But, here goes...................
 
RUINS 
From Rome to Turkey, there is so much ancient history in this 'cradle' of our civilization.  Before long, we felt we'd be utterly 'ruined' before we finished and our legs were being strengthened through climbing thousands of steps. Some archeological sites, although fascinating, were 'dead'. At others, we could almost 'see' the people living their daily lives in that place - they were still 'alive'!

GALLIPOLI  
Like all Aussies, we found the visit to the Gallipoli battlefields a very moving experience.  We were astounded at the tiny beach where those Australian and New Zealand troops landed in the dawn hours of April 25 so long ago. We were impressed with the number of Turkish people visiting the site and the attitude of friendship and respect they have for the ANZACS.
 
THEATRES - GREEK & ROMAN 

Of all the archeological sites we visited the theatres impress because they are usually built on spectacular sites, so many of them are still able to be used today, their acoustics are wonderful and they are a marvellous example of the skills of those long-ago architects and builders.

OLYMPIC STADIUMS 
For a sporting fan like George, it was a delight to see the Olympic Stadiums of Athens and Olympia and to run a lap of each

CAPPADOCIA 
The whole Cappadocia area was fascinating with it's weathered sandstone formations, it's cave dwellings and underground cities and early churches.

ARTS & CRAFTS 

We visited some excellent museums such as those at Delphi and Antaylia where we saw examples of cultures from stone age times to Greek and Roman times. At every archeological site we saw examples of craftsmanship in the carvings on ancient buildings and statues.  In markets, at a Turkish carpet factory and a ceramics factory, in markets and roadside stalls we saw examples of modern day crafts.

PEOPLE 

Wherever we went, we met smiling faces and people who made us feel welcome. Young boys brought their donkeys or camels to the tourist spots to be photographed - for a fee!  School groups were everywhere on their end-of-year excursions and the children were extremely friendly and interested in where we had come from. We always faced a barrage of "Hullo. What is your name?" The tour guides were a mine of information and cared for us as if we were their own family members.

THE DOG 

Everywhere we stopped we found a dog. I asked if they were strays and was told, "No - not strays. They just belong to everyone." When we climbed down from our bus, my first question was, "Where's 'The Dog'?"
And sure enough...there it would be, standing on the edge of the group or lounging in the shade. It usually looked well fed and reasonably healthy.

BEING LOOKED AFTER

This was the first time we had travelled with a tour company. We used Trafalgar Tours and we can thoroughly recommend them and the local tour companies they were associated with.  We appreciated being collected at airports and transported to great hotels. The tour guides were knowledgable and never made us feel rushed, although they always had us where we were supposed to be in good time.  The tour buses were comfortable and well kept. We felt thoroughly pampered and cared for.

There are many more pics of our trip to be added to this web site. Please come back again to see what's next...........