Assos (Behramkale)

Day Six

*sigh* It is already my last day in Canakkale, Turkey. Boy time sure does fly, I don't want to leave. Hehe, Acelya and I had a joke that she was going to make me her niece and I could stay forever. But alas, all good things must draw to a close.

I spent my last day(besides hanging in the pool) in Assos. Though an ancient Aeolian city, it wouldn't until the late 1980's that it made its mark as a tourist location. Leaning on a rocky hillside, the city is set above the charming, unspoiled fishing village of Behramkale. Far away from the maddening crowd, Acelya and I spent our last hours together shopping and taking pictures for her photo album. Assos has this certain vintage charm about it, almost no English is spoken here and all the signs are in Turkic.

Oh, no! I'm gonna miss my plane to Sicily! Acelya can turn in the rental car for me, I hope. As I left to climb aboard the plane, I found a note in my pocket saying, " Thank you for givig Canakkale a chance, did you know that that the city's name means "pot fortress"?(answers.com)

Now you have a tidbit of info for your American buddies at home. Iyi şanslar*, Acelya Benefse."

* Note- Iyi sanslar is Turkish for 'good luck'.

Kilitbahir Castle

Day Five

I fell asleep so quick yesterday that I forgot to tell you about Turkish food! Although it isn't as easily recognized as Italian pasta, Turkish food is hailed as being simple in presentation and not drowned in sauce like other cuisines (tukeyforyou.com).

Today I took a tour of Kilitbahir Castle, Acelya couldn't make it so I booked an English language tour. I learned that it was built in 1462 by Fatih Sultan Mehmet. It took 5000 workers 120 day to build and now is an important piece of history for Canakkale. I noticed the Persian and Macedonian influences in the archtecture. Which is no surprise considering that Alexander The Great conqered Turkey in his campaign.

I miss Acelya, maybe she can accompany me to Assos tomorrow.

Guntepe Resturant

Turkish food

Turkish bath

Day Four

Today I went to another Turkish bath, this time I stayed most of the day, though. After my luxurious bath and pamparing, I decided to eat at a Turkish restuarant(it's gotta be better than room-service.) Acelya and I went to Guntepe Restuarant to eat supper and I ate some of their famous helvasi cheese. Turkish food is traditionally eaten while sitting on a clean floor (turkeyforyou.com). I had such a relaxing day that I fell asleep as soon as I got into my room.

Gallipoli-Battlefields Tour

Gallipoli in WW1

Day Three

Today I got up early to go on a tour, so I threw on whatever was near my hand. When I got to Acelya's place, she looked surprised and asked why I was wear those cloths. Looking down, I checked my outfit; nothing too bad, just a tank top and some shorts. After making me change into one of her dresses, she said, "you need [to]  dress more conservatively in my country." She told me women shouldn't dress provacitively in Turkey, for their own safety (turkeyforyou.com).

We made it to Gallipoli just as the guide was starting. He said that it was a major battle in WW1, between the Ottoman Empire(turkey) and the Triple Entente(Britain, France, and Russia.) After touring the grounds, I went to pay myrespects to the fallen soldirs at Anzac Cove, which is a tribute spot to Australian and New Zealand soldiers who were trying to help the Allied powers (turkeyforyou.com).

Woo, i'm pooped, I hope tomorrow is more relaxing.

Day Two

Today Acelya and I went to the ruins of ancient Troy, which is only 30 Km away from Canakkale (wiki). It was really cool to see the ancient city that Homer wrote about. After walking around a bit, a man rudely pushed past me. I was about to give him a piece of my mind when Acelya stopped me. She said that in Muslim belief, men rule over women. Acelya(who is Muslim) also said that Turkey is a Muslim nation and women should be careful to travel in mixed groups in public (wiki).After walking around the ruins all day, I dropped Acelya off at a mosque and drove back to the Kolin for supper. I have get up early tomorrow for a tour, talk to you then!

The Kolin Hotel

Day One

Ah, my first day in Canakkale, Turkey. I am soooo glad that my flight is over.  The city is bigger than I imagined it would be. I checked into the Kolin Hotel and got my rental car. Now off to find a translater/guide since I can't speak Türkçe, which is their language(wiki).

Now I finally have an interpreter, her name is Acelya Benefse, and I met her while shopping in the marketplace. You see I always like to go shoppingon the first day so I can get my bearings in the city. And I was resting my aching feet and people kept asking me if I needed a ride. Turkish hospitality is legendary (wiki). Acelya tells me that the Turkish currency, the Lira, is worth .55 USD (wiki). 

Acelya and I topped off the day with a trip to a traditional Turkish bath, which is much like ancient Roman bath mixed with a day spa. Almost everywhere you go in Turkey, you can find a Turkish bath (wiki). Ahh, so relaxing. Here comes a massuse, gotta go, see you tomorrow!

My name is Allison and this is my blog about my trip to Çanakkale, Turkey. For a full week (6/1/09-6/8/09) I got to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of Turkey.