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'99 Poland - Sinai (Egypt) - Poland Trip
Fourth Leg: Kos (Greece) and Turkey

 

Kos (Greece) Turkey

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J.: We arrived in Rhodes in the morning and spent the whole day on the beach waiting for the ferry to Kos. The ferry ride itself was interesting because we were travelling along the shore. Kos was much smaller and friendlier than Rhodes. 

J.: The island was occupied by Scandinavians—great people to party with. Yeah! The nightlife was just what the guidebook described: fun and busy. It was quite easy to find a secluded beach and simply enjoy the sea. 

J.: Because of low traffic between Turkey and Greece, the ferry Kos—Bodrum was the smallest we took this year: it fit three cars, two motorcycles and 20 people. $90 each! For a one-hour ride! A rip off.

In Bodrum we camped at the same place as last year. This year it was much less busy. The season was coming to the end.

J.: In the morning we found out about the earthquake in the Istanbul area. Not knowing the extent of the disaster, we thought: oh, well, another attraction. We kept riding to Pamukkale.

Pamukkale presented similar hassle to the one we had experienced in Morocco last year. There were three guys on mopeds chasing us in order to get us to their hostels. The most persistent guy who also had a swimming pool by his hostel won! One night: 1,000,000 Turkish lira a person which equals about US$3. The owner was very nice. His wife was preparing meal for the guests. Delicious!

Pamukkale is famous for its white calcium formations set on the side of the ridge. From far away it looks like snow. 

Coming closer you could see shallow pools filled with warm, calcium-rich mineral water. Because the place has been a popular resort from Roman times, there is lots of ruins to be seen.  

Beside the hostel there was a swimming pool with warm water coming down from the mountain. Food was cheap. Overall great place to enjoy.

J.: That morning we were supposed to head to Istanbul. At that point there were 2,500 victims. Eventually, the number of dead was close to 30,000. There was no electricity, no water, no gas in the area afflicted by the catastrophe. We changed our plans and decided to go to Bergamo (Latin name: Pergamum). Second time in a row I was going to miss Istanbul. Well, that means that I would have to come back to Turkey again. The road from Pamukkale to Bergamo was agriculturally rich. Imagine a valley approximately 100 km long and 30 km wide full of ripe grapes. 

Our last ancient ruins this year, Pergamum, was famous for its king who invented pergamen, a writing surface made from animal hides rather than pressed papyrus reeds. There used to be a huge library reaching around 200,000 books.  

In the evening we went to a Turkish bath (hammam). In comparison to hammam in Damascus, Syria, last year, this one was of much lower class: quite dirty and the stuff didn’t offer any tea at the end!  

J.: Another pleasant ride. Another ferry (across Dardanelles Strait). 

Another night for free—this time in the middle of the stubble field. The plan for Friday was to reach Hungary. 

To continue the story, click Europe 2 in the index ('99).