Formula 1 at Istanbul Park

On Sunday, Peter, Alan and I went to the Formula 1 Race at Istanbul Park.  This is supposed to be the last year because Turkey hasn't had the support they've hoped for since bringing the race here five years ago and Formula 1 wants $26 million to host the race next year, as opposed to the $13 million it has been.  There were two other races before the Formula 1 race.  We had General Admission tickets so we spent the day moving around the track to stand at different designated points in the grass.  The tickets were only 70 Lira (about $45 or $50) which isn't too bad for a big race like that.  It was a lot of fun and really loud.  We all were sunburned pretty good by the end of the day.

If you want to view the photos I took at the race there is a link below.

Photos from Istanbul Park

An Adventure in Gebze

Hannibal's Grave

Katie scaling the castle wall.

On Saturday we were planning to go to a brewery in Istanbul with our friends at school, Peter and Alan, so Peter asked if we wanted to go on an adventure through Gebze before.  Of course, we said yes, and first on the list was to find the supposed grave of Hannibal.  It is in the middle of a research compound very close to our school.  We had to give our passports to the security gate of the compound to gain access to the small park inside.  After finding the grave we drove to a castle about 20 minutes further away.  It was very small, but it was also closed.  We wanted to find a way in so we walked through the bushes/trees around the castle walls trying to find a way.  We got to the end and found nothing so we had to walk back to the front, but when we got to the front we decided to scale one of the smaller 8 ft. walls to gain entrance.  There wasn't much in the interior so we didn't spend much time there.  After the castle we drove to the Firehouse Brewery.  We sat outside and overlooked the Pendik Harbor at the Sea of Marmara.  It was a very nice area, but unfortunately it also correlated with the price.  When we finished dinner we headed back towards home, but stopped at a little bar in Tuzla on the way to have a drink on the rooftop terrace.  Stay tuned...I think Katie is putting together a video of this day.

A Visit From Mom and Dad (Turkey and Italy)

At our school.

In front of the Celcius Library at Ephesus.

My mom and dad arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday, April 5, in the early evening.  The bag they checked for us was lost, but they said it would be on the flight next day.  Anyways, it was good to have visitors again.  We came back to school to relax for the evening before going back to the airport at 5:30 am the next morning to catch a 6:30 am flight to Izmir.  Katie had to teach the rest of this week so she was unable to make the trip south with us.  After arriving in Izmir, we caught the train to Selcuk where we would be staying for the night.  We dropped off our bags at the hotel and the first stop after that was St. John's Basilica.  We only had one day to spend in Selcuk, which is really all you need to see everything.  Next we took a taxi to the top of the mountain to visit the house of the Virgin Mary.  My mom didn't really want to go, but I made her and she was glad I did.  She wasn't expecting an actual cave dwelling so she was pleasantly surprised.  After that we took the taxi back down the mountain and were able to start our trek through Ephesus.  They both thought it was awesome.  The day finished out with a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis and the Ephesus Museum before grabbing a late lunch.  We rested for a couple hours before heading to dinner and then went to bed really early since everyone was exhausted.  The next day we rode the train back to Izmir to fly back to Istanbul.

Katie and me with the Duomo in the background.

When we arrived in Istanbul we had to pick up the bag that finally arrived from Germany and take it with us into the city.  We stayed in the Galata district of Istanbul on Thursday night and headed back to the school on Friday afternoon.  While in Istanbul we did a lot of the tourist stuff....Underground Cistern, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, Spice Market, Archeological Museum, Galata Tower and walked down Istiklal Street.  It wasn't that busy while we were at these places, but I still think it was way too many people for my mom and dad.  On Friday evening we just relaxed back at school since we were leaving for Italy the next day just before lunch.

Outside the train station in Venice.

We flew from Istanbul to Rome and then immediately rode the train to Florence (with a change at Rome Central).  Florence is where we would spend our first four nights, but it is also where my mom became sick on the first day.  There had been a lot going around at school the week before and I was just getting over it, so I'm sure it stemmed from that, but a little worse since she had flu like symptoms.  While in Florence we saw just about everything there.  By far, my favorite was the Statue of David, if we don't include the food.  During our stay in Florence we took a day trip to Venice which was very nice.  We were really lucky to have awesome weather for our entire trip, so that made things much more enjoyable.  Also, it happened to be Cultural Week, so all of the museums were free!

One of the many alleys in Venice.

After Florence we took the train back to Rome to spend our final three nights. After dropping our bags off at the hotel we walked to the Coliseum and walked around all of the ruins outside as well.  There are so many ruins that it took the entire afternoon to see them all.  We finished that first day with a trip to the Mamertime Prison where Peter and Paul were believed to have been held captive.  Over the next two days we visited the Pantheon, the Vatican (seeing the Sistine Chapel was pretty cool), Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and tons of churches.  After the Pantheon we noticed on the map my mom had that it said "World's Best Gelato".  I wanted to get some but no one else wanted any, but when we got there the place was packed and it looking incredible.  Everyone ended up getting a huge cone and it really was the best ice cream ever.  We even went out of our way the next day to go back again.  Over the course of the trip I think I had nine pizzas in seven days...they were amazing!  The food was incredible, but I felt bad that my mom wasn't able to enjoy much of it until almost the last day.  We flew back to Istanbul on Saturday and arrived back at school in the evening.  My mom and dad had to leave Sunday morning to fly home and it was back to normal life for Katie and I.  Katie had parent teacher conferences that afternoon and it was back to retirement for me...

