Tangential Mystical Turkey Tour, 2005 - Testimonials
Margaret Beck:
We went on the 2005 Tangential Turkey Tour -- and what an amazing experience it was! Although we're not big on tours, this adventure enabled us to see more of Turkey than we ever would have been able to on our own. There were many unique highlights that have formed lasting memories for us. Here are a few:
...getting a Turkish bath in the old and atmospheric Cinci Hamami, or public bath...visiting with our (very personable) Turkish museum guide over traditional appetizers...attending a pottery workshop and gallery with museum-quality wares...learning about Turkish carpets from a very informative shop owner, then negotiating to buy one for ourselves...being invited back to his shop for pide (Turkish pizza) dinner...wandering the back streets of an old Greek town, now mostly abandoned...attending a candle-lit concert in a cave in Cappadocia...hiking through the "Open Air Museum" consisting of ancient cave dwellings...being served a delicious lunch at our guide's family home...listening to our guide's music on the beach one night...visiting food shops with beautiful displays...taking a paddle boat out to an island with a crusader castle...having a picnic in the shadows of a ruined 5th century monastery...eating a fresh fish dinner at our hotel on the beach, then the next morning going out with the fishermen to catch more...
Our stay in Istanbul was just as memorable. Hotel Spina could not have been better located, right between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. We couldn't get enough of the view from the hotel's roof terrace, especially at night with the lights on these two grand buildings. Istanbul is a city for all the senses -- hearing the call to prayer, seeing the sharp contrasts between European and Middle Eastern style neighborhoods, between ancient and modern sites, smelling the aromas in the spice bazaar, feeling the tactile qualities of all the handmade crafts, and of course tasting the wonderful foods of Turkey.
We went on the 2005 Tangential Turkey Tour -- and what an amazing experience it was! Although we're not big on tours, this adventure enabled us to see more of Turkey than we ever would have been able to on our own. There were many unique highlights that have formed lasting memories for us. Here are a few:
...getting a Turkish bath in the old and atmospheric Cinci Hamami, or public bath...visiting with our (very personable) Turkish museum guide over traditional appetizers...attending a pottery workshop and gallery with museum-quality wares...learning about Turkish carpets from a very informative shop owner, then negotiating to buy one for ourselves...being invited back to his shop for pide (Turkish pizza) dinner...wandering the back streets of an old Greek town, now mostly abandoned...attending a candle-lit concert in a cave in Cappadocia...hiking through the "Open Air Museum" consisting of ancient cave dwellings...being served a delicious lunch at our guide's family home...listening to our guide's music on the beach one night...visiting food shops with beautiful displays...taking a paddle boat out to an island with a crusader castle...having a picnic in the shadows of a ruined 5th century monastery...eating a fresh fish dinner at our hotel on the beach, then the next morning going out with the fishermen to catch more...
Our stay in Istanbul was just as memorable. Hotel Spina could not have been better located, right between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. We couldn't get enough of the view from the hotel's roof terrace, especially at night with the lights on these two grand buildings. Istanbul is a city for all the senses -- hearing the call to prayer, seeing the sharp contrasts between European and Middle Eastern style neighborhoods, between ancient and modern sites, smelling the aromas in the spice bazaar, feeling the tactile qualities of all the handmade crafts, and of course tasting the wonderful foods of Turkey.
site design: soulless
copyright: Tangents 2006
copyright: Tangents 2006