Lucy & Eitchkay Turkey Holiday

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Cappadocia Landscape

Cappadocia is a small area in Central Turkey covering around 300 square kilometers which has a unique, almost surreal, landscape. It numbers among the most fascinating corners of the world. This veritable lunar landscape distinguishes itself by its extensive geological formations, which often have an unreal air to them. Volcanic activity formed a plateau of ash and the strange, rugged rock formations were created by the forces of erosion. The unusual structures were formed by the softer ash layers eroding faster than the harder layers of basalt and andesite which remained on top making the capped cone shapes.

The interesting rock formations, known as "fairy chimneys", have been formed as the result of the erosion of this tufa layer, sculpted by wind and flood water, running down on the slopes of the valleys. Water has found its way through the valleys creating cracks and ruptures in the hard rock. The softer, easily erodable material underneath has been gradually swept away receding the slopes and in this way, conical formations protected with basalt caps have been created. The geology of areas where fairy chimneys form typically comprises a thick layer of tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), covered by a thin layer of basalt or other volcanic rocks that are more resistant to erosion than the underlying tuff. Over time, cracks in the basalt allow the much softer tuff to be eroded and washed away. Fairy chimneys are formed where a small cap or boulder of the original basalt remains, and protects a cone of tuff beneath it from erosion. Eventually, the tuff will be undercut to the extent that the cap falls off, and the remaining cone is then quickly eroded.

Hoodoos are a tourist attraction in the Cappadocia region of Turkey where houses have been carved from these formations. The fairy chimneys with caps, mainly found in the vicinity of Urgup, have a conical shaped body and a boulder on top of it. The cone is constructed from tufa and volcanic ash, while the cap is of hard, more resistant rock such as lahar or ignimbrite. Various types of fairy chimneys are found in Cappadocia. Among these are those with caps, cones, mushroom like forms, columns and pointed rocks.

View of Cappadocia Landscape from hot air balloon

Lunch in a Cave Restaurant Uranos Sarikaya

Monday, December 14, 2009

Istanbul Taksim Square & Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Sprawling over a huge area in the city center, Kapali Çarsi (kah-pah-luh chahr-shuh; "Covered Market") was the first shopping mall ever built. During Byzantine times, this was the site of a bustling market; when the Ottomans arrived, it grew bigger and more diverse. The prime location attracted guilds, manufacturers, and traders, and it grew quickly — its separate chunks were eventually connected and roofed to form a single market hall. Before long, the Grand Bazaar became the center for trade in the entire Ottoman Empire. At its prime, the market was locked down and guarded by more than a hundred soldiers every night, like a fortified castle.

The Grand Bazaar remained Turkey's commercial hub — for both locals and international traders — through the 1950s, its 4,000 shops bursting with everything you can imagine, from jewelry to silk clothing, and traditional copperware to exotic, Oriental imports. But then the Grand Bazaar was discovered by travelers seeking the ultimate "Oriental market" experience. Prodded by shopaholic tourists with fat wallets, prices and rents skyrocketed, and soon modest shopkeepers and manufacturers found themselves unable to compete with the big money circulating through the bazaar's lanes. These humble merchants moved outside the bazaar, displaced by souvenir and carpet shops. Today's Grand Bazaar sells ten times more jewelry than it used to. And, while tourists find it plenty atmospheric, locals now consider its flavor more Western than Oriental.

Taksim Square (Turkish: Taksim Meydani) situated in the European part of Istanbul, in Beyoglu district, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul is the most known modern city center of Istanbul. Istiklal pedestrian street has many bars, night clubs and movie theatres therefore it's always busy with young people almost for 24 hours a day. The Square is also the meeting place to celebrate New Year's Eve, parades, public concerts and other shows.

Food