Our flight on Turkish Airlines was an unusual one for us, as it was a direct flight from Denver all the way to Istanbul! We're used to having to take multiple flights, so this was a special treat. We didn't leave Denver until 8pm, and it ended up being a bit later than that with an hour or so delay. We didn't mind much, as we were already seated in our business class seats with movie and wine during the delay. The Turkish airlines dinner service was quite impressive, with a chef pushing the cart down the aisle and many choices of starters to choose from (or you can get them all!, which is what we did). The starters were our favorite part, and the entrees less impressive. Dinner took a long time and after that we chose to sleep for the remainder of the flight.

Landing in Istanbul, we waited through immigration, then got some Turkish Lira from the ATM. We took about $375 USD and it came out in all 200 Lira bills, which are equal to about $5 each. We ended up with a large stack of bills, which was quite comical, and during our time in Turkey, we never saw a Lira bill over 200! Unfortunately, the airport is quite far from the city center, having been completed in 2018, it is very large and modern. Our choices were metro system, bus, or taxi, all of which were going to take 50 minutes or more. We opted for the taxi, which ended up costing us about $50. We checked in to our hotel, the Orient Occident Hotel Istanbul, part of the Marriott family. By then, it was dinner time, so we found a nearby rooftop restaurant, Pino Gare Restaurant, where we enjoyed hummus dip with fresh baked pita, grilled sea bass and adana kabob (minced lamb meat).

In the morning, we enjoyed our first Turkish breakfast at the hotel rooftop. It was crazy the number of things they bring out for you - cheeses, meats, spinach filo dough, olives, honey, bread, an egg dish of your choosing, fruit, nuts, dips, vegetables and to top it off a nutella filled waffle! It was so much food but fun to try all of the different things. After breakfast we headed out explore Istanbul for the day including the bazaars, tower and a hammam - see the details below!

 

Istanbul Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar is a covered shopping maze with over 50 streets and supposedly 40,000 shops. It's one of the most visited attractions in Istanbul. If you're looking for some souveniers or furnishings for your home to bring back from Turkey, this is a great place to find them. There are plenty of shops selling Turkish carpets, jewelery, watches, bags, antiques, silver, ceramics, and touristy items. We quickly noticed that there was shop after shop with almost the same types of items and we weren't really in the market for any of these things (having bought our fair share of 7 carpets, many dishes and lamps when we were in Morocco!). If you buy here, make sure to negotiate! We usually start at half the price they're asking for.

Istanbul Spice Bazaar

Just a few minutes walk from the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, also called the Egyptian Bazaar, is worth checking out and you'll find plenty of photo opportunites here. With rows of neatly piled spices forming perfect triangles. The spice bazaar is more than just spices. They have ~80 stalls where you can also find a side variety of dried teas, dried fruits, candies, turkish delight, baklava. Again, you kind of see the same things over and over, and if you're not in the market for buying anything, it won't take too long to check it out.

Walk to Galata tower area

Just outside the Spice Bazaar, you're in the Eminönü quarter of the city, where you meet up with the waterfront and Bosphorus strait. You will pass by the fishing boats parked along the water where they are famous for cooking up the fresh fish right on the boat and serving fish sandwiches. We were still full from breakfast, so had to skip the fish sandwich! The Galata Bridge is lined with hundreds of fisherman trying their luck in the water below. We walked across the bridge and entered the Galata Tower neighborhood where there is a steep walk up towards the tower. We had planned on seeing the tower but the line looked super long and hot standing out in the sun. We decided to admire the tower from below. The tower is quite expensive for the tourist price to go up (30 EUR) and is included on the Museum Pass (165 EUR) we planned to buy at our first stop. However, it's good to note that you can't use the Museum Pass to go up the tower at night, only before 6pm. The rest of the galata tower area included a wide street lined with shops and restaurants, but being a bit jet lagged still, we had our sights on something more relaxing...

