Turkey is the country you visit when you're running out of hair on your head or tired of giving yourself a bath!
A colleague of mine who was once bald did a hair transplant in Turkey and now sports great hair, and I must have counted at least 20 guys on this trip who had undergone a similar procedure.
The Turkish bath is of course well known, but actually experiencing it is a whole different thing.
Anyway, starting with the vlogs of the 3 cities we visited this time.
Istanbul
Cappadocia
Antalya
I love it when a trip offers things I've never done before, so I'm going to start with listing these:
1. First hot air balloon ride
2. First time playing tennis
3. First couples massage
4. First experience with kababs that isn't the solitary chicken kebab we know from home
5. Last but not least, trying things Turkey has made famous for the world; Turkish mezze platters, Turkish tea, Turkish coffee, Turkish Hammam, and so much more
Istanbul
The primary halt for anyone touring Turkey, and a city that was once the centre of the world, with the mighty Ottomans ruling 3 continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) right from this place.
The Ottomans began their reign after the demise of the Roman Empire back in the 13th century, and ruled much of the world, especially Turkey till as recent as 1923 when Turkey got it's independence.
Though Islam is dominant, as visible in the absence of pork in all restaurants and the 3000 mosques in Istanbul alone, today Istanbul is a confluence of cultures and a metropolis with 20mn people with way too many neighborhoods to cover in 3 days.
In the time we spent here, we only visited the old town parts of the European side. The new town parts, and the Asian side were completely unexplored.
We did the walking tour in the old town and covered all the important places like Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome and the German Fountain.
The last one is important as it was the only tap from where we could drink water as the ones from the hotels aren't potable here.
Apart from these sights, we watched the Dervish Whirling show, walked by the Galata tower numerous times, ate fish from the Bosphorus beneath the Galata bridge, went on a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait, and got treated like Sultans at Ayasophia Hammam.
Ayasophia Hammam has been operating since 1664, and after the foam bath here, Naan and I nearly passed out on the couch when the attendant asks us if he should tell the girls who were waiting outside to stay a bit longer.
We told him we're not real world Sultans, and had to immediately get ready and rush outside.
The fleeting moment of royal treatment were totally worth the €80 pax though.
The greatest discovery of Istanbul was the Bilice Kebab restaurant. It's like the Empire of Bangalore or the Bade Mia of Bombay, and not a restaurant we could have found on TripAdvisor or through recommendations from our friends who've been to Istanbul.
We only managed to visit here since we were with 2 of Naan's friends, and they treated us to the Mezze platter, Adana kebab, and Ayran, all of which were simply outstanding at this dingy little place.
One of those things you always want to repeat, which is exactly what we did on the last night of our trip, and now can't wait to do it again whenever I get to revisit this fabulous city.
Bilice Kebap
Cesme Bazlama Kahlvati
Yaka Balik
Hamdi Restaurant
Cappadocia
This is a city like no other. There are rock formations here they have led to people carving out caves inside them to live in, and today these are hotels where you can experience a stay in the fairy chimney cave.
As if this isn't enough, you can even get to go on a Balloon ride through these fairy chimneys and get one of those photographs that keep popping up on Instagram.
The sunset and sunrise here were some of the best we've seen, and the whole city is just really beautiful to spend a day or two in.
Turkish Ravioli
Kelebek Cave Hotel
Antalya
This is a beach destination, with nothing else to do but the beach. There are attractions like Turkeys largest tunnel aquarium and scuba diving in underwater caves, but most people simply book a beach resort here and spend anywhere between 1-2 weeks.
For €200 a night, Delphin Palace where we stayed offered a full boat experience with unlimited breakfast, lunch and dinner, with spreads that rivaled our previous experience of Dubai.
Not only was just the food worth it, but the property had a tennis court, Turkish Hammam, games room including a bowling alley, and even a Cinema!
So you really just don't feel like going anywhere else in Antalya, and given we had just 2 days here, covering everything within the property itself seemed daunting.
Staying put in the premises of Delphin is exactly what we did, trying our hand out at tennis, getting served by pretty waitresses on roller blades while basking in the huge swimming pool, and even experiencing one of the best massages ever!
It was another Turkish Hammam similar to Ayasophia of Istanbul, but this came coupled with an Aromatherapy massage that Geet and I had together in a couples massage room, and it was one of the best massages ever.
We passed out completely after the massage in the spa lounge.