It really was the best gelato in the world!

Trevi Fountain at night.

The Coliseum.

Not Much New

It's been two and a half weeks since we got back from Tanzania and we haven't done much.  Katie has resumed teaching and I have started training a portion of the track team a few days each week (jump training and upper body training).  We go to Antalya, Turkey in two and a half weeks to relax for a quick weekend.  Other than that, our next big trip is planned for the second week of April when my mom and dad come to visit.  When they come we'll be going to Ephesus, wandering around Istanbul, and then it's off to Italy!

Our safari GPS details

Lake Manyara National Park by wyrowski1 at Garmin Connect - Details

When you click on the link you will have access to all of our recordings. It will start with Lake Manyara, but if you click "Next" at the top right you can look at all of the places we were.

Tanzania 2011

It's been a while since the last post, but for good reason. In the evening on Saturday, January 29, we flew from Istanbul, Turkey to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. We arrived around 3:45 am on Sunday and stayed at the airport since our next flight (to Kilimanjaro airport) left at 7:00 am. The flight to Kilimanjaro was about an hour long and it was awesome seeing Mt. Kilimanjaro for the first time. We were picked up at the airport by Duncan, our driver/guide for our safari, and taken to L'Oasis Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania where we would spend the night before leaving for Lake Manyara National Park in the morning. Our safari schedule was as follows:

Monday, January 31 - Lake Manyara game drive
Tuesday, February 1 - Drive to Serengeti with game drive in the afternoon
Wednesday, February 2 - Serengeti game drive all day
Thursday, February 3 - Serengeti game drive in the morning, then drive to Ngorongoro
Friday, February 4 - Ngorongoro game drive in the morning, then drive back to Arusha

I wore my Garmin watch and will post the results so you can see where we were.

After driving in the morning to get to Lake Manyara, we had lunch overlooking the lake (seen below) and then began our first game drive. It was incredible! Baboons were everywhere and elephants and giraffes were right next to the road. Among the other animals we saw in Lake Manyara National Park were zebra, wildebeest, pink flamingo, hippos and gazelle. After our drive was finished we drove out of the park to our campsite, but since we were the only people there that night they gave us a room instead. This was awesome because it poured all night and we had a bathroom in the room.


The next morning we left for our long drive to Serengeti National Park. We made a quick stop at a viewpoint looking down at Ngorongoro Crater along the way. It really does take your breath away when you see it for the first time.


We had time for a game drive in the late afternoon on the way to our campsite. We saw some lions laying in the grass, sniffing out a meal that was miles away. After the lions we saw a leopard in a tree with a fresh kill...a gazelle. Apparently, this is one of the more difficult things to see. Those two sights were the best of our afternoon drive.

















We arrived at our campsite, in the middle of Serengeti National Park, and set up camp. We would be staying there for two nights. During the night you could hear warthogs and hyenas. We also learned that three weeks ago at the campsite a lion killed a buffalo 150 feet from the toilets. Both of these things were enough to keep Katie awake for a while both nights.

The next morning started with the most incredible sight I could've ever imagined. After driving out of our campsite, a few minutes down the road we witnessed 5 female lions and 21 cubs eating a giraffe it had killed in the middle of the night. We were within 20 feet. Absolutely amazing.

















We also saw two lions mating and tracked the wildebeest and zebra migration later that day, along with many other things. The next morning we visited the hippo pool, saw a bunch of elephants and buffaloes, and even saw another leopard in a tree...this time with two cubs. It was pretty far away, but to be able to see leopards on two different days is pretty lucky. After our morning drive we headed back to camp to pack up and have lunch before making the drive to Ngorongoro. On the way we visited a Masai Village where someone from the tribe showed us how they lived and also had me do their ritual jumping with them and had Katie do their ritual dance. After this we continued on our way to the crater.














The night in Ngorongoro was a cool one since you camp at the rim of the crater. We were also awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of buffalo walking and grazing through the campsite. The final morning of the safari we headed into the crater at 6 am. This was our last chance to see two animals we hadn't yet seen...the black rhino and cheetah. I was holding out hope for the cheetah even though Duncan was telling me our best chance was behind us and the rhino is becoming extinct so this was also going to be difficult. We were the second vehicle into the crater that morning and before we even made it to the bottom there were two cheetahs laying next to the road. The sun hadn't even come up yet. I was really excited. Next, we drove through the forest section of the crater to find the rhinos but we had no luck. As we continued out of the forest we saw two rhinos in the distance in the middle of the plains. We ended up seeing eight rhinos total that day. Incredible.














