In Jordan

I arrive in Jordan and things are already going well. A fancy town car picks us up and our hotel seems pretty nice.

Hotel is nicer than any we had in Egypt. It is a welcome change.

Amman is peaceful but lively. People talk to you because they are interested in you. It is refreshing to have people not trying to sell you something or to ask you on a date.

We decide to walk up to the citadel because I read somewhere that the Dead Sea scrolls were on display (we later learn those were moved to the Jordan museum). Very disappointed about that mistake but the museum did have a couple of cool things.

Roman Temple of Hercules

Also on the hill is a temple built during the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

We also see other ruins at the top.

Soon it is time to meet with our tour leader. After a brief meeting he takes us on a quick food tour of the area.

We stop first at Habibah Sweets and try some kunafa (one of my favorites) and something else similar.

Soon we are taken to the fruit market. We pick up some snacks for our journeys the next couple days.

Have I said how much I love visiting local food markets?

Soon we say goodnight to our guide the group splits up to grab dinner. I decide to join the girls who are going to get falafel. It is a good choice because it is probably the best falafel I’ve ever had.

Hashem Restaurant Down Town

Then it is off to bed. We head to the desert tomorrow.

Turkish food

I had many different food items in Turkey during my time there that I thought it would be appropriate to have a post dedicated to food items.

Fermented carrot juice is not as good as I thought it would be.

Dinner on a rooftop bar

Vegetable plate

Raki is an anise drink like Sambucca or Ouzo.

Stuffed bread and some sort of dried fruit pudding at Topkapi Palace

Manti

In Cappadoccia

Old Cappadocia Cafe & Restaurant

The bread dipped in that spice and oil is heavenly

Turkish ice cream is sweet, creamy, stretchy and sticky at the same time.

Turkish delight

That time when I should have used google translate and did not I end up eating a raw meat sandwich. Luckily I did not die.

Random Istanbul

In case you haven’t figured it out these posts are many months old. It has been impossible to keep up daily with my travels. And most of the time the internet is terrible. I am playing catch up with stuff back home or trying to sort through and save travel photos. What I write is from what I remember of my travels and if I am lucky, excerpts from notes I took.

For this post I am back in Istanbul. I planned this return as a “catch all I missed before” plus get some chill time before I head to Egypt. I am heading to Egypt and Jordan for a couple weeks on a fast paced group tour. I purposely planned this downtime prior.

The time was spent pretty well; besides the poor internet I was able to catch up on some things, I bought a couple articles of clothing that would be more Middle East appropriate, and I made one more shipment home (boy is it expensive!).

The following pictures are some of the attractions I stopped at.

Basilica Cistern

My new hotel is off Istiklal Street. It is a busy area but less mentally demanding then staying in the Sulthanhmet area. I mean in the Sultanhmet area I always had to be on guard. In my new location it was more chill: I got way less male attention and shop owners were not aggressive. If I go back to Istanbul I will stay in this area or on the Asian side (as my new Turkish friend recommended).

Balloon watching

My hotel is close to the top of the hill in Goreme. A short walk uphill (and a small “admission” charge) is the place to be for sunsets and to watch the balloons fly in the morning.

Today I wake up before sunrise and walk up the hill to catch the balloons. I think I am too early because I have to wait a while for the balloons to rise. I do get a picture of the sun starting to rise through.

Off in the instance I can see some balloons inflating. A short while later they are in the air.

It is beautiful to see.

Some get very close to the observation hill. At times it looks like they can be touched.

Here is a fun video showing how close they got.

Cappadocia Red Tour

A couple days after my not so great green tour I take the Cappadocia Red Tour. I thought I may have overreacted a couple days ago but after taking the red tour with a different vendor I know I am correct in my opinion. The red tour is well organized and the guide is very personable. His name is Sonny and he made our day sunny.

First stop is a view of Uchisar Castle.

Next is Goreme Open Air Museum

A favorite of mine in the Open Air Museum is the Dark Church. It is a separate ticketed option but well worth it in my opinion. The artwork inside is very nice (no photos allowed).

Love Valley

I have no idea why they call it that. <sarcasm>

Avanos pottery demonstration

The pottery is nice but it is way too early to start weighing my backpack down so I forgo any purchases.

Then we stopped at lunch. I don’t remember what I ate but I had to try all the desserts on the buffet.

Before we went back out sightseeing we stopped for a silk demonstration. It is interesting to learn how silk items are made.

Aaaannd the demonstration of the rugs. Some are nice enough to tempt me but they are so expensive. I just can’t purchase one….especially with no job and no permanent place to stay.