~ what's your reading habit? ~

it's October... and I'm reading my 12th book this year. yeah, u can say "wth??? baru 12?", but I fall into d category of "people-who-read-several-pages-a-day-depending-on-the-daily-schedule". sometime I can finish up a book in 3days, often times it's about a month. so, October and now in my 12th book, not bad.

 

i read mostly chick lit because i consider it as light reading. i don't want to read something that requires too much brain-work. i love John Grisham's works (thumbs up) but i can only enjoy his books when I'm on a holiday for 20 days. yeah, yeah, keep on dreaming!!! hahahaha (who's gonna gimme 20-days holiday and just chilling while doing nothing except reading John Grisham's?). when i read chick lit, i can just pretend to be the main (or supporting) character and imagine myself laughing/crying/dreaming/going crazy over things. once a while, tersenyum sendiri2 on d train/in the car/on the plane. crying? not when I'm in public places laaa... kalo nangis sambil baca atas katil/dlm bilik, most probably have done that.

 

i like motivational books as well. but nowadays i prefer listening to inspirational videos online. my ideology is that even if I'm not listening to it (because I'm so into doing my work walaupun headphone melekat kt telinga), the unconscious brain will still register the message. i believe that. daku percaya kebolehan minda separa sedar =)

 

i just came across this survey on the internet: http://survey.pnm.gov.my/. at the moment, the National Library of Malaysia is conducting an Interim Survey on Malaysians Reading Habit. This effort, which is in collaboration with the Dept. of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Educational Technology Division of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, Librarians Association of Malaysia (PPM), the Malaysian Public Library Directors Council (MPAM) and Conference of Academic Libraries and National Library of Malaysia (PERPUN), aims to identify number of books read by Malaysians based on demographic and the trend of reading habit among Malaysians.

 

I've completed the survey in less than 10 minutes, it's that simple. so, let's contribute to the survey. who knows you might win a prize (every 50th entry will receive a prize).

 

p/s: the 12th book I'm reading now - "The First Muslim: the Story of Muhammad". I'm on page 7 and already think that it's awesome.

 

~ we mourn ~

we mourn the tragic incident of flight MH17. it is with very heavy heart that we have to say "goodbye" to the victims in this way. we don't know them directly, nevertheless we still feel the lost as they were our fellow Malaysians, our "family".

 

as for me, it's saddening to know that one of the victims was my junior at school. during those days, we didn't talk much but she was a closed friend to my juniors in my dorm. so when the news spread after sahur last month on my whatsapp group that "Shazana" was the flight attendant on board the flight that was shot down, I was stunned. her friends/my juniors will have a hard time to let go of such as "happy-go-lucky" and bubbly friend. her picture that's shown on newspapers with her bright smile, well that's who she was in person. at least that's how i still remember her, a girl with a bright smile.

 

Shazana, I knew you when you were in Form 1 (i was in Form 3 at that time). you were good friend to my dormmates and other juniors (your same batch) at my block (go, go Dang Anum). a friendly and happy-go-lucky girl, u'll definitely be missed by many of us. Ya Allah, semoga rohnya sentiasa dicucuri rahmat.

 

.Al-Fatihah.

 

p/s: let's pray that the other victims will be identified and be brought back to Malaysia.

~ 10 days in Turki (final) ~

I'm gonna share with u some (important/interesting) info about my Turki trip. this is gonna b d last entry for my Turki trip... berzaman nk perabihkan, hahahaha.

 

Money (duit)

currency used in Turkey is Turkish Lira (TL) but USD and EURO are also accepted. I brought USD & Lira with me (more USD than Lira actually). where to get Lira in KL? not all money changer sells Lira.yg i tau, the money changer in Midvalley & Ampang Park ada jual/beli Lira. disbbkn there's not many source to change to Turkish Lira in KL, some money changer operator sells it (a lil bit') higher than necessary. once u r in Turkey, u can go to d money changer, change ur USD to Lira. important tips from our guide, don't change ur money on Sundays. kita xnk rugi cz losing on d exchange.

