Seeing the Perge Ruins, the remnants of an early Greek civilization, was something of a hair-raising experience, says Jeffrey: “Medyo nakakakilabot kasi ’yong first Greek civilization. Ito ’yong city hall nila. Pero ang galing, kasi nape-preserve nila kahit papaano.”

(YES! March 2007 issue)

Jeffrey paid 20 lira, the equivalent of P675, for this camel ride. He says Arnee didn’t ride a camel because she’s afraid of heights.

(YES! March 2007 issue)

Behind Jeffrey and Arnee is the Serpentine Column, originally the base of a monument erected at the Temple of Apollo to commemorate the Greek victory over the Persians in the 5th century B.C. The Emperor Constantine had the monument moved in 234 A.D. to the Hippodrome of Constantinople (now Istanbul), where the Serpentine Column stands to this day.

(YES! March 2007 issue)

Pinoy Pop Superstar 2005 champion Jonalyn Viray (center)—with Arnee and Jeffrey at the Perge Ruins—also performed at the Filipiniana Nights. She joined the siblings in sightseeing, but left Turkey earlier.

(YES! March 2007 issue)

Jeffrey and and his sister Arnee visited the splendidly preserved Aspendos coliseum. According to Turkish tradition, the legendary Greek diviner Mopsos founded the site of the coliseum.

(YES! March 2007 issue)

Arnee, posing in front of a part of Turkey's Aspendos coliseum.

(YES! March 2007 issue)

The Blue Mosque, one of the well-known landmarks of Istanbul, awed Jeffrey. The mosque is known for it magnificent domes and six minarets. In 1609 A.D., according to folklore, Sultan Ahmet I ordered an architect, Mehmed Aga, to build a minaret of gold. The Turkish word for gold is altin, but the architect misheard this as alti, six in Turkish. So he constructed six minarets. Fortunately, Ahmet I liked the minarets a lot, as he was the first sultan to have a mosque with six minarets.

(YES! March 2007 issue)