Turkish Bath Experience - AGA Hammam

We were eager to try a Turkish Hammam, also called a Turkish Bath. After experiencing them for the first time in Morocco, we are always interested to try more. When going to a Turkish Bath or Hammam, you have to keep in mind that this has been a tradition for hundreds if not thousands of years. We chose a nearby hammam named Aga Hammam and supposedly in business since the 1400's. For around 60 EUR per person, you will be given a changing room and towel wrap, then brought to wait in the communal bath area where there is a large heated marble stone you can sit or lay on. When you get too hot, there are many water taps where you can use a bowl to splash hot or cold water on yourself. Keep doing this and repeat until it's your turn for the scrubbing. Scrubbing is done in separate male and female rooms by the same gender attendants. They will use a scratchy mitt to scrub your body and get all the dead skin off and then wash you down with water while you're lying on a hot marble stone. Then they cover you in bubbles and massage them in for about 10 minutes, wash your hair, and then rinse again. You can add additional things such as body massage or facial treatment afterward, but we didn't choose to this time. You can relax and have a small snack and tea and then you're done! We find it fun and relaxing and each place is always a little different, making the experience unique.

TURK Fatih Tutak - 2* Michelin Restaurant

There are surpisingly many Michelin star or rated restaurants in Istanbul so we decided to try the 2 star TURK Fatih Tutak. We liked that the menu featured dishes from around Turkey, instead of just being French, Italian or otherwise. Our tasting started from the moment we arrived with a cleansing yogurt mint drink and stuffed mussel with edible realistic looking shell. We then were seated in the small dining area with an open kitchen concept so you could see all of the preparations. We added the wine pairing with Turkish wines and enjoyed many more courses. The evening concluded with a behind the scenes tour of the kitchen, which was definitely special. On the tour, they presented you with several dessert bites that were delicious! Overall, we loved our experince at TURK and although it is quite expensive for these types of experiences, we think it's worth it once in a while.

Topkapi Palace

We skipped breakfast today and headed out to sightsee, looking for the famous Simit vendors along the way. We wandered into Gülhane Park, right outside of Topkapi Palace, and found several where we picked up a fresh simit with nutella inside. A simit is a circular bread kind of like a stretched out bagel, covered in sesame seeds, and can be filled with nutella or cream cheese. It was a tasty breakfast that we enjoyed while sitting in the park. Then off to Topkapi Palace, where we waited in line to purchase the museum cards. We then proceeded to wait in line again and again, as the palace was extremely crowded today. We visited several buildings that housed vast collections of national treasuers from the Ottoman Empire. Visitors can explore the many courtyards, royal chambers, and the famous Harem where the sultans families lived. The palace also houses collections of imperial jewels, ornate weapons, delicate porcelain, and sacred Islamic relics, including items believed to belong to the Prophet Muhammad. The palace also offers grand views over the Bosphorus. We spent several hours here and finally left to search for a late lunch which we had at Khorasani Kebab and Grill, not realizing until after we sat down that it has been included in the Michelin guide for the past several years. We shared a hummus plate with fresh bread, and a chicken shish kabab. All were very tasty and the chicken super tender and flavorful. It was nice to sit down after walking around the palace for hours!

Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern, located near Hagia Sophia, is an enormous underground water reservoir built in the 6th century. It once supplied water to the Great Palace and surrounding buildings. Today, visitors can walk along raised platforms above the shallow water, amongst hundreds of marble columns. The space is kept dark and lit by changing light patterns and colors creating a serene environment. Visiting doesn't take long though, perhaps 20 minutes if you walk really slow, and makes this attraction feel a bit overpriced for the steep entrance fee of ~32 EUR per person (not included on the Museum Card)!

