Today we are going to the Izmir/Smyrna airport for a flight back to Istanbul. We are booked on Pegasus air which is like a Southwest airline of Turkey. We had a short uneventful flight to Istanbul where we met our coach.
The plan is to go to the Grand Bazaar for a 2 hour shopping trip and then to the hotel. Some of our group seemed wary to be left in the Grand Bazaar so they asked where the cafe was and wanted to hang out inside at the cafe.
Since we had been in several times before we walked around and then found the cafe and stopped for coffee and baklava. Some of our group found the cafe and got refreshments.
Some scenes of the old city.
After the time was up we headed up to the bus to go back to the hotel.
We arrived early enough to be able to go out and walk around before dinner. We walked near Taksim Square again being careful not to get near the area where the police and rioters were hanging out.
Since we were not going back to the US but heading to Greece the next day we said our good byes to all the group and the Priests.
It was a great tour and experience but bus tours are very tiring since we were changing hotels almost daily and we had one long bus ride and two days with flights.
I would recommend seeing Cappadocia and Kusadasi. If there was a day of rest included with the visit to Pamukkale and a flight to the next destination, then I would say do it. The bus ride from Pamukkale was brutal.
Every time I see photos from this trip, I am transported back to those days and remember the great guide we had, the kind bus driver in Cappadocia, attending Liturgy in the Cave of the Apocalypse, and singing Christos Anesti in every Church we visited.
The plan is to go to the Grand Bazaar for a 2 hour shopping trip and then to the hotel. Some of our group seemed wary to be left in the Grand Bazaar so they asked where the cafe was and wanted to hang out inside at the cafe.
Since we had been in several times before we walked around and then found the cafe and stopped for coffee and baklava. Some of our group found the cafe and got refreshments.
Some scenes of the old city.
After the time was up we headed up to the bus to go back to the hotel.
We arrived early enough to be able to go out and walk around before dinner. We walked near Taksim Square again being careful not to get near the area where the police and rioters were hanging out.
Since we were not going back to the US but heading to Greece the next day we said our good byes to all the group and the Priests.
It was a great tour and experience but bus tours are very tiring since we were changing hotels almost daily and we had one long bus ride and two days with flights.
I would recommend seeing Cappadocia and Kusadasi. If there was a day of rest included with the visit to Pamukkale and a flight to the next destination, then I would say do it. The bus ride from Pamukkale was brutal.
Every time I see photos from this trip, I am transported back to those days and remember the great guide we had, the kind bus driver in Cappadocia, attending Liturgy in the Cave of the Apocalypse, and singing Christos Anesti in every Church we visited.
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