Day 46 - Bangkok to Melbourne

After an uneventful flight with Turkish Airlines we arrived in Bangkok at 0930 somewhat wasted from lack of sleep as usual. As prearranged we had booked in to the Airport Novotel as our next flight was with Thai International and not due for departure until just after midnight, a stopover of some 14 hours. Our stay at the Novotel included some welcome sleep, showers and a meal at one of the Novotel's restaurants before heading back to the airport again prior to departure. Another uneventful and lengthy flight had us landing back at Tullamarine at lunchtime on the Wednesday, glad to be home at last.

Day 45 - Istanbul (to Bangkok)

 Our last day in Turkey :-(  - all good things come to an end I guess. Our flight was not scheduled until evening so first stop today was some leather shopping. Only ourselves, our tour leader Ahmet and Len and Pam remained while our other group member Arthur, had rather a lengthy sleep in. The visit to a couple of leather stores proved fascinating and the store we ended up in catered to different tastes depending on which level of the store you were on. Sue and Pam luxuriated in the feel of chinchilla and mink on the rather expensive floor - I forget the figures quoted but rest assured it was several years salary for some of the coats. In the end both Sue and I ended up purchasing a leather jacket each from last years run-out range and we looked pretty damn good in these I must say :-)  Len and Pam also invested wisely in various items of leather apparel so we all left satisfied at having scored reasonably priced bargains. After leaving the leather store we headed back to town via the PASIAD office. PASIAD or the Asia – Pacific Countries Social and Economic Solidarity Forum is associated with the Gulen movement and as such we found the visit informative and interesting. One of the hosts at PASIAD was another Ahmet who had been extremely helpful earlier in our journey with car hire and ferry bookings so it was good to catch up. From here we traveled back to the Sultanahmet area to catch up with Arthur who had finally surfaced and then made our way to a waterfront restaurant for our final lunch together. A seafood lunch went down well with all of us and then it was time to say goodbye to another of our group. But first we also said our goodbyes to Len and Pam who were staying another night in Istanbul. Then off to the airport and dropping off Arthur at his new hotel on the way. Thanks must go to Ahmet, our tour leader for his assistance at Turkish Airlines check-in counters which helped to smooth our departure. And off to Bangkok we headed shortly after 8 pm

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Day 44 - Istanbul

 Thankfully a less intensive day today as our time in Turkey draws to a close. After breakfast we headed off to visit Topkapi Palace, only a short walk from our hotel and situated behind Aya Sofia. This palace complex sports some wonderful tilework and a fascinating collection of jewels. The Imperial Council Hall was an ornately decorated part of the complex and it was interesting to see the grille on the floor above from where the women of the palace could watch proceedings as visiting dignitaries, ambassadors and the like were welcomed  Among the many rooms was one simply know as the circumcision room and apparently this where the young crown princes were circumcised. After an extensive tour of the palace complex we headed back to the Golden Horn Hotel for the final lunch that would include all of our group. Following lunch saw us bid farewell to Jack and Gayle who were heading back to Australia this evening. Our remaining smaller contingent then set off to explore the nearby Basilica Cistern. This cistern is the largest of several hundred located beneath Istanbul and measures roughly 140 metres by 65 metres. It was constructed in the 6th century AD and it's purpose was that of water storage and filtration. It really is quite an amazing structure. Back to our hotel following this for a rest and freshen up before again heading out for a family dinner. Owing to a slight mixup (our tour leader had misread the address) we ended up driving rather a large circle through and around Istanbul before realising our  mistake. In the end our destination was a lot closer than originally thought and as a result we were quite, quite fashionably late for dinner - luckily our hosts had a sense of humour. The usual delicious meal was followed again by conversation and exchange of gifts. We arrived home with still just enough energy to pack our belongings for tomorrow's checkout and preparation to fly back to Australia.

Day 43 - Istanbul

 Enjoyed a leisurely breakfast this morning on the terrace of the Golden Horn, overlooking the Bosphorus. First stop on today's agenda was a visit to the offices of the Womens Platform - a platform established under the auspices of the Journalists and Writer's Foundation. The Journalists and Writers Foundation was established in 1994 with the aim of promoting world peace through intercultural dialogue and achieving greater understanding through education. This was a fascinating visit to see the fine work being done to foster women's perspectives in every sphere including science and technology, the media and so on. We left there with a better understanding of how the Gulen movement operates through such vehicles as the Journalists and Writers Foundation. Our next stop was at the top of a hill in parkland on the Asian side of Istanbul with views over the Bosphorus back toward Sultanahmet on the European side. This is a spectacular viewing point and well worth the considerable drive to get there. From here we returned to the Bosphorus for what I consider to have been the highlight of the day - a boat trip up the Bosphorus. We boarded a relatively small vessel and proceeded to spend the next couple of hours cruising up the Bosphorus toward the Black Sea and back again, admiring the views as we went. This was a very pleasant way to spend a sunny day. Lunch followed, at a seafood restaurant nearby, on the waterfront, before then heading off on a shopping expedition that turned out to be somewhat fraught. The shopping center that we had been taken to was for Istanbul's rich and famous, as we soon discovered, with luxury chauffeur driven cars such as Maseratis, Porsches and high end Mercedes and BMWs sitting outside awaiting their owners. We spent perhaps an hour here but certainly didn't buy anything - way too expensive methinks. Leaving this place we then went to the Istanbul equivalent of an Aussie factory outlet complex which was much more to our liking. Members of our group proceeded to purchase suits and other clothing but again Sue and I refrained, in part because of weight constraints for our luggage on the home-bound journey in a few days time. By now it was getting late and so back to the hotel we went for a quick freshen up before again heading out for a family dinner - this time with a textile magnate and his family. Another delicious meal was followed by conversation and the exchange of gifts before heading back home to bed after a pretty full day.

