Sunday, March 14, 2010

I survived in Turkey!! part 2

Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you)

12 Mac
Today's journey will be a long one, traveling from Izmir to Ephesus (locally known as Efes). To get there, I simply went to Otogar in Izmir, where I stopped last night and take a minibus shuttle service to Ephesus. At Otogar there are 2 main sections which is minibus (or dolmuc) for the city and the minibuses or buses for other city or region. For Ephesus, go to the second section of Otogar and look for minibuses with the signboard "Izmir-Selcuk(Efes)". Pay 7TL and enjoy your journey for about 1hour and a half. Before going to Ephesus, I had a simple conversation with a pakcik that help me to show my minibus to Ephesus.

"Where are you come from?"
"Malezya (Turkish language for Malaysia)"
"You're a Muslim?"
"Yes, I'm a Muslim."
"Alhamdulillah. Why are you going to Ephesus?"
"For a vacation and sightseeing."
"You're a Muslim. You should go to Mecca, not Ephesus", he said with a laugh.
"Yes, but I'm a student. No much money. Maybe I'll go there later", I replied. Walaupun sebenarnya dah tak tahu nak balas apa. Segan sendiri.

Why I stressed on the above conversation, I tell you later.

As you arrived at Selcuk Otogar, head to the main T-junction, cross the road and you'll see the Tourist Information Center. I get a map and some advices from the staff and quickly headed to my first destination of the day, Isa Bey mosque. The mosque still functions as a mosque. After paying visit at the mosque, I then made my move to a castle-like ruins on top of the hill, just next to the mosque. It was the site of ruins of Basilica of St.John. The admission fee is 5TL. There's not much to see at the site. Ruins. Just blocks of big stones, with cross and Latin words carved on it. According to history and legend in Christianity, this place plays a significant role in Christianity as it once a location for Christian pilgrimage during the medieval time. If Muslim go to Mecca for the pilgrimage, the Christians go to Ephesus for pilgrimage. Now I know, why the pakcik back there in Izmir told me "why don't you go to Mecca". Malu kan?..... Memang malu.

On top of the hill, inside the castle

After the site, I went to the castle on top of the hill nearby. I was greeted by a local young man who offered me for a guide to the castle. Pengalaman di Egypt memang banyak mengajar aku supaya tak mudah ditipu. We went to the castle by an unusual route, crossing the fence and through the bushes and steep rocks. Memang penat. Dahlah bawak beg kat belakang, dengan beg kamera lagi....Lepas 10 minit mendaki (Yes, I climbed the hill), sampai jugak akhirnya ke kawasan the so-called castle. From outside, yes it looks like a medieval castle with walls surrounding the area. Inside, just ruins of hamams, some caves and mosques on top of the hill. From the site, I enjoyed the breath-taking panorama of the Selcuk town. Memang berbaloi lah bayar 30TL kat tour-guide tak rasmi aku tu. Penat mendaki bukit pun rasa hilang. The surrounding itself and the ruins is very photogenic. Spent almost half an hour there and we went down back.

At the House of Maryam (Peace be upon her)

The next destination, the House of the Virgin Mary (Maryam A.S in Islam) on Mount Koressos, Ephesus. It is said that the Virgin Mary (Peace be upon her) spent her last time on earth there. There are currently only taxi and private charter car available to bring you to the top. No cheap transportation (dolmuş pronounced DOLE-moosh). The distance to the top is aprrox. 8km. You can make a good deal with the taxi driver or the private car driver. There's a small brick hut and a spring flowing inside the compound. Even though I'm a Muslim, I really think there's nothing wrong to go to such place as in Islam, we believe and respect Maryam (Peace be upon her), BUT Muslim never worship her as god. As it's prohibited to take photos inside the house, I can't share with you what I saw inside. Outside, there's an area at the wall where visitors put (tie?) their wishes, just next to the spring. That's it! As promised, my driver will drop me at the Ephesus gate and I'm gonna have to finish exploring the Ephesus by foot. The entrance fee is 20TL. As you walk pass through the gate, you could really feel you're going back into the ancient times. Ruins were scattered all over the place, along your route to the next exit. There's the Roman Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theater, Gate of Augustus and many other ruins being displayed there. There's also a stones, which was once used to tell the distance between ancient cities.

