and go through the memorial and museum.
Tomorrow….Back in Istanbul

16 October ’04, Saturday. First let me tell you about yesterday….No plans, no schedule, and we filled the day. Doug wanted another “Turkish Shave”, which he got, and while he was doing that I went over to the internet café to try up-loading pictures. Doug got his shave, and I went bust…not one up-load…the system was just too slow. Lunch was next and then we went to look at a “rental”. We thought that the Bodrum area might workout for our “winter quarters”, so what is available, we’ll soon see. We saw a nice little one bedroom unit right across from the beach. We both thought it would work fine if, this is the place we decide on…but we still have more thinking to do. Now, today... We checked out about 9:30am and headed off to see Ephesus (Efes). Colonists from Greece arrived around 1000BC, fleeing an invasion by the Dorians…the attraction…Ephesus. What we saw, is the best preserved classical city in the Mediterranean. St John is said to have come to Ephesus at the end of his life and to have written his Gospel on Ayasuluh Hill. Along with that, Ephesus made large sums of money from the pilgrims paying homage to the ancient Anatolian fertility goddess Cybele / Artemis The Fabulous (come to find out, he had a disease of some type to have such a large appendage). As we were driving to the Ephesus site, we came across at least 2 other sites of pre-Roman to Roman ruins. The whole countryside around here is scattered with them. Some are quite small, and others are so large that it takes at least 2 hours, with a guide, to see it all. We walked into the “Great Theatre” of Ephesus and could hardly believe the size. It would hold easily 25,000 people and entertainers. It is over 2000 years old and is still used for performances today. One of the performers recently, was “Sting”. It is said that during his concert, his music damaged the original stonework. This created a big controversy. On our tour, we walked the Sacred Way. We saw the Library of Celsus, Curetes Way, the Brothal, the terraced houses, the Gates of Hercules, and on and on… it was a wonderful afternoon, and the ruins, magnificent…Ephesus. Time was getting out of hand, so we bid farewell to Ephesus and continued our trip up the coast. We didn’t have any place in mind, but knew that evening was still going to come and we would have to find a place to bed down. Just outside of Bergama, Doug came up with our next “pension” for the night…I can’t remember what the name of the town or the pension was, but we didn’t find it. As it was, we did find a hotel across from the beach in a neighboring village for $20 each room. What a bargain…the only glitch, it was on the top floor (5th), and we were the only one’s staying there out of approx. 70 villas…why the “top” floor???? Oh well, a little more exercise just wont kill us (or will it???).
Tomorrow…Canakkale for the ferry, and then on to The Gallipoli National Historic Park.