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Fairy Chimneys in Cappadocia.

Cappadocia is to Turkey as Utah is to the United States. Desert. Hot. Dry. Lots of rocks to look at.

   
A ceiling fresco in a cave-church, carved from the soft rock of Cappadocia.

Goreme Open Air Museum

   
An earlier, simpler fresco from Goreme Open Air Museum
   
The Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus (Efes), Turkey.

One might place the best examples of Greek and Roman Classical ruins in Greece and Italy. Perhaps, but I would not be so quick. Turkey is coated with ancient towns, cities and artifacts.

   
The gallery of the Roman Amphitheater at Aspendos.
   
Aya Sophia Cathedral, Istanbul.

A masterpiece of architecture, finished in 537 AD.

No, no. Not 1537. 537.

   
Buttresses and reinforcements hold up the dome of the Aya Sophia, Istanbul.
   
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), Istanbul.
   
The ceiling of the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), Istanbul.

Serious tile work. Iznik tile work, that is.

   
The New Mosque (Yeni Cami). The ground was broken in 1597.

Yeah, that's right. Over 400 years old, and it's still the "New Guy."

Notable Mosques, Istanbul

   
A must-stop for visitors to Istanbul -- the famous Covered Market (Kapali Carsi).

You'll often find better deals out in countryside where the items are made, but here, everything is literally under one roof.

A section on things to buy in Turkey.

   
Small Moorish windows set high in the arched ceilings let in sunlight.

The Covered Market, Istanbul.

   
The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Saray), Istanbul, was a big water tank built by Justinian the Great in 532. Using, er, 'found materials,' the cistern was built with the ruins of classical buildings.

This face serves as the base to a column.

Other monuments in Istanbul.

   
The chaos and congestion in the market streets of Istanbul whirl into an immersing cultural experience.
   
Water taxis ply the calm waters of the upper Golden Horn, Istanbul.
   
Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Sarayi), Istanbul, was the seat of the Ottoman Sultans from Mehmet the Conqueror in the 1450s until Mahmut II in 1839.

This is, of course, the most critical building in the palace: The Confectionery (Helvahane) of the Second Court.

   
The Four Seasons, Istanbul is by far the best hotel that we've ever stayed in.

Built from a remodeled prison in Istanbul's Sultanahmet, the hotel is a nice example of Ottoman Architecture.

   
A slouching Ottoman house frames a minaret in the Kaleici, Antalya.
   
A brightly painted cart in Cavusin or Zelve. Probably Zelve.

Bah, my notes are a mess. I can see every bump in the road in my scrawl, but not where I took this picture.

It's gotta be Zelve, Cappadocia.

   
Street food.

The Kaleici is the old, Roman-walled city of Antalya.

   
A Doner Kebap stand (Doner Kebapci or Döner Kebapçi). A Doner Kebap has a lot in common with your basic Greek gyro.

Don't tell a Greek or a Turk this, but their countries' traditional foods, drinks and booze are nearly identical.

If you are traveling soon, you may be interested in the things you can buy in Turkey.

   


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