Travel
a word a week challenge: pose
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We have been enjoying participating in the The Daily Post weekly photo challenge. Recently we have started following A Word in Your Ear and she has a similar challenge called: A Word a Week Challenge.
The reason we are immensely enjoying the challenges is that it really is a challenge! We love sorting through our photos and looking at them from a different angle. We need to put our creativity hat on and try to think outside the box to interpret them to suit the chosen “word”!
Luckily for us, our first A Word a Week Challenge is a relatively easy one: POSE – when taking photos, posing is natural! Or is it?
Hope you enjoy our photo selection of poses taken on our travels:
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7 ancient ruins of turkey (part 2)
Following up from yesterday’s “seven” ancient images of Turkey – we are now spending today’s post on talking a little bit about them.
We mean no disrespect to history or the ruins of Turkey but too much of a good thing can sometimes be bad. The first site of ruins that we saw was exciting, the second site was mind-boggling, the third site still brought awe but then by the fourth and those thereafter honestly became a bit of a blur.
But it wasn’t only here that we have experienced this form of saturation or sightseeing fatigue, this has happened to us in several parts of the world. In Europe, there were castles/palaces, cathedrals and churches! And our times in Asia, we have experienced temples saturation. We’ve suffered museum and art gallery fatigue too! Everything begins to blend into one. We tried slow travel and we’ve tried intense travel but it always happens! We have learnt that variety is key.
But back to Turkey, we did see amazing ruins! Please don’t get us wrong, there is no denying the significance of the things we saw. We love history, especially ancient history and we loved what we saw!
1) Troy
It is highly likely that this place needs no introduction. History buffs will know the city of Troy and those that don’t, may have at least seen the movie with Brad Pitt and Eric Bana. If you still have no idea what we are talking about, then maybe you know the legendary tale how Troy came to be conquered by the Greeks in the wooden horse!
This site is probably underwhelming in some respects but we were still excited. As we walked through the clearly marked path, we tried to grasp the size of the walled city. It definitely isn’t big by today’s standards but we knew they were not penetrable. It blew us away how the city wall we could see was only part of it, the height was much taller and the rest was still buried beneath where we stood.
And of course, we needed to do the typical tourist thing, climb inside the horse and have our photos taken.
2) Pergamum
The most impressive Temple of Zeus altar was discovered here however unfortunately today there is nothing more than rubble. The altar have been excavated and taken back and reconstructed in a museum in Berlin – which is a shame but in terms of preservation, probably for its own good.
What we loved about this ancient ruins site, aside the fact you travel on a cable car up to it, is the gorgeous amphitheatre! Looking at our photos now still provides this overwhelming feeling of can’t-believe-we-saw-that. It’s so steep and its sheer size astounds us still. This place is definitely worth a visit. We really enjoyed it here.
3) Ephesus
Ephesus is probably most famous for the Library of Celsus and Gate of Augustus. Hate to break it to you, but is all reconstructed with replicas. The originals can be found in Vienna. Sometimes, we wish we didn’t know any better.
Anyway, it didn’t bother us much as we found some other things rather fascinating while here; the mosaics on the paths outside the terraces, the public washrooms, the Fountain of Trajan, the Goddess Nike carving and one of us being from a health background was quite humbled to see the medical and pharmacy symbols. Entering the gladiator arena was also probably a wee bit exciting!
Ephesus is not far from Kusadasi or Izmir which are ports for cruises. So if you happen to be here when the boats are in, expect to have thousands of other fellow visitors. Although what we saw here was magnificent and mind blowing, it was also extremely crowded.
4) Temple of Artemis
Possibly the most unexciting ancient ruins we have ever seen on any travels. The site where it once stood houses now nothing noticeable except some remains and one lone pillar. In its heyday, there is no doubt based on the reconstructions of its probable appearance that it was a very grand building. It was also once an ancient 7 wonder of the world. But alas, is no more and probably explainable due to it sad state. This might have been where out interest began to wane as is yours, so if you are reading…. thank you, we appreciate it 🙂
5) Aphrodisias
A bit of a mixed bag this place for us. There was the Sebasteion and the tetrapylon which were both reconstructed. So the stadium was our biggest highlight here. It is about 2 football fields long (260 m) and would have been able to house up to 30, 000 spectators. It is said that it is one of the best preserved ancient stadiums. There is an air-conditioned museum which houses all the statues and artefacts found at the site. It is a lovely refuge on a hot day but also very interesting to explore the different exhibits!
