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For a market we’ve heard decried by seasoned travellers as lacking authenticity and gearing itself to tourists, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar had a lot of locals shopping in it. Sure, there were plenty of cruse ship passengers with identifying stickers on them crying out “Ask me for double!” but when we were there, folk of Turkish extraction outnumbered tourists by 10 to 1.

Dating to the 16th century, the mosque had magnificent grounds, an impressive courtyard and a spacious interior decorated simply and warmly.

Like Aya Sophia across the square, the Blue Mosque is visible from miles away and its six minarets make it unique (Mecca is the only mosque to have more minarets, with seven). Inside, despite the crowds of cruise ship visitors, it was a spectacular sight with warm low-hanging lights suspended by thousands of wires from the magnificent domes and archways above. And throughout the day, and at a very early hour of the morning, the call to prayer rang out across Sultanahmet.

It was a strange experience seeing Anzac Cove for the first time: it was as if I’d been there before. The shape of the beach was unmistakeable; as soon as I saw it I knew that this was the place that the Anzacs had landed those many years ago.

Day 38: In Canakkale, there are two things to do. The first is to visit Gallipoli. The second is to take a trip to the ancient ruins of Troy, a few kilometres south of the city. Our time was limited so we opted for the tour offered by Hassle Free Tours operating out of Anzac […]

Day 37: One night only in Canakkale and we opted for the Efes Hotel not far from the clocktower. Not the best choice. The corridors were pitch black, our room was drab and it was the most basic breakfast that we’ve had in Turkey.
Hotel summary
Double room, fan, private bathroom: US$37
In a few words: Not the […]

The audio tour was academic in tone, unnecessarily obtuse and did little to bring the site to life. For the most part it consisted of a lone male voice reading out lengthy lists of historical dates.

Day 36: We spent about 3 hours wandering through Ephesus, this afternoon, going from south to the north.
The best thing about Ephesus was that it was easy to get a sense of the city, as the path between gates takes you down the most significant streets in the ancient city.
Surprisingly, the Library of Celsus […]