Currency exchange

when we were there, 1 TL = RM1.60 (lbh kurg).

What to buy with 1TL?

1TL can b used to pay to toilet/restroom operator. other than that, I got 4 postcards for 1TL.

Food

for Malaysians who r used to spicy food, bring ur own chilli/hot sauce. I bw chilli flakes with me tp once there, I think it's actually not necessary. at every tmpt mkn that we went, they usually hv chilli flakes ready on d table. I bw jugak sos Nandos (beli Hot Peri-Peri Sauce kt Giant) ms g Turkey & I ate it when there's chicken in d menu. nk mkn ayam dgn chilli flakes mcm x cukp pedas je. I hv in my group yg bw McD's packet chilli sauce in d trip. ni bgs bila bab kalo mkn & nk bercicah sos cili (in our case, nk mkn sotong gorg tepung). bring small packs of biscuits if u r d kind of person like me yg sng lapar when in cold, hehehe. otherwise, can just buy jajan when u stop for toilet break/solat/mkn.

Weather

we were in Turkey when it's Spring time (end of March to early Apr). temperature changes in different parts of Turkey. sometimes it's 13 Celcius or 11 Celcius. other days, it can be 17 Celcius. depending on how well your body cope with the low temperature, wear comfy clothings.

Clothings

frankly, i'm not very comfortable when it's cold. smtimes can get a lil' miserable mentally, hahaha. so, I brought tshirts byk2 for d 10 days trip. and also long sleeves & inner. jacket I bw 1 je (sbbtu gmbr I sume dgn jacket yg sama, hahaha) and sweater (just d thin one) ada sehelai gk. konsep I to keep myself warm adalah dgn wearing layers. on most days during d trip, I wore 3 layers of baju at once. bila pki jacket skali, then it's 4 layers already =) wear comfortable shoes, seelok2nye yg xde high heels. kalo byk brjln, xde la lenguh. raincoat...ermmm.... I dnt see any use of it. ms trip aritu hujan skjp je & xlbt pn, tu pn 1 day tu jelah, hari2 len sume cerah. selipar...ermmm...I ada bw 1pasang, tp gna ms nk g mkn kt hotel je. lps chck in hotel, hntr beg dlm bilik, tukar fr kasut to selipar (kasihan kakiku seharian tertutup) sbb nk turun g mkn.

Solat

ada yg sggst I bw selipar with me ms naik bus cz bila stop utk solat kt msjd, dh tukar pki selipar siap2 utk g wudhu (kasut tggl dlm bus). tp I ended with lap kaki dgn tissue lps wudhu, then pki stoking & kasut blk to walk to d mosque. tmpt wudhu sllnye in different building/place than d main building of d mosque (not like in Malaysia yg tmpt wudhu dlm msjd itself). xpelah, dh amik wudhu', doa la semoga setiap lgkh to enter d praying hall akn menghapuskn dosa2 yg ada =) Subuh adalah around 4lbh tp kul5.15 or 5.30 can pray dh. I wasn't aware of d timing for Zohor, Asar sbb everyday guide yg akn ckp dh boleh smyg. as for Magrib & Isya', once dh chck in hotel, br buat jamak ta'khir. or kalo stop for Mgrb kt msjd, buat je jamak taqdim.

