September 19,2021 Post by :Ruoshui Chen
Blue tour... 15 days in Turkey and GreeceDays: 15 days
Time: July
Per capita: 23000 yuan
With whom: one person
Play with group
The author went to these places
turkey
Greece
Istanbul
Izmir
Kapadochia
Athens
Mediterranean coast
Strait of Bosporus
The ancient city of Ephesus
pamukkale
Antalya
Republic Square
Clock tower
Kong ya
Pigeon Valley
blue mosque
Underground water Palace
Ahemat square
Big bazaar
Santorini
Santorini
Blue top Church
Red Beach
Delphi
Delphi Museum
Kalanbaka
Medeiora
The Acropolis in Athens
The Parthenon
The temple of irichtion
Constitution Square
Published on 2015-08-01 01:27
The weather was hot and I was lazy. I didn't want to write much, but the reception staff of the travel agency thought that I liked traveling and writing as usual. They hoped that I would write travel notes to them earlier so that they could use them for publicity. So they wrote down the experience and experience of this 15 day trip to Turkey and Greece again. This time, it was due to the travel agency.
From July 1 to 15, 2015, a 15 day tour of Turkey and Greece was organized by Shanghai East Lake Travel Agency. The five-star hotel in Turkey and four-star hotel in Greece were mainly owned by Ramada group. Except for two self-care meals, the rest included meals. In Turkey, except Istanbul, it was basically buffet, Istanbul and Greece are basically Chinese group meals. The whole journey is Turkish Airlines, with three in and three out routes at Istanbul Airport, from Istanbul to Izmir and from kapadochia to Istanbul as the inland routes in Turkey. The price of the whole trip is 23500 yuan per person, including all items except self financed items.
I like to travel. So far, I have been to 35 countries and regions. Unlike many young people who like to travel freely, I prefer to follow a group, but not simply follow a group, but select a group with a good itinerary. A group with a good itinerary is by no means inferior to a group with a much higher cost performance. Because of this, I don't have a fixed travel agency, but choose a travel agency according to the itinerary, I would like to apply to a travel agency with a good itinerary and high cost performance. Several itineraries of Shanghai East Lake Travel Agency, especially the self organized group of several European itineraries, just meet my requirements. Therefore, I have become a regular customer of them. It's a pity that boss Zhang of "East Lake" is very smart. For a person who is in the same major as him (I majored in catering and tourism business management in University), The old customers who wrote travel notes to publicize and praise his itinerary gave poor price discounts. I hope boss Zhang can make a big contribution and give a big discount in the future.
Here, I'd like to praise Turkish Airlines and the ticketing lady in Athens, Greece. I just want to arrange a seat in front of me. The lovely ticketing lady gave me a free upgrade to business class, which aroused the admiration of the fellow tourists. At the same time, I also want to praise the pilots of Turkish Airlines. I don't know whether the pilots are highly skilled or the runway of Istanbul Airport is excellent or both. Every time the plane lands at Istanbul Airport, it is super stable. It has already landed unconsciously, and the time and distance of high-speed taxiing are very short.
To get back to business, let's review the itinerary of Turkey and Greece
Turkey
Turkey is rich in tourism resources, characterized by ancient ruins and the scenery along the Mediterranean coast. The Bosporus Strait in Istanbul is beautiful, and the unique landform of kapadochia is unparalleled in the world
First stop: Izmir
It is the third largest city in Turkey and the first tourist spot on this trip. The scenic spot arranged in the itinerary is the ancient city of Ephesus, which is an important city in the ancient Roman Empire. There are ancient architectural sites such as amphitheaters, libraries, markets, baths and Roman Boulevard. The detailed introduction of scenic spots is numerous in the strategies of major tourism websites, so I won't repeat it here, In order to reduce the length of the article, including the detailed introduction of all the scenic spots that can be searched on the Internet in this trip, I will leave out all the tables and just talk about some special experiences and personal feelings in my travel.
After visiting the ancient city of Ephesus, I have a lot of free time left. Here, I would like to praise that the travel agency has arranged a hotel in the center of the city, which allows me to visit the center of Izmir almost all over. Although it's a group tour, my hobbies and experience lead me to give travel agencies such advice: try to arrange the hotel in the city center and set aside as much free time as possible, which will greatly improve the quality and cost performance of group tour.
My favorite and good subject in my school days was geography and history. Although I was living in a strange city, I was just like a local citizen. From the hotel in the center of the city, I walked along the busy commercial street to the small commodity market, and then through the busy market to the landmark clock tower square of the Mediterranean city, On one side is the blue Mediterranean, and on the other side are the rows of beautiful dwellings on the hills. If you don't come to Izmir, you don't feel the essence of the city if you don't come to the bell tower square.
