Just before leaving the quaint town of Amasya we made the last minute decision to try a hamman. Despite Mike's initial reaction with statements like"NO WAY" and "I HATE being touched by other people", his persuasive wife in the end won. For those of you that don't know what a hamman is, let me explain. A hamman is the location of communal bathes in Turkey. These are segregated by either separate rooms for the sexes or the hamman in only open to one gender at a time (ours was the later). Now a Turkish bath consists of stripping down to the barest of necessities (or for some none at all), wrapping a thin towel around ones waist and entering the bathing room. The steps then consist of drenching oneself with hot water, sitting in a sauna for about 10-20 minutes (or more, you choose), and then having a hamman employee exfoliate, wash and massage you as you lie flayed out on a marble table for all eyes to see.

Lets just say; after the exfoliation we were pounds lighter, after the washing only the most intimate of crevasses hadn't been exposed to light, and after the massage we were left beaten (they literally throw their entire weight into the whole process). In the end one of the most exhilarating and exposing of experiences. As a side note; we found it interesting that Mike watched the women go into the hamman all veiled up and in loose fitting dresses, while all Andrea saw of them was the clothing God gave them at birth (which for many was quite loose as well :) And for Mike, he gained his wife's most profound respect for overcoming a very large personal space bubble.

Time was also spent in the Museum of Antolian Civilizations which is a fantastic museum that follows the areas ancient history of numerous rise and falls of countless civiliations. And then we were able to experience Turkish hospitality once more while hanging out with and staying overnight with some local Couchsurfers (Naz, Kantele, and friends).

October 3rd - 7th
Istanbul

October 8th
City of Selcuk & Ruins of Ephesus with a detour to Virgin Mary's house

October 9th
Hierapolis (Ruins from Roman City) and Pumakkale (Cotton Castle)

October 10th - 15th
Oludeniz, Lycian Way Hike, Olympos Ruins and Chimaera

October 17th - 21st
Cappadocia region

October 21st - 24th
Tokat and Amasya

October 25th - 26th
Amasya and Ankara

Turkey Country Summary