Souvenirs

u can get souvenirs such as fridge magnet, table runner, shawls (silk or tak), bookmark, keychain, ceramic items, apple tea, Turkish delight, baklava, etc2. if u r only going to Istanbul, Spice Bazaar & Grand Bazaar r d two popular bazaars to shop. we didn't get much time in Spice Bazaar, so I don't really know how to compare d price of similar things sold at Grand Bazaar. kalo u jmp pe yg u berkenan kt Spice Bazaar & dgn limited time yg u ada, risau xjmp d same thing at Grand Bazaar, so beli jelah bila dh jmp kt Spice Bazaar tu. tp kalo de byk lg masa kt Istanbul, boleh la repeat byk2 kali masuk Spice Bazaar & Grand Bazaar... tinggal larat kaki nk jln/x jelah, hehehehe. important, Grand Bazaar x bkk on Sundays. suggstn, kalo nk bw blk baklava to Malaysia, beli la ms dh dkt nk blk M'sia. my experience, air ros yg gna dlm resipi baklava I x meleleh ms nk bw blk. ada yg beli ms awl2 trip, trpksa buang cz dh meleleh2 air dlm kotak baklava.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think those r some useful info that I hope will guide u guys who r planning a trip to Turkey. if u hv any info to ask, do leave ur question in d comment & I'll reply to it (if I hv d answer). so, sesapa yg dh cnfirm nk g Turkey soon, enjoy ur trip =)

.bye.

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.10) ~

~ 9th day ~

(and 10th day as well)

 

it's our last day in Turki. sobsobsob...sedeyyy... huhuhuhu. I'm enjoying my time in Turki & enjoying my new friends. we started our day as usual after breakfast. first, we headed to the famous Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. (note: Grand Bazaar x bkk on Sunday. we were there on Monday). it's not very far from our hotel, so we just walked. sbnrnye xtau nk ckp jauh/x. mbe jauh tp x terasa sbb sebok sgt potpetpotpet sepjg jln dgn kenkwn&sebok bergmbr.

 

~ me, my friends & d places we passed by to Grand Bazaar ~

 

dari berjln kaki tu, kitrg masuk kt bhgn yg ada jual2 buku. dh mcm bookfair pn ada jugak gayanye. x jauh frm tmpt org jual buku2 tu, then tadaaaaa.... tu dia dpn mata Gate 7 to enter d Grand Bazaar. our guide gv instructions on d time that we should meet again at the same spot. so igt.... kt mna kita masuk, kt ctu la kuar blk. lpstu bertebaran la kitrg memulakn misi mencari brg apa2 yg ptt lg. we only hv 8.45 am 'til 11 am... not enough time =(

 

seeloknye last minit shopping dgn limited time cenggini kita dh set siap2 dlm kpale apa lg yg nk beli & dnt get influenced by ayat2 manis si peniaga kt cni. bknnya apa, ko ada 2jamsuku je & Grand Bazaar ni besor, tak dan la kalo sume brg nk tgk & br nk decide nk beli apa. kalo masuk Grand Bazaar ni pagi2 cm kitrg, bgs sbb org stil xrmi. kedai pn br bkk. nk memilih brg rs cmfrtble la sket sbb xyh nk sesak2 dgn org rmi. kalo ptg, cnfirm jd cm kt Spice Bazaar d day b4.

 

~ tshirts, keychains, wind chimes, shawls, brg ceramic, lampu2, leather products, bags, table runner... u name it ~ 

 

 

~ see those plastic bags I carried, sikit je brg I beli fr d Grand Bazaar ~

 

2 hours and 15 minutes later, we waited outside Gate 7 of & walked to our bus. pegi berlenggang, so boleh jln kaki. blk dh de plstk beg brg2, so kna naik bus, hahaha. once we reached d hotel, it's time for final packing and to bring our bags to d lobby. beg drpd nipis jd tebal aftr 10 days. ada yg dr 1, jd 2. kt lobby hotel ada penimbang. so masing2 dok menimbang beg masing2 sbb takut overweight. kalo overweight, kna tumpang dgn brg org len.

 

for final Zohor (and Asar) prayer, we walked to a mosque nearby d hotel. it was not yet Zohor time, so we took d opportunity to sit in d mosque and wait. ada ceramah kt dlm msjd ms tu tp sbb xpaham ustaz tu ckp bhs Turki, kita dok diam2 baik2 je ye dlm msjd =) smpt amik gmbr interior sket, hehehe...sket jelah tpnye. sket as in 2 je.

