FROM İSTANBUL TO CAPPADOCİA - TURKEY

We enjoyed four days in Istanbul before joining our tour group, however Lizzy became very ill on our last day and vomited for 22 hours. We called a doctor who arrived by ambulance with a driver and paramedic assistant. He put Lizzy on a drip with medication and within 24 hours she was much better. We then joined our Turkey tour guide in Istanbul to fınd ourselves on a 44 seater coach with 42 other people, not the max 20 seater coach we were expecting. Not a good start. Jenny who is not a good back seat passenger suffered with the bouncing motion and became very sick on the first day, collapsing and passing out in Eceabah as we were about to board the ferry to cross the Dardanelles to Cannakkale. She was taken away by ambulance for treatment at a medical centre and just made it back in time to join the ferry crossing. The next day was almost as bad with more vomiting until we could get some motion sickness medication. Thank goodness for the toilet on the bus.

Visiting Gallipoli was a very sobering yet moving experience. To walk on the beach that so many ANZACS gave their lives on is hard to describe. Standing there looking up at the cliffs that they had to climb under enemy (turkish) fire made you realise what a terrible mistake had been made landing the troops on the wrong beach. We visited the Australian and then New Zealand war cemeteries and found the inscription of Jenny's grandfathers brother Mr Bain. We laid four poppies on the memorial, a special moment.

Over the next few days as we travelled south down the west coast, visiting the Ancient City of Troy and saw the replica of the wooden horse, Pergamon the terraced hillside city, Izmir the large port town and spend the night in Kusadasi at a lovely hotel overlooking the Mediterranian. Nearby the ancient city of Ephesius was facinating with its collonaded streets, Hadrians temple, Roman bath house, public toilets with marble toilet seats, grand library and carving of the goddess Nike with her feather, now portrayed as a stylised tick by the Nike sport brand. We also visited Mary's House, the mother of Jesus Christ, set in the woods near the top of a hill overlooking Ephesius. İt had a very special serene feel to it and we had a moment to stop and pray and light a candle.

Travelling further south we arrive at Pamukkale and the ruins of Hieropolis and the cascading white terraces caused by calcium deposits from the mineral springs above in the hillside. İn the valley below there are steaming vents and a thermal power station.

On the southern coast of Turkey we arrive at Antalya, a modern tourist city of 1 million people that hosts 7 million tourists per year. Staying at the Sheriton for 2 nights its a nice change and we enjoy the food and lovely accomodation. A highlight was visiting the old city with its marina with gulettes (traditional turkish sailing boats) and other boats. We visited Perge with its stadium and 200m track that hosted sporting events in 200AD and its gymnasium with bath house and underfloor heated rooms - facinating and incredibly clever for its time.

Changing direction we head through the mountains and drive a couple of hundred kilometres north and inland to Konya which is at the crossroads from North to South and East to West. We are on the old Silk Road which the Trade Caravans followed hundreds of years ago. We visit a Caravan House on our way across the flat central plateau with its snow covered volcanic mountain range in the eastern distance. This fortified house was were the traders and their camels overnighted in its shelter from the bandits who regularly attacked and pillaged these caravans.

We stopped on the side of the road and talked to a traditional turkish farmıng family who welcomed us into their paddock. We had a great photo session and finished up with them wanting to keep Lizzy as a bride for their youngest son who was returning next week from completıng his 18 months of compulsory Military Training.

Finally we arrive in the Cappadocia Region of central Turkey with its amazing underground houses carved into the soft sandstone and the Fairy Chimneys, cone shaped rock structures that people carved the centre out of to form houses - hard to describe but an amazing sight! We experience a traditional Cappadocian meal out at a restaurant, where they cook Lamb in sealed pottery jars in earth ovens like İndian tandoory one's. They break the jars open with an axe - all very dramatic but very tasty.

I am sorry that I have no photos this posting, as the hotel doesn't have a cable for my camera and my USB adaptor for the memory card won't work on this computer. Oh well.

I trust you our family and friends are well and thank you to those of you emailing us news from home/NZ