It was the perfect place to celebrate Naan's birthday, and the perfect final destination of a great trip.
A colleague of mine who was once bald did a hair transplant in Turkey and now sports great hair, and I must have counted at least 20 guys on this trip who had undergone a similar procedure.
The Turkish bath is of course well known, but actually experiencing it is a whole different thing.
Anyway, starting with the vlogs of the 3 cities we visited this time.
Istanbul
Cappadocia
Antalya
I love it when a trip offers things I've never done before, so I'm going to start with listing these:
1. First hot air balloon ride
2. First time playing tennis
3. First couples massage
4. First experience with kababs that isn't the solitary chicken kebab we know from home
5. Last but not least, trying things Turkey has made famous for the world; Turkish mezze platters, Turkish tea, Turkish coffee, Turkish Hammam, and so much more
Istanbul
The primary halt for anyone touring Turkey, and a city that was once the centre of the world, with the mighty Ottomans ruling 3 continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) right from this place.
The Ottomans began their reign after the demise of the Roman Empire back in the 13th century, and ruled much of the world, especially Turkey till as recent as 1923 when Turkey got it's independence.
Though Islam is dominant, as visible in the absence of pork in all restaurants and the 3000 mosques in Istanbul alone, today Istanbul is a confluence of cultures and a metropolis with 20mn people with way too many neighborhoods to cover in 3 days.
In the time we spent here, we only visited the old town parts of the European side. The new town parts, and the Asian side were completely unexplored.
We did the walking tour in the old town and covered all the important places like Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome and the German Fountain.
The last one is important as it was the only tap from where we could drink water as the ones from the hotels aren't potable here.
Apart from these sights, we watched the Dervish Whirling show, walked by the Galata tower numerous times, ate fish from the Bosphorus beneath the Galata bridge, went on a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait, and got treated like Sultans at Ayasophia Hammam.
Ayasophia Hammam has been operating since 1664, and after the foam bath here, Naan and I nearly passed out on the couch when the attendant asks us if he should tell the girls who were waiting outside to stay a bit longer.
We told him we're not real world Sultans, and had to immediately get ready and rush outside.
The fleeting moment of royal treatment were totally worth the €80 pax though.
The greatest discovery of Istanbul was the Bilice Kebab restaurant. It's like the Empire of Bangalore or the Bade Mia of Bombay, and not a restaurant we could have found on TripAdvisor or through recommendations from our friends who've been to Istanbul.
We only managed to visit here since we were with 2 of Naan's friends, and they treated us to the Mezze platter, Adana kebab, and Ayran, all of which were simply outstanding at this dingy little place.
One of those things you always want to repeat, which is exactly what we did on the last night of our trip, and now can't wait to do it again whenever I get to revisit this fabulous city.
Bilice Kebap
Cesme Bazlama Kahlvati
Yaka Balik
Hamdi Restaurant
Cappadocia
This is a city like no other. There are rock formations here they have led to people carving out caves inside them to live in, and today these are hotels where you can experience a stay in the fairy chimney cave.
As if this isn't enough, you can even get to go on a Balloon ride through these fairy chimneys and get one of those photographs that keep popping up on Instagram.
The sunset and sunrise here were some of the best we've seen, and the whole city is just really beautiful to spend a day or two in.
Turkish Ravioli
Kelebek Cave Hotel
Antalya
This is a beach destination, with nothing else to do but the beach. There are attractions like Turkeys largest tunnel aquarium and scuba diving in underwater caves, but most people simply book a beach resort here and spend anywhere between 1-2 weeks.
For €200 a night, Delphin Palace where we stayed offered a full boat experience with unlimited breakfast, lunch and dinner, with spreads that rivaled our previous experience of Dubai.
Not only was just the food worth it, but the property had a tennis court, Turkish Hammam, games room including a bowling alley, and even a Cinema!
So you really just don't feel like going anywhere else in Antalya, and given we had just 2 days here, covering everything within the property itself seemed daunting.
Staying put in the premises of Delphin is exactly what we did, trying our hand out at tennis, getting served by pretty waitresses on roller blades while basking in the huge swimming pool, and even experiencing one of the best massages ever!
It was another Turkish Hammam similar to Ayasophia of Istanbul, but this came coupled with an Aromatherapy massage that Geet and I had together in a couples massage room, and it was one of the best massages ever.
We passed out completely after the massage in the spa lounge.
It was the perfect place to celebrate Naan's birthday, and the perfect final destination of a great trip.
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