I'm too lazy these days to write about the entire trip, but I thought I would jot down some things that I thought were noteworthy:
1. The chai culture
Turkish coffee may be globally renowned, but based on my observation it seems that the locals seem to drink a lot more tea aka chai. No matter where you choose to eat, be it a fancy restaurant or a homey mom-and-pop place, there is always the option to order chai, and it'll be served in these cute tulip-shaped glasses either right away or after the meal.
In Istanbul there also seems to be businesses supplying tea to restaurants, not tea leaves, but ready made tea in tulip glasses carried on a tray by delivery boys on foot. I googled this interesting phenomenon and apparently these people are called "çaycı". I regret not snapping a quick photo of these çaycı in action, so a photo from the web will have to do:
Having tea with milk is not a thing in Türkiye. During our first breakfast in Türkiye at the Decamondo Galata Hotel I asked the waiter for milk, since I usually have my morning tea the British way, but he either completely forgot or decided to spurn me for my intended sacrilege. I'm leaning on the latter. There was a meal where Joanne and Sengming decided to add milk to their tea and I was half expecting them to be condemned and thrown out of the restaurant unceremoniously.
2. Oh, for the love of cats
We met tonnes of cute felines thoughout our trip and I'm not sure whether it's the trait of an Islamic country since Malaysia also has tonnes of stray cats roaming around as well and the local Malays are generally pretty fond of them. A particularly memorable chap was this playful little kitten with beautiful pale blue eyes when we were at the Gedikpasa Hamam for our first hamam experience. I almost wished I could bring him back to Singapore with me. His mum was also lurking around in the premises but was less friendly.
I must say, the stray cats in Türkiye all seemed well-loved and even more cared for compared to some of their Malaysian brethren. Didn't come across a single scrawny or flea-bitten soul.
3. Pomegranate juice
I had no idea that pomegranate juice was a thing in Türkiye, but wherever we went, there were roadside stalls offering pomegranate juice, usually together with orange juice (but honestly who wants boring old orange juice when you can have pomegranate), and they were prevalent on restaurant menus as well. Before this I had only tried the concentrated juice they sell in Jaya Grocer, which are decent, but cannot light a candle next to the fresh version. After my first cup of freshly squeezed pomegranate I was immediately sold on its sweet and sour tanginess. I think I had pomegranate juice almost every day in Türkiye and it took me a while after coming back to Singapore to shake off the craving. Fresh pomegranate juice is definitely not a thing here, not to mention the pomegranate fruit itself is extremely pricey. Writing this brings the craving back though.
4. Ruins, ruins everywhere
Ruins are truly aplenty in Türkiye, serving as a testament to its long and illustrious history. The main ones we got to visit this round were Termessos, Pamukkale and Ephesus, but there are so many more in different parts of the country that I hope we get to see one day when we've retired and don't have to slog anymore. Lycian Way anyone? Out of the ruins we visited, Termessos was definitely my favourite, for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, unlike Pamukkale or Ephesus, Termessos is not a stop on any typical tour group's itenerary, so we didn't have to suffer the crowds and their endless photo-taking. We probably saw less than 20 people throughout our entire time there. Tucked away in the Taurus Mountains, the hike to the main city area took about 45 mins, but even before that you can already see ruins of the outer gates and buildings along the way. Being a little out of the way, there were no shops or cafes here, just us and the remains of an ancient civilization. I liked the air of timeless mystery the place seemed to have, shrouded by mist and surrounded by the wilderness, not to mention the cool and gloomy weather that day adding to the vibes. The weather turned on us eventually though, and it started drizzling not long after we reached the city proper. We left and descended quickly, but the drizzle soon evolved into a downpour. I was pretty terrified since there was thunder and lightning too, and we tried our best to move as fast as we could in those slippery and muddy conditions. I have seldom felt more thankful than when the parking lot at the start of the trail finally came into view and we scrambled back into our rental car, soaked to the bone. An unforgetable experience to say the least, but not necessarily one I would want to repeat.
In contrast, Pamukkale and Ephesus both felt very commercialized and lacked the.. authenticity that Termessos seem to give off. The memory of the swarms of people there still gives me the shivers. Sure, I enjoyed the high tech immersive experience at Ephesus, where they transport you back into the past through a fancy animated movie with 360 degrees audio and floor to ceiling screens, and the Library of Celsus is definitely a sight to behold, but the crowds and the crazy hot weather that day at Ephesus definitely soured my experienced. Besides having lots of ruins, the ancient spa town of Pamukkale has something special the rest don't - beautiful travertines and their light blue pools. Sadly, a lot of the pools have dried up due to poor management. Not as wow as what the postcards and photos online proclaim, but still worth visiting anyway.
5. Cappadocia's hot air ballon rides deserve their hype
You cannot visit Türkiye without visiting Cappadocia. There is just something so alien and mesmerizing about its unique landscape dottered with fairy chimneys. I don't know if there's anywhere else in the world quite like it. The Turkish are truly blessed indeed. Everyone talks about getting a ride in a hot air balloon, and this of course allows one to see the entire landscape spreaded out beneath you, but even just admiring the view of the entire town of Gerome from a balcony was enough to fill me with wonder. The hot air balloon rides are not to be skipped of course (too bad for Joanne and Sengming), it is a one-of-a-kind experience on its own for sure. I only remembered my fear of heights after booking the ride, but surprisingly I barely felt much fear, maybe because the ride was really smooth (much smoother than a ride on an airplane) and I also wasn't foolish enough to lean over the basket too much. Or maybe I was just preoccupied with the stunning scenery before my eyes. The interesting and slightly unnerving part about hot air balloons is that you can't control where it's going, the captain can only make it fly higher or lower, and then you just have to go wherever the wind decides to take you, so you don't necessarily get to land at the same place you took off from. In our case, our balloon landed in the middle of the Love Valley and the crew came with a truck to fetch us passengers and the balloon. Since there is limited control over the balloon's journey, safety is quite strict and rides have been cancelled if the weather was deemed too be less than fair. An American couple we met in Sirince said they spent a couple of days in Cappadocia but didn't get to go for a ride at all because of the weather.
