Turkey

In March we took a trip to Turkey! All year had been traveling budget airlines. But, our turkey flight got canceled because it was routed through a snowy Frankfurt, and we got re-routed on a direct flight with Turkish airlines. Colin and I have to take a moment to thank the weather for giving us the best flight we took in Europe. Each seat had its own TV with recent movies and shows. The seats reclined, and there was room for your legs! There was a free meal. Turkish delight on toothpicks welcomed us into the country. We were like little kids finding a dollar from the tooth fairy for the first time.

We met our friends, Liam and Tasha, in Istanbul. It was so good to see some more familiar faces! The four of us wandered all over the city, sometimes on purpose, and sometimes by happy accident. Fresh fruit juice stands spotted the streets boasting gleaming pomegranates, opulent oranges, and prickly pineapples--all cut and squeezed to order for under a dollar. It’s safe to say we got our anti-oxidants and vitamin c while we were in Istanbul. We also found our way into a number of baklava and Turkish delight sweet shops. The ten-year-old in charge of one of those shops gave us a huge smile when we walked back into the shop with an empty box we had bought 30 seconds before, and our fingers pointing at the glass case again.

We celebrated Liam’s Birthday on our first night too! Liam brought his clubbbin’ jeans, and we went out! We ended the night as the only 4 people in a Kareoke bar with Liam and Colin singing Sexy Back. Needless to say it was a night I will always remember J

On a completely different note, the mosques in Turkey amazed us with their intricately painted patterns, vast dome ceilings, and deep red carpets. We sat under the lights and talked about the history of the ancient buildings. Going to Turkey gave us a new appreciation for the Ottoman Empire and the development of this part of the world.  Turkey was a fascinating collage of ancient buildings and traditions juxtaposed with zooming taxis, Starbucks, and wifi hotspots.

As you can see from the pictures we did a lot! We went to the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica cisterns, Galata tower, the ever alluring shops, and through the streets of the city. One of the highlights was  going on a run through the city, along the sea, and through the gardens. Liam and Colin had a hard time keeping up with me, but I dragged them along :p Running through it is such a unique an rewarding experience. At one point a group of 12 year old boys starting racing with us, which is right about when Liam's competitive side kicked in :)

One night we hopped on an overnight bus to Pammukale—a world heritage site where natural hot springs flow over white salt mountains. The ten hour bus ride was...long. Pammukale was beautiful. It was a little rainey, but we still enjoyed it. We treated ourselves to the hot springs at one the town's hotels too, and it was incredibly relaxing. 

We couldn't leave Turkey without a good rub down at one of the Turkish baths. The one we went to felt ancient, the bath was relaxing and all we wanted to do afterward was curl up and go to sleep. 

It’s unreal to read the news about Turkey now and imagine the protests and violence. We had a beautiful time in Turkey, and we hope its people and its government are able to find common ground in the coming days and weeks.