Thursday, January 26, 2012


As I searched through last year's photos, I realized how many I had intended to but haven't shared here on the blog.

So even though, I may be a tad late in doing a roundup of 2011, I wanted to share my favorite sunset photos taken mainly in Turkey and on a few other trips. I was surprised I didn't have any sunset photos from Alaçatı or Bodrum, but I think I must have taken a nap before dinner and missed out.

Hope you enjoy this photo essay!

§  In April, we drove to Edirne, about two hours from Istanbul. We paused on the Meriç Köprüsü to take this photo before we found nearby Emirgan Aile Çay Bahçesi and stopped for an Efes beer.
§  In May, while we celebrated my birthday dinner at Club Arma Restoran in Antalya, hubby took some photos here. I can't forget the sublime dinner we feasted on of levrek carpaccio and ahtapot izgara and the excellent service we received - including a special birthday dessert!
Even though the sun set behind us in Antalya, we enjoyed the sea view.
§  In July, we took our American friends on a 6-hour road trip to Bozcaada - a lovely island in the Aegean Sea along Turkey's western coast. Do as the locals do - bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to the far western edge of the island. Soon, you'll be sipping wine along the legendary Polente Feneri and watching the sunset behind the windmill farm here.
Perfect timing as a large ship passed by in the distance.
A view of the wind farm on Bozcaada, Turkey.
§  During Ramazan in the sweltering month of August, Jason and I took another Turkish road trip, which included stops in Cunda Adası, Foça, Bergama, Ephesus and Kusadası.
(Taken with my cell phone.) Day 1 on Cunda Adası.
Day 2: on the outskirts of  Foça - a small town about 130 km south of  Cunda Adası.
§  In September, I traveled with a girlfriend to Patmos and nearly got stranded on the island of Samos because of the Greek strikes. Please read: Strangers, Stranded in Samos for the harrowing tale.
Our boat was just coming into shore as the sun set by Patmos, Greece.
§  In October, we celebrated hubby's birthday in Fethiye where we had a fun, but short weekend jaunt. We walked down to the marina with a brown bag of Efes beer bottles and our camera. Drinking a beer in public while sitting on the boardwalk and watching the sunset is probably easier to do in off-peak season.
Seems like there are hundreds of sailboats in the Fethiye Marina.
§  For the Kurban Bayramı in November, we enjoyed watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean in Bali for the first time. This was an amazing trip!
Relaxing at the Nammos Beach club in Bali.
§  After I taught my baking classes in Bodrum at the Erenler Sofrasi, we stopped in the quaint, fishing village of Güvercinlik before heading back to Istanbul. Per Asli's recommendation, we ordered a levrek and çupra dinner with our Efes beer and then watched the fishing boats head to shore as the sun set.
The water was so clear and calm here in  Güvercinlik, Turkey.
Which sunset photo is your favorite? 

If you want to see more sunsets in Turkey, please check out Turkish Travel Blog and Turkey's For Life.

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10 comments:

Natalie said...

The last one is my favorite. Love cracking open a cold beer and watching the sunsets in Turkey, they are so beautiful.

Cynthia said...

They are all gorgeous, but think the first one my favorite, I did guleting in Turkey about 10rs ago and speak often of going back again...

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i like the 3rd one with the ship. they are all fabulous though!

claire handleman said...

beautiful photos joy :) glad you made it round to posting those photos!

Joy said...

@Natalie, Cynthia, Jaz, and Claire, thanks for your quick comments! The first one and last one in Turkey are my top favorites. So many opportunities for beautiful sunset photos in Turkey!

But the one of Bozcaada also was special since we got to share the moment with good friends!

Julia said...

Think I'm on my own for this one. Number 1 is my favourite. I love the reflection. :)

Unknown said...

I can going for the Bozcaada sunset as we were there in person to enjoy it with our good friends. I would love to do it all over again. I keep telling Scott I want to go back to Turkey again as we had so much fun.

I do love all the other sunsets as they are all so majestic...

Joy said...

@Julia, I do like number one as well! You guys also have a lot of beautiful sunset photos from the Fethiye area. Hopefully, we'll be back this year. ;-)

@Steph, yes, my friend, Bozcaada was a great trip! So happy you guys enjoyed Turkey as much as we do. xo

Deniz Bevan said...

Beautiful! I've got a sunset in Kusadasi...

Andrew Graeme Gould said...

Such a lovely series. I just can't choose a favourite!