Vacations in Turkey (II) : Bursa and Bergama

June 25th: towards Bursa
Having left Istanbul by boat (ferry: the cars are on the boat with us !), we head to Bursa. Of course, we don't take the short way, but the one that provides a few views on the sea.

I suspect my model will not approve the publication of this photo ... but there is even better to come !

Spotted !

Then we arrived in Bursa, which is an unexpectedly huge city !

View of Bursa.

Despite being so large (I think 2 million people ?), Bursa is much more relaxed than Istanbul. And actually quite pleasant. We enjoyed a Turkish bath, saw a nice market and an interesting Mosque. The hotel was very cool, with a nice view.

Laura, our guide and organizer :-) , studying what we could visit in Bursa.

To visit a Mosque, women are usually asked to cover their hair. Doesn't she look "local" ? :-)

Evening view from the hotel room.

Bursa by night - the Mosque.

Although our poor Ali had to spend the whole day fixing car problems, he could finally have the reward: a Bursa-style kebap. The next morning, we (already) left towards Bergama.

David's Portugese driving style was not completely adapted to Turkish roads. But in went well and was quite funny for us !

June 26th: Bergama
Bergama is the beginning of our "ruins" trip ! Because in these few days, as you will notice, we saw a lot of ruins and stones. But it is so particular, and usually so well conserved !
In Bergama, there is a very old church ...

Very old church - quite impressive, actually.

... and an acropolis, which is built on a hill (by definition) and usually contains cool things like temples and theaters. Very interesting, and impressive (well conserved, etc.).

Temple in the Acropolis.

 A very nice place to play tourists ...

With the very steep theater in the background.

While Silvia was trying to set the camera for the group picture !

Ah, these Mediterraneans !

... do stupid photos ...

No, I'm not afraid for my camera, it's not that high if it falls, is it ?

Aren't they lovely ?

Technically, this picture was taken from the mouth of a (carved) lion.

... or meditate.

Can you see Giulio ?

Ali had found the best (though windy !) spot.

Hannes - inspired by so much water ?

Then we had a late lunch in Bergama (pide and soup), and we left towards Ayvalik - but this is for another post.

Surprisingly enough, the Italian driving was smooth and relax !