~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.5) ~

- 4th day -

oh ya, I didn't tell u in d previous entry that we checked in to Ayapam Hotel during our 3rd night in Turki. the room here is quite spacious, with nice interior decoration. feeling satisfied, hehehehe.

 

as usual, we checked out from the hotel after breakfast to continue our journey in Turki. our 1st stop for the day is Pamukkale Natural Park, just to take pictures.

 

we then continued to another factory outlet that sells variety of things, from clothings (shawls, dress, jackets, shoes, bags, etc2), to household items such as kitchen towels, bedsheet and comforter set, pillow, bathrobe, etc2... all with good quality and affordable price (I guess its affordable considering that we got 20% discount for every purchase we make, hehehe). at the end, I purchased two silk shawls for my mom and sister, which I think is quite reasonable. diri sndiri blom ada konfiden nk pki shawl, so mmg xbeli utk diri sndiri.

 

next, we continued our journey to have our lunch. along the way, we made several stops for toilet break and taking pictures. each time our captain stopped at a good place for toilet break, we couldn't stop ourselves from wondering in and out of the shops available at the R&R. almost always we exceeded the 20minutes given by our guide for toilet break simply because we continued our "shopping" at these smaller shops & some ended up having another tea break. yeah, we were flexible...very flexible, hahahaha.

 

~ food = happiness ~

 

for lunch, we had pizza as the main dish. kau dh mkn roti ms toilet break, lpstu masuk pizza lg...haihhhh bolat la pipi heh. first, they served the appetizer and as usual we got soup, bread, and salad. this time, different kind of soup (bkn lentil soup lg), colour mcm tomato soup tp ada mcm meehun kt dlm soup tu. yg pntg, boleh telan la. then they served pizza (1 plate ada 2 different pizza, each flavour ada 3 keping). kalo nk pedas, tuang chilli flakes byk2. then we ordered organic apple juice which is verrrrry refreshing. mmg terbaek la organic apple juice dia.

 

 

after our zohor (and asar) prayer at a nearby mosque, we continued for our Beysehir lake boat ride. before we reached there, at any area where the guide (or captain) felt that the scenery is beautiful, we would stop to take pictures. (trip ni mmg sgt rilex bersantai2 amik gmbr memanjang). by the time we reached Beysehir lake, the timing was just perfect to see the sun sets. on the boat, apart from watching sunset, we could also feed the birds. and dance =) and berangan, muahahahah.

 

 

finally, before we checked in to another hotel, we went to Esrefoglu Mosque, an old mosque that is built since hundreds of years ago. yg best psl msjd ni, its still solid, kukuh walaupun still retain kayu2 yg asal2 digunakan utk bina masjid ni. seriously amazed sbb mmg tradisional sgt.

 

~ with the Imam ~

~ inside the mosque ~

 

that night, we checked in at Anamas Hotel yg biliknye cntk jugak. Alhamdulillah, asyk dpt bilik hotel yg best je, hehehehe. the journey continues in the next entry okeysss.

 

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.4) ~

- 3rd day -

 

we left our hotel after breakfast and headed to one historical site that shows old Turkish houses. oh before that, didn't I tell u that the view we had from this hotel is spectacular?

 

Subhanallah. however, our guide told us that most of the houses nearby the hotel are empty, some are for sale and some are only being used during summer as vacation house.

 

our 1st stop for the day was at an area that's still being preserved for old Turkish houses. believe me, this area is awesome walaupun some of the houses looked like rumah tinggal. jln agak xrata kt area ni, dinasihatkn wear comfy shoes. and again, it's cold (*sigh*). jgn terpedaya when u hear Turkish ppl said the weather is warm & nice (*double sigh*).

 

 

while we walked, our guide continued to explain the design, history & architecture of these houses. tp disbbkn too busy taking pictures (u see, I was amazed with this area), I didn't listen to most of it. but I do know that mud bricks were used to build the houses. that much I know, hahahaha. we walked until we reached another beautiful mosque in Kutahya (Kutahya Ulu Mosque). this time we didn't perform solat in this mosque but we met with the Imam who then recited some Quranic verses for us. syahdu dgr Imam mengaji.

 

 

we continued our journey by bus to hv our lunch at one Rest&Relax area, performed our solat there and continued with another long journey to our next destination - Hierapolis-Pamukkale Ancient City. (*note: entrance fee is TL20). this place is declared as World Heritage site due to the history of ancient empire that was built around this place. u'll get to see the ruins of some of the buildings and it's amaaaaazing! again, the climb to see the theatre is quite challenging. so, don't try to hike with ur high heels or stilettos. preferable to use comfy shoes.

 

 

 

 

not far from the ancient city, there's a hot water spring where u can sit & dip ur feet in it while absorbing the magnificent scenery that surrounds u.

 

~ such a great place to enjoy sunset ~

 

I left this place, feeling satisfied that I've been to one of the beautiful places on earth and praying that Allah gives me good health and more rezqi to view His other great creations.

