Merhaba, Turkiye
We were excited for a weekend in Turkey for many reasons. We love the food. The people are among the nicest in the world. We feel closer to Senol when we’re there, even though he’s in the US. We love shopping for boats.
The last time we were in Turkey was for Christina and Senol’s wedding in 2009 in Istanbul. It is much easier to get to Turkey from Europe so we took advantage of Labor Day weekend in the US (no school) to go for the long weekend. This was our first time to the southeastern coast of Turkey that’s famous for beautiful towns and mediterranean beaches. We stayed just outside of Bodrum, a well developed expat area that has everything western one could wish for (and prices to match).
One of the boats we have narrowed in on is the Sunreef sailing catamaran. Russ saw a few in Florida over the winter but while I had my heart set on them for our round-the-world cruise, I’ve never seen one in person. Turkey was the closest place we could visit one of these boats and the available boat also fit most of our cruising criteria.
So, on our first morning there, we set off for the two hour drive through the coastal countryside to get to where the boat sat in a brand new marina. Along the way we saw forests burned by fire, beautiful cliffs, sparkling blue water and tiny little villages where stalls on the side of the road sold giant jars of honey, olives and salca (a delicious roasted red pepper spread). The contrast between traditional and new is one of the dichotomies that makes Turkey so enchanting.
The rest of our quick few days in Bodrum were spent eating gozleme and borek and petting stray dogs. The kids absolutely loved all the friendly, lazy pups that live freely around Turkey. We were at huge risk of an international canine adoption. Luckily, none of these dogs have passports. :) Nonetheless, Jordan and Rosie claimed them, named them and said long, sad goodbyes when we left.
After 4 flights on Turkish Airways in as many days, we determined that the airline is one of the most difficult in the world to deal with. However, they serve plenty of food that is quite good by airplane standards, and they won the kids over with their gifts—the most memorable was a cap and goggles reminiscent of historic pilots. Only the Turks are truly thankful to kids for just being kids.