Roman Library of Celsus

The last stop before going back to Otogar was the Temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. I thought there would be a big Pantheon-like Greek/Roman temple, with big pillars and whatsoever. As I arrived there, NOTHING! I repeat, NOTHING! There's just one big pillars still standing with big rocks around. The Temple floor turns into a lake. One with clear water, and one with green algae on the surface. That's it? Yes, that's it. Penat je bayar 20TL dari Ephesus kat pakcik teksi. Kalau tahu macam ni la Temple of Artemis, baik tak payah pergi dengan teksi. Jalan kaki pun boleh. Still the place attracts lots of visitors, instead there;s only big rock and a tall pillar there. Sigh~. The day ended with a trip to Pamukkale by minibus from Selcuk Otogar which costs me 2TL.

13 Mac
Selepas hilang penat travel jauh2 semalam, trip hari ni disambung dalam kawasan Pamukkale. Selepas dipujuk dengan kebaikan (tak tahulah dibuat-buat ke) orang Turki, I decided to stay in Pamukkale for 2 days and 3 nights. For the first day, my tour brought me to experience the Turkish style mud bath. Yes, mud. What? Disgusting? Tak lah. The mud for the mud bath is clean and come from natural source. It contains high level of minerals. What minerals is it, don't ask me. Uhhh...magnesium, I think..I was brought to a place (kind of a resort), about 8km from my hotel in Pamukkale. The resort was being managed by a Turkish family. After changing clothes, I was brought inside a chamber. Inside there's an 8 concrete lot on the floor where you'll lie down and the staff will pour the warm (I say it's quite hot) onto your body. Feel it first with your feet. If you think you can carry on, go on. The first time I lied down, it was damn hot at my back. Rasa nak menangis sebab panas. But relax, the hot is just temporary. Your body will soon adapt with the temperature. Spent about 10 to 15 minutes inside, if you can. Then get a quick shower to clean your body from the mud before jump into the pool with the spring water. Although I was given an hour to enjoy all the course, I think I've finished them all in just 40 minutes. Cukup lah. Kepala rasa pening2 lalat. Lagipun, aku nak anak ramai. Faham2 sendirilah maksud aku. Tak faham? Eh sudahlah korang.

Ini bukan gambar angker, tapi aku yang dilumur lumpur (nampak kepala je)

After the Turkish mud bath, I was brought to the ancient Roman city. The entrance fee is 5TL. Lepas keluar dari air panas, badan ni rasa ringan je. Kepala pun rasa berat, mengantuk. The site is on top of a hill overlooking Pamukkale. You can tell which is the town of Pamukkale as you can see the white travertines from the hill. At the site there are two ancient theaters (maybe an Amphitheaters), fountains, Nymphaeum and ancient city gatehouse. The tour took about 30-40 minutes. Be sure to start your tour early in the morning or past noon as it could get really hot over there. Don't forget your sunglasses too. Senang cakap banyak batu la kawasan ni. Actually, the whole ancient city, the monuments or other ruins are still waiting to be excavated. It is believed that the most parts of the city were buried underground. Maybe when they find and unearth more ruins, the admission fees will go higher.

The ancient city, Laodicea


14 Mac
On today's tour, I met a couple from Canada, whom I mistaken them from India. lols. No, this is not racism. With the same tour guide yesterday, we were brought to 'The City of the Dead', the Necropolis. In Necropolis alone, there were about 2,000 tombs and sarcophagus on display and still waiting to be unearthed. kadang2 tu terfikir jugak. Kenapalah kita sekarang sibuk2 melawat tempat orang mati? Padahal bukannya kenal pun siapa diorang. The Necropolis itself is very big, but still it's just at the outskirts of the Hierapolis city. Actually, visiyots can enter in any tombs they want, But I don't enter any since I'm afraid to be infected by disease or something. Who knows the body inside the tomb died because of disease...Karang tak pasal2 berjangkit. Seronok memang la seronok. Buatnya kena penyakit, naya je. After walking for another 400 metres, we arrived at one of the main gatehouse into the city of Hierapolis. The gatehouse is still standing with two towers on left and right for the security of the city, The city's design was considered as great at that time, with the drainage system at the middle, underneath the Main Road, known as Frontinus Street. They even had what we know today as public toilet. It's called the Latrine. The Latrine was divided into 2 chambers, for male and female. At the ruins of Latrine, we can still see the 'sink' and the drain, still preserved from that time. Going further, you'll see another gatehouse. Before passing through it, climb onto a low wall on your left to see the remaining parts and area of the Agora. Agora functioned as a place for trade and even stands gladiator fights inside. You then continue your walk, and as you pass through the gatehouse, you'll see a huge rows of marble pillars on your left. The whole area is known as the Nymphaeum, one of the most important parts of Hierapolis. Hierapolis is a city that really cares on health and sanity of it's people.