 

~ outside & inside ~

 

dh semua2 settle solat, semua2 jln sesame blk hotel & wait for d bus. we had our final lunch together b4 d guide send us to airport. for our lunch, we went to Neden Urfa restaurant and had kebab. as usual, kita ada starter yakni lentil soup & roti & gabungan tomato&timun&bwg, plus distime ada cm air asam yg cicah dgn ikan bakar tu (anyways, itu sedap) lpstu main course dpt kebab & nasi. fuuhhhhh.... I can say that it was d best meal ever for me. Nasi dia rs cm nasi goreng, sedaaaaap sgt smpi x amik gmbr, hahaha.

 

finally for dessert, kita ada surprise surprise!!! it was d birthday of our fren d day before (6 April) & guide telah dgn baik hati bought a birthday cake for her on this last day. nk potg cake ms bday semlm mcm xsempat sbb aktiviti packed. we decided that it's best if d guide join d cake cutting skali bcz his bday was on 1 of d days masa dia bw kitrg berjln2 ni. dh la xde org bg adiah kt dia ms bday dia, dia pulak baik hati belikan kek utk my fren. so kasihan if x celebrate sesame.

 

 

then, it was time for group photo. sedih bcz of 2 reasons: 1)sbb dh nk blk, 2)sbb de grp mmber yg dh balik cz their flight was in d afternoon. so, diorg xde dlm gmbr, huhuhuhuhu...

 

 

finally it was time to say goodbye. kt airport after dh settle2 chck in bag semua, we said our goodbye to our guide. rs cm terharu. dia tgg smpi la kitrg sume dh lps d immigration gate. yg kitrg ni, kt dlm tu borak2 lg mcm2.... citer mcm xabis2, hahahaha. our flight to Doha was at 7.30 pm and once landed at Doha, we had to quickly catch our plane to KL. transit time was short, distance from aeroplane nk masuk building to transfer to another gate pn jauh. dh lps chck in for flight to KL, naik bus lg skali to d aeroplane pn jauh. serious rs cm Amazing Race. nk g toilet pn x smpt weh, huhuhuhh.

 

we arrived at KLIA d next day at around 2.10pm (this was our 10th day). br la npk masing2 dh letih ms ni. I couldn't get much sleep on d flight so mmg mengalu2kn waktu utk tidor, hahahaha.

 

it was indeed a very special holiday for me. I'm grateful that I got to know these good people. I'm grateful that I got to see beautiful places in Turki. I'm grateful that I got to hv different experience in a different land. sooo looking forward for another holiday like this. even though I've completed d story of d activities for my 10days Turki trip, i'll share in another post some tips or other useful info ya.

 

.enjoy your holidays.



~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.9) ~

~ 8th day ~

(*entry trlbh pjg sbb byk gmbr2)

dh nk habis dh rupanye kesah journey to Turkey. tp I stil haven't completed d story for d last two days of d trip. so, let's continue...

 

we went to 1 leather boutique in Istanbul. seriously, I had soooooo much fun there, hahaha. we pretended to be Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia & d other famous people in fashion industry as we watched the fashion show on d runway. yepppp....fashion show. glamer gitu!!!! after that, we listened to a briefing from d host with regards to their products. then came d time to try and buy =) ni samaada ko rambang mata & nk beli semua, or u become just like me... trying those that I think nice, bergaya dpn cermin, take photos of myself with d jacket, give it back to the salesperson & try another one & bergaya dpn cermin, take photos, give it back to d salesperson & d cycle continues. hahahahahahahah...don't b surprised. sila la sila tgk betapa byk aku try.

