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THE ULTIMATE CHARITY
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Sitting in a slightly cramped hostel in Izmir, it is hard to believe that it has only been a few days since the last post back in Istanbul. We decided to leave Istanbul at the crack of dawn in order to avoid the bedlam of Turkish rush hour and so found ourselves at Gallipoli surprisingly early. Whilst not a particularly 'gap yaah' thing to do, we thought that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit. What we hadn't fully appreciated was that we visiting only a couple of days before ANZAC day. We plugged ANZAC cove into the satnav and soon came across a couple of signs saying 'no unregistered vehicles beyond this point'. At this point we came to the decision that this was one of those times when you just ignore the official line and keep driving; we had seen coaches going through anyway and so thought what was the worst that could happen. We soon realised that these weren't coaches full of tourists but were the Turkish army being positioned as security for the event. However, this did have the upshot of ensuring that we were the only tourists on what is an incredibly moving yet beautiful site. Having stopped by the museum (bit of a Turkish propaganda machine), we drove to the nearby port to catch a ferry over to Asia. The experience was slightly ruined by the fact that the Bodrum SPOR football firm appeared to be on our ferry; whilst undeniably enthusiastic for a team which is in the 4th Turkish division, the quality of their singing seemed to mirror their standing in Turkish football. Following a slightly dubious yet stunning campsite in some Turkish farmer's field, we pressed on for Izmir via Pergamum. We had chosen Pergamum as a visit to break up the days driving but were completely blown away by the experience. Given that Turkey has received a fair amount of bad press recently, there are literally no tourists around and so we had the site to ourselves. Given that it was by now reasonably warm, the idea was to drive to Izmir where having found our hostel we would decamp for the beach. Thinking of going to Izmir on holiday? Don't. I suppose its rather like Rio de Janerio without the beach, Jesus statue or any of the charm. Imagine Portsmouth but 10 degrees warmer and you're there. Izmir did, however, act as a staging post for a trip to Ephesus the following day. Whilst it is a bit of a tourist trap (sellers selling 'genuine fake watches'), the sheer size of the site is jaw dropping. Although it is essentially just a load of stones, these stones have been arranged in a quite amazing way and so is certainly worth a visit. Tomorrow we power onto Cappadocia; a hefty 10 hour drive so lets hope its worth it. KBO.
3 Comments
10/26/2017 05:06:37 am
I have always wanted to see this place because I have heard a lot about this place and its beauty. Once I have had been making plan to see and feel the actual beauty of this place.
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11/30/2017 11:22:18 pm
I don't know the place Gallipoli and Izmir but I think these are great places to visit. You guys had a long trip, but quite enjoyable. You guys seem to experience a lot of problems on your trip, but I know at the end of the day you will feel the worthiness of your trip. It is better if you put pictures here in your travel so that we can also see the beautiful sites and views that you guys have seen. I love websites about travelling that is why I enjoyed reading this.
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6/14/2018 09:30:23 pm
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3 mates from school on one really, really long road trip Archives
July 2017
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