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 Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in
Bodrum by Paul2001
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was originally built by the wife of the Carnia king, Mausolus who actually designed the structure himself. He was entombed here after he died. The mausoleum was built in the form of a huge white marble step pyramid. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus derives its name from the town of Halicarnassus, that was sited here before the Bodrum arose from the ruins.
The mausoleum does have a beautiful garden and some interesting friezes scattered about. I should also add that I actually was not able to enter the site itself as it being Monday. I could see much of the site from the perimeter fence from where I took this picture.
The mausoleum is open from 8am to noon and from 12:30pm to 5pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Entry costs $2.00. Leave a Comment
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 by nigelw6443Leave a Comment
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Well! Walking on Sultanahmet streets, that's one of the most common sentences you're gonna hear:) Most of the guys approaching you on the street and asking you where you are from are gonna end up inviting you for a cup of apple tea in their carpet shop. Actually, you can go, because when they tell you "just come and see my friend, you don't have to buy" they mean it. So, you will at least have an idea about Turkish Handcrafts and the carpets. They wouldn't bother you too much to buy. But note that, those people who take you to the carpet shops are gonna get commisions, so if you decide to buy anything, this might decrease your bargain power. Another tip I want to give is; "Turkish Traditional Apple Tea" is not Turkish Traditional at all. We don't drink apple tea at home, but you're served it cause our tea is usually too strong for you:)
If you don't wanna be bothered by carpet men too much. You can at least say these:
Hayir (higher)- No
Hayir Tesekkurler (higher teshekkurler) - no thanks
hayır istemiyorum (higher ees-te-me-yo-room) - no i don't want
Or you can tell them that you've already bought a carpet for US$10,000 and you don't need another one:) Leave a Comment
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 He's being nice so he can
sell you something by Weissdorn
In almost every VT page you'll see on the Middle East, they always mention the "pull-in" guys on the street. They're talking about the guys, whose job it is, to talk you into coming into their shop, their restaurant, their bath house, and in some rare cases, their arms. At first you think it's so friendly, when they invite you in to have a glass of tea, and look at their stuff, or try something on a menu. People, at this point, always remark, "wow, they're sooo nice!" Then a little later you want to go back to your hotel, and there they are again - and there are about 50 places of business you have to go by, before you reach the "safety zone".
And there are 50 guys to say, "Oh madame, please have a look" or "oh, madame please come and sit down, and have a cool drink.", that you have to go by before you finally get to your hotel.
Although many people consider this behavoir rather aggressive, it's not. These guys will sweet-talk you to death, but they usually will never lay a hand on you, unless you want them to. They don't consider it aggressive, they consider it "doing business".
As hard as it may seem, you have to force yourself to be rude. If you don't have time to shop for a carpet or sit in a cafe, don't talk to the guys - not even a single word - and don't even look them in the eye, no matter what they say to you.
Don't worry, they can take it.
If can't force yourself to be rude, than try discretion - tell them you are already late for an appointment, and that you'll be back later. Leave a Comment
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 Me with a shoe shine by SirRichard
In this occasion I was wearing clothe shoes, so it didn't have any sense trying to clean them, but the boy insisted so much, that I accepted. The next day I had to throw them away... Leave a Comment
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I'll repeat here what I wrote in my shopping tip. Don't buy anything in big jewellery, leather or carpets factories, even so they tell you that their products are the best and they'll give you a certificate. In every shop in the city you can buy exactly the same but much cheaper. Leave a Comment
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When you spend your holiday in Turkey and you want to go for any additional trip go to the travel office outside your hotel because there you can buy it much cheaper. Your resident surely will tell you that it's unsafe, they will cheat you etc, but don't listen to him. For a trip you can pay when you get to the bus and they surely will bring you to all the places they promised. Leave a Comment
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 Typical Turkish Gület Ship by Weissdorn
Basically the 'Blue Cruises' are not much different than the sailing trips we take. While we sail modern European Yachts, the 'Blue Cruises' take place mainly on beautiful Turkish traditional ships, called 'Gülets'.
These boats are actually good for people who want to take a short cruise on the coastline, and shoot some pictures, maybe go snorkeling or anchor overnight in a bay - stage a party on board - an do a little windsurfing and jetskiing on the side.
They are not for people who want to explore the secrets of the Turkish waters on their own, nor for sailing enthusiasts, or for people who like the intimacy and solidarity to share the boat with a 'weld-together' crew.
Yachties are not particular fond of these 'party barges', especially if they have found a secluded bay, and have to worry about inexperienced tourists running over their anchors chains with the hired-out jetskis, and staging a loud all-night party with techno music.
Although most all of the Gület crews are very experienced, and accidents are very very rare, it still leaves the typical Northern European worry-wort a lot to think about when considering the safety of a Gület - many do not conform to international boating safety standards - they are only subject to local safety standards - and in many cases this means poor night lighting, lack of life rafts, no safety monitoring of the VHF radio, etc.
Many of the Gület captains do not observe the "rules of the road" upon waterways, and often pilot their boats with gross negligence with respect to other boats being skippered by foreign tourists.
Really I don't want to discredit Gület ships, because the Turkish crews on these ships are friendly and experienced. And they are the best thing in town for people who want a 1-3 day trip on the water, who would otherwise be staying in a hotel. and tend to get really seasick.
But these trips can be expensive! Like all business between tourists and Turks, the price gets handled at the dock. If you want to save money, go for a ship where lots of people are already on it. It seems that economic laws do not apply in Turkey when it comes to doing business with tourists. Ships with few passangers pay more than fuller ships, not because the price was better on the other ship, because there are more people there. The Turks tend to want X dollars for the boat trip, irregardless of how many people tag along, and they just divide the price evenly amongst the guests. It doesn't occur to them, that they could attract more people if they simply charged less in the first place.
For those who want a safe, but adventurous trip, come with us! Leave a Comment
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 LOCAL FOOD WAS DELICIOUS by rachel_sunLeave a Comment
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some of them sometimes could be dodgy by changing the money that u give them..u know we have heaps of zero at the end and
1.000.000 sounds too close to 10.000.000 so they sometimes claim that u give 1 million istead 10 million..
just watch out your money and all the time be careful even u are shopping around in Turkey. just insist on that u give the exact money and try to tell them that u will call for police,could be helpful... Leave a Comment
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