 

~ 1st look... same jacket with different styling ~

~ 2nd & 3rd look ~

~ 4th look...u can wear d same jacket inside out ~ 

~ 5th and 6th look ~

 

all these trying and posing and taking photos and changing to new jacket and so on were made possible with d help from these two people... mereka tidak forcing I to buy & penyabar sgt layan I yg asyik brtukar2 jacket & posing tanpa beli walau sehelai. rs guilty... huhuhuhu. tp nk buat cmne, kn. di dunia reality, blom tntu leh berangan nk pki bj2 leather yg cntk cmni. I rs cm Cinderella cntk kjp kt sini (cuma aku xde glass shoes je, hahaha)

 

~ thanks to these 2 gentlemen (gmbr kanan, I dh brtukar jd Cinderella yg asal after 12midnite, huhu) ~

next, we went to Topkapi Palace. it was a sunday, so there's a big crowd there. but according to d guide, itu bkn la big crowd pn. pffft. d entrance fee was TL25. some things are not allowed to be brought along with u while u r inside. so, u can just leave it at d security (at d main entrance) and collect it back before u leave.

 

 

take note, no photos allowed inside d museum. thus, d reason y I only took pictures at d compound. if u r wondering, inside d museum u can find mcm2 brg sejarah Islam, cnthnye tapak kaki Rasulullah, pedang yg Rasulullah dan beberapa sahabat gunakan, pakaian Fatimah az-Zahra, etc2. we didn't spend a lot of time here as we had to go to our nx destination - Hagia Sophia.

 

from Topkapi, we walked to Hagia Sophia. the entrance fee is also TL25. this historical place used to be a church, then it became a mosque, and now it's a museum. when we were there, there's some construction work being done inside.

 

 

 

it's soooo beautiful inside. ada sections tu yg cat dh terkopek2 dh tp d remaining pictures on the wall still jugak cantik. mcm gmbr kt atas yg belah kanan.

 

take note, the queue to get the ticket for both Topkapi and Hagia Sophia is quite long. same goes when u want to enter these places. our guide has bought the tickets to these places earlier, so we don't need to queue anymore. jimat la sket masa. otherwise, it could take about 1hour to get the ticket, according to our guide.

 

after Hagia Sophia, we went to hv our lunch as it's already time to eat. npknye cm from 1 place to another tu xde la jauh, so we just walked to the restaurant. after lunch, we went to pray Zohr (and Asr) at the Blue Mosque.

 

Subhanallah. again this is another nice place to go when u r at Istanbul. and it's more special for me when I got to pray inside. I didn't get much time to tour inside d Blue Mosque after I've completed performing solat. but I managed to capture some pictures.

 

~ (l-r): inside the Blue Mosque, outside b4 wudhu', outside after wudhu' & inside after praying ~

 

the Spice Bazaar was our next destination. we were given only 1hour to complete our shopping. huhuhu... kalo bg 1jam, mna cukupppp nk bershopping. walaupun nma tmpt ni Spice Bazaar, tp yg dijual bkn spices je. u can get souvenirs, shawls, baklava, Turkish delight, tea, and many many more interesting things at the Spice Bazaar. I managed to get baklava for my officemates and Alhamdulillah, it's nice + not too sweet =) we reached there in d afternoon (around 3.30 p.m) and d place was too crowded. nk g survey brg kt kedai yg jauh2 sket pn xleh sbb de 1jam je & sesak sgt. so kalo sesapa nk g Spice Bazaar ni, i think d best time would b pagi la kot utk mengelakkn bersesak2. beware of pickpockets ye.

 

~ Spice Bazaar ~

 

and then, it's time for d Bosphorus Cruise (yeay!!!). this is an opportunity for me (us) to see both the Europe and Asia sides. it was cold tp I cuba utk tak rs tekanan mental sbb kesejukan, huhuhuhu. bot yg kitrg naik tu ada serve minuman panas, tp kna request&byr. bila dh kesejukan smpi nk beku kt belah atas ni, leh la turun ke belah bwh bot to request for hot drink. I bought hot nescafe (TL3).

 

~ with frens...I'm excited!!! (*yeahhh, kesejukan smpi agk miserable sbnrnye) ~

 

 

 

 

last activity for the day, bergambar di taman bunga =) it was nearly 7pm by d time we completed the cruise. agak bergegas ke tmn bunga (naik bus) sbb hari dh nak gelap. tp stil managed to bergmbr2 & kagum dgn bunga tulips yg mcm2 kaler. fuuhhhh, cntkkkkk sgt!!!!

