Turkey Travelogue: Historical Heritage and Natural Wonders

If you ask me which country on the planet has the largest number of stray cats, Turkey is my answer. In Islamic tradition, cats are admired for their ritual cleanliness, and allowed to enter homes and even mosques. According to legend, a cat saved the Islamic prophet Muhammad from a snake. Another legend says that one day, Muhammad found his cat Muezza sleeping on the sleeve of his prayer robe when he began to dress himself to attend prayer. He chose to cut the sleeve off, leaving the cat undisturbed. These may be the reasons why cats are loved by Turks.

In Turkey, you may not see all of its sceneries, but you won't miss its cats. These free and noble elves spread across every street and alley, guarding in the ruins, or wandering from palace to market. They are guarders of Turkey and the best guides for us to travel this country.

Zoe and a cat

Istanbul- The Glory of the Ottoman Empire

The Blue Mosque

A cat in front of the Blue Mosque

Following the guide of the first cat, we entered the Blue Mosque, one of the most important landmark buildings in Istanbul. According to folklore, the architect of this mosque misheard the Sultan's request for "altın minareler" (gold minarets) as "altı minare" (six minarets), which was a unique feature to the Great Mosque of Mecca at the time.

The mosque boasts many windows and lamps.

The sunlight flashing through windows and the soft lamplight from the lamps inside enhance the beauty of the mosque, making me feel that I was in an unworldly space.

The Hagia Sophia

The famous cat Gli lying in front of the Hagia Sophia

Gli led us to the world-famous Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral built in 537 AD, later an Ottoman imperial mosque from 1453 to 1931, and now a museum opened in 1935. It was the largest building of its time, and is said to have "changed the history of architecture".

It's famous in particular for its massive dome.

The weeping column

At the northwest of the building, there is a bronze-plates-covered column with a hole in the middle, which goes by several different names: the wishing column, weeping column, sweating column or perspiring column. It is said that people's wishes will come true if their thumb get wet when they make their wishes by rotating their thumb a complete clockwise tour inside the hole. My thumb became wet by sweat, so I wonder if my wish will come true.

Cappadocia - Exceptional natural wonders

A cat standing before the fairy-tale landscape

Totally different from the view of Istanbul, Cappadocia is a world of exceptional natural wonders. The sedimentary rocks and ignimbrite deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms, which are now called fairy chimneys. People there carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits. Cappadocia is like a fairytale world.

The creator must be very proud of these awesome works!

These large rocks look like chimneys, right? Hence they are called fairy chimneys.

A distant view of the stunning landscapes

As huge Star Wars fans, we were so excited when coming to this filming location of the Star Wars!

Spectacular sunset view of the Rose Valley. How could there be no wine when enjoying this spectacle?

This is one of my favorite pictures: a sweet old couple is the best note of the romantic Rose Valley.

There are many churches and monasteries carved out from rocks with fresco decoration, which were Christian sanctuaries for a very long time.

Kaymakli Underground City

There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia, among which the Kaymakli Underground City is the widest one.

A cross section of the Kaymakli Underground City

The Kaymakli Underground City consists of 8 floors below ground and nearly one hundred tunnels, which can accommodate nearly ten thousand people. It contains stables, churches, storage places, wineries, kitchens, etc. The most convenient places are still used by the inhabitants of this region as stables, cellars and storage rooms, which are accessible through their courtyards. Only 4 of the floors are open to the public now.

The entrance of the Kaymakli Underground City

The interior of the Kaymakli Underground City

The tunnel is tall enough so we can walk upright. But when we go deeper, it becomes narrower and lower, so we have to arch our back to move on.

The blue and red arrows placed on the tunnels enable visitors to find the right direction. Otherwise, they may get lost in this dark and mazy underground city.

Ephesus – Once the most important Greek city

Ephesus is one of the largest Roman archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean. It was once considered the most important trading center in this region.

We were deeply surprised by the numbers of cats here, as we saw cats in almost every ruin. They seem are the tiny guardians of this ancient city.

The State Agora, a vast public square used for business and as a meeting place for the governmental discussion.

The Temple of Hadrian dating from the 2nd century

The figure of Medusa inside the temple above the door.

Stone carving of the goddess Nike, who personified victory in ancient Greek religion.

A public toilet of Roman times.

Let's image a toilet chat at that time: hey Thomas, what a sunny day today!

Following a cat, we came to the extraordinary Library of Celsus, a landmark of Ephesus.

According to legend, there was a "secret passage" inside the library that was connected to a brothel.

The Great Theater, with an estimated 25,000 seating capacity, is believed to be the largest in the ancient world. It was used initially for drama, and later for gladiatorial combats.

Thanks to the lovely cats for leading us all the way to explore wonderful Turkey! Should you have any questions about Turkey tour, welcome to contact us!