6) Perge
Seeing the old baths was probably the most fascinating thing here. Firstly there was a water pipe system and that there were visible heating facilities (hypocaust chambers) underground. Perge also has a stadium outside of the entrance gates which is believed could house 12, 000 spectators.
7) Aspendos
It is noticeable from our photos that our interest here has waned a lot. The heat was probably also getting to us. We don’t have very many photos of this particular area. We have a few of the very well-preserved theatre and a few of the aqueducts. What actually fascinated us most about this area were the cotton fields. Being born and raised in the city, we had never seen how cotton was grown other than on TV and in books. So to see it in “real life” was our highlight here!
Despite possibly feeling a little weary of ruins, there is one thing we always do when we visit historical sites. We pause and try to imagine what life would have been like in the times when the ruins were not ruins. In our heads, we try to recreate the sounds we might be hearing, the atmosphere. We will never know if we get it right but it’s still our way of soaking it all in so we remember it the way we choose to remember it.
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7 ancient ruins of turkey (part 1)
Today’s Daily Prompt is : SEVEN – so we are taking the opportunity to visually introduce you to 7 different ancient ruins that we visited in Turkey.
In tomorrow’s post, we will write about our experiences with the “seven” of them.
- Ancient ruin number 2: Pergamum
- Ancient ruin number 3: Ephesus
- Ancient ruin number 4: Temple of Artemis
Ancient ruin number 5: Aphrodisias 
Ancient ruin number 6: Perge
Ancient ruin number 7: Aspendos
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gallipoli: lest we forget
As Australians, visiting Gallipoli carried a lot of significance for us. Before going to Turkey, if there was ONLY one place in Turkey that we were able to go to, we would’ve chosen Gallipoli without a second thought. Having studied the Battle of Gallipoli in school and learning of all those soldiers losing their lives, we needed to see where it all happened, the place that marked such a dark day in Australian history (April 25 1915).
The size of ANZAC Cove is small to say the least, to expect a campaign of 4000 men to land. Admittedly, it was soon learnt that the troops were meant to arrive at Brighton Beach which is much bigger and a little further a south. It was no wonder that so many died on that fateful day.
Standing on the cove with the gorgeous sunshine on our faces, we tried to picture what it would be like to be here of a night, approaching the shore to face an “enemy” in the dead of the night. And we couldn’t imagine it, it’s impossible for us to fathom what would have been going through the minds of the troops. In one direction, the sea appears to goes on forever and in the other direction, the mountains stretch the length of the coast with Turkish soldiers up top or on the other side.
Now, the scenery is so very peaceful and serene and all we can hear is the tide as it hits the shore.
The memorial at ANZAC Cove by Ataturk was so touching – it was the first that we had ever heard or seen these words. We would hope that it had provided a little comfort to all the families that lost loved ones during this war from both sides. The words are really worth sharing (click on the picture & it will enlarge to be legible).
The remainder of our time in Gallipoli we saw Beach Cemetery, Lone Pine and the Turkish Memorial. It is at Lone Pine where the name of one of the youngest known solders to have died is inscribed. He was 14 years and 9 months. To think back to when we were that old, would we have lied about our age so that we could enlist into the army and fight for our country?
We can imagine how being in Gallipoli on ANZAC day would be emotional and surreal because being there on any given Monday like we were, it still felt pretty special!
If there is anything anyone should take away is that war destroys lives and causes loss of life. However we cannot change the way things are but what we can do is pay our respect and remember those who have lost their lives in battle. And to also support those servicemen and women who serve our countries: in the past, present and future. LEST WE FORGET.
wise monkeys abroad 