One of the places I wish to travel to before I die is the state of Israel. Being the focal point of the 3 great monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - it's the biblical Promised Land to the Jews, home to the Solomon Temple and also the third holiest site in Islam, Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Holding a Malaysian passport and being an independent traveller, the bureaucratic arrangements to set foot on Israel are complicated. As such for my next holiday, I found an interesting alternative - Turkey!
Some of the greatest ancient cities - the Hellenistic Troy and Pergamum, the Roman Ephesus and the Byzantine Constantinople - are located in Asia Minor, modern day's Turkey. Turkey is a transcontinental country where part of the land belongs to Europe and the rest to Asia, being separated by the strait of Bosphorus. Part of the ancient Silk Road also passed through this land. Not only does Turkey contain some of the most complete ancient ruins and monuments in the world, it's got beautiful beaches along the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean too.
I'm going to soak in history and the sea in 2 weeks time! ;) Siew Leng and I are taking a package holiday for my flights and accommodation this time round.
Day 1 - Flight from Dublin to Izmir. Land transfer from Izmir to the resort town of Kusadasi where we'll be based at. We'll spend the rest of the day orientating ourselves at the resort town.
Day 2 - Our first highlight of the trip, the ancient city (or ruins) of Ephesus! This is where St. John the apostle and Virgin Mary spent the end of their life here. The gospel of John is said to have been written here and St. Paul also preached at the Great Theatre here twice. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis is also located here; but there's nothing much to see as the temple has been damaged over the course of history and only a handful of Corinthian columns are left standing.
Day 2 - After lunch, we'll head to the hilly town of Sirince nearby which is famed for its Greek rural architectures and vineyards. Some travel guides suggest Sirince is photographers' paradise. Hehe! I'll find out soon. And we surely are going to do some wine tastings too!
Day 3 - Excursion to the Greek island of Samos. Yes, we're taking a ferry day trip to Greece! If you still remember your high school's mathematics - the Pythogoras Theorem, Pythogoras was borne at Samos. We're going to take it easy and chill out at the Greek villages and seasides.
Day 4 - We'll be taking an overnight bus from Kusadasi the night before and arrived Istanbul early morning. After checking into our hotel, we'll head straight to the famous Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and romp the Grand Bazaar. We'll probably spend the night tasting authentic kebab, blowing the waterpipe Shisha and attending a Turkish belly-dancing show. ;)
Day 5 - Conquer the Topkapi Palace and cruise the strait of Bosphorus. We'll be cruising under two of the greatest suspension bridges in the world at over 1 km long. During the evening, we'll wash up at one of the atmospheric Turkish bathhouses, Hamam before taking an overnight bus back to Kusadasi.
Day 6 - It must be tiring after taking 2 overnight bus journeys during 2 of the last 3 nights. So we'll chill out at the sandy beach of Kusadasi right at the doorstep of our resort. We might do a scuba dive or snorkelling at the Aegean Sea and spend the rest of the day sunbathing. ;p
Day 7 - We're returning to nature - Pamukkale. The distinctive stalactite formations were formed by the natural hot springs and tectonic movements of the earth crust. Certain sections of the hot spring are opened to public. We're going to swim in these aqua blue natural pools! :)
On top of the Pamukkale are the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis. We'll spend rest of the day wandering the ruins and return to Kusadasi during the evening.
Photos courtesy to various photographers copied from www.flickr.com
Day 8 - Land transfer from Kusadasi to Izmir early morning and fly from Izmir to Dublin.
I'm already excited, jumping up and down, and can't wait for the holiday to come! :)
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