Hagia Sofia

Next up was Hagia Sofia, built around 500 AD, it served as a Christian church before later becoming a mosque under the Ottoman Empire. This unique mix of church and mosque makes Hagia Sofia unique. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is open to non-Muslim visitors only on the upper balcony level and you must buy a ticket. The ticket is also not included in the Museum Pass, and costs 25 EUR per person, again quite expensive for a relatively limited and short visit. The line was also really long and slow! They will try to upsell you for twice the price and add a museum if you want to skip the line and buy the ticket online. Inside, you can see the mosque prayer area from the balcony, surrouded by stunning chandeliers. There are interesting paintings around the domes and several impressive gold tile mosaics around the upper level depicting scenes of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Please note, as with all mosques, women must cover their hair and you can not wear shorts or sleeveless shirts. They will let you borrow a cover if needed.

Blue Mosque

Our final stop was the Blue Mosque, officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, built by Sultan Ahmed in the 17th century. By now it was sunset, and we admired views of both Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque in the glowing light. People nearby were gathering in the park and enjoying the days end. The Blue Mosque is free to enter and open to all visitors during non prayer times. You can enter with appropriate attire and enjoy the mosque except for a limited area in the center for worshipers only. Inside, you will see vast open space, large domes and low hanging chandeliers. The floor is carpeted and you must remove your shoes. The stained glass windows letting in the evening light were very beautiful. After enjoying the mosque, we walked around to get a few more pictures in the setting sun, completing our long two days of visiting the top Istanbul sites.

After another Turkish breakfast, we took a taxi back to the Istanbul airport for our local flight to Kayseri, one of the two airports serving the Cappadocia area. Both airports are 45 min to an hour drive from the area, so we decided to rent a car there to make getting to the hotel easy and also allow us to explore without needing to join a tour group. The car rental from Sixt was inexpensive and fast, one of the easiest car rental experiences we've had. They even offered coffee and water and pulled the car up and had it running for us. On the 1 hour drive, we stopped at a local gas station where Bryan tried a pressed cheese and meat sandwich for lunch. We find gas stations to be extremely plentiful, with sometimes 3-4 stations in a row, and very often down most roads. Gas is about 45-55 TRY per liter.

We soon arrived in Goreme, which was filled with touristy hotels all built into the walls of the valley. Our hotel, the Panoramic Cave Hotel, had parking available and was easily accessible to everywhere in the town. We were told that our room was special because it was one of the only remaining pigeon hole rooms and carved into the cave by hand a long time ago. There were indeed carving marks on the walls and ceiling, with a few small windows we could look out on the town. It was already mid afternoon by this time, and so we decided to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, one of the main sights to see in the area. It was close to sunset by then, so we drove up to find a lookout of the area, hiking up a small rock stucture for a great view. We enjoyed the sunset over the Goreme valleys which resemble the Badlands area in the US.

After sunset, we found a dinner at Afara Restaurant. Goreme is filled with restaurants and hotels, all very touristy seeming, which makes it hard to choose a place to eat. Our first choice was too busy, so we ended up here. The quality of the food was good, Bryan had the regional special clay pot meal which is like a meat stew with rice. Jaimie wanted to try the local handmade pasta ravioli which are really more like mini pasta nuggets. When ordering the cheese version (non meat), they brought out the beef version not only once but twice. It was pretty disappointing and when we told them we're done please don't bother to bring it again, they brought it anyway and of course it was the cheese version this time. Being already after 10pm, we took a few bites and left.

Goreme Open Air Museum

The Goreme Open Air Museum is just a few minutes from town and includes a cluster of Byzantine Christian churches that are carved into the rock walls. These cave churches were carved by hand during the 11th century. Entrance is 20 EUR plus 6 EUR additional for the Dark Church, and is covered on the Museum Pass. You can follow a fairly steep cobblestone path to visit all of the churches, where they have painted frescos depicting Christian biblical scenes. The Dark Church is the most well preserved, having less damage from the sun, its frescos are brighter and more preserved. You can easily cover this museum on a late afternoon, as we did, in an hour or so.