 

~ gaya org satisfied, muahahahahaha ~

 

if u plan to get souvenirs, there's a souvenir shop near the exit. comparing the prices of the items, some of it is cheaper than the souvenirs I've seen/bought at other places. some is slightly expensive. when u r travelling like this, there's never a guarantee that u'll always, always get cheaper price when u r buying something. kalau dpt, itu rezki namanye. as for me, I got a postcard for free from this souvenir shop, hehehehe. Alhamdulillah, rezki namanye =)

 

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.3) ~

- 2nd day -

 

we were scheduled to go to Bursa, so we checked out fr d hotel after breakfast. (** u'll find that we check in to different hotel everyday). as it was Monday, we got to see d morning traffic in Istanbul (ppl rushing to work, etc2). it's a similar view with the morning traffic in KL, so nothing unusual there (ada ke negara yg xde morning traffic, lagi2 on Monday?).

 

~ view from d bus ~

 

we then had our 1st ferry ride in Istanbul. it was freaking cold kt atas ferry! sejuk ya amatt!!! sejuk yg rs cm mulut kebas. tak tau nk decide nk snym ke x ms bergmbr, tp last2nye snym gk. tgn mmg cm ltk dlm freezer so gloves adalah amat pntg di saat2 cmni. idung beringuih x usah la ckp. so, pntg gk ada tissue dlm pocket di saat2 sejuk cmni.

 

~ view fr atas ferry ~

 

~ tgn seluk beg dh, cari gloves ~

~ cubaan to explore ferry ~

sesampai je kt darat, we continued our journey to Bursa. along d way, u'll see many farms - olive farm, apple farm, almond farm, grape farm, pomegranate farm - once a while we stopped to take pictures (disbbkn pokok2 byk yg tgh xde kuarkn buah/hasil, maka xperlu la nk tnjk gmbr eh). our first stop to shop was at a factory/shop that has various Turkish delights. locum, baklava, Turkish coffee, apple tea, bermcm2 chocolate, olive oil, etc2 pn ada gk. nk borong skaliharung so that xyh nk beli2 kt tmpt len pn boleh gk. for me, pntg utk jd food tester to know amenda yg kita beli tu boleh diterima tekak or tak. I decided to put on hold nk beli baklava sbbnye yg jual kt kedai ni manis sgt (dgn hrpn dpt jmp baklava yg not too sweet at other places). hasilnye...

 

2 boxes of choc + 3 Turkish delights + 3 bottles of pomegranate sauce + 1 box of apple tea + 1 box of cappuccino = TL130

 

for lunch, we headed to Kofteci Yusuf. this restaurant has d best grilled beef... mmg sedap & amat mengenyangkn (5 ketul in each plate/person). I mmg xleh nk habihkan sbb byk sgt rsnye 5 ketul tu.

 

~ complete set fr appetizer smpi teh o ~

 

we prayed zohor (+ asar) at Bursa Ulu Mosque. it's a beautiful mosque, with a fountain inside. org laki boleh wudhu kt fountain tu. u can easily find mosques in Turki. selalunye one mosque is just nearby the other. sblh dgn Ulu Mosque ni is Koza Han Silk Market, whch my two friends & I didn't hv d time to visit sbb x cukp masa (tkr duit, wudhu, solat, bersiap2, bergmbr2 dlm msjd tu pn jd lma sbb msjd cntk sgt). there's also a bazaar yg mmg packed dgn org next to d mosque. kesimpulannye, this mosque mmg x sunyi & jd tmpt berkumpul. ms zmn Rasulullah dulu pn msjd jd tmpt tumpuan&berkmpl org ramai jgk, kn?

 

~ Bursa Ulu Mosque ~

 

once done at d mosque, we continued our journey to our hotel in Kutahya. if u need to go to d toilet, there r plenty along the highway. toilet bersih, jgn risau. InsyaAllah ada air & tissue & sabun. we stopped at one Factory Outlet kt tepi jln for our "toilet stop". dh settle g toilet, smpt la cuci mata kt kedai2 dlm Factory Outlet ni. kalo org yg dok kt Turki ni nk bershopping kt Factory Outlet/malls, diorg ni rajin buat comparison hrga brg dulu. sometimes they r lucky to get discounts yg agk byk. kt Factory Outlet yg kitrg stop ni, my friends beli corn in cup. 1 cup = TL2. sedap la time sejuk2 dpt mkn menda pns to get ourselves warm.

 

we arrived at our 2nd hotel to stay - Gural Harlek Thermal Resort & Spa in Kutahya. hotel ni mmg xde aircond. disbbkn sejuk dingin, bkk tgkp sket, dh rs sejuk fr luar & sedaaaaappp je tido mlm, hehehe.

 

d journey continues later ya.

 

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.2) ~

we booked our Turki trip during MATTA Fair last year (around Sept, if I rmmbr correctly). total price of the package offered by the travel agent is RM4895, which is quite reasonable to us considering that the price paid covers our flight ticket, accommodation, meals & transportation there. & we agreed to go in April (or late March) this year because it's the start of Tulip season in Istanbul (plus it's already Spring & I don't think I can bear the weather if we go during Winter).

