Tuesday, March 28, 2006
I apologize for the lack of a response
So it’s been a fast paced trip so far. We’ve visited the ancient cities of Troy, Ephesus, and the Necropolis and Acropolis of Pergamum. All were amazing. Our tour guide is very knowledgeable. He personally guides our tours at each site. During the drives to each location he fills in details about what we will be seeing as well as general information on Turkey.
We did not tour the Gallipoli battlefields. I miss interpreted what our itinerary said. The battlefields are big and most tours recommend a day spent touring the area. We crossed the Dardanelles from a ferry at the city of Gallipoli. It’s a shame as this is such an important area not only for Turkey but for the world.
The Dardanelles is very pretty. It’s nice and clean. After crossing, we were now in Asia. The country side is very nice as spring is starting to come to this part of the country. There were many small villages with people farming.
Troy’s ruins are impressive. Especially considering that most of the site is unexcavated. We saw parts that date back thousands of years. Pergamum is also hardly excavated. But is still very impressive. It’s interesting how on each site we visit it seems that Britain or Germany seem to have sneakily grabbed some of the important artifacts. Our tour guide mentions each time there is an key artifact that is located in a museum in another part of the world. It’s very disappointing to hear that these countries refuse to return these items to where they can still be appreciated by all and in their rightful places.
We visited the House of the Virgin Mary as well as the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. Ephesus must have been an impressive city for it’s time, as it is impressive still after all these centuries.
The modern city of Izmir is a very agreeable place. If there was anywhere in Turkey that I would choose to move to, it would be Izmir. It’s in a bay, has wonderful city life. All the shopping, restaurants, people, places, and entertainment that you want to see is there. Most of the population is in the 30’s or below. That’s actually a national average it seems.
We love to hear the call to prayer at the local mosques. It’s very beautiful. We’ve been told that it is “annoying” from some people. But we find it enjoyable.
We are very active with all the different places we travel to. More updates (hopefully) to come later. Including pictures of Izmir and the Necropolis and Acropolis.
We did not tour the Gallipoli battlefields. I miss interpreted what our itinerary said. The battlefields are big and most tours recommend a day spent touring the area. We crossed the Dardanelles from a ferry at the city of Gallipoli. It’s a shame as this is such an important area not only for Turkey but for the world.
The Dardanelles is very pretty. It’s nice and clean. After crossing, we were now in Asia. The country side is very nice as spring is starting to come to this part of the country. There were many small villages with people farming.
Troy’s ruins are impressive. Especially considering that most of the site is unexcavated. We saw parts that date back thousands of years. Pergamum is also hardly excavated. But is still very impressive. It’s interesting how on each site we visit it seems that Britain or Germany seem to have sneakily grabbed some of the important artifacts. Our tour guide mentions each time there is an key artifact that is located in a museum in another part of the world. It’s very disappointing to hear that these countries refuse to return these items to where they can still be appreciated by all and in their rightful places.
We visited the House of the Virgin Mary as well as the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. Ephesus must have been an impressive city for it’s time, as it is impressive still after all these centuries.
The modern city of Izmir is a very agreeable place. If there was anywhere in Turkey that I would choose to move to, it would be Izmir. It’s in a bay, has wonderful city life. All the shopping, restaurants, people, places, and entertainment that you want to see is there. Most of the population is in the 30’s or below. That’s actually a national average it seems.
We love to hear the call to prayer at the local mosques. It’s very beautiful. We’ve been told that it is “annoying” from some people. But we find it enjoyable.
We are very active with all the different places we travel to. More updates (hopefully) to come later. Including pictures of Izmir and the Necropolis and Acropolis.
// posted by Lee @ 1:29 PM 