On the way back to the hotel from the bell tower square, I went to the vegetable market by the way. The vegetable market is also a place I must visit when I travel to many places, whether at home or abroad. Looking back on the whole trip to Turkey, the price of Izmir seems to be the cheapest of several tourist cities. The most impressive thing is cherry. The appearance is no different from American cherries, but the sweetness is very general. The key is the price, which is only 2.5 lira / kg, equivalent to about 3 yuan / kg, only one tenth of the domestic price.
Second stop: Cotton Fort
Cotton fort, in short, is a white limestone terrace and pool formed by geological evolution on a hillside about 100 meters above sea level. The cotton fort in the photo works is extremely beautiful, but the cotton fort in reality is much inferior. On the one hand, it is because of the poor protection. Today's cotton fort is not pure white, and many places fade into yellow or black, dark. On the other hand, maybe it's because of preconceived ideas. I've seen the color pool of Huanglong in Sichuan for a long time, and I think it's more beautiful than the cotton fort. First of all, in terms of color, the color pool of Huanglong is colorful, while the color of cotton fort is mainly white, which makes it monotonous; Secondly, in terms of momentum, Huanglong is deep in the snow and high mountains, full of vitality, while mianhuabao is only 100 meters above sea level, naked and exposed to the hot sun, which makes it less mysterious and dignified.
I stayed in a five-star hot spring hotel in mianhuabao. At night, some staff were selling massage. The price was about 300 yuan / 70 minutes. I also wanted to relax and experience the massage technique of Turkey. So I called for a clock. Unexpectedly, a male technician was arranged, and I didn't respond at that time. In addition, I didn't ask for a replacement of a female technician due to poor language communication, It was not until the next day that I learned that other group members had also gone to massage and that they were all female technicians that I regretted. After all, the feeling and feeling of being served by male technicians and female technicians were very different, and the cost performance was also completely different. This time, I really lost money. In addition, the "local style" massage was carried out in a dark massage room with the lights off. They were told to take off their clothes and trousers and lie naked on the massage bed. Then they were covered with a long towel to expose only the part to be massaged. First, they applied massage oil to the part to be massaged, and then repeatedly rubbed it back and forth with light intensity. After that, they changed another part, In the whole process, there was hardly any strong manipulation such as finger pressure, beating and massage, but just repeatedly smearing oil on the body and then rolling it over and over. If a female technician was doing this kind of massage, there might be some feelings, but it was a male technician. It was really "dumb eat yellow lotus - I can't tell how bitter it is".
Third stop: Antalya
During the trip to Turkey and Greece, you will see a lot of ancient theaters. The aspandos amphitheater on the outskirts of Antalya is the best preserved ancient theater in the world, which still holds concerts frequently. When you are in the theater, you have to sigh about the glory of ancient civilization.
Antalya, as the third largest city in Turkey, is also a famous Mediterranean resort, which leaves a very good impression on me. First of all, I would like to boast about its old city. The old city is close to the mountains and the sea. Travel agencies arrange to play in the old city. It's free time. My walking route is: from the path next to the Freedom Square, down the winding old street, to the harbor at the bottom. There are colorful yachts and majestic pirate ships in the harbor. I walk along the Shanghai Causeway. Outside the causeway is another scenery, In the distance, there are rolling mountains on the coast. Near the cliff, the beach is full of swimmers. It's colorful and very eye-catching. Walking up the seawall, you can clearly see the majestic ancient castle and continue to shuttle through the old city. The simple and quiet alleys are really, as some articles say, there are some flavors of Gulangyu or Lijiang. When you walk out of the old city, you arrive at the Republic Square. Looking back at the old city from here, you can see the landmark clock tower of the old city, the ancient city wall, the mosque and the minaret. Next to the road is the tram station, and there are teams of carriages. On the north side of the Republic Square is the bustling commercial pedestrian street. If there is enough time, I really want to go around here, or find a coffee bar facing the sea, drink and see the beautiful women passing by. It's also very pleasant.
Unfortunately, the hotel arranged by the travel agency is not in the center of the city. I was just about to complain that I couldn't experience the nightlife in the old city. As the saying goes, "if I lose the East, I'll get the Sangyu". Crowne Plaza antarya, where I stayed, gave me a surprise. First of all, the hotel is located on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, separated by a road is the beach, sea view or swimming are very convenient. At dusk, groups of local people come by car to swim and play, and most of them are families waiting for dinner on the beach after dark. Secondly, the dinner in the hotel is very rich, which is the most perfect meal in the trip to Turkey and Greece (the buffet in Turkey looks very rich, but for me who don't eat cheese, most of the food is not used to). By the way, the lobby of the hotel is also very elegant, which is very similar to the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel I stayed in Dubai, UAE. I almost suspect that it was the work of the same architect.