We had an extremely early start to the day today, with our hot air balloon ride pickup scheduled for 5am. Hot air balloons in Cappadocia is one of the top attractions, whether you decide to book a flight or just wake up early to watch the balloons rise serenely through the air. Clealy, there are many people here doing both, as it seemed the whole town was up by 6am. After our flight, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading out to do a few of the further things in the area. Many people take day tours of the area and they have several routes they take tourists on, but since we had our car, we could make up our own itinerary and pace.

About an hour drive away, is the largest underground city Derinkuyu, one of many underground cities that have been discovered in the area. We spent time eploring this city on our own, followed by a short drive to the Ihlara Valley where we had lunch at what ended up being one of our favorite spots, the Baba Kebap. The owner was so friendly and although we only ordered 1 meal, we were given a fresh tomato and cucumber salad, bread, and local ripe melon for dessert. Our meal was chicken with vegetables with rice and cheese cooked on a hot cast iron dish.

We were ready for our hike into the Ihlara Valley which ended up being 4+ miles out and back. Finally, we visited the Selima cave house complex with its famous large chapel before making the long drive back to Goreme and finding dinner at Sedef Restaurant where we tried local beef in yogurt sauce and baked chicken wings with fries along with dessert.

Hot Air Balloon Ride

If you look up pictures of Cappadocia, you will undoubtedly see many where the sky is filled with hot air balloons. Indeed, every morning, weather permitting, hundreds wake up before sunrise to participate in the hot air balloon rides over the valleys. We booked our balloon through our hotel using Brothers Balloons, which cost us 230 EUR per person for the ride. They picked us up at the hotel at 5am sharp, driving off and picking up more passengers before taking us to a field where the balloon was being set up. Nearby there were many such groups with other balloons. They provded tea and coffee with pastries while we waited and soon we were hopping on board the basket, fitting 24 passengers and 2 pilots. The basket is sectioned off so we were paired with 2 others in our section. While it was still mostly dark, we lifted off, which felt almost like nothing at all. We floated up and were one of the first ones up, looking down at the other balloons still filling up.

The ride lasts about an hour, and in that time we went up and down several times, sometimes getting as close as only a few feet from the ground. We drifted over Love Valley with its unique rock pillars and fairy chimneys. We were impressed with our pilot's ability to get so close to them but not have any issues. He is supposedly one of the first pilots in the area, and he did a great job. At the end, the driver pulls up a trailer and they are able to land the balloon basket right on the back of the trailer. Even though the cost is high, we were so glad that we decided to do the balloon ride experience, a first for us, and perhaps not the last!

Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu is the largest underground city in the area, one of more than 100 cities that were built for protection many years ago. The city was first built in the 1st century or perhaps even earlier. It was so large that it could house 20,000 inhabitants and their livestock. Only a small portion of the city is open for visitors to explore today, after it was rediscovered in the 1960's. The portion we visited spans 8 stories deep and has plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. We tried to check them all out, including a small passageway that we don't think many would be brave enough to go down. With only a headlamp and phone flashlight, you had to duck down this passage that went on for a while before ending in a large storage type room. One of the interesting parts were the large round stone wheels that were used to block off the passageways for protection. We imagine it would have taken a lot of force to move these stones. There was a vertical shaft running through the city, used for ventilation, and it didn't seem too difficult to breathe down there. It wasn't too busy, but there were several tour groups cramming down into the spaces, making us glad that we were on our own exploring. Entrance fee for Derinkuyu was about 13 EUR, also included on our Museum Pass.

Ihlara Valley

We were originally planning on hiking around the valleys in the Goreme area, but after the hot air balloon ride, we felt like we had already gotten up close and personal with those valleys. While hiking through would probably still be different, we decided to visit the Ihlara Valley instead. Also known for a popular through hike, you can start in Ihlara and end near Selime, covering 10km one way. Since it was already well past lunch time for us, we decided to start hiking at the trailhead and just see how far we wanted to go, planning to turn around at some point and return to our car, as opposed to taking a taxi back. The Ihlara Valley entrance fee 15 EUR per person was included in our Museum Pass. On our way down the valley, the trail followed a stream and was relatively flat. On the left and right of the stream, we started seeing cave houses built into the sides of the valley. We were able to stop off and explore these houses, which added significant time to our hike. We were surprised by how deep into the valley wall some of the cave houses went when we followed a tunnel much, much further than we would have thought.

