Monthly Archives: June 2016

It was rather a culture shock to travel from Turkey, where I left my tour group after a wonderful 18 days traveling from Istanbul to Cappadocia and arrive in the middle of the night for my first visit to Scotland.
My Guide on my Italy / France tour is Charles Barkla . He used to be our neighbour in Dunedin and now lives in Edinburgh with his wife Lissa and their Australian Terrier dog called ‘Bango’. This is his ancestral home town and he has an impressive command of Scottish history, geography and culture.
I have toyed with the idea of doing a tour in Scotland for many years. For the past 7  days he introduced me to Scotland and his favourite places. For the first 3 days we drove over 1000 miles  up to the Highlands staying in a delightful gorgeous village called Plockton, over to the Isle of Sky, included Inverness and Culloden, plus visited beautiful gardens including Iverewe and the stunning Cawdor Castle grounds.

I have walked and walked Edinburgh away from the touristy royal mile to the new city, the botanical gardens and back and forth through a fabulous area called the meadows, past the university and enjoyed architecture of this very old city.

Lots of time has been spent looking at hotels, eating at restaurants and visiting historical sites -including a few castles!! Finding enormous scallops, prawns and delicious hot smoked salmon was fabulous. (I think I had scallops 3 nights in a row). I was challenged with kippers for breakfast!!, but enjoyed a Haggis, Neeps and Tattie pastie, Pigeon, Black Pudding and Baby Spinach salad plus a few bowls of Cullen Skink. Rule number one: you can’t travel anywhere without eating the local regional food.

My other love is gardens and I want this tour to capture Spring in Scotland. I was overwhelmed by the lovely trees and wild rhododendrons massed along the roadsides.
From the East Coast and the temperate growing conditions to the west which can be hit by the wild North Sea. The coastline is dotted with many many cute fishing villages waiting to be photograhed and explored.

I come from a big golfing family and I am the ‘non’ golfer but I did have a thrill visiting St Andrews on a Sunday when the old course is closed to players, but open for the locals to walk on. I remember my Mum and Dad visiting here many years ago and my brother in law and nephew have just played in a father and son tournament recently.
I know my sons Matthew and Richard will be very jealous about their mother getting to walk on this sacred course.

I don’t know why but burgers are huge in Scotland. They are on the menu where ever you go and the Jigger Inn over looking St Andrews was no exception. I would never order a burger but it seemed appropriate and it came with delicious chips triple cooked in dripping – I had to walk a few holes after that hefty lunch to feel more comfortable.

So I was lucky in my 7 days ( not with the weather) with how much we achieved. Surprised when I finally found a good espresso, enjoyed the stunning countryside  and I felt like a local in Edinburgh… I even caught up with three old friends -The lovely Connor shouted me lunch. He comes from Scotland and was in Dunedin playing Rugby last year and occasionally he would help cut our hedges and come to family dinner on Sunday nights. The last time I saw Stephanie was the world  IRB surf life saving championships  in La Grand Motte France  in 2014 where she was defending her world title with her sister Carla and Hannah was their patient and on my last morning I even caught up with Sue who I used to teach with many years ago at Kaikorai Valley High School.

I have a better understanding about what I want to include on a tour which I hope will start in Scotland and finish in Normandy in May 2017.

The world can surprise you with its tastes and traveling is a collection of memories that you can always drop in and out of at any time and is so valuable.
Watch this space !!!

For Alison, Hasan and our first bus driver Hikmet excitement gathers the closer we get to Cappadocia . They always say they leave the best until last – and of course they are not biased !!!!

It’s a very long 10 hour day from the Mediterranean coastline, over the Taurus Mountains up as high as 1500 meters and down to the vast plains of Konya. I love passing the old Caravan Surai’s – used when life here was very nomadic and they were a safe nights stop. They are all along the old Silk Road and are placed a days travel apart. – many are in ruins – but others are quite grand.

The long filled pide’s in this region are one of my favourite road side lunches. We are very happy with the Turkish beer as an accompaniment on these hot days but Alison and Hasan alway drink Ayran – A salty yoghurt drink .
Desserts in Turkey are usually very sweet and syrupy and today was no exception the traditional dessert was Katafi (shredded fillo) filled with cheese – baked and drizzled with very sweet milk !! Delicious -well just a few mouthfuls !!
After a brief stop at the Mevlana museum in Konya – a holy mosque dedicated to the beginning of the whirling Dervishes. It was another few hours sitting in the mini van before arriving in Urgup – our home town for the next 4 nights.
This year we are staying in Hasan’s nephew Baran’s new Cave Hotel- Asawari. It has only been opened 2 months and it was very exciting to be ushered into our cave bedrooms surrounded by stunning courtyards and balconies with large soft couches.
It was Baran’s birthday and we sat down to delicious meal of lamb casserole that was cooked in the local bakers oven and a selection of birthday cakes ( 3)
The best surprise was to come and we had our own private performance of a ‘whirling dervish’ – this chap is a friend of Baran and was actually sitting at the table beside us for dinner, although he looked very different in his trance like whirling.
There were cameras and a drone all filming a promotional video – available on :
YouTube / Asawari- we even feature !!