Fourth stop: kongya
When I went to Cairo, I knew that Egypt had whirl dance, and the birthplace of whirl dance was Konya in Turkey, which was also an important pilgrimage site of Islam in Turkey. The main scenic spot of Konya is the Mevlana mosque, which is also a museum. It is a good place to learn about the local customs and culture and the origin of rotary dance. I remember watching a good-looking cartoon "the story of Avanti" when I was a child. In fact, Avanti is Turkish, and his birthplace is Konya.
On the way to kapadochia, the next stop from Konya, I pass by the Sultan post, a site on the ancient Silk Road. I look at the thick and tall city wall and imagine its prosperity in those days. However, with the vicissitudes of life, people have already gone to the empty and depressed city.
Fifth stop: cappadoccia
This is a magical land, like a dreamlike fairy tale world, like a planet in outer space, with strange rocks all over the canyons. It turns out that this is the gift of nature. It is the rock layer formed by volcanic eruption millions of years ago. After years of weathering, it has created its unique and unique landform.
As for the beauty of cappadoccia, there are too many beautiful words and pictures to show, so I will not repeat them. In fact, the best way is to go to the scene to experience it, and the best way to experience it is to watch it in a hot-air balloon. What I want to say is: when you go to Turkey, you have to go to cappadoccia, and when you go to cappadoccia, you have to go in a hot-air balloon.
There are only three scenic spots arranged by our travel agency in kapadochia: the ancient Romeo Natural Museum, pigeon Valley and spirit chimney. They are mainly for close viewing from the plane direction. The peculiar landform of kapadochia can be seen very limited. Sitting on a hot-air balloon, you can enjoy the panorama of kapadochia from all directions and shuttle over each canyon, Colorful hot air balloons are swimming in the air. When the sun rises from the valley in the distance and lights up this magical land, people can't help cheering. I think this is definitely a perfect and unforgettable life experience.
It's a self financed project, 250 dollars per person. It's value for money, absolutely worth it, and it's very safe.
Sixth stop: Istanbul
It's a real big city in Turkey. It's very imposing and unique. I especially like the scenery on both sides of the Bosporus Strait. That's how I feel about Istanbul.
The old city is the most important tourist spot in Istanbul. There are many famous scenic spots, such as the blue mosque, the Church of St. Sophia, the old palace, the underground water palace, the Sultan's Ahmat square (the ancient Roman arena), etc. each magnificent building records the glory of the city and the changes of the times, but maybe it's because I have seen too many churches, mosques, palaces, palaces and so on in the world Square, I have no amazing feeling about the blue mosque.
In Istanbul, my favorite is the scenery on both sides of the Bosporus Strait. Boating in the Bosporus Strait is very similar to boating in Sydney Bay in Australia or Venice bay in Italy. It is different from the Inland River Tours of Seine River in Paris, Amsterdam canal in Holland and Rhine River in Germany. It is a perfect combination of the majestic momentum of the sea and the classic buildings on the shore.
During the trip, you can also pass the new palace, cross the Eurasian bridge, and go to Valentine's mountain to have a panoramic view of the Bosporus Strait and Istanbul European region. It is also a good place to watch the Bosporus Strait. You can see the scenery from a high altitude.
The last activity in Istanbul is to go shopping in bazaar. In my opinion, it's a very common bazaar. The commodities and their prices don't attract me (the local specialties I brought back from Turkey are mainly local pastries, which I bought in the hypermarket). After a little stroll, I left and went to the nearby streets, I can find some folk customs of the old city and see Istanbul University.
The suggestion to travel agencies is that the hotel in Istanbul for two nights is a bit remote, and its surroundings are cold and clear, so that it has nothing to do at night. Most tourists go to a country all the way, hoping to make full use of every minute and second as much as possible. For example, they can eat, drink, stroll in the city center and see the night scenery in the evening, To understand the nightlife of local people, travel agencies can try their best to arrange hotels in the center of the city and places with big stores. In order to control the cost of travel agencies, even reducing the star level of hotels is OK. For example, it is better to arrange four-star hotels in the center of the city than in remote five-star hotels. For example, in Istanbul, if you can live along the Bosporus Strait or in the old city, you will be very happy.
