Bergama (Pergamum) and Selçuk (Ephesus)

After Çanakkale,we went to Bergama, where we stayed for two nights in a wonderful guest house and visited the Acropolis, The Red Basilica and the Asklepion Temple (very important in Medicine and Pharmacy - para mis farmaceuticos, donde ejercio y se dio a conocer Galeno).
We are now in Selçuk where we have spent an amazing day visiting Ephesus and gettıng lessons on how to play Backgammon from locals while drinking Çay tea and Efes beer. We can't upload any of the great pictures we have in this computer but we will post them ASAP

Canakkale: The Gallipoli Peninsula (Good lesson on World War One)

As we can't be in two places at the same time, we didn't know what the weather was like in Istanbul after we left but we did get away from the rain.
Canakkale is a seaside town, receiving many tourist (mainly Australians and New Zelanders visiting the ANZAC memorials) but also Turkish people on holidays.
The most common way to visit Gallipoli is taking a tourist bus for the day (It's pretty much the only option you're given) but we decided to do it on our own, which ended up being a great option; We downloaded information on the iPod from the ANZAC site, rented a 13 year old car, and did the ANZAC walk by ourselves. That along with some lectures on Wold War I (iPod Podcasts) gave us a good and interesting history lesson.


View Gallipoli Drive - Walk in a larger map

İstanbul (We will be back)

After rainy Sofia and 6 hours on a great night bus (really, buses here are amazing) we got to rainy İstambul. The rain did not stop us from exploring this amazing historical city. From Aya Sophia to the Blue Mosque to the funky cafes of Galata (where we stayed). Its interesting to see the old empire crumbling around modern influences and yet its a city that in many corners continues to live the way it always has.

We particularly enjoyed playing eye spy (veo-veo) in Aya Sophia, trying to spot where the Ottoman empire had tried to cover up cristian symbols and art ALL over this amazing building.

Nardis Jazz Club (link)

Another highlight was the Nardis Jazz club, a great way to spend the night (out of the rain!) and a beer on the terrace of our hostel with one of the best views over the Golden Horn you can get.
After this two great but very wet days in İstambul we decided to take a gamble; basing our decision on a thorough inernet study on the weather forecast for the next few days and triying to escape from the rain, we decided to go to Gallipoli and spend a few more (hopefully drier) days in İstambul later on.

Blue Mosque

From our hostel room. (The ultimate home delivery: bucket on a rope)



Galata Bridge





Aya Sophia



The Blue Mosque



Pomegranate juice (Zumo de Granada)





The Blue Mosque

 



Sofia (Bulgaria)

So here's where our trip begins. Arrived in Sofıa on a rainy afternoon and soon discovered the bulgarians passion for casinos and sex shops (more than banks in Madrid, pubs in Ireland or things that can kill you in Australia) During nearly two days we walked the city (mostly under the rain) ate delicious and cheap food and started a competition on how many teas we drank vs churches visited. It seems that Ottoman invasions, communism, and joining the EU has left modern bulgarians pissed off at something that neither of us dared to ask what it was.



In 1626 Bulgarian Engineers discovered the beauty of warning signs in public fountains



Your guess: Tea or Church?

Sveta Alexander Nevski

The Apartment Bar: An apartment converted into a chilled out bar/cafe. Nice!