2nd day at Eskisehir

View of Eskisehir from Selale Park

Old Quarter of Eskisehir

View of the Posuk River in Eskisehir

Early on the second day we drove out of town towards Gordion, a small village  about 80 km away and famed for its ancient sites. It is said that when Alexander the Great came to conquer Asia Minor, he was asked to unravel the great Gordion Knot, which only a wise ruler could do. We all know that Alexander was a great warrior, but from this story we also know he was a practical and intelligent man! Instead of spending hours trying to unravel the knot, he just took his sword and cut it into two, thus unraveling the knot at the same time. He then went on to conquer the country, defeating King Darrius III and proclaiming himself Emperor of  Asia Minor. At that time Asia Minor included Persia, (today's Iraq), Turkey and Syria. We saw the ruins of the city that was built there in the early 7th century, the ramparts of the citadel and parts of the walls of this ancient city.

Ruins of the Gordion civilisation

Near Gordion too there's another famous figure, though this one  we all thought was only fictitious. This person is no less than the famous King Midas (pronounced as Mi (me) Das (Dust). Yes, the one with the golden touch. It seems there really was a King Midas and he did indeed had a golden touch, that is, whatever he touched turned to gold. The legend is that Midas had performed a good act for one of the gods (cant remember which one) and in return was told he could have anything he wanted. So he said that he wanted anything he touched to be gold and at once he got his wish. For two days Midas was very happy, running all over the palace and touching everything. Everything that he touched did indeed turn to gold. But alas, soon he realised the foolishness of his wish because he could not eat. Even the food that he tried to swallow became gold pellets and who could eat gold pellets? In sorrow he sat in the garden wondering how he could eat and drink when his little son came running to him. He turned to see the little boy and was so happy to see the child forgot about the wish. He carried his son in  his arms and found to his horror that the boy had turned into a golden statue. Regretting his greedy wish, he begged for forgiveness and told the God that he would give up everything, just to have his son back.  He was told to go and bathe in the river Oshu, near his palace and the gift would be overturned. And after he had bathed in the river, he found that everything was back to its original status and his son was again a normal boy. From that incident he realised how foolish he was and that he had to be grateful for what he had.

In Gordion we visited the tomb of King Midas, which was deep under a hillock. The museum c lose to the tomb had artifacts and even a statue of King Midas. I knew that Turkey had a rich history but never really understood how rich it actually is, with a civilisation that goes back to Mesopotamia, the Romans and later the Ottoman Turks.

At the Gordion Museum with a collage of Alexander the Great at the back.

Having coffee at the colorful garden of the Museum cafe

Istanbul and Eskisehir

So finally after almost 16 hours of travel, we managed to get settled in at the Hotel in Eskisehir. Eskisehir is actually a small university town, south east of Istanbul. We landed early in the morning at the Mustapha Kemal Ataturk Airport. No problems there - the landing was fine (we didn't even bump) and Immigrations and customs were a breeze. Well not actually a breeze because the queue was fairly long, but it moved and we were cleared without any hitch. Outside, the air was cool and bracing - after being cooped in a cabin for almost 11 hours, that was a really nice feeling. Like other airports, this was very busy but our tour guide was already waiting for us and soon had us out of the crowded car park and onto the highway. He asked us if we wanted to stop somewhere to freshen up and so on so we all said yes and he smiled. But it was easier said then done - the highway was congested and traffic was very very slow. To pass the time he pointed to us some interesting places along the way - Topkapi Palace, the Bhosperous  sea, and a number of old buildings and mosques. He also gave us a brief history of Istanbul, at one time the capital of the Byzantine Empire and known throughout the western world as Constantinople, after the Roman Emperor, Constantine.

The Straits of Bospherous which divides Istanbul into two - the European side and the Asian side

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 Istanbul is a fascinating city - a curious blend of East and West, with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia, straddling the Straits of Bospherous. We crossed the huge bridge spanning the straits and went across towards the Asian part of Turkey leaving Istanbul behind us. Well, we'd have 3 days there later on, after the conference. But for now we have to go to Eskisehir, which is more inland and approximately 450 km away.

We finally managed to get out of the congestion and on to the highway by 8.30 am. At 9.00 we stopped at a rest area for a bit of breakfast and to freshen up. The journey would be about 6 hours. We passed through countryside that were quite beautiful - lots of trees and greenery, apple orchards, quince, vineyards and so on. As we journeyed further and further inland, the vegetation became more and more sparse. Much of the country is mountainous according to Marwan, and the place where we were heading is actually a valley, surrounded by mountains. We passed fields of wheat (though the wheat had already been harvested) and meadows where we saw thousands of sheep grazing. We passed through quaint little villages, looking deserted and empty.

We finally arrived at our destination around 1pm and checked in about 2pm. After checking in and freshening up we all had lunch at one of the cafes in town. Eskisehir is a university town with a population of almost 500,000 people, half of which are students. The main food type I think is the kebab. There are many different  varieties of kebabs - meat, vegetables and fish. There are lamb kebabs, beef kebabs, chicken as well as mutton. There are also aubergine, carrots, capsicum, tomatoes and other types of vegetable kebabs. This is normally served with a variety of breads and rice, salads and pepper  (fresh as well as preserved).

The town looks very European in architecture - the apartments all had little gardens around them. There are roses, impatiens, marigolds and foxgloves. Roses especially - all colours and all so fat and healthy looking. Its a pretty town, even though I was told there's nothing touristy here. After the heavy lunch we had a walk along the main street and had a bit of window shopping. Hmm lots of goodies to buy later.

We went back to the hotel for a rest and at 5pm decided to walk down towards the hypermarket next door - Carefour, which is just like the ones we have at home. They also had some nice shops inside - mostly selling clothes.

travelling

Tomorrow night around midnight, I'll be on a plane bound for Istanbul.  We'll be in Turkey for 6 days - 3 days in Istanbul and another 3 in Eskisehir. Actually Repin will be attending a conference there but we have taken this opportunity to take some time out for a short tour of Turkey. Then we'll also be going to London and another tour of Europe. This one will take us about 2 weeks, so all in all I'll be away for about 23 days. Fairly long.

So today I stocked up on cat food and cat litter. My son who will be home to sort of look after the cats will not bother to buy their normal food which I get from the veterinary  so I thought I 'd better buy them and keep them in the store room just in case. I know I'm going to miss Chi Chi, Ginger, Momo, Karupin and Black. Especially Ginger. I'll worry about Karupin (He's always so sickly and I hope he wont be too sick while I'm away.)  And I wonder who will cuddle my two monsters (Momo and Karupin) when I'm not around. Chi chi is quite self sufficient and doesn't really need to be held, but both Karupin and Momo somehow always seem to be needy, poor things. Karupin especially will look at you with his soulful eyes as if wondering why you haven't brushed his hair or petted him.

Chi Chi showing her boredom

I also bought some books to read along the journey too - one JD Robb - Promises in Death,one book by a Turkish writer - Orhan Parmuk, and another by Jeffrey Archer - Paths of Glory. Looking forward to reading that first on the plane. I read the review and I think its a sad book in a way - its about George Mallory, a mountain climber who died while climbing Everest and it's based on a true story.