The next four days was Alison and Hasan’s local tour of the outstanding magical countryside of Fairy Chimneys, ancient deserted villages, Christian Cave Churches from the 5 th century, a lesson in Turkish Carpets, open air museums and a visit to the local Urgup market with all the locals – each day including lunches of gozleme – the famous stuffed type pancake, barbecued meats with fabulous ripe tomatoes and always a selection of meze.

Ballooning is a huge draw card for this region and all except Bruce left the hotel in the dark at 4am after being woken by the first call to payer for Ramadan.They came back buzzing and it is always a highlight. I believe there were 80 balloons up which was pretty good since Tourism is also devasted here.

Visiting the Urgup market was a wonderful experience . Fabulous fruits and vegetables piled high surrounded by staples of herbs like dill and parsley, there was cheeses, eggs and you could even by a portable milking machine !!!

The food in Turkey has been tremendous and although most of us bought a cookbook way back at Ephesus. Everyone if keen to learn a few tricks and regional recipes. Hasan and the hotel chef lead us through making kofte, beans in tomato, stuffed courgettes and an eggplant salad followed by my favourite sweet semolina cakes with hazelnuts. It was fun and nothing like having the hotel to ourselves – I think pretty spoilt really. Especially the long breakfasts in the sun with such a beautiful section to choose. from: cheeses, pancakes, omelettes, olives, tomatoes, fruit platters and crunchy fresh bread.

Local restaurants are set in some very incredible buildings – most with roof top terraces overlooking the towns and countryside. I am always amazed at the stunning lighting, furniture and decorations in buildings which started off as a stone ruin . Electrical and plumbing in these rock buildings must be a nightmare.
There are over 300 boutique hotels in Cappadocia and more seem to be under construction – but I know some don’t have any quests and the future is a complete worry.

This is my third tour to Turkey and Cappadocia. It once again captured the hearts of my tour group. At no time did we see anything untoward or feel uncomfortable. The Turkish people remain stoic but their livelihoods are being eroded away as tourism declines. With the advice and help of my knowledgable guides we enjoyed an outstanding 18 days and I am hoping to return in 2017.

Leaving the infinity pool and view of the Aegean Sea was hard . Nice stop, nice hotel and outstanding visits to 3 Byzantine and Roman archaeological sites.

Pamukale is 3 hours inland – famous for its calcium white terraces that look like puffy white cotton. (Pamuk meaning cotton)
They are surrounded by a vast agricultural region growing mainly fruit like apricots, figs, pine nuts and pomegranates.
At the top of the terraces is the remains of the Roman centre of Hieropolis – important for its hot thermal water and spa’s and like today it was a popular tourist attraction for the health  properties of the water. We walked down the side of the terrace with ‘lots’ of people . It was a Sunday and the place was crowded .It is easy to walk on the rough surface and we stopped in one of the man made pools to lather ourselves with the soft white clay and exfoliate our skin.
Turkey is very well known for its textiles – mainly cotton and the beautiful brightly coloured cotton towels are sold everywhere. Pamuk – cotton is grown, dyed and woven here in this region also.
The Taurus mountains run through Turkey from West to East and although we meet them again later in the tour on our way to Cappadocia – we climb as high as 1500 metres through a very rocky environment covered in cedars and pine down to the coast and the large city of Fethiye.

One of the huge highlights for me is to take our tour group to the abandoned village of Kayakoy. ‘Birds without Wings ‘ by Louis de Bernieres based his book on this village and the lives and characters of the village.

‘I went to south-west Turkey and there’s a ghost town there. It used to be a mixed community, as described in the book more or less, and they obviously had a wonderful way of life, quite sophisticated. An earthquake finally destroyed the town in the Fifties, but it really started to die when the Christian population was deported. It was walking around that very special place that gave me the idea .The town, called Eskibahce in the book, will be recognizable to those who know Turkey, ‘but I’m not going to go round telling people’

The abandoned stone buildings in this once bustling town are roofless, weathered and incredibly sad.
It once had Turkish and Greeks living here in harmony through the Ottoman Empire, the First World War and the the Greco -Turkish War 1919- 1921.
However, after the Greeks were resounding defeated- the worst atrocity happened called the exchange of population where within days all Greeks had to leave Turkey for Greece and all Turkish in Greece had to leave and go to Turkey . These people had lived for generations in each country. Relocation was compulsory . Approximately 350 homes in Kayakoy now sit empty, roofless and in ruins. Harsh winters and winds plus, finally an earthquake in 1957 stripped this village to a ghost town. A modern ruin, now a world heritage UNESCO site and very a moving visit especially if you have read the book – one of my all time favourites.