Outside the city, you can go for a quite adventurous trail to visit tthe St.Philip's tomb and ruins of his church on the hill. I can only get to see it from afar. We then continue to visit the Theater. The theater was so huge that up to 15,000 people can occupy the seat! It was worth it walking up the hill to see this well preserved theater. At the seat of the theater, you can see a small portion of the seat being carved to let the visitors put their umbrella inside, as it's an open theater.

The Theater

After the theater, we came back down and visit another attraction at the Hierapolis, The Sacred Roman Pool. The pool was dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. Visitors can swim in the pool with a charge of 20TL. As for the depth, an adult's feet can still touch the bottom of the pool with heads above water. The temperature of the water is about 35 degrees hot, so when you come in winter, you can really enjoy the bath. Legend has it that the last legendary person swam here was the legendary Cleopatra. Marc Antony presented the pool to her as a wedding gift. It is said that the water can cure illnesses such as heart disease, eye problems, diarrhoea, skin problem and other diseases.

The Roman Sacred Pool

According to plan, the next visit would be the famous white travertine where visitors can swim in it for free. Unfortunately, it's started to rain, so we just get a chance to see the travertine from the shuttle bus. It's quite disappointing but since there's no water at the travertine at that time, I don't really feel unlucky at all. Eating time is always the best time. My tour includes a lunch buffet at a nearby restaurant where I ate banyak gila. Bukan selalu ada buffet time traveling nih. Apa lagi, full tank laa. My bus to Ankara was scheduled to depart at 00:30. I almost got trapped inside the hotel, because I slept until 22:30 before preparing to check-out. Luckily, there's a staff still left inside. She asked her friend to come and her friend brought me to Denizli Otogar directly. I thought my bus wil depart from Pamukkale. Duh~ I really feel sorry for him. Thousands of thanks from me.
15 Mac
Arrived in Ankara Otogar, mainly known as ASTi at 7:30 a.m. The weather is still cold. Mulut pun berasap lagi. So, I decided to take shelter in a mosque inside, waiting and hoping for the day to get little warmer. About 8:30 a.m, I started my journey to visit the Hisar, a citadel on a hill at
the heart of Ankara. It was raining, so my trip was a little bit wet and slow. Sampai je kat citadel, tengok2 keliling kejap, lepaskan lelah, ambil nafas...............ok dah. Turun balik. Hujan masalahnya, leceh. Mana nak pegang kamera, pegang payung lagi. Tak menang tangan. On the way back to Metro station, sempat singgah sebentar di Haci Bayram Camii (Haji Bayram Mosque) to pay a visit. Just next to the mosque is the ruins of Temple of Augustus and Rome. Sekali lagi, hanya batu dan tiang yang tinggal. Aku pelik. Lately, makin banyak temple-temple, tak kisah la kristian or pagan yang hendak direconstruct. Padahal sudah terang lagi bersuluh, tempat tersebut bukan untuk menyembah Tuhan yang Esa, Allah S.W.T. Sejarah sekalipun, tak perlulah bersusah payah reconstruct and rebuilt the temples. Near the Haci Bayram Mosque, there's the Column of Julianus, built to commemorate his visit to Ancyra (ancient name for Ankara), in 362 A.D.

