2008 - Washington DC
2010 - Cuba
2011 - DR, Bermuda, & Cruise
2012 - DR & Costa Rica
2013 - Cruise, CR, & USA
2014 - SE Asia
The Year Off 2015 - 2016
- Preamble
- Thailand & Malaysia
- Italy
- Germany, Belgium, & Lux
- Czech, Poland, & Germany
- Austria, Slovakia, & Hungary
- Slovenia, Croatia, Austria & Germany
- England & Scotland
- Turkey
- Colombia
- Peru: Lima & Amazon
- Peru: Cusco & Inca Trail
- Peru: Cusco to Lima
- Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize
- New Zealand
- Australia & Thailand
2017 - The Balkans
2017 - Hungary, Romania, & Switzerland
2018 - New York
2018 - Amsterdam, Poland, & The Baltics
2019 - Costa Rica
2019 - France
2020 - Thailand
2023 - Mexico
2023 - Iceland & Cruise
2024 - Philippines
2025 - Japan
2025 - Iceland
Short Trips
Lists
Links
| August 20, 2015 - Thursday | Istanbul | Turkey |
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My last stop before heading back to Canada for a "travel break" was Turkey.
It took most of the day to get to Istanbul, so other then checking into the
hotel and walking around a bit I didn't do much.
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| August 21, 2015 - Friday | Istanbul | Turkey |
Went to the Topaki Palace and Harem, Spice Bazaar, and Grand Bazaar. All
were okay.
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| August 22, 2015 - Saturday | Istanbul | Turkey |
Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia.
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| August 23, 2015 - Sunday | Istanbul | Turkey |
I went to the Mosque of Sulimon the Magnificent and then in the evening I
joined my tour group for the next two weeks. It was a G Adventures tour.
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| August 24, 2015 - Monday | Ankara | Turkey |
| Today our guide took us on a walking tour of Istanbul (I had seen everything in the previous couple of days), then we boarded a ferry to the Asian side of the city and then got on our tour bus and drove to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. We had dinner and then back to the hotel. The hotel tried giving me a smoking room that reeked, but gave me a non-smoking room when I asked. | ||
| August 25, 2015 - Tuesday | Cappadocia | Turkey |
We went to the Archaeology Museum (not very good) and Ataturk's tomb which
was pretty impressive. We then drove to Cappadocia.
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| August 26, 2015 - Wednesday | Cappadocia | Turkey |
We got up very early in the morning to do a balloon ride over the area which
was amazing. Probably the highlight of the Turkey portion of the trip. We
went all over the area and at one point got very high in the sky. Back on
the ground, we did the open air museum, a rug demonstration/sales pitch, and
the Fairy Chimney's, all of which were okay.
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| August 27, 2015 - Thursday | Cappadocia | Turkey |
Today we did the Underground City. This was not as good as I was expecting. I had
seen some video's and read about it before hand and was expecting it to be
better, but it was still okay. Then we went on a hike which I really enjoyed
along this valley and there were ruins of old church's and houses to
explore. In the evening we did a Turkish Nights dinner, complete with belly
dancer!
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| August 28, 2015 - Friday | Guneysinir | Turkey |
| We left Cappadocia and traveled to Guneysinir, which is a very small town that used to be a caravan stop. We stayed with a local family and walked through the village and saw the local mosque. | ||
| August 29, 2015 - Saturday | Antalya | Turkey |
Our next stop for one night was Antalya, and we saw some roman ruins and
then had the afternoon free. Myself and a few other people went swimming in
the Mediterranean.
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| August 30, 2015 - Sunday | Kekova area | Turkey |
We drove along the coast until we got to a spot where we boarded a boat
(kind of a houseboat thing). We would sleep on the upper deck of the boat
under the stars. But first we went to three different spots to swim. I swam
at the first two, but skipped the third.
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| August 31, 2015 - Monday | Kas | Turkey |
| The morning was spent on the boat, and then in the afternoon we drove to Kas for the night. | ||
| September 1, 2015 - Tuesday | Selcuk | Turkey |
Continuing on, we went to Pamukkale and Heiropolis (ruins), which has white
cliffs and pools of water, (hot springs). Took my shoes off and waded in the
pools. We spent the evening in Selcuk.
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| September 2, 2015 - Wednesday | Selcuk | Turkey |
We toured Ephesus, which I really enjoyed, and also saw what little is left
of the Temple of Artemis.
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| September 3, 2015 - Thursday | Ayvalik | Turkey |
| We drove to Ayvalik for a free day. A few of us hired a boat for a few hours. We stayed in a converted Ottoman Mansion. | ||
| September 4, 2015 - Friday | Canakkale | Turkey |
Saw the Ancient city of Troy, which was pretty meh. Not much remains there.
They have a wooden horse mockup for the tourists. Spent the night in
Canakkale.
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| September 5, 2015 - Saturday | Istanbul | Turkey |
On the final day of the tour we drove to Gallipoli to see the area (famous
WWI battle fought here) and then returned to Istanbul. After a final dinner,
the tour ended.
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| September 6, 2015 - Sunday | Istanbul | Turkey |
| Full day on my own in Istanbul. Toured the Dolmabahce Palace which was very European. I met up with two people from the tour for dinner at one of the restaurants under the Galata Bridge. We had a fresh caught fish. They head home tomorrow. | ||
| September 7, 2015 - Monday | Istanbul | Turkey |
| Another day in Istanbul. Walked around a bit. Probably a minor mistake to spend the day here, should have flown out earlier. Istanbul is not one of my favorite cities. | ||
| September 8, 2015 - Tuesday | Istanbul | Turkey |
| I had an early morning flight out on Sept 8th, and the night before I booked and paid for a transfer to the airport at the hotel front desk. Of course when I get to the airport the driver tried to rip me off and said I owed him a ridicules amount of money. I can't remember, but it was something like $300 American. I didn't pay and got out of the vehicle and flew home. | ||