Tulips Galore

We were so lucky that we were in time for the tulip season in Turkey. When we first caught sight of these flowers from the bus, the women in the bus got very excited. They lined the streets and roundabouts; they made the cafes and mosques more picturesque; they were everywhere and came in multi-colours. By the time we ended the tour nine days later, the tulips were wilting and making way for roses.

We always associated tulips with Holland, but the truth is tulips originated from Turkey. Bulbs were brought to Vienna from Istanbul in the 1500s and started the craze for tulips in Europe. In Holland, the interest was so intense that brought about the "Tulip Mania" when people invested in tulips like people do now in high-tech stocks.

Credit to Lin Ajis for the last 3 pictures.

Pamukkale

Pamukkale means Cotton Castle. It is named for the hot springs, travertines, and terraces of carbonate minerals that measure around 9000 feet long, and 500 feet high upon which the ancient city of Hierapolis was built. It is located in the Denizli Province of southwestern Turkey and was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1988.

Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the second century BC by the Romans, and the city was named to honour Hiera, wife of Telephos. Many patients came to stay in Hierapolis to soak in the pools as prescribed by their doctors for their ailments and they formed a thriving city until a series of earthquakes demolished the city in the 12th century.

When we reached Pamukkale, it was near sundown and raining so we could just see from our bus what looked like a snow-covered hill.

The next morning, our bus took us up the hill, and the view from up there was spectacular. We soaked our eyes in the view and our feet in the thermal pool.

The weather was cool so the European tourists came decently clothed. The Turkish tourist police force was very quick with the whistle whenever they see anyone going in the pool with footwear on.

There were remnants of Roman architecture and a museum there but we didn't have enough time to explore them. Gah! That's the peril of travelling with a tour group. We had to hurry to catch the next destination.

The pictures are grey because they were taken between 7 and 8 plus a.m. and the weather was cloudy until we hit the roads. (The first two pictures are courtesy of fellow traveller, Lin Ajis, the one in white coat).

Anecdotes from Turkey - Yogurt, honey and poppy seeds

Turkey is breathtakingly beautiful. I wonder how the Turks can take it; to me it is almost intoxicating. The country is thronged by tourists round the year that led me to believe that tourism is the country's number one income generator. But no; it is agriculture. It was very evident throughout our travel; the land is always planted with one crop or another like wheat, cherries, grapes, hazel nuts or olives. Even the lands that are covered in stones will be made workable after the farmers clear them patiently by hand-picking the pebbles, sometimes over years. They produce so much food that they export to all over the world.

On our way to Konya from Pamukkale, our local tour guide stopped the bus in a village for us to sample yogurt with honey and poppy seed. See photo. It's delicious. The poppy seeds add crunchiness and a nutty taste to the yogurt. A serving costs 5 Turkish Lira. I was contemplating to buy the poppy seeds but was worried of the Malaysian Customs at KLIA. My guide told us that once, he took an extra helping of the poppy seeds which resulted in him not remembering what happened the rest of the day.

Poppy in that village is planted with the blessings of the government solely for the patronage of their Ministry of Health. One time, our tour guide stopped his tour bus near a field of poppy and some tour members went after the flowers. Soon after, a truck full of armed villagers swerved by. So he advised us not to pick the flowers should we stop afterwards. But we were not so lucky; the villagers have just harvested the crop; otherwise we would've seen carpet after carpet of red flowers. The photo I enclose here is a patch of wild poppy flowers we saw at Hierapolis.