Chapter 2 Greece
Leave Istanbul and go to Greece, the second country of the trip. As we all know, Greece is the birthplace of European civilization, but now it has become the rescue object of the European Union. Aegean islands and Athens, the capital of Greece, are the most popular tourist destinations. The former is suitable for leisure, while the latter is a visit to ancient civilization
First stop: Santorini
Santorini Island is the most beautiful island in the Aegean Sea. It is about 200 kilometers southeast of Athens. It takes nearly eight hours to get to Santorini Island by boat from Athens, and it takes nearly five hours to get to Santorini Island by speedboat. The fastest way is by plane, which can be reached in one hour.
It's said that Santorini is very beautiful. However, when you look at Santorini from the sea, or even if you go ashore, even if you stand on the highest point of the island, pirgos, you just feel that it's a very ordinary island. It's only when you arrive at the towns of ferra and ia built on the cliff that you suddenly step into the mythical world, with white houses standing on the cliff, Colorful flowers in every corner of the front and back of the house are just right dotted with white cottages, dotted with blue open-air swimming pools scattered in large and small courtyards, and of course Santorini's most iconic dome blue roof church. Intoxicated in this blue and white world, I just want to say that I'm really drunk.
Yiya is said to be "the most beautiful place in the world to watch the sunset". I want to change this sentence to "one of the most beautiful places in the world to watch the sunset". Although the sunset in Yiya is beautiful, it is not perfect. Ferra is the main town of Santorini. My feeling is more beautiful than that of IA. First, I can see the volcanic island across the sea from all angles. Second, ferra is located in the middle of the crescent shaped island. Looking to the left and right sides, it has a broad perspective and beautiful scenery. Overhead in the scorching sun, I climb down the winding donkey path (my body's ability to resist bumping and balance is poor, so I dare not try to ride a donkey down the cliff). At the bottom of the cliff is the old port of Santorini. From here, I can take a boat to visit volcanic Island and other islands. After a rest at the wharf, I take a cable car to return to ferra on the cliff, In the same section of the cable car, a middle-aged couple from South Korea had a friendly conversation and took pictures for me. After that, I continued to stroll in the streets and alleys of ferra. Each narrow and secluded alley is lined with cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels, tourist souvenir shops and local folk houses. I think it would be beautiful if I could stay here for one night and enjoy the night of ferra. It's a pity that the hotels near the cliff of ferra and IYA are very expensive. How can travel agencies arrange accommodation here, unless it's a free trip or a luxury group.
Red beach and black beach are famous beaches in Santorini. There are two black beaches, both of which are formed by volcanic rocks. On the red beach, I also picked up some red volcanic rock particles and brought them back to China. They were put in the fish tank at home. The color is very bright. It seems that the Greeks are indifferent to their own unique natural resources.
Second stop: Delphi
In ancient Greek mythology, Zeus, the God of the gods, in order to determine where the center of the earth is, sent out two eagles from the two poles of the earth to fly relative to each other. As a result, the two eagles met at Delphi. Zeus concluded that this is the center of the earth. Therefore, Delphi was regarded by the Greeks as the center of the world, known as the "navel of the world". Not only that, Delphi was also the holy land for the ancient Greeks to worship Apollo, the God of the sun, and the birthplace of the Oracle, enjoying a high status in the hearts of the Greeks. Delphi, located about 150 kilometers northwest of Athens, is divided into two parts: Delphi Museum and ancient city site. The museum collects some cultural relics excavated from the site. The ancient city site is mainly composed of Apollo Sun Temple, Athens goddess temple, theater, foreign consulates, sports training ground and sports ground.
By the way, there is a small town of arahova near Delphi, which is called "little Switzerland" of Greece (in my opinion, it's a little different from Switzerland). It's a small town built on a mountain. It's antique. We had lunch in the town that day. The food was very common, but the local spring was delicious, cool and sweet.
Third stop: kalanbaka
Driving from Delphi to the Northwest for about 250 kilometers, you can get to kalanbaka. Because of its precipitous and magnificent mountain, it is known as "the Yellow Mountain of Greece". But in fact, its scale is far smaller than that of the Yellow Mountain, and its altitude is far lower than that of the yellow mountain. Its characteristic is the air monasteries at the top of the cliffs, which are called "medeola" by Greeks. There are 13 existing, and five of them are open to tourists.
Compared with Huangshan in China, the mountain here can be regarded as a pocket version of Huangshan, but since it can be called Huangshan, the scenery is always very beautiful, and the town at the foot of the mountain is also particularly charming. The setting sun sets in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun spreads to the ancient houses and solemn churches among the green trees. Children are playing, and their red smiling faces are like rosy clouds.
