In April 2014, I flew to Turkey with a group of fellow Instagram influencers for a two-week exploration of that amazing country, so beautiful, so full of history. Sponsored by Come See Turkey, the trip was designed to boost tourism to the area, and it was led by wonderful human, Mustafa Seven and his team...
I strolled up famous İstiklal Avenue, one of the great walking/shopping/window-shopping streets in Europe, enjoyed a quick ride on the historic little tram, took one last look at Galata Tower, then crossed the Golden Horn for final photos of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia as the sun set...
Near Gaziantep in southern Turkey is the Birecik reservoir along the River Euphrates. The waters covered the ancient town of Zeugma...
As we traveled in southern Turkey we stopped for a few minutes along the beautiful, tranquil River Euphrates. A Chinese tour group was stopping there at the same time as us. And a stray dog ran up to both of us looking for a handout...
The Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep, Turkey, is full of mosaics and other artifacts moved from the ancient Roman town of Zeugma, which had been flooded by modern damming of the Euphrates...
Not far from the timeless glory of Mount Nemrut in southern Turkey is the modern city of Adıyaman. We got to wander for a few hours there through their markets and parks, including stumbling upon a card game. Then it was off to Nemrut....
One of my favorite stops during my Come See Turkey adventures was Hasankeyf. History hangs in the air (the town is about 12,000 years old), and everywhere you turn you find gorgeous ruins. The town sits beside a breathtaking cliff formation along the Tigris River, topped by a Roman watchtower. The Roman name for the town, by the way, was Cephe, meaning stone...
In the heart of Adıyaman, Turkey, we came across a lovely old courtyard full of men playing cards. I don't know what they were all playing, but they were very serious about it... yet tolerated having their photos taken...
Outside of Batman, Turkey, we stayed at Bato Termal Otel. Everyone was exhausted from our previous day's adventures (in places like the Ishak Pasha Palace), but I woke up early before everyone else and wandered the area outside the hotel alone. The air smelled of sulfur (from the natural hot springs), the hills and trees were a lush green...
Just a short drive outside of wondrous Mardin, Turkey, you can find the St. George Armenian Church. The original church was built around 450 CE, though it was rebuilt a number of times.
At the northern edge of Turkish Mesopotamia sits the ancient hilltop trading town of Mardin. (In the valley below you can find the modern city.) Something about Mardin speaks to you; it was very hard to leave its beautiful twisting streets, its hardworking vendors, its serene views. I only spent a night there, but I would go back in a heartbeat...
In eastern Turkey there is a great variety of areas, with deserts and mountains and forests and lakes. Take for instance Lake Van, gorgeous and ringed by mountain peaks. I visited there on my 2014 Come See Turkey trip. We took a ferry boat out on the lake to Aghtamar Island, where once lived kings of Armenia and Vaspurakan. Now there's not much remaining beyond the lovely Cathedral of the Holy Cross...
In eastern Turkey, near mighty Mount Ararat, along the ancient Silk Road sits the 17th century palace of Ishak Pasha. If you want to feel like you are in stories of Scheherazade, this place is for you. Truly storybook in its grandeur...
During my 2014 Come See Turkey adventure, we luckily stopped for a quick visit to the village of Bardaklı at the base of Mount Ararat, or as they call it, Ağrı. The villagers are mostly farmers and cattle herders, but we did meet one interesting man whose job was selling leeches. That was a first for me. The views were glorious (quite similar to my Oregon) and the people achingly sweet, though clearly they did not have great riches...
Any list of the must-see spots of northeastern Turkey in my mind has to include the ruins of the city of Ani, which you will find in the Kars region, right along the border with Armenia. There are two parts actually, the former city overlooking a river valley, and a countless cave dwellings below along the river...
Leaving Trabzon after our adventures there, we in the Come See Turkey group made our way through the Pontic and Kaçkar mountain ranges toward Kars. It was amazing to see the changes in environment, topography, and culture as we traveled through river valleys, snowy alpine passes, and down into steppes...
After three days in Istanbul for my 2014 Come See Turkey adventure we traveled to Trabzon, a coastal city in northeastern Turkey, founded by the ancient Greeks along the Black Sea in the ninth century BCE. It's a lovely city, but also a gateway to many great spots in the area, like the Sümela Monastery for instance...
On the fourth day of my Come See Turkey 2014 adventure, we ventured to Trabzon to see the Sümela Monastery. Built in 386 CE by Roman monks, the monastery is a series of buildings, like a small village, carved right into the side of a huge cliff. A good word for it would be breathtaking. Though many sections were rebuilt a number of times over the centuries, the overall site remains intact. Thankfully many ancient frescoes still cover some areas top to bottom with wild images and colors. A fascinating look back directly into the early Christian era...
