The History of Journey

Santorini was the place ,my wife wanted to visit from decades ago and I did not want to visit only that. So, we included its neighboring country in our itinerary. It made sense, it was intuitive,  it hit up some incredible sites of interest, and it was totally worthwhile. When I look back, I think I made a good call. It has a bit of everything. We backpacked from April 10,2017 to April 23,2017 Once the place was decided, I got the ball rolling. Contacted my best friend Google, wrote to quite a few travel bloggers and made flight bookings through skyscanner. Best site I would say for the flight booking. Got really good deals.We flew in to Istanbul,Turkey and flew out from Athens, Greece Enjoy reading over a steaming hot cuppa :) Turkey Istanbul We started our adventure in the pulse of modern day Turkey, Istanbul. It is brimming with life and there are no shortages of exciting things to do and see! Home to scrumptious food, breathtaking architecture, ...

After reaching at around 2 PM, we kept our luggage at the bus stand for 5 TL per bag. The owner of the shop helped us booking a taxi to Meryem Ana Evi and  drop at Ephesus.  Meryem Ana Evi, meaning “Mother Mary’s House” in Turkish, Meryem Ana Evi is said to be the last house where the Virgin Mother lived before Her Assumption. It’s believed that she was taken here by John the Baptist shortly after the Crucifixion. Located on Mt. Koressos, its just 7 km from Selçuk, Ephesus is one of Turkey’s most popular tourist destinations. Built in the 10th Century BC, this ancient city was a key seaport that was once the center of trade and commerce in the ancient world as well as being a hub for early Christianity. Many famous people in antiquity have walked on these cobblestones, including the apostle Paul. Ephesus is considered the most restored ancient city in the world, and they are still in the process every day of putting it back together. The great amphitheate...

Pamukkale is an incredible spectacle for the eye, as an entire hill is covered in white travertines {terraces of carbonate minerals} with bubbling hot springs water. The most amazing part is that we could actually swim in the mineral pools. We reached hotel in the morning and rested for a while. We had booked tour with Pamukkale Tourism after negotiating hard. So, the pick up time was at 9.30 AM. For the first time in our trip, we saw middle aged Indian couples from Andhra, settled in Uganda. Sush got company. We reached a place called Karahayit which has Hot springs and the water tasted like some acid. It has sulphur and we were told, its good for skin and digestion. Not authenticating their claim. Then we went to South Entrance of Pamukkale, if I am not wrong. There are three entrances, Town, North and South. South if vehicle and Town if entering from below. We reached top and saw the travertines and walked beside them.  Then we went to the ancient city of Hi...

After finishing Hot Air Ballon Ride in the morning, we were back to hotel by 7.30 and slept for a while. We had booked private car to take us to the Red City tour places.  We started the tour with one of Turkey’s first UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Göreme Open Air Museum. It is the most visited site in Cappadocia and boasts the best and most extensive collection of rock-cut churches, many of which have been decorated with elaborate Byzantine frescoes (wall or ceiling paintings). Dating back to the 10th century AD, they’re over a thousand years old Next we went to Sunset point. This was supposed to be visited on our first day here, but due to bad weather we had to skip it. The place is known for hike and cycle ride in the valley. We did see some people cycling here. We later went to Three Beauties. Astonishing to think that these rock formations were created naturally. These fairy chimneys were formed through the millennia by intense volcanic activity and erosio...

When we first started to research Turkey, every itinerary told us to go to the region of Cappadocia. and not miss the World famous Hot Air Balloon Ride over the fairy chimneys. We booked tour with Universal Balloons . Cappadocia literally looks other-worldy. I imagine the terrain might resemble some lunar planet. It is home to the most incredible rock formations in the world, boasting valleys filled with "fairy-chimneys" and towns filled with "cave hotels". It is the top place in the world to take a hot air balloon ride because the scenes below are incredibly breathtaking and so unique. Our third morning in Cappadocia, we woke up at 4 am to take a sunrise balloon ride. Having never done this, we both were excited to lift  hundreds of feet off the ground with a basket at our feet and a balloon at our head. We found it  the most serene and peaceful experiences of our life. We literally floated around through the valleys, and we couldn't have been more rela...