G stands for Gocek

Gocek in Turkey.

 is a lovely little village on the edge of a yachting marina . The bay is surrounded by verdant forests that run right down to the water. It's hard to imagine so much greenery in such a hot country.

The village with the mosque in the centre

The Turkish cuisine. 

 

Baked lamb with herbs

Pide Turkish type Pizza with fragrant minced lambAssorted Mezzes usually eaten as a light meal or appetizer.

 

A local lady preparing Pide which is a Turkish pizza with finely minced lamb and fragrant herbs and spices, simple and so delicious.

A market stall selling fragrant herbs and spices, I always used to stock up when visiting.

The beautiful ceramics, many hand painted and glazed.

Whenever I think of Turkey I think of colour and fragrant smells, I have many dishes and bowls that I 've collected over the years.

This holiday was primarily a 'chill out' holiday as we both had been working very hard, me in a busy stockbroking office and Ian as a Senior Account Executive for a national tele- communications company.

 We spent our time tootling around the village markets and dining on the wonderful  Turkish cuisine.

 

Gocek Islands.

Traditional Turkish Gulets.

 

 We took a cruise around the Gulf of Gocek   stopping from time to time to swim in the turquoise waters. We sunbathed on the deck, chatted to the other guest and had a delicious lunch of mezzes, grilled fish and local white wine.

A wonderful day out.

Turkey is a country forever etched in my heart I shall never forget all the wonderful holidays we've had there.

My gratitude to the glamorous Denise for devising ABCW also to Roger our genial administrator for his gigantic efforts in keeping us on our toes!

 

F stands forThe Fairy Chimneys.

Whilst staying on the Eastern Mediterranean part of Turkey, in an small  coastal town called Side (pronounced see-deh), we decided to embark upon a trip to near the central  part of Turkey, visiting a region of great interest, called Cappadocia,  the home of the mystical , 

                     ' FAIRY CHIMNEYS'.

 The breathtaking view that greeted us.

 

 

FABULOUS! Something we shall never forget.

We boarded a coach with enormous windows that gave us stunning views of this amazing, phenomenally ancient place,

 It was almost like a 3-D space movie.

Whilst we gazed in wonder, the soundtrack  from the '2001 Space Odyssey' filtered through, totally awesome!

 

Many people commented upon how phallic these formations looked, but I couldn't possibly comment !

 

 

Cappadocia with the many homes that are built into the rocks, forming cave like dwellings. There are some lovely boutique hotels, in the centre along with locantas' and designer shops.. sadly, the 21st century rears it's ugly side, but then, one has to go with the times, people have to earn a living. I will only buy traditional Turkish goods.

Cappadocia  is said to be one of Turkey's most extraordinary treasures.

I couldn't disagree with that,

The utter improbability of the landscape really has to be seen to be believed, with it's fairy tale cave dwellings , the amusing phallic cones and the warm colour and texture of the rocks.

The cave homes at night.

   We were 
invited into one, along with several other
tourists .....
Quelle  surprise!
 We were given some Turkish coffee then,  an
old lady appeared and proceeded to show us
beautiful hand woven lace table cloths, they were gorgeous.
Needless to say, I succumbed, and purchased a beautiful cloth with real gold thread running through, complete with tiny hand woven tassels, edging it.
It only comes out at Christmas,  Easter, and high and holy days.

 I shall write again, when the opportunity arises, and publish pictures  of the Fantastic fabrics, carpets and pottery, mementoes,  brought home from our Fabulous Turkish adventures.

 I could write forever about Turkey,,, but enough for one day..

Sincere thanks to the most  famed Denise  for devising this fabled and interesting blog site. ABCW has given many folk an opportunity to sit back and write whatever comes to mind for the relevant letter.

It is also most fortunate that we have the fair -minded Roger to facilitate our efforts with great fortitude.

Felicitations to one and all....... Di..xx 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E stands for Ephesus.

The library.

Among the many wonderful memories of our  holidays in Turkey, are of a visit to the most  amazing ruins, I have ever seen.

 We stood on the top of a hill and looked down upon the most wondrous sight ever. There was a long road lined by pillars which lead to the Library of Celcus.

The beautiful turquoise blue sky created a wonderful backdrop for façade of the library.

Ephesus is the site of an ancient city,  and it is the best preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. It is among the best places in the world to get a feel what life was like in Roman times. Ancient Ephesus was a great trading and religious city, a centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess. Under the influence of the Ionians Cybele became Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon. 

  A  fabulous temple  was built in her honour. When the Romans took over and made this the province of Asia, Artemis became Diana and Ephesus became the Roman provincial capital. It's temple of Diana was counted among the  Seven Wonders of the World.

The temple of Diana and below the ruins.of the temple.

The Great Theatre.

I can't believe we actually sat in the centre of this theatre. I believe visitors are restricted to where they can walk, now, as it is crumbling in parts. There is  presently a programme in place restoring it.

When I have the opportunity,  I shall write more about our visits to Turkey, it is such a special place and holds many wonderful memories for us.

My sincere thanks to  the ever entertaining Denise, for devising this most excellent ABCW blog site and also to Roger, for his earnest endeavours in the administration of the site.