Other than the cave houses, along the way there were marked signs for many churches also dug into the valley stone. We visited all of the churches up until the snake church, which is where we ended up turning around. This is near a drivable entrance if you don't want to hike the first part of the valley. We had wanted to go a bit further but based on the time of day, decided that we should head back, as we had a long drive back to Goreme. After a peaceful walk back, we completed 4.2 miles. Back at our car, we drove up the road to the end of the hike and visited the Selime Castle, a large area of carved cave dwellings, built starting in the 8th century. The Selime Cathedral is said to be the largest church in the area. The pointed formations near the cathedral area are said to have been the inspiration for a scene in Star Wars. We met a nice local man who offered to show us around just before closing time. Usually we shy away but something about him was so genuine and we decided to say yes for a small price of ~$7 for a shorter tour and he was an intersting guy, teaching us a few things. This location is included in your ticket to the Ihlara Valley or also included on the Museum Pass.

Another early wake up for us, as we had the only flight from Kayseri to Izmir. We booked a flight on SunExpress Airlines, along with a lot of other tourists heading to the coast. We were cutting it a bit close already with our long drive (1 hr 15 min), and got distracted by the fact that all the hot air balloons were already in the air by the time we were getting ready to leave our hotel. You can't help but stop and take a few (or more) pictures of them as they are floating around town and our hotel had an amazing view.

We rushed to the airport, needing to get gas and return the car, which wasn't too bad, but we were running late. The airports here have a security scan on the way in the door and then another one just the same for security into the gates. We had just made it through the second security when our boarding started. Luckily, no checked bags and the flight left on time, getting us in to Izmir by 10am. We rented a car and were on our way, a long drive to Bodrum of 3+ hours. Along the way, we stopped in the beach town Kuşadası for lunch. The town was crowded with tourists and we found the beach restaurants to be boring with almost the same exact menu at every place, but the sea and beach looked inviting. We settled on a lunch spot and had fish and chips with a salad and beer.

We finally arrived at our hotel the Kaya Palazzo Resort just outside of Bodrum. Our room was large with a partial sea view and the beach had plenty of chairs available at all times. We checked out the beach and took a swim in the cool but refreshing sea, ordering some glasses of wine and a sushi roll from their restaurant. Afterward, we debated taking the car out for dinner, but ended up just eating at our hotel. We were a bit worried at first, but ended up being pleased with our prawn pasta dish. We look forward to a couple of relaxing days after our busy time so far.

Today we wanted to take it easy after so many early wakeups and busy days. We enjoyed our hotel's breakfast buffet and after that spent a few hours at the beach. The water was the perfect temperature for a refreshing swim, while still not being too cold. We had decided to try a local hammam and had arranged to be there at 3pm for our treatments. We chose Heaven Spa and Hammam because it was not too far from our hotel and had great reviews online. After looking at their menu, we chose the Gold package, their highest priced package at 150 EUR pp but this included 2 hours of pampering! First, we had 10 minutes in the sauna room, followed by another 10 minutes of the steam room. After that was the traditional Turkish bath where we were brought to a private room and laid on the hot marble. This one was a little different with triple scrubbing, first with the exfoliating mitt and warm water, then sea salt scrub and finally a coffee scrub. We rested with the coffee on for 10 minutes and then they washed it off and proceeded with the bubble foam and 10 minute massage. They make the bubble foam in this large sack which is then used to dump a large amount of bubbles on you at once. After rinsing off, we had an hour long deep tissue massage and lastly face mask. Afterward, you can relax and enjoy some fresh fruit, tea/coffee and turkish delights! We thought it was well worth the price and was so much better than our first hammam. We find that each hammam is a little bit different, which makes it fun!

