IMPRESSIONS OF TURKEY

Turkey is “ying and yang”, both European and Oriental. It is both fantastically  clean (restaurants etc.) but also very dirty (spitting, tossing cigarettes and litter). It is exceptionally beautiful, but also dreadfully ugly – the beauty of the ancient monuments and countryside that contrasts with  block upon block of awful architecture in the apartment buildings that go for miles. We saw few old cars and more Merc’s and BMW’s than you could poke a stick at, but also country folk on horse and carts, digging, planting and scything by hand. The women are still repressed, you don’t see any in the shops or bazaars, it’s odd at first to see men everywhere, but almost no women. We had a woman guide, (she was wonderful), she is the only woman in her company! Women are for menial tasks only, and men will not move aside for women (even old ones like me) in the street. There is aggressive “touting” everywhere, which is offputting to polite Aussies.

That said, the Turkish people are very friendly and fiercely nationalistic – you see the Turkish flag everywhere. They revere Attaturk for freeing the vast masses from the Ottoman Empire. The country looks prosperous, but the average salary is only $20,000 per year, the vast majority of people are poor.

Turkey was a wonderful experience, we loved every moment of it. It outweighed our expectations, though it did take a day or so to fall completely under it’s spell. Here are a few pics that might show some of the wonders we have seen.

Hagia Sophia - Istanbul

Sultan? - Blue Mosque, Istanbul.

Anzac

Treasury,  Acropolis - Pergamum

Lunch on the road - delicious

The library, Ephesus