Wanderlust: Turkish Delight (Part Three)
Well, ladies and germs, we have made it to Asia. Woo hoo! I bet you thought this day would never happen!
After crossing the Dardanelles we were in the Asian side of Turkey. After an evening at the shittiest "5-star" resort I've ever spent the night in (Can we say "centipedes in the bed, crooked artwork and a 1980's Nintendo tv"?), we headed out to Troy.
I was super excited for Troy, simply because of the amazing amount of history surrounding it. Sadly, I am old and the only information that I can remember is that 1. The story of the wooden horse is 100% fiction. They were actually able to infiltrate the city walls through a crack in the back wall, left by a significant earthquake. 2. No matter where in the world you are from, all people will laugh when the tour guide repeatedly says "They came in the back door." 3. Troy kept having to be rebuilt due to fires and earthquakes. They would rebuild the new town on top of the existing ruins.
After Troy we headed further south to another popular ruins site, Pergamum/Pergamon. I had visited the Pergamon Museum in Berlin several years ago so was excited to see the site in person. Sadly, we did not go to the Acropolis but stayed down in the valley at the Sanctuary of Asclepius. Asclepius was cool though. It included the Via Tecta, which is a colonnaded street which housed doctors offices and spas for people suffering from various ailments, mainly psychological. It also included a circular treatment room which was used by patients who needed to think over a problem. After meeting with their doctor they would go down to this room and walk it until they were soothed. The Sanctuary of Asclepius was considered the leader in psychological development in the Greek Empire.
After walking the Via Tecta, we made our way to Izmir, our final stop for the night. After dinner at the hotel we headed to the boardwalk and to a hookah bar. This hookah bar was a lot better than the ones we have in Seattle, probably because you don't need a membership and it was outside. There was a lot of confusion regarding drink orders and what not, but in the chaos I made out like a champ. I didn't have to pay for the hookah or the drink!
After the carpet factory tour (or quite possibly before, I really have no idea) we went to Pamukkale. Pamukkale is full of hot springs and travertines, creating the white "snow" look of the terraces. Hotels and roads were built on top of the site, leading to damage and misuse of the mineral waters. In order to get UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site, they had to tear down the hotels and get rid of the road. The damage was pretty extensive so they had to recreate some of the terraces and now they only open 1/3 of the site each day.
Side note: In case you didn't know, limestone is hella slippery. So if someone (not naming names, cough cough Melissa) asks you to back up and take their photo without tourists in the background, be very careful not to slip and fall down. In the water. And get your butt all wet. And injure your back and arm in the process.
Double side note: It is really warm in Turkey so on the off chance you DO back up to take a photo for someone (cough cough Melissa) and slip and fall and injure yourself and get your ass all wet, just lie on your stomach in the grass for 15 minutes and you will be all dried off.
We ended the day at the hotel, which was actually pretty nice. They had a spa so after cleaning up I headed down and got a fish pedicure. It was really awesome. They are illegal in Washington State (because you can't sterilize the fish between pedicures....explain that logic!) so I was excited to check it off my bucket list. It feels weird for the first 30 seconds or so but after that it feels like one of those massage pedicures you do at home.
After crossing the Dardanelles we were in the Asian side of Turkey. After an evening at the shittiest "5-star" resort I've ever spent the night in (Can we say "centipedes in the bed, crooked artwork and a 1980's Nintendo tv"?), we headed out to Troy.
I was super excited for Troy, simply because of the amazing amount of history surrounding it. Sadly, I am old and the only information that I can remember is that 1. The story of the wooden horse is 100% fiction. They were actually able to infiltrate the city walls through a crack in the back wall, left by a significant earthquake. 2. No matter where in the world you are from, all people will laugh when the tour guide repeatedly says "They came in the back door." 3. Troy kept having to be rebuilt due to fires and earthquakes. They would rebuild the new town on top of the existing ruins.
After Troy we headed further south to another popular ruins site, Pergamum/Pergamon. I had visited the Pergamon Museum in Berlin several years ago so was excited to see the site in person. Sadly, we did not go to the Acropolis but stayed down in the valley at the Sanctuary of Asclepius. Asclepius was cool though. It included the Via Tecta, which is a colonnaded street which housed doctors offices and spas for people suffering from various ailments, mainly psychological. It also included a circular treatment room which was used by patients who needed to think over a problem. After meeting with their doctor they would go down to this room and walk it until they were soothed. The Sanctuary of Asclepius was considered the leader in psychological development in the Greek Empire.
After walking the Via Tecta, we made our way to Izmir, our final stop for the night. After dinner at the hotel we headed to the boardwalk and to a hookah bar. This hookah bar was a lot better than the ones we have in Seattle, probably because you don't need a membership and it was outside. There was a lot of confusion regarding drink orders and what not, but in the chaos I made out like a champ. I didn't have to pay for the hookah or the drink!
At some point we went to a carpet factory. I have no idea when that happened but here are some pictures anyway. I learned a lot of great tips for picking out a quality carpet if I ever move somewhere that would require one.
Side note: In case you didn't know, limestone is hella slippery. So if someone (not naming names, cough cough Melissa) asks you to back up and take their photo without tourists in the background, be very careful not to slip and fall down. In the water. And get your butt all wet. And injure your back and arm in the process.
Double side note: It is really warm in Turkey so on the off chance you DO back up to take a photo for someone (cough cough Melissa) and slip and fall and injure yourself and get your ass all wet, just lie on your stomach in the grass for 15 minutes and you will be all dried off.
We ended the day at the hotel, which was actually pretty nice. They had a spa so after cleaning up I headed down and got a fish pedicure. It was really awesome. They are illegal in Washington State (because you can't sterilize the fish between pedicures....explain that logic!) so I was excited to check it off my bucket list. It feels weird for the first 30 seconds or so but after that it feels like one of those massage pedicures you do at home.
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