We saw more lions, wildebeest and Zebra that day and my favorite photo of our trip was taken in the crater (below, left). When our morning drive was finished we headed up out of the crater and back to our campsite for lunch and to pack up our things. A few minutes after arriving, three elephants in our camp showed up to drink out of the camp water supply. They were BIG elephants. After packing everything up we headed back to Arusha to spend the night in the lodge where we began our trip. The next morning, Saturday, we flew to Zanzibar for four nights on the beach.














Zanzibar was very relaxing. Besides hanging out at the pool, we also explored Stone Town, went on a Spice Tour (since Zanzibar is famous for their many spices), went snorkeling, and visited the giant tortoises. Laying around never felt so good after being on the go for the last week. We flew from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam on Wednesday to stay the night before flying back to Istanbul at 4:45 on Thursday morning. Dar Es Salaam was kind of scary, especially with the power out for most of the night. After an early dinner we went back to our hotel, and locked ourselves in the room for the rest of the night. We were ready to go home. Finally, after a long flight, a taxi, a ferry, a train and another taxi, we were back home at school with a few days to relax before classes start again on Monday. It was a great trip. Seeing the animals on the safari in their natural habitat was amazing. There is no way we can go the rest of our lives without going back to the Serengeti.

Camel Wrestling Championships

I just arrived home today from a weekend in Selcuk, Turkey (where Ephesus is) where I attended the Selcuk Camel Wrestling Championships with 6 friends. On Saturday there was a parade for the beauty contest. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing as three guys went to Ephesus and the other four of us hung out in a park and played Backgammon while we waited for them. Sunday was the day of the actual wrestling event. We took a minibus from Selcuk to the "stadium". I was about six kilometers away, very close to the beach. The atmosphere at the event was incredible. I would guess that there were about 5,000 people there, and mostly locals. Everyone had their grills set up and full meals prepared. I never knew Turkish people were such great tailgaters. We spent the day at the event before heading back into town in the late afternoon. You'll notice in the pictures that the camels all have white foam coming out of their mouths. This is something that never stops, but we couldn't figure out why it happens. Here is a website with some pretty good information on camel wrestling:

http://www.bigloveturkey.com/culture/tr-sports-camel-wrestling.asp

Our time in Selcuk was awesome and if anyone is ever visiting Turkey in January you have to go!

Christmas in Turkey

I apologize for the delay in time between our blog posts. I will try to stay more up to date...

As many of you have probably heard by now, Brian and Steph came to visit us for Christmas (barely). We had a pretty nice week planned out for them. I left on Tuesday morning to head to the airport to pick them up. The plan was to spend Tuesday night in Istanbul and finish our sightseeing on Wednesday before heading back to the school in the evening. Thursday evening we would fly to Cappadocia and then return on Sunday to give them one final night of rest before departing for Italy on Monday morning. It sure sounded like a good plan...

After I dropped my bag off at a friend's hostel we were staying at in Istanbul I began to walk to catch a bus when I receive a call from Katie telling me their flight has been canceled. I decide to travel north to stay with our friends Ben and Courtney that we met while in Santorini. Wednesday I head back to drop my bags off at the hostel again and as I'm walking to catch the bus to the airport I receive a call from Brian telling me their flight has been canceled. I get my back, jump on the subway and head back north to stay with Ben and Courtney again. Thursday is a little better since they are actually set to arrive in the early evening (4:30). The only problem is the flight is delayed an hour or so and our flight to Cappadocia is leaving from the other airport at 7:40. We wouldn't have a chance with Istanbul rush hour so I began calling a couple hours before they were set to arrive to change our flight to the next morning. After two hours of calling with declined credit cards (Ben even let me use his to try) and calling Capital One to find out that there is no problem, Pegasus Airlines finally tells me the international credit card system is down and that's why it isn't working. They give me a travel agents phone number to call so I have a guy I met on the bus call for me and the travel agent says Pegasus has to change the flight. I gave up. No Cappadocia for Christmas.

At least Brian and Steph arrived, but the bag with our Christmas presents that was checked did not arrive. We spent Friday and Saturday sightseeing in Istanbul. We took them to the Underground Cistern, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. We dressed up like Sultans in the Underground Cistern (it's a pretty funny picture). Friday night we had a traditional Turkish meal with them off of Istiklal Street. Saturday late afternoon we headed north to go to Ben and Courtney's for Christmas dinner. They were very kind and we had a ton of food. It finally felt like Christmas... We stayed the night at their place and on Sunday we visited Rumeli Fortress before heading back to school.

That was it. We wish we had more time with them. They left the next morning for Italy, but at least we were able to spend three and a half days with them. Many people in Europe were stranded at airports for four or five days so they were actually lucky arriving two days late. Now we are back to our normal lives and looking forward to our safari in Tanzania which we leave for on the last weekend in January.

Hopefully they find our bag...it's still missing.