Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Kayakoy (Ghost Town) and Topkapi Palace...and the End of Virtual Turkey


Built in the 1700's,  Kayakoy was home to almost 20,000 Greek Orthodox until the early 20th Century. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Greco-Turkish War, and the redefinition of Turkish Boundries in 1922- the residents fled leaving two churches and about 350 homes abandoned. Those who did not escape were killed. A historian writes 

"...the roadsides were strewn with the bodies of the dead. Most were elderly or children..."

Today, it is a World Friendship and Peace Site and the village preserved as a museum and popular tourist attraction.

(tour)

https://youtu.be/2gGnpNmgNBs







and lastly...the world that Mayes first discovered through her ViewMaster when she was a child that ignited her yearning to travel...somewhere...anywhere...someday to stand in Topkapi Palace.


Home to the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years the opulent palace is now a museum and tourist attraction. At its peak it was home to over 4,000 people and had 4 courtyards, mosques, a bakery, a hospital and its own mint! It was built in 1459 on the orders of Sultan Mehmed II.

(tour of the palace)

https://youtu.be/0cUhyWBeZc8


and now we bid Turkey  (goo-leh goo-leh)  Bye Bye...it has been a magical journey!

"güle güle"

 

 

 







More anon...