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Our fascinating Turkey tour continues; we are now in Kusadasi, staying at the charming Kismet hotel. The bouganvilles with their vibrant colour mesmerise us.

And here we are at the fascinating ancient city of Ephesus, what a sight. After Rome, Ephesus was the most populated city during the Roman Empire, with a population of 250,000 people. The scope of the ancient city is mind blowing. This is the Domitian Temple at the city of Ephesus, dedicated to the Emperor Domitious, whose was not much loved – and therefore the Ephesians turned the temple to a shopping arcade after he passed away!

This is the Curetes Street, the former processional way of about 210m long. This prestigious boulevard would lead up to the famous library and paved with precious marbles and statues at both sides.

And the landmark of Ephesus, the famous, beautiful library. The library was built as a monumental tomb, dedicated to the marshall Selsus, and it is the 3rd largest library in antiquity; simply breathtaking.

And here we are all congregated by the library as a group:)

Let me finish off with a fascinating view of the Kusadasi Bay, the Aegean sea is so inviting, mesmerising view:)
More to come from our Aegean cooking class!

I hope I am not bombarding you with posts from Turkey at the moment, please bear with me:) There is so much to see, taste and appreciate that I hope through these posts, you can get a taste of what we are experiencing.

We have been traveling towards the north Aegean, and passing through fig trees, peach and cherry orchards and lots of olive trees; a very bountiful region, in addition to its historical significance. Here is a fig tree at the above photo, smells so wonderful.

This is the steepest ancient theatre in antiquity in Pergamom at the Aegean region, and used to seat 10,000 people. It is 12,000 ft above sea level and you can see the modern city Bergama at below, a very impressive sight.

And here we are at the Temple in ancient city Pergamom; the Traejans used to visit the temple to offer their sacrifice of animals to the Gods but remain at the below level for worshipping. And a lovely Mulberry tree in the at the side:)


And this is the place to be at the modern city of Bergama, that you may like a lunch break. At this traditional “lokanta”, restaurant, you can enjoy their signature meatballs, “kofte”,

and a very refreshing glass of “ayran”. This is my favorite drink, consisting of plain yoghurt, cold water and salt of your taste. You can blend with some ice cubes to get the foam. Wonderful, healthy refreshing drink that we Turks enjoy a lot.

Last but not least, here is a happy man, Ali, at Pergamom, proudly selling wonderful pine nuts and pine honey, thanks to the abundant pine trees in the region

Aegean region has lots to offer in terms of history, culture and food, definitely worth a stop – highly recommended:)

It is our last day in Istanbul and we left the charming Armada Hotel -but please check out their wonderful breakfast; fresh seasonal fruit, dried fruit,all kinds of cheeses and olives,

Different home made jams, natural honey, yoghurt, grains, pastries, simit, different ways with eggs and many more. Over looking to Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, this has been the breakfast I look forward to every morning:)

And we started our journey towards the Dardanelles (the strait that connects Europe to Asia at the other end of Sea of Marmara) to see the battlefields of Gallipoli. We passed endless fields of sunflowers, such an uplifting, happy site to see.


On the way, sampled some wonderful fresh calamari shallow fried in a light batter and cheese and parsley filled “Sigara Boregi” for lunch.

And here we are crossing the Dardanelles – you can see the battlefields of Gallipoli
at the landing.

And before my internet connection goes away, here comes the replica of the wooden house at Troy. Look forward to sharing more later!:)