 

 

d next day would b our last day in Turki. sedih pulak dh. blk je from berjln2 ni, g dinner & kms2 brg kt hotel. bersggh2 wt krja packing2 sbb dh beli mcm2 dr day 1. kna kosongkn sket beg sbb d final day, we are going to do our last shopping. that and d rest in d next entry.

 

.bye for now.

 

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.8) ~

~ 7th day ~

 

we started our journey fr Ankara to Istanbul after breakfast. by d way, d name of d hotel where we stayed for a night in Ankara is Turist hotel. we were supposed to overnight in Bolu d night before but there's a change of plan. so, we stayed in Ankara. if u want 2imagine how Ankara looks like, just imagine Putrajaya. Ankara adalah cm pusat pentadbiran kt Putrajaya where ada byk offices kt situ.

it's quite far from Ankara to Istanbul. we passed Bolu on our way there. our captain took us to Istanbul using a different route from d one normally used to travel from Ankara to Istanbul simply because of the view. as usual, we stopped at several places (R&R) for toilet break and at some places kt tepi jln sbb nk amik gmbr. owhhh, cantikkkkk!!!!

~ keychain Istanbul for my bag & jajan utk mkn dlm bus ~

 

route yg kitrg lalu tu is dkt kwsn tinggi. jadinye, can see d connecting highway & also kmpg2 kecik kt kwsn tanah rendah.

 

~ sayuuuuup kt blkg tu is d connecting highway ~

 

~ itu kwsn kmpg2 ~

 

we stopped for lunch at another R&R. ms ni dh terer dh cmne nk bg lentil soup sedap. dh everyday mkn kot... & it's being served during every meal, drpd xpandai nk bg sedap smpi dh jd pandai dh, hahaha.

 

~ yg ada arrow pink tu rs dia cm murtabak sket, or roti canai. that's delicious ~

 

our guide took d opportunity dgn distance yg stil jauh to get everyone to introduce themselves. dh dkt nk abis trip pn, dh jd geng sesame kitrg pn, baruuuuu ler nk wt proper introduction, hehehe. xpelah. there were 18 of us, majority adalah org2 muda seangkatan je cm kitrg (i still muda ye, hahaha), tp ada jugak 2families in d group.

 

finally, we arrived in Istanbul dh ptg2, so d traffic was quite bad. we first went to Miniaturk. this is like LEGOLAND kt Johor. this park has miniatures of bangunan2/tmpt2 famous dlm Turki.

 

 

we prayed Maghrib at Eyup Sultan Mosque. it's a historical mosque where u'll find d tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and other companions here. as it was near Maghrib by d time we arrived at d mosque, we decided solat berjemaah je skali kt masjid ni. senang.

 

dinner time.... we went to have fish for dinner. yummy!!! our guide brought us to one seafood restaurant. ms dpt sotong gorg tepung, mcm kenikmatan abadi. lagi2 cicah dgn sos cili McD yg 1 of our grp members bw. dpt packs of sos cili McD, masing2 mmg muka bhgia, hahahaha. amboi, selera!!!

 

~ lentil soup & salad... as usual ~

~ one cherry drink for me ~

~ ikaaaaannnn...kenikmatan ~

 

if u r in turki, they'll give u chilli flakes kalo anda mahu lbh spicy kpd food anda. dats y we bring our own sos cili, or sos nandos (I brought this with me during this trip), or sambal kentang with ikan bilis.

 

we checked in to our hotel - Buyuk Keban Hotel - after dinner. it's our 2nd nite in Istanbul (1st nite ms sampai fr KL aritu). d location is strategic as it's located not far from a mosque, shops and byk penjual di jalanan ms malam2. sempat la jugak singgah tgk apa yg dijual kt tepi2 jln tu.

