The call to prayer woke me up. I flung open the shutters and stepped onto the small balcony to breathe in the morning air and let those floating voices envelope me.
Right after breakfast in the hotel breakfast room, the group gathered to walk to the Castle of St. Peter. This castle also houses the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Alp had arranged to have an old friend give us a personalized tour.
The Castle of St. Peter was constructed in 1402 by the Knights of St. John atop the ruins of an ancient acropolis. As the prominent landmark of Bodrum, it sprouts several large stone towers visible from any point in the town. In this modern, happening place, the castle's medieval countenance seems a bit out of place among the jet-setters' yachts.
Since this was our last night, we were to all meet up at the Cafe Bodrum Teras Restaurant at 7:00 p.m. for our farewell dinner. This pretty place is on the second floor overlooking the harbor, open to the evening sky. (I didn't realize until later that “Teras” was actually the restaurant's phonetic spelling of “terrace,” yet another of those amusingly creative Turkish-style spellings.)
This morning was the official ending of the tour. We were no longer a complete group since a few had already departed while we slept. Several others were packed and ready to take a boat to the Greek island of Rhodes, just a few miles off the coast, lucky to be continuing their vacation in Greece. Others had flights to make.
Yokuş başına geldiğinde Bodrum'u göreceksin
Sanma ki sen geldiğin gibi gideceksin
Senden öncekiler de böyleydiler
Akıllarını hep Bodrum'da bırakıp gittiler"
İstanbul benim için bir sevgili; birçok özellikleri benziyor. İstanbul çok güzel, çok çekici, çok hareketli, çok canlı, çok özel, çok çekilmez, çok karışık. Yeri apayrı. Bodrum'dan dönerken ise Bodrum'un neye veya kime benzediğini düşündüm uzun uzun. Kaçamak'tı Bodrum; üç günlük tadı damağında kalan mutluluk ve huzurdu.
After our afternoon in Gümüslük, Gino and I returned to the El Vino Hotel where we spent the rest of the day lounging around the pool. A handful of our former tour members were also still there, relaxing until their departure time in the wee hours of the next morning, the same as ours.
This would be our last night in Turkey, at least for this trip.
The show is over and the curtain has fallen on our final Anatolian performance. It's been a long and successful run but they'll be no ovation or encore. As we said goodbye to Gümbet, Liam and I reflected on our time in this ancient land of paradoxes and plenty. Turkey has provided a restful respite for our weary bones and taught us that we can live differently and work with less.
Whilst in Kos, we popped over to Turkey for the day. Well, if you love your fake designer sunnies, bags, coats, bedding, EVERYTHING, you'll certainly be in your element. Not really my thing, but I still kinda liked the place. We had a good long walk around the marina, before stopping for lunch on the beach. Yes, our table was actually on the beach.
I couldn’t resist the theme of “messing about in boats” that is the basis of this week’s Quotes from the Masters challenge, designed by Robin of Bringing Europe Home. This is a great idea, using quotes from celebrated authors to inspire. Looking at Robin’s lead photograph, I think she may well have messed about in some of the same boats as me.
I haven't been posting for a while because I've been busy moving with the kids to Bodrum for a few weeks. Here is a quick post about what's new in Bodrum this summer if you feel like spending lots of money at some point.
Beaches:
New beach...Check out Moon Beach in Yalikavak...everyone is raving about it! I haven't been yet but apparently it is heavenly.
Beautiful bougainvillea at Kadikale resort nr Bodrum Turkey.
I've never been a huge one for holidays abroad. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I love the hills and the valleys of Wales so much that I can't bear to leave, not even for a few weeks, it's more a matter of effort and of course company. My close friendships are few but extremely long lasting and seem to be with people who have no interest at all in travelling and certainly not outside of the UK and this, combined with a good few years of being single has meant that my passport has been stuck in a drawer unused for some years.
After the wedding, we ran away to Bodrum, which is quite possibly one of my favorite places in the world. White houses line the hillsides. Vibrant purple and pink bourgainvillea flow with the wind. Restaurants unfold on to the beach. The tangerine orange moon lights up the night sky. Sailboats and yachts cover the water and music fills the air. Each morning we awake to a huge Turkish Breakfast, full of lively chatter and numerous rounds of tea.
Bodrum, Turkey, July 8
Bodrum has a four-screen multiplex, the first we'd noticed in Turkey. Delaney and Kelsey were pretty excited when they saw Spider-Man on the marquee. Peter Parker fans? Nope, they wanted to see Andrew Garfield in Spidey-spandex.
So we decided we'd have a night on the town.
Bodrum is a major beach, big boat, and party resort on a stunning deep blue bay in the Aegean Sea.
How cool it this, a Museum of Underwater Archaeology that is also a castle on the coast! A good day spent exploring and seeking out the air conditioned galleries for some respite from the heat. Two gallery posts again, external and internal pics, I know some of the external images are a bit similar, but I couldnt decide what to edit out...
Some interior shots of the galleries and exhibits, a must visit if you are ever close by.
Streets and shops are always far more interesting at night when the sky darkens, the lights come on and colours stand out.
Overlooking the Bodrum peninsula these windmills made of stone and lined with wooden planks, were used from the 18th century until the 70s as a means to grind flour for the local people.
The most prominent feature of Bodrum is the castle of St. Peter, whose origins date back to the knights of St. John in the 11th century and was a place of refuge for the Christians during the Crusades.
Here's a beautiful paradise house in Bodrum, south of Turkey.
xx
With its beaches and shopping streets, Bodrum is an attractive seaside location in Turkey. But now this ancient village, located in the middle of the blue waters of the Aegean Sea, is the heart of the global party circuit. At glance at the huge yachts, some of them coming from the ports of very well-known places like Monaco, show the new meaning of Bodrum.
For the past 2 weeks I've been on holiday in Bodrum in Turkey and the South of France. Here is a post on possibly my favourite shop in Bodrum, which I highly recommend you go to if you ever find yourself in Bodrum. Last year I bought a cute little hand made box with beautifully painted miniatures on it which now sits on my dressing table back home as a jewellery box and this year I bought a hand painted ceramic pomegranate.
Ankara is a city of contradiction. As the capital of Turkey, it is arguably one of the more developed and international cities in Turkey because a large number of the best universities and the foreign consulates reside there. It is a city of shopping malls (or maybe it just seems that way because I've been to a million with the family) - We're talking state of the art, nicer than most shopping malls in the United States, interactive 3-D map guides, giant cinemas and aquariums kind of malls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSnokfI9TYI&context=C39c2afaADOEgsToPDskIfzxUiDh7JGKC-y-WU_uww
For those of you who liked my story about visiting Anitkabir, Ataturk's Tomb in Ankara, Turkey, here is a video with more photos. I spent all afternoon walking around the amazing complex (in the snow) and was amazed at views of Ataturk's life: his clothes, books, cars, boat, swords, pens, and historic photos of Turkey.
Helen Kamminga, Co-Principal Viola, shares the experiences of the players currently on tour in Azerbaijan for the Gabala International Music Festival.
Depending on your view of the Olympics, this RPO trip to Azerbaijan and China was perfectly timed for a London orchestra. We got all the excitement of the build up to the opening ceremony, and the very next day, escaped to exotic climes just as the city ground to a halt, as widely predicted.
I have talked several times about why Europe is in need of missionaries and why I am going over there to do my part, but I thought it might help if I highlighted more specifically what is going on in each of the countries in Europe. So, my plan for the next year is to share some data with you all about one country in Europe every Monday.
