ADHVAGATI

Was surprised to learn that Istanbul is the Fifth Largest "City Proper" in the world. ( First is , of course, Shanghai ; Second and Fourth ? Mumbai and Delhi !). It was a surprise because we saw no sign of its vastness or population as we drove to the hotel from Sabiha Gokcen Airport. ( The airport is named for the first female combat pilot in the world) . Even the sightseeing tours on the first two days were confined to the Sultanahmet area, where the hotel was situated, so it dint feel any more vast than our Bengaluru ! But we started appreciating its ranking only when we went on the Bosphorus Cruise and the guide gave us a complete geography education about the historic city which was traditionally called Thrace on the European bank and Anatolia on its Eastern bank. Not many metros can boast of straddling two continents ! When one crosses one of the bridges over the river, one gets from Avrupa ( Europe) to Asya ( Asia) in just under 15 mins. And there are chee...

It was more Moonscape or Mars-scape than landscape. In any case , it certainly looked nothing like the lush green meadows and apricot groves we had passed by, just half an hour ago. Under a severely bright blue sky, the terrain was all grey, offwhite, pink and brown. Against a backdrop of weirdly folded hill ranges, battalions of giant anthills rose up, filling the whole valley . It looked like a scene straight out of ....... "Star Wars !" Declared the Guide proudly ! " Parts of the epic movie were shot here !" No wonder ! But the location that served as the canvas for a futuristic sci-fi movie is actually millions of eons old. All those "ant hills ", commonly called Fairy Chimneys ( technically called Hoodoos) , are the handiwork of Nature who used only wind and melted snow patiently for ages to sculpt fantastic shapes out of the prodigious quantities of TUFF ( soft rock of compacted Volcanic ash, sand and gravel ) thrown up by the ancient volca...

IZMIR is the second largest port in Turkey after Istanbul and is considered one of Turkey's most vibrant cities because of its dynamism and progressive values, that include female empowerment . Throughout its history, it has attracted various kinds of foreign influx and has absorbed multifarious influences to create for itself a pan european character. Appropriately, its logo proclaims :"Rediscover Life". The old Greek name for Izmir Province was SMYRNA . Yes, the same place where Homer was born. We did not visit places related to medieval history in this province, but headed straight to Ephesus of The Classical Period. Camp: Kusadasi. It is a resort town, with buildings that look like freshly painted doll houses and smooth narrow roads running up and down in steep gradients along prettily done up pavements.( Hotel : Dabaklar . unusual location : bang in the middle of a green produce market , abutting the bus station! Interior ambience and amenities : quite OK.) The anc...

While visiting historical sites, say the word ROMAN, and the word BATH suggests itself as a suffix ! All ancient Roman cities had elaborate buildings called The Public Baths, which were not merely washing up places, but popular venues for leisure and socialising. Everything from neighbourhood gossip to War Strategies were discussed here and there's no telling how many brilliant scientific and philosophical concepts were inspired by the relaxing waters of the BATH. Not content with devising cunning architectural designs for drawing up a perfect tub of bathwater, the Romans also gratefully appropriated mountain lakes and hotsprings as additional, value added baths. In PAMUKKALE , a whole city called HIERAPOLIS was raised around a set of natural hot springs that were found to be mineral rich. PAMUKKALE, meaning COTTON CASTLE , is a natural wonder, where snow white cliffs , formed from calcarious salt deposits carried by the mountain springs, create a surreal scenery. The cliff and ...

14 May - 20 May 2010 ANATOLIA, a vast geographical region covering most of today's Republic of Turkey , gets its name from an old Greek word referring to Sunrise and was designated the status of Asia Minor. A region rich in history ; where three important religions were nurtured ; a fertile ecozone serially inhabited by great civilizations like the Hittites,Phrygians,Achemenids, Greek, Armenian, Roman, Seljuks and Ottomans who have all left their mark in the development of world civilization as a whole. In today's political map, Anatolia lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia and is surrounded on three sides by the ancient waters of the Aegean, the Mediterranean and The Black Sea. Many ruins of historical value lie scattered around, relating the hoary legends and myths of heroes who populated the story books of childhood days. For a history nut like me, a trip around Anatolia was a rich feast. Camp Antalya : (Hotel Cender : Excellent ocean view, decent rates, average amen...