Hiking Mountains and a Bath

"It was like the sky opened up for us." (from our hike today)

Yesterday we traveled to a waterfall, ate at a fish restaurant, saw the ruins of an old Georgian Church, and went to see an archeological phenomenon called the "fairy chimneys". I will not talk about it much but will show you lots of pictures. I will only say that the bus ride was very long and winding (like that Beatles song). Instead of trying to explain it i think the pics will do a better job.

Just look at the different landscapes in Turkey


Here are some pics and a video from the Tortum Waterfalls






This is the Georgian Church that was destroyed in the 10th century



We ate at a very good fish Restaurant


We then ended our trip hiking up the Narman Fairy Chimneys


Today was also amazing! We went to the Hamman (Turkish Bath). I did not know what to expect but my worries and concerns were thrown to the wayside when i walked into the bath house. They give you towels and slippers to put on when you first walk in. After you put these on you enter the bath house. I was unable to take pics in the bath house because it was so steamy. But i will try to explain it as best as possible. First of all everything is in marble, hot, and steamy. There are multiple sinks, which have hot/cold faucets with a bowl in each of them (The bowls are filled with water and used to shower and bathe yourself with). There are tables to sit/lie down on. There is a seperate room for a sauna, there is a cold shower room, and there is also a room to shave in. An old Turkish man gave me an exfoliating massage with a glove that looked like an oven mit. Then another old Turkish man gave me a bath. It was the most relaxing experience i have ever encountered. I will go back before i leave here (It is only 7 lira!!! or about 4 dollars). After you come out of the bath they wrap you in towls and give you water to drink. All in all we spent at least two hours there. Here are some picks of us wrapped in our towls.



We then climbed the mountain near the University. Our guide... none other than Mustafa. He told us he has never climbed the mountain and that it would be a new experience for him too. It was an amazing experience. We went up during sunset. It took us about an hour to climb. Words cannot describe it so here are some pics and a video.

Mustafa then took us to the 5 star hotel (Radison) and bought us tea. The hotel was very nice and expensive. Usually Russians come to ski in Erzurum and alot of the signs are in Russian. I left my camera in my bag so i could not take any pictures

I will leave you with one last thought. Men are circumsised between the ages of 9-12. There is a big ceremony held and the boy is dressed like a king. Take a look!