This series will go country by country through my two-year trip. I plan on sharing some experiences, thoughts, and photos of each country that I visited.

Country by Country 13: Turkey

DoctorCrypto and I had met in Budapest and spent a few days relaxing in Santorini, Greece. We then boarded a ship and eventually landed in Bodrum, Turkey. We found our hotel and spent a night in Bodrum before renting a car and driving to Istanbul.

Our route took us to Ephesus, Pamukkale, Phocaea (Foca), Assos, Sile, and Istanbul.

Here are some of the photos from Bodrum.

This is a view from our hotel's roof.

Bodrum harbor and fort.

It looks like a nice place to have breakfast, but we never ate at our hotel.

@doctorcrypto admiring the view.

A thing of meat and beauty. This was one of the best doner kebabs I've ever had.

That was Bodrum. After a long night of telling a million street hawkers that we didn't want to look at their menus, we went to sleep. The next day we were off the ruined city of Ephesus. This is the city that was written about several times in the New Testament bibles, including the book of Ephesians.

A coleseum or amphitheater.

@doctorcrypto working on his archeology merit badge.

A library that may have been used by your favorite people in the bible.

Greek arches.

The library's ceiling.

Cat on mosaic.

Cool building decorations.

After Ephesus, we still had half a day left. We drove to Pamukkale and arrived after dark. We'd planned on staying in the nearby city, but the city was too hectic. We continued toward the tourist attraction and found a nice, quiet hotel.

The next day we climbed up the big, white hill. In an effort to reduce damage to the rock formation, everyone has to take off their shoes before climbing up. It wasn't too hard on the feet, but it wasn't comfortable.

The whole hill is made of this white stuff.

Those are people in the background.

Panorama of the pools.

On top of the hill are more ruins. I believe they are also Greek.

Ruins.

The walls look like clouds.

We finished our morning hike through Pamukkale and got back in the car. We made our way to Phocaea where we spent the night.

A photo of part of Phocaea.

A harbor in Phocaea.

A nice, small street in Phocaea.

The view from where we stayed.

Tea time in Turkey with @doctorcrypto.

Me testing out my new sunglasses.

A sign in one of the bars that we went to.

Phocaea was one of my favorite stops in Turkey. The streek hawkers were less aggressive there and it seemed more like a place for Turkish tourists than a place for foreign tourists. It was a more relaxed type of place.

We weren't sure where to go next so we asked the person who worked at our hotel. He recommended Assos which is also along the coast. We drove up there and eventually found a place to stay.

Assos had pebble beaches that were pretty nice.

We had a huge meal with Raki for dinner. Raki is cool because it turns white when it comes in contact with water. The taste is like licorice or anise.

Breakfast! Tons of new foods to try out!

After Assos, we went to Sile which is on the coast of the Black Sea. This town was very pretty and had more of a European look to it.

Sunset in Sile.

The Black Sea.

A wooden house.

From Sile, it was a short drive to Istanbul. We arrived earlier than expected and realized that having a rental car in Istanbul was more of a liability than anything else. We attempted to return the car at the airport and spent hours trying to figure out where to turn it in. Eventually, we got rid of the car and took the tram to the tourist area.

A street in Istanbul.

A mosque.

A ceiling.

One of my favorite photos from Istanbul.

We walked around the tourist area in Istanbul, and a few hours was enough for me. Istanbul is a pretty place, but the aggressive "salesmen" outside of every single restaurant and shop made the experience suck. I would never choose to walk down any street where everyone is going to act like I've insulted their mother by not looking at their menu (which is identical to a hundred other menus on the street).

In the evening we walked around the neighborhood where our hotel was located. That was much much more enjoyable. People left us alone and we found places to eat and shop on our own.

Here are some bonus photos of food and snacks that we had in Turkey.

Beef flavored Cheetos?

Hot Corn flavored? Say what?

Turkish flavored. Sounds good!

This salty yogurt drink is very common in Turkey and it's great!

My favorite new bar food. Cucumbers with salt and lemon juice.

It's not food, but these gas stations surprised me. To me, the logo looks like a dog eating a piece of bacon. It seems like an odd logo to have in a Muslim country.

After a night in Istanbul, @doctorcrypto had to get to the airport early. He was flying back to the USA. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go next. I knew that I didn't want to stay in Turkey (fuck off with your menus! Seriously!). I looked online and found a cheap flight to Rome. Rome wasn't a place that I'd thought of visiting because I expected it to have too many tourists. The ticket was the right price so I went to Rome. Will the tourists be too much for me to handle? Stay tuned for the next post to find out!