Cappadocia and Ankara

On the 10th day of the tour we spent a full day exploring Cappadocia, famed for temples and houses cut directly into the region's spectacular rock formations. Day 11 we departed for Ankara, the capital and the second largest city of Turkey. At Ankara we visit the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk and Anatolian Civilizations Museum, that came the only disappointment of this Turkey tour. The world class Anatolian Civilizations Museum was under renovation and virtually has nothing for public display. 
Turkey 8  Turkey 9

Pamukkale and Konya

We arrived Pamukkale hot spring on the day 7. In the Pamukkale park Mesut, our knowledgeable tour guide, took us for 2 sessions of guided tour and gave us a 2 hours lunch break in between. The first session is the geological formation of this Cotton Castle and the second session is a walk through the Hieropolis archeological site. After overnight at Pamukkale our bus leave for Konya, a city renowned for its Seljuk architecture and also as the home of the whirling dervishes. The next morning we headed for Cappadocia, made stops at a kindergarden, a caravanseri and a carpet atelier.                  Turkey 5   Turkey 6  Turkey 7

Kusadasi

This morning Cathy and I took three buses to get to Ephesus from our hotel. It was raining, gusty and cold on our arrival but the rain stopped soon so we got to stayed for a good 3-4 hours there, including a visit to the Roman time high end houses - Terrace Houses. Inside the Terrace Houses we luckily dodged the second assault of a hail storm outside. When we got back to Kusadasi the sky cleared up and the temperature warmed up. We had tea and lunch at the shore and then we strolled along this Aegean Sea coast trying to capture the beauty of this bay city which is many Europeans' favorite summer vacation place. To view the album, click here:  Turkey 4

From Istanbul to Kusadasi

On the fourth day of the tour (3/23) we went from Istanbul to Canakkale, having lunch at Gallipoli before cross the Dardanelles Straight to the Asia side of Turkey. We had a stop at the ancient city of Troy in the afternoon. The next day we drove from Canakkale to Kusadasi with one stop at Asklepieion.

Turkey 2
Turkey 3 

Istanbul

This is the first part of Gate 1's 13 days Turkey tour. We started and ended our travel at this amazing city that embraces two continents. In the journey we took a few option tours offered by Gate 1 but skip most other option tours and went on to explore the Turkey ourselves. We love this arrangement because it gave us the choice between freedom and convenience.Our tour guide Mesut  was extremely knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor. The food are good if you pick the right one that suit your taste at the buffet table. Hotels are genuine 4 stars. Schedule are excellent. But the best of all is the discovery of the rich background in Turkish culture and history which was well presented by Mesut.  Click the left lower 'Newer Blog' or menu on the right side 'From Istanbul to Kusadasi' to go to the next Turkey page, or the link here for photo album.             Turkey 1    Turkey 10   

Everglade National Park II

After disembarking from the cruise ship we went to the Everglade City to have a boat tour and the next day we came back to Shark Valley to have a tram tour.  Both tours are led by National Park trained naturalist. In addition to being educational, these tours are quite enjoyable and memorable too.  

Miami Day 8 Boat Tour and Loop Road
Miami Day 9 Tram Tour

Everglade National Park I

After arriving Miami and checking into the hotel we start off the trip with a visit to the Shark Valley Visitor Center, one of the popular centers of Everglade National Park located about 35 miles west of Miami. Shark Valley is a magnet for wading birds, most of them are within 50 feet  and can be easily photographed with the mid range lens. Click the link to view album.

Miami Day 1 Shark Valley Visitor Center