We had found a highly rated seafood restaurant just about a 30 minute drive from our hotel that we wanted to try. Most of the restaurants were at least 20 minutes away in downtown Bodrum, and this one was a bit further in the other direction. The restaurant, Hadi Balik, was right on the water in a marina of a popular shopping area. We decided to try their 2 person set menu, as it had a lot of things we were interested in, and was only $68 for both of us. We enjoyed the lionfish ceviche, beets, fish toasts, followed by shrimp, seafood orzo and a fish. We had several cat visitors and a dog and briefly considered trying to bring this cat home with us because it was so friendly! After dinner, we found one of the Turkish desserts we had wanted to try called lokma, which are donut balls soaked in a simple honey syrup and freshly cooked up. Delicious!

Today we spent time at the beach in the morning and then drove over to downtown Bodrum to see all of the sights for the remainder of the day. You can read about the Bodrum bazaar, Bodrum Castle, and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus below! After a busy day of sightseeing, we wandered along a shopping street and discovered a little beach bar where you could sit right on the water and even put your feet in while having a drink. By now it was sunset and we enjoyed the changing light and seeing the Bodrum castle illuminated at night. After drinks, we ate at an Italian restaurant called Arka, included in the 2025 Michelin guide, that we had picked out due to its amazing reviews. There was a long line when we arrived and we were a bit worried but the line moved fast and we soon were seated. We had a fresh pizza with mozzarella and basil and a homemade pasta with seafood. On our way back to the car, we tried a melon ice cream cone to top off the night!

Bodrum Bazaar

We didn't even know this Bodrum Bazaar existed, but ended up parking right next to it and wandered in. We were pleasantly surprised to find it was more of a food and produce market, our favorite kind. There were so many local people doing their shopping from the amazing selection of produce. There were also olives, cheeses, spices, teas, and dried fruits and nuts. We tried some of the dried fruit and ened up buying some to eat as a snack over the next few days. We also bought a small jar of Turkish saffron to bring home. If you're in the Bodrum area, definitely check this market out!

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Built around 350 BC, this Mausoleum for the local ruler, Mausolus, of the Bordrum area, then known as Halicarnassus, this site is known as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. A list that was created back in the 1500's, and includes only structures from the area of what is now Greek, Turkey, Egypt and Iran. In fact, the word Mausoleum that is used today comes from this very structure. The temple like structure once stood 45 meters high with many marble columns and statues, and was a major building in the Bodrum area for centuries.

While there are still some remains of the once impresive temple, it was destroyed over the years mostly from a sequence of earthquakes leading up to 1400. The ruins were later taken advantage of to build the nearby Bodrum Castle, where many of its original pieces now reside. Over the next century, almost every block was removed in order to keep fortifying the neabry castle. Since there isn't much to see, entrance to the site is only 3 EUR, included on the museum pass, and you won't need to spend much time there. There is a movie and rendition of what the Mausoleum would have looked like along with a display of what remains today.

Bodrum Castle

The Bodrum Castle, built in the 1400's was originally made by the Knights of St John. Used as a refuge for Christians for another century, it was eventually taken over by the Ottoman Empire. The church was converted to a mosque at that time. Over the years, the castle served various purposes, including a military base for the Turkish Army and a prison, and then standing empty for many years. Today, the castle houses the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Tickets to the castle, included in the Museum Pass, are 25 EUR plus an additional several EUR to see the oldest wreck and its cargo.