 

 

if I recall correctly, "bersiar2" dpn hotel tu arnd pukul 10lbh or 11 mcmtu...waktu Turki. with d 5 hours time difference, dat's waaaayyyyy past midnight kt Msia, hahaha.

 

.bye.

 

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.7) ~

- 6th day -

 

we woke up early, showered and get ready because it's d day to go for our hot air balloon ride. yeayyyy!!! yeay sbb nk naik hot air balloon, tp mndi pukul 4pg mcm nk nanges. sejuknyeeee!!! =( at 5am, the van from the hot air balloon operator fetched us from our hotel. they provided breakfast for us (sandwich), which is to me a good start to ensure that everyone hv enough energy during the ride. as for me, a breakfast person, I can never say no to the sandwich =)

 

we had to wake up as early as 4am and leave the hotel at 5am because d plan is to see d sun rises while riding the balloon. the fees is USD200 per person & it's worth it. d view from up there Subhanallah, soooooo beautiful, priceless...lagi2 ms tepat2 matahari tgh nk naik.

 

~ preparing for the ride. this is quite cold, ya ~

view from up there

 

 

we were up there for about 45 minutes and landed safely with big smile on our face. i hv frens who have fear of heights but never want to stop themselves from having this amazing experience. so i think everyone who went for the balloon ride with me would agree that we had great time together.

 

~ our happy faces. yippieeeee!!! ~

 

once landed, it's time for a small celebration. d organizer provided some refreshment for us - juice and cookies. and then, it's time for the certificate giving ceremony, yeayyy! yes, u'll get a certificate for being able to (overcome ur fear and) ride the hot air balloon. and that's another big smile on d face, hahaha.

 

 

we went back to d hotel, had our breakfast, packed our things and checked out from d hotel (again). d next stop... okay, i can't recall d name of d place where we stopped for photo taking, but it's still in Cappadocia. it's d place where d different shapes and sizes of stones are around us (as what we saw fr up there while riding d balloon). as i mentioned in d previous entry, d shapes and sizes of the stones show how great d power of Allah is. this is something that makes me reaffirm my belief that there's no greater power than Him.

 

 

next, we went to d carpet factory where they showed us how carpets are made. we listened to very detail explanation on how d threads are made, how colours are given for d threads, how they get d thread from ulat sutera, sampai la kpd siap satu carpet. to get d colours, sometimes they use kulit bawang (utk dpt colour light red), pomegranate (utk dpt deep red), & various other techniques and sources 2get d right colour. ada tu yg d natural colour from d sheep skin itself (ni utk wool la). finally, it's time to shop, hahaha. there were many sales rep to accompany us. we just had to request for help, informed them of our budget, negotiate (jgn lupa ni) & beli.... kalau nk tgk2 je pn no problem, takde kena byr pn kalo jst nk tgk, ngehehehe.

 

 

for lunch, we went to a restaurant that's emmm... in a cave. yepppp! it's in a cave. d name of d restaurant - Uranos & Sarikaya. it has beautiful interior & is actually big & d ceiling is high. basically xkn buat rs claustrophobic. dh nma pn restaurant kaaaan, xkn la nk sempit kot. toilet pn cantik. mmg dlm gua, tp cantik, hehehe.

 

~ interior kt dinding... Mevlana, Mevlana ~

 

~ our food selections - chicken, beef or fish ~

 

we continued after lunch to Salt Lake, another tourist attraction. u'll find souvenir shops as well as salt lake products' shop here. I'm not too sure about the souvenirs, but as for the salt lake products, those are fixed price.

 

 

it's quite cold at this place, actually (*ke, i je yg mmg sejuk allllllll d time?). i made a mistake of getting myself Cornetto, sbb teringin nk mkn smthg (feeling2 cm cool je kalo dpt mkn icecream kt negara sejuk). lpstu mulut cm nk beku sbb jd double  sejuk. nsb baik de kedai jual drinks, so mengorder la hot chocolate kt kedai tu. hahahah...pengajarannye - jgn rs cool mkn icecream kt tmpt sejuk (*blush, blush*).