Our two night stop in Kas not only enables my group do do some lovely retail therapy, stock up on towels, scarves, jewellery and ‘stuff’ plus spend a day on the Mediterranean in a Gulet ( boat) it’s so….. Relaxing – most had several swims – jumping off the boat into the crystal clear azure blue water. A siesta after a delicious barbecue lunch and a spot of sunbathing before sadly returning to Kas in the afternoon.
Following the picturesque coastline it is filled with apartments and condominiums for large numbers of British and foreign nationals plus acres and acres of plastic houses used for growing tomatoes, capsicums, chilies and eggplant .

From Kas we head to Antalya stopping in at the church of St Nicolas – patron saint of seamen, ships, children , coopers, repentant thrives and pharmacist – so apart from giving out gifts to children he was quite a busy man.
Another tour surprise is lunch at a trout farm set amongst a forest – sitting on divans covering a stream the food is carried down on large trays . Today however , we had thunder, lightening and torrential rain. So… We still enjoyed our grilled trout lunch but, under cover looking down on the stream and the ducks enjoying the rain.

I can see why tourists all over the world want to spend time on this coast. Large Gulets are in all the ports along with lots of very impressive enormous palaces.  The boom box young people’s fun boats can be heard loud and clear. The water is warm, the sun shines over 300 days a year and the temperature is ‘ hot’ .  It’s very lovely .

Being chosen as a Highly honoured Vestal Virgin as a young girl ( from 6-10 years old ) meant keeping the sacred flame in the temple of   Vesta alive and being a ‘ good girl’. The associated risk attached other wise was being buried alive. How ever if you reached they age of 40 you were free and able to marry .

There are several cities of marble close to Kusadasi . The most impressive and the biggest is Ephesus. Once, the largest city in Turkey in Byzantine times, we walk down the marble Main Street in awe at the temples , political arenas, outstanding library,public toilets!! and this year a tour through 6 villas with decorated plaster walls and mosaic floors – these are under cover to preserve them and Archaeologists work painfully slowly restoring minute details.

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We had Yeliz again today as our guide and she portrayed the life and times of this city so well .
The amphitheatre held 15,000 people – these structures took a 10 th of the population -so on those calculations Ephasus  would have had about 150,000 inhabitants . Today the archeologists have unearthed about a 12 th so the original city .
During our two days we also visited the Greek temple of Miletus and the Priene. Both were major cites in Asia Minor and vital trading centres .
Alexander the Great spent time in Priene and although is was a hot climb to reach the ruins it was remarkable – made even more special because we had the place virtually to ourselves.
The sea is now 10-12 km away now from all these cities due to the silting up rivers. With that came reduced trade and Mosquitos and with them came malaria. People shifted and the cities became abandoned and suffered with earthquakes and the onset of the dark ages.

Food continues to be magnificent – not fine dining but every day quality vegetables are served everywhere you go with an emphasise on Tomatoes , Eggplant, Okra, Beans ( often stuffed ) and always bowls of yoghurt – sometimes with purslane and often hot chillies .From the side of the road to big cities the selection has become familiar – all with a common theme and a heavy use of parsley and fresh dill. Meatballs, kebabs and spicy sausage are all cooked on charcoal consequently they taste exceedingly good and often served still sizzling in a metal dish siting on top of a charcoal burner. A selection of meze is always served as a starter  with puffy bread and  you can’t get enough of it. On the Mediterranean coast simple grilled whole fish , stuffed calamari and small anchovies are in every restaurant.

Late afternoons were spent around the stunning infinity pool at our hotel. Time to relax, swim and enjoy a glass of cold local white wine.
Kusadasi usually has 2-3 cruise ships a day . But now 2-3 a week. Restaurants, taxis , traders and hotels are beside themselves and are looking at very quiet summer season.

It took over an hour to drive out of the greater Istanbul and it certainly gives everyone some perspective of its enormous size. But, it has always been a huge city and a melting pot of so many cultures especially from Eastern Europe and the Middle East .

