Travel Mediterranean

For those that are not familiar with football (soccer) in Turkey the Kings of the sport there is Fenerbahce Spor Klubu (Sports Club).
In the last few days they have been getting lot’s of attention since beating the London football club Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League. Champions League is basically a tournament with all the top teams of each domestic league battling to find the top team in Europe.

Fenerbahce has just beat the top rated football club in the world, and this is a huge deal in Turkey. Football is the national sport of choice, take a look at these celebrations!

With Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Sukru Saracoglu in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Fenerbahce may be on the brink of achieving European Soccer glory. A place in the last four of Europe’s premier club competition would constitute a remarkable achievement for a team which last season failed even to survive the qualifying stages.

Meanwhile, Fenerbahce also known as the “Yellow Canaries” took a big step towards defending their domestic crown last weekend with a 2-1 win at fourth-placed Besiktas, with Brazilian playmaker and captain Alex de Souza scoring both goals for the visitors.

That result kept them two points clear of Galatasaray with six games left — though with a trip to their archrivals still to come at the end of April the title race is far from decided.

Coached by the legendary Brazilian Zico, it has been in the Champions League that Fenerbahce have impressed this season, beating Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow en route to the knockout stages and then eliminating Sevilla on penalties in the last 16 after a thrilling two-legged tie finished 5-5 on aggregate.

On Wednesday, Chelsea became the latest side to discover just how hard Fenerbahce are to beat at home. Despite dominating the first half and going ahead through an own goal by Fener’s Brazilian forward Deivid, the London side were left stunned by two second half strikes; the first from London-born Kazim Kazim — formerly Colin Kazim Richards of Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United — and the second a thumping 30-meter drive from Deivid that made amends with interest for his earlier error.

The Turkish side seem very confident, and if they beat Chelsea, they could go all the way. This Cinderella story is just getting started.

“From the beginning, our ultimate goal has always been the final,” he said. “At the moment, all we are thinking about is the game in London and getting to the semifinal, but we are getting there step by step and we want to be in (the final in) Moscow.” Said Zico.

Now let’s see what they can do next week in London.

When in Istanbul…

Should I go on a Istanbul Tour?

Well if its your first time and you know the history of this great city then you would want to anyways, but if you don’t know at all and its your first time, then this is a must.

Explore the main cultural highlights of Istanbul’s opulent past - the grandiose Topkapi Palace, the glittering Grand Bazaar, the magnificent Hagia Sophia Church, the elegant Blue Mosque and ancient Hippodrome, set among the cobbled streets of the old Imperial quarter and heart of ancient Byzantium & Constantinople.

This would be a Sample Itinerary:

This guided City Tour of the old historical quarter starts after breakfast, when you are picked up from the hotel or port by our private guide. Begin with a visit to Topkapi Palace, the main residence of the Ottoman Sultans, with its jewel encrusted treasury and elegant four courts. After a lunch break, visit the main sights around Sultanahmet Square, including the famous Hagia Sophia Museum, once the largest church in the world for 1000 years, and decorated with stunning 6th century golden mosaics. Then visit the Blue Mosque, designed with 6 delicate minarets and a striking blue Iznik tiled interior. Nearby, take a stroll through the site of the ancient Hippodrome, once the sporting ground of chariots and political riots, and see the Egyptian Obelisk, Serpentine Column and Fountain of Wilhelm II. Finally, visit the Grand Bazaar, where you can shop or haggle with local merchants over unusual antiques, colorful spices, beautiful jewelry and richly textured fabrics. Drop off to hotel or cruise ship port.

There are good and bad companies, go with your gut feeling and make sure you trust the person selling you the tour. Remember to bargain. Have fun and tell me about your trip and tour when you get back.

Here is a video of Saklikent Gorge in Turkey, I’m working on getting alot of video of Turkey up on this blog, so please enjoy.
This is just a test.

Thanks,
AL

Some more information

Saklikent Gorge (”Hidden Valley”) is the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey - 18 km’s long and so steep and narrow that the sun does not penetrate the water, leaving it deliciously icy-cold in the summer. Once inside, water-sculpted limestone canyon walls soar above you. Saklikent is a Canyon which is unbelievably beatiful, mystic and fascinating. You can walk one kilometer through water to reach Saklikent.

Remember to dress appropriately - you will get wet, and avoid taking big expensive unwaterproof cameras!

Hagia Sophia is a Church from the Byzantine times. As you may know Istanbul Turkey used to be called Constantinople until the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453. Hagia Sophia was known to be the largest and most modeled after church of Eastern Christendom and to this day is one of the most important churches to Christianity.