 

that was our last stop for the day, before we headed to our hotel at Ankara. by d time we reached Ankara, it was already night. we had an early start on that day (bgn kul 4am sbb nk naik hot air balloon), so a very good night sleep was what we needed. but others had plan to go out to nearby places before we leave d hotel d next morning to our next destination. well, as for me, tidur adalah lbh diutamakan, so tidak la mengikut mereka2 berjln2, even though it's still early.

 

~ it's obvious that i need my sleep, hahaha ~

 

d next day, ....... hehehehe... i'll continue in d next entry.

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.6) ~

- 5th day -

Anamas Hotel Turkey where we stayed the night before is actually a hotel next to a university (Seljuk University). the scenery mmg cntk, the room is quite big. bayangkan students yg amik course kt Seljuk University tu everyday tgk scenery cntk smbl study, sure score memanjang la heh =)

 

we headed to Mevlana Museum after breakfast and reached there around 10.15 am. it's the mausoleum of Jalaluddin Rumi (better known as Rumi). we entered through Chelebiyan Gate and before entering the building to see the tomb, we were required to bungkus our shoes with plastic. take note, no photo taking inside ya.

 

while inside, apart from the tomb, there are also examples of Quran being displayed. drpd yg besar, kpd yg kecik. u'll be amazed with the evolution of the writing of Quran. outside, there are other rooms that u can explore, cnthnye bilik yg tnjk the tools used to write Quran. dh settle tgk the exhibition, there's a souvenir shop utk nk membeli2 apa2 yg ptt. and also a tea shop where u'll get free hot tea.

 

next, we headed to Cappadocia where we first stopped to see the Pigeon Valley. u'll see many pigeons flying and masuk dlm their houses yg mcm lubang dlm batuan tu. Subhanallah. pandai sggh burung2 tu.

 

 

 

and we went to see "the three sisters" (that's what our guide told us).

 

the "three sisters" adalah 3 batu tinggi & ada bulat2 kt atas tu

 

and we stopped by to see other amazing creations of Allah. semua batuan ni adalah kuasa Allah, how can I not be amazed by it.

 

 

 

finally, we went to see clay making at one clay workshop. it was said that suatu ketika, kalau sorg lelaki nk kawen dgn sorg pompn, the girl's father akn suruh d guy utk buat bekas (pot) from clay. the girl's father akn buat inspection whether tutup pot matches dgn badan pot tu. kalau match, br leh kawen. (sure si gadis berdebar2 masa bapak dia nk buat inspection, hehehehe).

 

first, we went to see how a pot was made from clay. from what I can see, it's not an easy process. then we listened to the stages dr mula2 clay siap, siap bakar, smpi la proses coloring complete. next, we went to see how the artists color the designs on each bekas based on their creativity. semua clay yg dh siap mmg cntk, ada yg glow in the dark. rambang mata menengok sbb cntk sgt. hasil2 yg dh siap were displayed at several showrooms. to protect the intellectual property and creative works that have been completed, we were not allowed to take photographs at these showrooms, except at one showroom that displays the final products of the students. hasil kerja students pn dh cntk, apatah lg hasil kerja yg pro, kn?

 

 

 

utk menjaga intellectual property, I'm just showing u 3 of what I've seen dlm showroom yg leh amik gmbr ni. yg lain2 designs pn cntkkk!!! seriously rambang mata weh. they gave us discounts for whatever purchase we made (sma mcm factory outlet yg I beli shawls tu). sape nk beli, boleh mntk nego price lg dgn salesperson. kalo ko baik2 dgn salesperson, he/she will lower the price a bit more. I bought some from this showroom & walaupn I x pndi nego hrga kt Msia, tetiba I get slightly lower price for my purchase here =) Alhamdulillah, rezki namanye.

 

we ended our activity for the day dgn checked in to the hotel. next day nk kna bgn awal sbb ada lg interesting activity di pagi hari. i'll tell u in d next entry.

 

.bye for now.