Just a warning, you can easily spend sveral hours here exploring every part of the castle and its museum. The displays by the Museum of Underwater Archaeology are very well done, and it's interesting to learn how they have only recently discovered the wrecks of ships that date all the way back in to the 14th century BC which seems unbelievable! There are a lot of artifacts that the archaeology divers have brought up including many amphoras (clay storage jugs), glass, pottery, coins, jewelery, tools, etc. The nearby sea apparently has a very shallow shelf that is hard to detect, leading to a lot of shipwrecks. The museum does a great job of leading you up and into the 4 towers of the castle, which provide sweeping views of the area. We highly recommend visitng the castle when in the area.

Our final full day in Turkey, we spent the first half of the day at our resort before having to check out at noon. Then, we started our several hour drive back to Izmir. On the way we decided to stop at a winery, since there seemed to be so much local Turkish wine. We pulled up to Karnas Vineyards, not knowing that they are actually on the Michelin guide for their food offerings. Even though we were full from breakfast, we tried out their watermelon salad and a wine tasting of 4 wines including their local olives and olive oil. We recommend stopping at Karnas for a wine tasting, lunch or dinner!

We drove until out stop at the ancient city of Ephesus, where we spent several hours exploring. After that, we fought traffic into Izmir where we would spend our last night. We had a hearty seafood dinner and explored the Izmir waterfront. In the morning, we had a full day of flying, first on a local Turkish airlines flight from Izmir back to Istabul, then a short layover where we enjoyed the Turkish Airlines business class lounge before boarding our flight to Chicago and then Denver.

Ephesus Ancient City

Ephesus was originally an ancient Greek city established back in the 10th century BC, and came into the control of the Romans around 100 BC. It was famous for the Temple of Artemis (a 7th wonder of the ancient world), the library of Celsus and the large ampitheater, which was said to hold up to 20,000 spectators. The city is also said to have been the home of Mary during the later years of her life. Visiting Ephesus is included on the Museum Pass, and otherwise is 40 EUR plus an additional 15 EUR pp to visit the terrace houses.

We arrived in the later part of the afternoon, and while we still experienced crowds, they tended to dwindle as the evening went on. We took our time exploring all of the old Roman ruins, walking up the long marble lined road to the top where the was a mini ampitheater and many more parts of temples and fountains. The terrace houses for the extra entrance fee were definitely worth seeing, as there were very few people inside the covered area that they are still excavating. These terrace houses were only recently discovered and they are excavating beautiful marble, tile and painted mosaics.

The library of Celsus steals the show, and while it has actually been rebuilt as recently as the 1970's, it is quite impressive with its multi-story columns and statues. We waited until it was almost sunset and wanted to stay longer to see the lights turn on, but decided we should leave as we had another hour drive ahead of us into Izmir.

Izmir Waterfront

We arrived into Izmir, a much bigger and more traffic filled city than anything we had been in since Istabul, around 7:30pm. After checking into our hotel at the Marriott Izmir, we headed out to explore the waterfront area. The are many miles of waterfront walking and bike paths in Izmir, making it easy to explore on foot. We were searching for the famous stuffed mussels vendors and finally came across two of them. We tried the mussels from the second guy who didn't speak any English at all but we communicated to him that we'd like to try only a few and not buy an entire bag, which he had for sale for not much more. The fresh mussels are taken out of the shell and stuffed with a rice mixture and then put back into the shell. They top with lemon juice and we were pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were! There were may fisherman along the water, and one of the weirder things we've seen were several guys with baby rabbits, pushing them on carts and trying to get you to hold them for money. Definitely something you don't see very often!

There are a lot of resaturants along the waterfront but we had read the reviews of Sakiz Alsancak Restaurant and decided to check it out. It was very popular and we ended up trying the seafood paella and the grilled octopus on eggplant puree, on the recommendation of some people next to us. Everything was very good and we topped the night off with some Turkish Raki and negotiated to buy the glasses from the waiter, using Google translate. We are still finding that English speaking is very limited in Turkey, but many get by using Google translate when needed. For example, our rental car agency in Izmir pretty much spoke zero English, but we were able to get by. The dinner concluded our time in Turkey, as we would head to the airport for our travel home in the morning.