Travel Story No 3 by Jenny May

This is the second time that I have written this email as I lost the first one completely  a couple of days ago when it was supposed to be saved in drafts before sending whilst I was not on wifi. 

Emails have been a problem and I am not sure if you received the second email, although it said that it was sent. If not and you would like it please let me know and I will resend it. 

After Kizhi Island in Russia, there were other towns to visit but unfortunately we couldn't get into Yaroslavl by ship as the water level in the Volga River was too low - only 20cms under the keel - due to a mild winter with not much snow or rain. It was the first time that this had happened in at least 15 years, so we went directly to Uglich and bussed it to Yaroslavl (1 1/2 hours each way through rural villages which was quite interesting). Both were interesting towns/cities but the highlight for me was morning tea with some locals in their home. 

Moscow was our final destination of the cruise and we spent 3 nights there still on board. Visiting the Kremlin was eye-opening as there are huge walls with ruby red stars on the top of the towers of the walls. Behind these walls we were able to walk around and see the many buildings inside including Cathedral Square which has 5 churches in a small  area. The Armoury, also inside the Kremlin, houses an amazing collection of treasures from the Tsars including carriages, coronation gowns, Faberge eggs and many jewelled and gold articles. St Basil's church, the multi-coloured one in all the pictures, is at the edge of Red Square next to the Kremlin (Kremlin means fortress) and of course we took pictures too. 

From Moscow we flew to Istanbul and have just finished a 10 day tour around Western Turkey in a minibus with guide and driver, a distance of approx 3000 kms. After seeing the sights of Istanbul we headed west in the European part of Turkey to Gallipoli, a very moving place, and one that I have wanted to go to for a long time. We saw several areas of the Gallipoli Peninsula including Anzac Cove and Lone Pine Memorial. Whilst at one of the areas I ran into a friend, Lynne, from my nursing training days. What a small world!

After Gallipoli we crossed The Dardanelles by car ferry, heading south and entered into the Asian part of Turkey. There are so many ancient cities that we couldn't visit them all but did visit Troy, Pergamon and Ephesus as well as some not so well known ones. Ephesus covers a huge area and housed 200,000 people in its day. Although much of it is in ruins there are terrace houses with amazing frescos and mosaics that are still partially intact. They are still restoring many areas and have reconstructed a 2 storey facade of the library. 

Pamukkale, further to the east, was another highlight where there is the side of a hill with terraces that is completely pure white with limestone that has been deposited by the thermal springs that are in the area. We actually were able to walk on the terraces and paddle in some of the pools of water. Our hotel had a thermal pool also.

Last stop was Cappadocia where there are amazing rock formations due to wind and rain erosion. These rocky hills held underground cities and we visited some of them crouching through tunnels and going 4 storeys underground. There are also hotels built into the rocks. Hot air ballooning is a highlight of the area but unfortunately both mornings that we were there the flights were cancelled due to turbulent winds. This was after getting up at 4am and going to the balloon headquarters and waiting until 7am for clearance from Dept of Civil Aviation which didn't happen. We flew from Cappadocia to Istanbul yesterday and had today to relax before our flight this evening. It was a very busy tour with little free time. 

I am now on the plane between Istanbul and Dubai on the first leg of our homeward journey so may be home by the time I can access wifi again. 

Love, Jenny 

PS Now safely home.