Fourth stop: Athens
Athens is the capital of Greece, the largest city in Greece, and known as the eighth largest city in Europe. However, I feel that the urban area of Athens is not big. If you stand on the Acropolis, you can have a panoramic view of Athens. Like many European cities, Athens does not have high-rise buildings. Especially because Greece is located at the intersection of Eurasian plate and African plate, which is a country with frequent earthquakes, it is even more difficult to see skyscrapers in Athens. The most common building form in Athens is arcade. I have checked the information, The commercial arcade architecture that we saw in Guangzhou and other areas of China and on Jinling East Road in Shanghai originated from ancient Greece with a history of 2500 years, but it was introduced into China after modern times.
The most famous scenic spot in Athens is the Acropolis, which is the symbol of Athens. It is located on the hill called Acropolis in the center of the city. The altitude is not high. The relics include the ancient open-air theater, the mountain gate, the temple of Athena (also known as Parthenon) and the temple of irichtione. Although they have been seriously damaged, they are treasures of Greek and even the whole human civilization, It also occupies an important position in the history of architecture. Other famous scenic spots in Athens include the temple of Zeus, the venue of the first modern Olympic Games, the presidential palace, the parliament building, and the Constitution Square. The parliament building and the Constitution Square are connected with the pedestrian street in the old city, extending to the foot of the Acropolis. In front of the monument of the unknown martyrs in front of the parliament building, we watched the presidential guard changing ceremony with national characteristics, After taking a picture with the president's guard and passing through the Constitution Square, you can move freely in the old city. However, I visited the old city of Athens alone the night before. I felt that the old city of Athens was more emotional in the night than in the daytime. Moreover, I watched the assembly in front of the parliament building at a close distance (on the day when the European Union and the Greek government reached a new round of compromise). According to the guide, the assembly and parade in Athens were routine. What I witnessed was that there was no bloody violence, This is quite different from some reports in China. Therefore, hearsay is not desirable and seeing is believing.
My hotel is in the center of Athens. There is a subway station next to the hotel. To my surprise, I went to take the subway. Fortunately, due to the economic crisis, the Greek government limited the withdrawal amount of individuals on the bank ATM to 60 euro / day, so it took some temporary measures, such as taking the subway and bus free of charge. I was caught up by a foreigner. It was better to come early than opportunely. Although the subway station in Athens is not as luxurious as Moscow subway station in Russia, it is somewhat simple and elegant. The three primary colors of red, blue and green are used to represent the three lines. I transfer from red line to green line. It seems that the trains on the red line are a little old, while the carriages on the green line are much brighter.
Talking about shopping again, similar to other Mediterranean countries, Greece is rich in olive oil, and olive oil related products are the main local specialties. Although it is inconvenient to carry olive oil because of its heavy weight, I still bought several bottles. There are many Carrefour supermarkets in Greece. I bought olive oil at Carrefour supermarket in Athens, which is much cheaper than the duty-free shops in large shopping malls or airports. In addition, I bought some olive oil soap in the small town of kalanbaka, which is also cheaper than the shopping malls in Athens, There are many women's shoe stores in the old city of Athens. Even the main street of Constitution Square is aimed at foreign tourists. Although they are all advertised with 50% discount, the price is still on the high side. In the surrounding alleys, the price of women's shoes of similar styles is only one tenth of that of the main street. The customers are all local residents of Athens, I also bought two pairs of women's shoes in one of the stores. That's cheap and good.
By the way, I find a very interesting phenomenon in the prices of Greece and Turkey. That is to say, the prices of the same goods in Greece and Turkey are often the same. For example, the prices are two yuan, but the quality is different. That is to say, the currency units of the prices are totally different. One is Euro, and the other is Turkish Lira, The exchange rate between China's RMB and the euro is about 7:1, and that between China's RMB and the Turkish lira is about 2.5:1. Obviously, the price of the same commodity in Greece is two to three times higher than that in Turkey. For example, the price of ice cream in Greece is about 20 yuan, and that in Turkey is about 7.5 yuan. Based on the above facts, I can understand why hotels arranged by travel agencies are all five-star hotels in Turkey, but they are all four-star hotels in Greece.
The 15 day journey is in a hurry, but the beautiful memory will never be forgotten. Turkey and Greece both have deep blue plot, long coastline, blue sea and blue sky. Even their buildings are mainly blue and white, such as Istanbul's Blue Mosque and Santorini's dome blue roof church. Coincidentally, my favorite color is blue, because the world's broadest sky and ocean are blue, it is broad and profound, it is pure and quiet, it is the color of harmony, it is the color of nobility. Therefore, I call my trip to Turkey and Greece a blue tour. I will never forget this wonderful blue!
