Turkey

Just got back from a week in Turkey, not a holiday but strictly for work purposes you understand! I went with Jackie, and the Boss, as part of a two year long project to promote understanding of other European cultures and create a shared educational bond. So of course we had to immerse ourselves in the Turkish culture, which we did with much gusto. Above is a photo of Jackie and I immersing ourselves in the tourism culture by visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which you can just see in the background at the bottom of the hill.

This is Heirapolis, another ancient city high up in the mountains, which bizarrely they are reconstructing. I would have thought ruins ought to stay ruins myself, but there you go.

The ruins of Heirapolis lead into one of Turkey's World Heritage sites - Pamakule. This is not snow you see behind me, but calcium deposits. It's all very pretty and when you get to the end there are manmade versions of the pools which you can go paddling in if you don't mind sharing the water with the Turkish tadpoles.

We also went for a Turkish bath, where the sight of two naked Germans nearly caused us to turn tail and flee, but fortunately nakedness is not obligatory, so we emerged an hour later, scrubbed clean and thoroughly massaged. Thankfully for all of us there are no photos of this experience!