During our final few days in Turkiye, we covered many miles getting back to Istanbul, with various sites to stop at.

We spent a second day in Selçuk. Dana, Carmen, Norm and I thoroughly enjoyed the vast market that sets up once a week. We saw so many delicious fruits and vegetables, and some we had never seen before. We loaded up on strawberries, figs, fresh peas, halava and more.

While looking for a place to buy baklava and tea, we sat in a little open area with benches and tables. A young boy from a restaurant somewhere was walking around selling tea, and right in front of us, people were giving away freshly made donuts. They call them lokma, and are rolled in honey or syrup.

Here, to celebrate the anniversary of someone's passing, something is given away. Depending on budgets, it can be as simple as salt or hundreds of donuts. You give away an item, and the person receiving the item says a prayer for one who passed away. We were offered two big bags, so we took some back to share with the rest of our group. We did not know why they were giving doughnuts away until we showed our guide a picture of the nearby sign, which had the name of the gentlemen they were honouring.

Later in the day, we visited the Ephesus Museum, the Temple of Artemis, a Greek temple dedicated to the ancient goddess Artemis. We walked around the village of Şirince and enjoyed a traditional Turkish coffee heated in the sand. I also purchased some handmade olive oil soap from a lovely old lady who said she made it herself. It's not pretty, but it smells and feels nice.

The following day, we toured a carpet factory where we learned how they make silk thread for their carpets; it was super interesting.

We visited the Ancient ruins of Troy and then stopped for photos of the Trojan Horse Brad Pitt rode in the

2004 movie, Troy.

Once we finally arrived back in Istanbul, we all went to see the Basilica Cistern. What a fantastic place. It is the largest underground cistern in Istanbul. Movies like The Inferno and From Russia with Love were filmed here. It is stunning!

We also visited the large and famous Blue Mosque, which closed for prayer when we first tried to get in.

Fortunately, we also had time to see the Ayasophia Grand Mosque. It is a majestic mosque and former church, now a primary cultural and historical site in Istanbul—the last of three church buildings erected on the site by the Eastern Roman Empire.

This wraps up our tour, having made new friends within a great group of fellow travellers.

Up next, Norm and I carry on to Cypress for a week of unscheduled activities.

Basilica Cistern

Market flowers

Men out for tea and games is so common.

Turkish coffee heated in the hot sand

My soap lady

Making free lokma

Making silk thread for Turkish carpets

Ramp into Troy

Ruins at Troy

Trojan Horse of Troy from the movie Troy

WWI monument

Fixing a flat

Basilica Cistern

Blue Mosque

Aya Sophia

One more stop for Baklava