mmm, TURKEY

One of the perks of working in a university is that there is a budget for paying for travel to conferences. One of the perks of being attached to one such employee is to accompany him to the exotic conference location and do interesting stuff in the sun while he's stuck inside listening to boring presentations!

...Hello five star beach resort hotel in Antalya...
[Dear reader, this is the first time I have piggy-backed off the conference travel fund and also the first time I have stayed in a resort hotel, the novelty has now worn off but I wish to portray my previous enthusiasm]

Yes, we took a picture of our room!

We gorged ourselves on buffet breakfast and dinner everyday, swam in the Mediterranean sea at every opportunity, witnessed the wonders of belly dancing at the resort evening show and tried not to be annoyed at the hordes of other tourists constantly swarming.

While Steve was learning more about MRI, I toured Antalya, visited Roman ruins at Perge, Aspendos and Side, haggled for flip flops and read my book in the sun.

Ruins on the coast at Side

The great preserved Amphitheatre at Aspendos

We escaped the resort after 4 days [and after we'd caught up with Julian also attending the conference] and headed to Istanbul.

The Blue Mosque at Dusk

It was the first muslim country I had been to - I enjoyed the different architecture and the strange 'call to prayer' from the many loud speakers clashing in mid-air five times a day. We stayed in the Sultanahmet area right near the Sultan Ahmed Mosque [Blue Mosque], the Hagia Sophia Museum and Topkapi palace.

One of the 'chambers' in the harem at Topkapi Palace

We toured the harem of Topkapi palace and discovered that covering every surface in ornate tiles and calling your bedroom a 'chamber' is cool.

We sailed up the Bosphorous and had lunch at Anadolu Kavagi overlooking the Black Sea. It was difficult to comprehend the historical significance of the place as the boat-load of tourists took over the hillside and the port restaurant staff were falling over each other to get customers before the ferry returned to the city.

Me and the Black Sea... it's blue as far as I can tell

We ate egg, tomato and cucumber for breakfast on our hostel roof top terrace and sucked on the turkish tea [tried the apple and mint flavoured varieties], bought turkish delight in the bazaar and dined on kebabs while the dervishes whirled, all the time wearing t-shirts and never feeling cold!

This is actually the entrance to a lantern shop in the grand bazaar

I felt like I had a whole year's worth of summer in 8 days!