Helen Clarke , Gerry Brownlie and Jerrry Mateparae. And….. now our tour group have been lucky enough to to have the big chief number 1 guide at Gallipoli,  Kenan Çelik, who among his other distinguised achievements has been awarded the Australian Order of Merit  in recognition of his services to Australian history . He is a retired history lecturer from Canakkale and his knowledge of the campaigns in 1915 was very impressive. This important site for New Zealanders and Australians is shared with the vast number of Turks who visit here by the thousands every day .

Looking down on Anzac cove from the heights above on a hot hot afternoon. You can only feel great sadness and loss and the unbelievable  bravery  of so many very young men

We don’t like one night stops on tour but a night in Canakkale across the Dardanelles from the Gallipoli peninsula is perfect. Arriving in the early evening we had time for an excellent seafood meal and a good nights sleep .

Driving down the coastline edged by the Agean Sea it is noticeable how highly populated the coastal regions are . They live a Mediterranean type lifestyle here. Diet is based on vegetables and they cook with lots of Olive oil.
The temperatures each day are in the 30 ‘s and our visit to Pergamom was ‘ hot’. Yalez our local guide is used to the heat and has jeans on and seemingly doesn’t seem to notice the scorching heat.

The site of Pergamom dates back to Greek times and was taken over by the Eastern Roman Empire . It is famous for once having the second biggest library and a huge hospital. It’s hard to take in the history here in terms of years and you can only be ‘ wowed ‘ by the enormous complex and structures even the  size of the blocks of stone is unbelievable.
Turkey is a big country and this is a big day -stopping for lunch at Edremit – to our favourite family restaurant and our visit to Pergamom meant we didn’t arrive in Kusadasi until the sun was going down in a spectacular show of orange and gold once again just like the previous night in Canakkale.

This hotel is fabulous… I dream of it on a cold winters day in Dunedin.
Greeted with an ice cold fresj lemon cocktail our dining table was ready and waiting outside in the garden.
We have 3 nights here and there couldn’t be a better base .

‘You call it Chaos we call it Home’ An age old saying in Istanbul and it does take some getting used to being in a city with over 20 million inhabitants.

While enjoying a wine on the roof top bar late in the afternoon on the 29th May, Istanbul was celebrating the day in 1453 when the Ottomans broke the city walls and conquered Constantinople – we just enjoyed the display of jet fighters from the perfect vantage point.

Walking to meet our guide at Topkapi palace and it was obvious 10 am is considered quite early as the streets were quiet and pleasant .
Serda, once again the informed, professional guide spent  the next 2 1/2 hours taking my group back to the life and times of the Sultans and the 4,000 people that lived within the walls of Topkapi.

It was traditional Kofta for lunch with pickled chillies and salad. That’s all this famous restaurant serves. They proudly show photographs  lining the walls of famous people along with us !!! who have also eaten here.
There are a few ‘things’ you have to do when visiting Istanbul. A couple of hours in the grand bazaar to improve your haggling skills, buying a box of Turkish delight from the spice market, eating a plate of sweet baklava pastries with the locals and having a scrub down at a Turkish bath called a Hamam.

 One of New Zealand’s famous chefs Peter Gordon has a  restaurant well up the Bosphorus – insight of the black Sea and another huge new suspension bridge linking European and Asian Turkey.
The setting of the restaurant’ Chenga’ is in a beautiful green garden with a stunning view of the Bosphorus and the ships constantly traveling in and out of the Black Sea. It sits beside the original family mansion which now houses contemporary art.

We traveled up the Bosphorus on one of the local ferries past a very different Istanbul from the high density city centre. Beautiful houses sitting on the edge of the water surrounded with lush gorgeous gardens .

Our bus driver for the remainder of the tour is called Hikmet.He has driven from Cappadocia to meet us in his nice Mercedes mini Van.
After a memorable gorgeous lunch we visited Dolmabache back in the city. The sultans moved here in the  late 1800’s to a more modern totally Palatial Palace, dripping with crystal and covered in acres of carpets the size of some NZ houses, until their final demise after the first world war. Mustafa Kamal Ataturk then lead Turkey into a new republican era.
With one hour to go on the last day of a Banksy exhibition we were thrilled to get in and even better a ‘ two for the price of one’ ticket. Plus ….it was around the corner from the hotel. It was brilliant and just one of lucky chances .

Meandering the narrow streets in the evening below Galata tower small cafes were selling simple food like doner – smoking a shisha is something we are are quite unfamiliar with, but many groups of young people seem to enjoy this pastime while sitting drinking tea and chatting. Quite frankly give me a good glass of red wine any time.

Sitting on the roof top bar with the beautifully lit mosques reflecting on the Bosphorus – I feel sorry for Istanbul and Turkey – they are hurting.