Hidden Gems from Our Travels Around the World

On February 6, 2024February 6, 2024 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Bulgaria, Egypt, Laos, TurkeyLeave a comment

We have had many memorable moments traveling in various parts of the world and we are always thrilled when we come across something that was completely unexpected or planned. Whenever we travel to a location, we research the top sites to visit as most people do, but we will also look for something interesting that might be located just outside of the city that we are visiting or perhaps something that isn’t on the typical tourist list. These hidden gems are just a few of the places that we have seen during our travels, but each of these should be on your list should you visit that particular city.

Getting a Sense of the Scale of Aphrodisias in Turkey

The Ruins at Aphrodisias near Kusadasi, Turkey – One of the day trips that we took from Kusadasi in western Turkey was to see the Greek ruins at Aphrodisias. Of all of the ruins that we visited, Aphrodisias was actually our favorite even though it is not as excavated as the ones at Ephesus. The cruise ships don’t typically do tours to Aphrodisias, so you will not be surrounded by crowds and will be able to get up close to all of the different sites within the area. The ancient city gets its name from the Temple of Aphrodite that is located at the site, but one of things that makes Aphrodisias so unique is that was the location of the school where artists learned to carve statues, so there is a museum featuring many statues that the students had created.

The Statues of Buddha Park near Vientiane, Laos – Located near Vientiane, Laos is a park that is filled with sculptures representing Buddhist and Hindu images. Built in 1958, the park is a popular tourist attraction for those who travel to Vientiane. Buddha Park is also called Xieng Kuan or Spirit City and has over 200 statues of various sizes. We visited the park with a guide who was able to explain the meaning behind many of the different statues, which made the experience even more interesting.

The Fascinating Rila Monastery near Sofia, Bulgaria – We took a day trip from Sofia to visit the Rila Monastery, which is located about two hours away in the Rila Mountains southwest of the capital of Bulgaria. The monastery was first founded in the 10th century and gets its name, as does the mountainous region, from the hermit Ivan of Rila who founded it. Although the monastery bears some resemblance to the fortified churches that we saw in Romania a few years back, it did not serve the same purpose as the mountains were fortification enough. Even though it takes a couple of hours to reach the monastery from Sofia, it is definitely worthwhile because of its historical significance as well as the beauty of the surrounding mountain range.

The Historic Ottoman House in Old Town Cairo, Egypt – If you are looking for something of a hidden gem while visiting Cairo, then we would suggest putting Bayt Al-Suhaymi, a historic Ottoman house, on your list of places to visit. On our final day in Cairo, we made a last-minute decision to book an “Islamic Cairo” tour through our hotel and we were certainly not disappointed. We saw several ancient mosques, but just as interesting was wandering the narrow streets of the Old City of Cairo. Just wandering the streets is quite exhilarating, but the highlight was taking a tour of an Ottoman era house that was built in 1648 and is in excellent condition as it was refurbished in 1997 as part of restoration project for the entire area. Since it is located near the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, it would certainly be worth adding a visit to the house before or after doing shopping in the market.

Many Items for Sale and a Vendor Ready to Bargain in Khan el-Khalili Bazaar

It is often the case that these special excursions become some of your favorite memories as you share your adventures with friends and family upon you return home. If time allows, it is always a good idea to research locations that can be visited just by driving an hour or two outside of the city. It is often possible to hire a guide to take you so that you don’t have to rent a car, but if you are adventurous or already have a vehicle, then it is certainly worth the effort to visit them on your own.

Eating Our Way Through Istanbul, Turkey

On February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Turkey5 Comments

We enjoyed several wonderful meals during our time in Istanbul and even took a food tour where we ate food in both the European and Asian sections of Istanbul. In addition to the food, we also had a local drink called Raki as well as several local beers and wines. One of the most popular dinner choices are the dinners cooked in clay pots over an extremely hot, open fire. They bring the fire pit next to your table and put on quite an extravagant show as they cook your meal and then crack the pot open and pour the contents onto a plate for you to enjoy.

Dinner and a Show

Coffee and tea is also quite popular and we even tried an orange tea made with fresh orange rinds. We love taking food tours as they provide you the opportunity to try many different varieties of dishes, but it is also way more food than the two of us could possibly eat. We started our tour with breakfast, which is not something that we normally eat, but it was a really enjoyable way to start our day. We ended our tour in the shopping district of Istanbul and then took the ferry back to the area near our hotel.

Orange Tea

You will find street carts with stuffed mussels near many of the attractions and in shopping areas and it is definitely worth trying as they are very tasty. Overall, we couldn’t say that one meal was better than another as we found each of them to be completely interesting with unique tastes. What we can say is that the staff at every restaurant where we ate were extremely friendly and very proud of the cuisine that they had to offer. At some point we’ll try to replicate some of the meals that we had, but obviously we’re not going to be cooking in a clay pot over an open flame.

House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey

On February 14, 2023February 14, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Turkey1 Comment

Most tours of Ephesus from Kusadasi also include a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary. Obviously, it is an important site from a religious perspective, but it is also interesting just from a historical prospective as well. It is commonly believed that Mary came to Ephesus with Saint John after the crucifixion of Christ and lived near the city for the remainder of their lives. There is no proof that the house was truly the final home of Mary, but it has been a place of pilgrimage since its discovery in the late 1800’s.

The story of how the house was discovered is just as interesting as the actual site itself. A German nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was an invalid and never traveled outside of Germany had a vision of Mary and the house where she lived. She described the location in great detail in 1812 and it matched the hillsides of Ephesus. In 1881, the house was discovered using the description provided by Anne Catherine Emmerich by a French Priest and it has been visited by people ever since. Although the church has not officially weighed in on the authenticity of the site, several popes have visited the site and have held services at the chapel.

Seeing the house of the Virgin Mary is interesting, but walking through the ruins of Ephesus is more impressive. We only spent about a half hour walking around the house and listening to the history from our guide. In addition to the house, where photography is not permitted, there is a wishing wall with a spring with a fountain and water cistern where it is believed that baptisms took place.