Winter in Turkey impressions #15: Cesme is a small, nice town at the coast near Izmir. A travel friend lured me there, so we could meet again, having nice diner and i got a safe overnight spot at the port. Next morning i realized this place was rich on history too. So i went for short walk to get some more impressions.
Winter in Turkey impressions #12: I left the icy cold highlands and went back to south coast of Turkey for a few days relaxing in a warm weather. It was also the time for some maintenance on my Land Rover #TinaTortuga. Luckily i found a good mechanics back in Antalya.
This trip was actually taken in winter 2022/23, but wasn’t able to post earlier. However, i decided to post some impressions in the next days from my journey trough winterly Turkey. Don’t expect much text or explanations. I just post mainly pictures. So, get ready for many of them 😉
On my way to Turkey i crossed Greece. Many kilometers and coffees on the road, but also some nice places to stop by, as the hot springs i found somewhere next to the highway.
ISTANBUL was the first goal. Not to see all the sightseeing, but as a start in Turkey and meet some old friends there. It’s happened to be Christmas 2022. Another reason not to hunt down all touristic spots, rather roaming around and enjoying myself too.
Palestine. Of course i wanted have at least a glimpse over the walls. To get an own picture of their life and get an idea of the region, its history and its inhabitants.
It was the easiest way to book a tour from Jerusalem. Fortunately the tour guide was a Palestinian who joined the tour bus after the border. He arrived late at the meeting point and gave us already a first idea about the life here. Despite he startet his ride of around 50km to Ramallah two hours earlier, he got stocked at a check-point, where they blocked the road for unknown reasons. We, the tourists, had to wait on a small coffee shop. It gave me the chance to go around the streets to collect first impressions of Ramallah.
Market places are always nice to get in touch with the locals. That was also the first stop in Ramallah. I was surprised about the openness of the people and how friendly they were. They gave me a wink, showed me their display or just smiled friendly. The same in the streets, where sellers were keen to explain what goods, spices or beverages they sell. Most attention caught the guy who sold iced tea in a very effective way.
Once in Ramallah, we also had a short visit to the Arafat Mausoleum. Although Yasser Arafat, the first president of the Palestinian National Authority, wanted to be buried near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the Israeli government didn’t allow it. To his honor , the nobel peace prize holder at least got his mausoleum in Ramallah with lots of symbolics.
rene bauer photography 