Word count: - 1190
“I travel because it makes me
realize how much I haven’t seen, how much I am not going to see and how much I
still need to see.”
Quote by Carew Papritiz
Turkey is the beautiful country with several cultural mixes from ancient Mesopotamia, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans and the modern reforms by Kemal Pasha. A country of crowed streets and bazaars filled with aromas, a foodies’ Eden to try local cuisine such as Pide (you can find certain options for vegetarians) and Turkish chai with tulip-shaped glasses. The beautiful mosque of Hagia Sophia, story of Maiden’s Tower, Keremalti Market of Izmir, Grand Bazaar of Istanbul and many more wonders. However, what if the motive of travelling is to stay away from urban life and to drown relaxation, self reflection and to behold on past. Yeah! This passionate dream of every introvert can be fulfilled in the different side of Turkey, where activities like hiking, cycling, meditation and ancient history are waiting to observe.
The first image that came in my mind
as an Introvert’s arcadia is Ephesus; an ancient city and port of Greece
situated in Izmir province one of the largest Roman monumental area in the
eastern Mediterranean where the temple of Artemis is located, one of the seven
Wonders of Ancient World was also found known by its title “Servant Of The
Goddess”. Stones carved pillars surrounded by ancient walls with mysterious
symbols. Apart from these; ruins of Vai Dei Cureti, city’s main road was build
with stone piles and the hillside houses ignite the spark of curiosity for
tourists about the life of ancient times. The remains of wise civilization
found in Ephesus such as the Library of Celsus. It is believed that Celsus
himself had paid for construction of the library. This athenaeum was the home of
12,000 scrolls. The people of Efes were not only occupied in gaining wisdom
only, entertainment was one of the relevant part. The city has its own open-air drama theater
with 25,000 seating capacity for drama and gladiatorial combats during Roman
period. The ruins of Hadrian’s Gate and the temple of Hadrian depicting the
stone figurers of emperor Theodosius I (one) with his wife and his son, the whole
spot seems to be filled with mysterious voices narrating different stories of
multiplicity of Greek and Roman culture; as one walk through the ancient ruins
and the rocky terrain it is like passing a gate leading to wonderland.
Being surrounded by blue water and watching sunset, how relaxing! Another lotus land in real life is called Pamukkale (Turkish term meaning “cotton castle”); this beautiful natural site of lime stone formation is located in Aegean region of Turkey near the River Menderes.
The ancient name of this site is Hierapolis; a Greek city that was built on travertine. Besides the archeological site of city, there are total 17 hot springs pools. As the area is surrounded by mountain, mineral rich water flows down from small canals to the pool. With the chemical reaction of minerals present in, crystal clear water turns into a fairy blue color as it feels like a pond of bliss, as a fable narrated by our ancestors. Maybe, it is actually the pond of goodness as bathing in hot spring pools can cure many diseases especially skin related. If we search about Hierapolis; we will find about the main function of the place, a thermal spa centre. Yes! Ancient people enjoyed the privileges of spa and relaxation. It is believed that the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra had once bath in the pool of Hierapolis archeological site and the most exciting thing about it that we can too bath in that pool. Pamukkale is place where our deepest wish to experience something divine is fulfilled. Who says heaven is not on Earth, there are lots of places and Pamukkale is one of them
What if we can visit Tinker- Bell’s place, well real life fairyland is Cappadocia; located in central Turkey is its rocky stone structures made from volcanic eruptions, a never-never land.
When
we first think about this place, at a sudden the image of fairy chimneys of Goreme
(which means “you cannot see us” a village used as safe house from Arab
invaders) flashes in our mind, it is like fairies are experimenting their magic
for seasons and that is how seasons change. Well; Cappadocia is not just place
for creative writers, history lovers can also enjoy Open-Air Museum, it consist
of well preserved churches, monasteries and chapels, carved out of rocks. The
frescoes and painting of churches narrates its history. Not only churches are
carved here, this fantasyland have a castle all carved from a rock towering at
Cappadocia valleys. This castle is called Uchisar Castle used as a fortress by
Roman and Byzantine armies. While roaming inside the castle, one can appreciate
the rooms connected with each other’s through stairs and tunnels. Apart from
its stone carved monuments, Cappadocia enjoys the beauty of nature; the pink
colored lucid water of Lake Tuz, one of the largest salt water lakes in the
world. In addition; Cappadocia is a paradise for hikers as there canyons like
Love Valley, Rose Valley, Ihlara Valley, Devrent Valley also known as Imaginary
Valley with the use of your imagination
power one can see a lots of shapes in rocky structure. Moreover, watching
hundred of hot air balloons floating in sky while observing a sun setting down
over the mountains, is like a magical tradition that one should surely observe.
It does not matter either you ride on hot air balloon or just stand on a
viewpoint, this landscape is always waiting to being experienced by the
spectators.
Another mysterious and ancient place is Mount Nemrut, located in southeastern Turkey.
It is famous for its large statues of Greek Gods and royal Tomb of Antiochus well its not found until now. According to the historians, building such huge religious sanctuary was the part of political program to retrieve the Persian traditions. As the once seated statues of Greek gods have Persian clothing and hair styling. Statues of gods were 8 to 9 meters high, due to iconoclasm figures were destroyed and we find them scattered but the marvelous structure is still ready to be viewed by visitors. There are two great eagles, two lions and various Greek gods such as Helios, Ares Zeus even heads are beheaded but magical and captivating glory of place narrates its own story. The monastery was built to catch the glimpse of sunrise and sunset, with daybreak the ruins are slowly reveled and during sundown ruins hide beneath the dark. In my opinion, this is the most enchanting way to see Mount Nemrut. Apart from such ancient ruins of monastery, there are certain places like Severan Bridge well preserved by Romans and dedicated to Roman Empire and many more place and remains of ancient world. Mount Nemrut is a place where you can find quite spot after long hiking and then just look around the statues and ask yourself numerous questions about ancient world’s secrets. A true never-never land for an introvert.
Travelling is not just about moving
from one place to another, instead its about gaining information about
different places and people. Arriving at a conclusion after observing things
not based on others views and introverts are excellent for this activity.
Comments
Post a Comment