Travel agent: Dilruba Turki Travel

 

we left KLIA on 30 March (KL - Doha - Istanbul). total flight hours (including transit time) is approximately 12 hours (a loooooong 12 hours flight adalah memenatkan). we reached Ataturk International Airport (Istanbul) at around 6.30 p.m. (that's 11.30 p.m Msia time) and after meeting up with our guide, he brought us to hv our dinner at Sultan Kosesi Restaurant.

~ lentil soup not in d picture ~

 

after dinner (xbrp boleh nk mkn sgt sbb it was already passed midnight Msia time), we checked in to the hotel. for our 1st night in Turki, we stayed at Istanbul Dora Hotel. hotel's condition? for me, it's OK & I hv nothing to complain. it's quite a new hotel that has been operating less than a year (as informed by our guide). nothing much to see around d hotel (even though it's still considered early when we checked in) because with the long flight, I think we were too exhausted & d best is to get our very much needed sleep, hahahahaha.

 

too bad that I woke up at 4.30 am Turki time d next day =( that's 1 hour earlier than d wake up call for Subuh. u do the math....

4.30 am Turki = 9.30 am Msia

 

no wonder laaaa... mata bukak ikut timing Msia. hadoiiii.... around 5.30 a.m., d three of us had our eyes wide open already & dh tak tau apa nk buat, so we took pictures from our hotel room. d result...

~ view fr our hotel room at 5.30 am & 7.00 am ~

 

i'll continue with our 2nd day journey in d next entry. bye for now.

 

~ 10 days in Turki (Pt.1) ~

i just got back from my 10 days trip to Turki on Tuesday. now still dlm sesi adjusting my eyes and body clock dgn Msia time. it's 5 hours time difference between Msia dgn Turki. if dh kul12 tghmlm kt sini (Msia), br pukul 7 kt Turki, belum masuk time nk dinner pn lg, huhuhuhu.

 

feelings dpt pegi Turki? uuuu....seronooooook sgt. & to be honest, I felt it's like a trip yg menginsafkan. rs rendah diri sbb tgk cntk sgt dunia ni diciptakan Allah. subhanallah, Allah is the best creator. perception about "toilet kt Turki sure xde air", or "toilet kt sna sure kotor", or "Turki tu sure x brp nk maju", ok zushhhh terpdm all those kinds of perception sbb it's totally different environment dgn apa yg dibygkn b4 smpi kt Turki. toilet yg kitrg singgah2 semuanye Alhamdulillah bersih. dan ada air (whether it's toilet duduk or cangkung). dan ada tisu. dan toilet x berbau busuk pn. dan Turki tu maju la weh, dlm maju2 tu diorg stil preserve historical buildings. hebat.

 

disbbkn trip ni 10 hari, I think i'll better write the entry utk Turki ni in stages. aku nk tulis pjg2 skaliharung pn cm xmampu. we 1st went to Istanbul, then Bursa, Kutahya, Pamukkale, Konya, Cappadocia, Ankara and back to Istanbul. checked in and out from hotel everyday (except 2 nights terakhir kt Istanbul). we experienced different weather than what we hv in Msia. we tasted the food. awl2 tu cm xleh nk masuk sgt dgn selera org Msia yg nk pedas, but we managed. we met their people (Alhamdulillah we met good people throughout our stay in Turki). all in all, I'm grateful to Allah for this opportunity. perjalanan yg menginsafkan ended last Tuesday, but the memory remains.

 

 

i'll write the entry in stages... sila tgg ye =) 

~ now trending: matluthfi ~

I sat in front of the television one day, watched the news on the missing flight MH370 & saw a "Kini Trending" segment... that's when I know about a youtube channel by matluthfi. for those of you who haven't heard (or watched) it, u r not alone because................ I just knew about this guy (matluthfi) sejak less than 15 hari yg lps!!! & that his videos r hilarious and he's soooo sempoi =)

 

when I discovered his youtube channel (lps dh tgk segment "Kini Trending" kt Awani), I had this idea to share it with my friends. you know... good stuff should b shared, right? rupa2nye, most of my friends already know about his channel & some even subscribe to it to get d latest updates/videos. seems like I la yg ter"ketinggalan" ni =(

 

- the "buat kepala" video yg trending -

 

d thing that I like about his videos is.... his style of speaking, hahahaha.

slang utagha pekat ya amat + sempoi = kelakaq.

 

& his facial expressions.

 

& his creativity. I rs there r others who do something similar... tp I still prefer matluthfi (yeahhhh!!!!)

 

I'm sharing with you guys now (terutama skali utk sape2 yg cm I, yg xpnah tau kewujudan matluthfi & his creative works) because I feel that u deserve a good laugh di celah2 daily stress korg...walaupun video2 klakar from matluthfi sekadar around 5minutes je. his videos make me laugh & I hope u'll hv a good laugh too.

 

thanks to matluthfi for adding more fun things in the world. clap-clap-clap.

 

~ it's still a mystery ~

i looked back at my travelling photos and found these...

 

 

 

those are pictures I took when I travelled on the plane. I prefer the window seat than the aisle. thus, the opportunity to capture the beauty from up there.

 

.#PrayforMH370. we hope you come back safe.