Istanbul, Turkey

After 7 days here in Istanbul (not including the 2 we had before we went to Olympos) we figure its time to share some of our experiences of the city so far. Since our first day we arrived and had our coffees paid for by a random old man in a little coffee house, we have been overwhelmed by the beauty and kindness of the Turkish people. Istanbul is a massive city with 13.5 million people (there is 22 million in all of Australia!) so there is always something going on. The city is spread over 2 continents, Europe and Asia, and most of our time has been spent on the Europe side.
We have enjoyed the change in culture, from waking up at 5.30am to the first light call to prayer from the Mosque next door to haggling with vendors everywhere, but especially the change in food. We have made good use of the street side food venders enjoying bagels, fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juice, rice, honey churos, corn and doner kebabs all for 1 or 2 lira (50c-$1). I have loved the tea culture and the beautiful rituals of drinking tea throughout the day, once even served tea in the park. Morgan's mustache is always a favourite with the men on the streets who stop to comment or laugh and point as we walk on past. Today the men yelled out "famous man" as we passed a shop near our hotel which we pass most days.
We have explored the bazaar's and flea markets, rode the ferry to the princes' islands, admired the beautiful tiles and architecture, and taken so many photos on film.
-kim

Olympos, Turkey

It's a long 15 hour bus drive to get from Istanbul to Olympos, but it was well worth the journey. Olympos is an old ancient city (now in ruins dated from around 7AD) on the Mediterranean Sea in the south of Turkey, which has become a getaway for Turkish tourists. There is maybe 20 wooden treehut style hostels set up just outside the ruins, an area which is very busy in summer, but beautiful and quiet at this time of the year. We had a relaxing 5 days climbing mountains, exploring the ruins, reading books, playing backgammon and even swam in the sea. It's a beautiful area with lots of natural delights. We visited Yanartaş, a natural phenomenon of flames burning out of gaps in the rocks, and were blessed to share a BBQ sausage with a Turkish family cooking lunch on the ancient eternal flames. Now we are back in Istanbul, and ready to explore the city side of Turkey.
-kim

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Our time here in Bulgaria has been a very different journey than we are used to. We have had a few extra days in both Sofia and here in Plovdiv than we usually allow in a city and these places are very small in comparison to other cities. Plovdiv has a rich history as a passage for the Ottoman and Roman Empires. In the middle of the Main Street there is ancient roman amphitheater ruins and amazing old building facades. We have had a kebab a day in preparation for Turkey and enjoyed taking our time exploring both the new and old city. The weather has warmed up, we have gone out without scarves for the first time in 2 months and are very excited to get to Turkey tomorrow after a long evening bus trip.
- morgan