Turkey

In January/February, 2019 Hugh, William & spent 2 weeks in Turkey. 6 days in Imperfectly Perfect Istanbul, 3 days in the unique region of Cappadocia and 4 days driving the Lycian Way on the Turkish Mediterranean Sea.

Istanbul

There’s a lot to like about Istanbul. What a city to take pictures — especially on the water, on the routes of the ferries that constantly shuttle between 2 continents that the city straddles. As the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires (and even the Roman Empire just before its collapse), it has an amazing history. As a commercial and political center and the largest city on earth for a very long time — it attracted many ethnic groups, all of whom left the marks.

Cappadocia

The unique region of Cappadocia in Turkey is known for its original rock formations and cave towns where people have lived for millennia. The soft sandstone made it easy for the locals to carve out caves large enough to create their own homes and churches. Some of the ancient settlements are located in cliff walls, others in the mountains and some are even composed of a complex network of underground tunnels resembling a termite mound.

Lycian Coast

Lycia was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. Ancient Lycia was a democratic federation of city states, which is thought to have influenced the United States constitution. Today, most towns in the region have some remnants from the ancient Lycian civilization, in the form of sacrophagii, distinctive rock tombs, or city ruins.