Continued north to the island of Rhoads and then proceeded to the southern coast of Turkey. Carted buses and taxis to explore the Turkey’s interior and concluded this trek in Istanbul.
Cyprus:
Greece: Rodos, Lindos, Rodos
Turkey: Marmaris, Kasadasi, Aydın, Selcok, Aydin, Denizli, Pamukkale, Konya, Nevsehir, Urgup, Gorem, Uchisar, Ortahisar, Derivkuyu, Kapmakl, Yesichisa, Kayseri, Ankara, Istanbul
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We arrive early into Istanbul but were without coinage and to compound our dilemma that day was the Sabbath. All the exchanges in the station were closed. We walked across town and ended up being directed to a major hotel in the area, but they would only exchange money if we weren’t guests of the hotel. “Get a room and we’ll exchange money for you” the receptionist repeated to us twice. The only other option we had was to charter a taxi to the airport, but the taxi wanted to double charge for having two occupants. So Jenni went to the airport while I stayed behind and watched the bags in front of the hotel lobby. (more…)
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Voices cry out, like passion in the wind, searching ears, having not pierced the veil,
cries and the tears fall, endlessly on
They only appear, toward the end of the gallery, where the cruelest lies, are often told in silence,
and the tears fall, endlessly on
And we shall never know, what autumn leaves are stripped away, only the soul, thrown wide open to the sun
cries and, the tears fall, endlessly on
They paint images in humans form, for their idols show disdain
for they will entice you, all the beautiful and sweet things, corruptible and vain
may you display firm faith, undoubting hope and unfeigned and never failing love
not in the flesh but rather in your heart, the true message from above
We continued munching on nuts up to the entrance to the Topkapi Palace, the heart of the Ottoman Empire. I naturally avoided the circumcision room. I was very impressed with the jewels on display. The sultan’s armor had diamonds and emeralds the size of baseballs. I have a lot of respect for somebody who can step on battle field with jewelry of that value and not get raped. We crammed a lot into one day and I was dead on my feet so we didn’t wander far from our hotel to find food. (more…)
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