Day 42 - Mardin to Diyarbakir to Istanbul

 Sue joined me and the others for breakfast on the terrace this morning having recovered from the worst of her tummy upset. We checked out and went to visit another former old christian church (now a mosque)  on the outskirts of Mardin before leaving the town today. Next we drove the 80 odd kilometers to a town called Batman which is renowned for it's silversmiths and silverware.  We spent a short while there checking out the wares but not buying anything before heading off again, this time our destination was an old 3 or 4 storey guest house in Batman. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view before heading off yet again in our bus to our final destination in the eastern part of the country, Diyarbakir. En route we had the pleasure of crossing the Tigris river and following the gorge it has cut through the countryside for a while. The views of the Tigris were beautiful and it's a shame to think that a lot of what we saw will be underwater when Turkey completes the Ilisu dam that is currently under construction. It has drawn international controversy because it will flood portions of the ancient city of Hasankeyf and it's associated archaeological sites. We arrived at Diyarbakir and visited the old city castle walls, climbing to the ramparts and also investigating the spaces underneath. The walls surrounding the city are believed to have been built in 349 AD during the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine. They are built from large blocks of black basalt and extend for some 5.5 kms around the city. From here we walked quite a distance to a restaurant for lunch after first visiting the great mosque, Ulu, en route. After lunch it was time to head to the airport as we were booked to fly to Istanbul this evening. A short flight to Istanbul and another minibus ride  to the Golden Horn hotel in Sultanahmet saw us settle in for the evening. But first a quick meal in a nearby restaurant before hitting the sack.

Day 41 - Urfa to Mardin

 Another sensibly late breakfast this morning - 8.15 am again :-) After breakfast we headed off in the minibus for the relatively short 3 hour drive to our next destination, Mardin. En route we stopped at a Gulen funded school, Atak College, where we had tea and conversation before presenting ourselves before an English language class of primary school aged children. This was heaps of fun with us giving out prizes of small stuffed koalas to children who correctly answered questions about Australia. Then on to Mardin where our first stop was at the very old former Syrian Christian church and monastery - Deyrulzafaran Monastery. The monastery built in the 5th century AD was first built as a small underground temple possible by sun worshipers based on the alignment of the small vertical windows in this part of the building. Later theists completed the monastery which now contains 365 rooms - one for each day of the year. Following our monastery visit we then went to the Yay Grand Hotel to check in where I left Sue to recover as she is still not completely well. She started a course of antibiotics and went to bed.  I joined the rest of our group and we headed off to visit the offices of the local Chamber of Commerce where we met and had the usual tea and refreshments with the head of this organisation. Following this we then went for a walk from one end of Mardin to the other it seemed via the main street which was in a state of disrepair  due to roadworks and a beautification project. En route we visited a beautiful old christian church, Kirklar  Kilisesi. Eventually we headed back to our hotel and later this evening we had dinner on the terrace of the Yay Grand overlooking the lights of Mardin in the near distance.

Day 40 - Urfa

Breakfasted at a sensible time this morning for a change - 8.15 am :-) After breakfast we walked firstly to and through the bazaar and then headed to the same precinct around Abraham's cave and mosque as we visited late yesterday but this time in broad daylight. Again we checked out the pools of sacred fish and also visited a former Armenian church. We also paid a visit to the Mayor's office for a quick rundown on the city. Next we took to our minibus for a drive out of town to what (for me at least) was to be the highlight of the day, the archaeological dig at "Gobekli Tepe" a neolithic hilltop sanctuary dating back to the 10th millennium BC. This is an incredibly fascinating site and is believed to be the world's oldest known religious structure. The archaeologist in charge of the dig, German Klaus Schmidt was present and I had the opportunity to briefly ask him a couple of questions as he escorted a group of visitors from Germany around the site. The most interesting features of the site are the large limestone pillars many of which are adorned with reliefs of animals and strange pictograms. Back to town for lunch at a restaurant following this. Lunch was interesting in that we got to make up our own wraps with lamb, chicken, dips and salads - delicious. To walk off lunch we then returned to the precinct but this time we walked to the top of the hill overlooking the site where King Nimrod's catapult stands - a couple of tall pillars overlooking the lowland below. This plateau was originally defensible by virtue of a deep chasm on the opposite side and was accessible only via a drawbridge arrangement, now long since disappeared. We left the top via a stone staircase in a tunnel that went all the way to the bottom again. Next stop was to visit a tutoring college in the poorer part of town. This was established by Gulen movement members and it's ongoing funding is also courtesy, in part, thanks to the Gulen movement. The aim is to assist children who would otherwise (by dint of their poverty)  not have a chance at university, achieve the marks required by providing weekend and after hours tutoring. Our return to our hotel was via a recently unearthed series of mosaics that were once part of a complex of Roman buildings - fascinating stuff. A bit of a freshen up at the hotel and then we were off again for dinner at a restaurant (Sportyu) some distance away, where we had much the same as we had for lunch and again very tasty. Back to the hotel for a relatively early night in the end.