If there’s one thing you make a point of doing whilst visiting Turkey, make it a visit to Gemiler island. On the island, there are the remains of a few churches and many other buildings built between 300- 500 AD.
The island is supposedly where St Nicholas is buried. The saint, best known for secret giving by placing coins in the shoes of people who had left them out for him.
Did you know that Father Christmas was originally green but changed to red because of Coca- Cola?
The processional walkway (pictured below), is one of the most breathtaking pieces of architecture that I have ever seen. 350m in length, it runs right from the top of the island down to the sea. The walkway is Byzantine and was built between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. The Byzantine Empire came about after a split in the Roman empire and its capital was Constantinople.
Originally called Byzantium, the emperor Constantine named Constantinople after himself and styled it as a ‘New Rome’. it is now modern day Istanbul.
Situated just a short boat ride away from the island of Gemiler is the world famous beach of Öludeniz. One of the most photographed beaches of the mediterranean, its English translation should be ‘Dead Sea’ but is actually ‘Blue Lagoon’. The story as to how the beach got its name supposedly goes that a father and son were travelling in rough seas. The son- at the wheel- spotted the shore and suggested that they try and approach it. However, the father wasn’t convinced and so, fearing for his life, he pushed the son overboard. Despite his efforts to change course, it was too late and the father carried on towards the shore. Luckily, as soon as he reached the bay, the waters calmed and he was saved.
Situated under Mount Badadag (big papa- 1975m hight), it is also regarded as one of the best places to paraglide in the world. Below is a photo of me looking up at the mountain, simply amazed at its size. I think it’s pretty cool that you can see the peak sticking out from above the clouds!
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