The next and last visit in Ankara would be Anitkabir, the memorial complex which houses a mausoleum where the hero of the modern Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal was laid to rest. The memorial complex was so huge as it includes the War and Independence Museum, which I could say the Turkish National Museum. If you love history and enjoy scenes from battlefield and wars, the museum is a perfect place for you. Inside were vast collections of both national and private belongings of Mustafa Kemal during his time as the first president of Turkey. Of the topic. Disebabkan blog aku ada jugak menyebut tentang Freemason, aku menjadi curious ingin mencari simbol2 atau unsur2 Freemason di Anitkabir. The staircases which leads to the mausoleum have 42 steps, according to the guidebook. I counted it myself. My conclusion, it is actually (33+9) steps before visitors can enter the main hall, where the symbolic sarcophagus of him was put on display. Remember anything significance about the number '33' ? Read here. Plus, inside the main hall was 12 torches (lamp design) at the right and left of the inner wall. Besides, some of the floor colour are black and white checkered floor. Haih~~sorilah, jatuh mood korang nak baca cerita santai kan? Jalan2 di Museum of War and Independence banyak mengajar aku tentang sejarah Turki dan bagaimana terhapusnya sistem Khalifah (Caliphate system) yang selama ini menjadi tunjang dan payung bagi umat Islam. Aku tahu, ramai umat Islam sedih akan kejadian yang berlaku pada 16 Mac 1924, di mana pada tarikh tersebut the caliphate system was constitutionally abolished by it's own nation. Aku bukanlah penyokong Mustafa Kemal, tetapi aku juga tak menyokong percaturan politik Khalifah Uthmaniah dan gaya hidup Sultan2 mereka yang terlalu mewah. Mungkin ada sesetengah Sultan yang benar2 adil memerintah. Kajilah sejarah sebaik mungkin dahulu. That's the last visit before I headed out of Ankara to Istanbul. Again, the bus fare was 20TL.

p/s: Kubur Mustafa Kemal sebenarnya bukanlah sarcophagus tu. Itu hanyalah simbolik sahaja. Kubur sebenarnya terletak betul2 di bawah sarcophagus tersebut. It's not open to the public for security reason. Wallahua'lam.

16 Mac
For the last visit before I left the land of two continents, I take a quick tour around Bosphorus, famously known as Bogaz Tur. The quick tour is advisable for those who is in a rush or have a limited time to explore Istanbul, I recommend the TurYol tour. The tour takes about one hour and a half. There are actually many choices of way to explore the Bosphorus Straist, but most of the tourists would take either the fast and modern TurYol tour, or the classic and more relax Turkish lalalala tour. You can grab a doner (kebab) and aryan (yogurt) with a price of 2.50TL at the hawker stalls nearby before you board the boat. Some guidebooks give advices to come early as it could get very crowded. It's best to take one of the earliest ferries, and to be at the ferry dock at least 15 minutes before departure (30 minutes is even better) in order to get in line to board. When boarding begins, passengers near the front of the line can choose the best seats: interior, exterior, upper deck or lower deck, on the sunny side or the shady side, in the bow or the stern.On busy days, it's best not to plan on taking the last or even second-last ferry of the day to return to Istanbul, as these boats fill to capacity (or over-capacity) early in their voyages. You may not be able to board, and if you are able, you may have to stand during the entire voyage in crowded conditions. Luckily in winter, the tourist is not as many as in summer. The only thing you'll have to consider traveling in Turkey during winter is it's unpredictable weather. Most of the time will be raining, but there are some clear weathers too.


After returning to the Galata Bridge at about 13:45 I rushed back to my hostel in Sultanahmet, grabbed my luggages and of to Havalimani (Airport). It's quite sad to leave this country actually. The people, the food, the surroundings is very-very nice. Honestly speaking, for those backpackers out there who loves challenges, and loves to travel alone, Turkey is a destination you have to go at least once. It's quite difficult though to have a conversation because of the language barrier. But with time, you'll think it's quite interesting. Language is a very mystery thing human being have. We can communicate to whatever people we might see in our life. Wheter you know the language fully or little, it doesn't mind. Communicating is a nature for every human being. We can even communicate by using body languages. For this trip, I really learnt a lot on how to communicate with other people, and the most important thing is a simple smile and touch will make other people easier to approach you.

That's all from Turkey. Wish I would have other chances to visit other countries.

Oh yes, another thing you can get from this priceless journey, is you get to know other people from other parts of the world.

Another faces of Turkey...

Kebab hawker stall. As cheap as 2TL, you can get either chicken or beef kebab with mineral water , and if you're lucky, a cup of yogurt.

A glance inside an Otogar, a term for a local transport hub. A center for buses and trains. This one was taken in Ankara. It costs me 20TL for a one-way journey to Istanbul.

Pamukkale, one of the must go location if you are in Turkey. Famous for it's majestic limestone hill. (It's winter so, the picture isn't very clear. Sorry for that.)

Another delicacies of Turkey. Guess what. I bought it for only 1TL ! Now, that's budget travel !

p/s: It's good to go out there, travel alone. You'll learn something valuable from your trip, I guarantee. You'll learn to know your true nature. To excel in life, we don't refer to textbooks. We explore it on our own.

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