The Post-Turkey Blog-Post

Turkey. What an amazing country. What an amazing trip. And how lazy I was about blogging. I journaled a fair bit though, which for my past two trips I didn't do because of the blogging. So there you go. I don't pick the method - it seems to choose me.

I won't bore you with chronological details. Rough itenerary was Istanbul, Goreme in Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Selcuk and Ephesus, Canakkale/Eceabat, and back to Istanbul. 40 hours total on buses. Three nights accommodation saved on night travel. Seven nights total in one of the coolest cities I've ever been to: Istanbul. 8 nights elsewhere.

Two visits to ancient city ruins (Heirapolis and Efes - I skipped Troy). One hike up a hill to watch 30 hotair balloons. One hike up a mountain barefoot over calcium carbonate deposits. Two plus nights spent smoking nargile (flavored water pipe). Three American travel companions. One BBQ on a rooftop terrace in Istanbul. One night of major Raki drinking (Turkish anise alcohol). Countless tuvka sis (chicken shish) eaten. One series of backgammon with a skeevy Turkish dude in Selcuk and one with a good friend in Istanbul. Visits to 4 or 5 mosques. Approximately 80 calls to prayer heard in 5 cities and towns. Two pieces of local jewelry purchased. Countless flirtatous Turkish men - one of whom got the flirting returned.

Five bodies of water (Bosphorus Strait, Sea of Mamaras, Black Sea, Golden Horn and the Dardenelles). One pair of shoes packed that I never wore! One lost article of clothing - my favorite brown sweater/jacket/duster thingy - left on the bus in Denzili when changing for Pamukkale at 5:15 in the morning. 5 books read. Many Efes (the local beer named after the most famous ancient city) drunk. About 200 YTL (Turkish Lira) (about $130) spent getting into sites, attractions and museums. One load of laundry done. Two pair of underwear bought to avoid having to do laundry again!

Countless cups of cay (tea) drunk with two sugar cubes each time (more refined sugar than I've had in probably two years!). One slightly hungover day spent sightseeing. One Turkish daylight savings time observed. 45 minutes spent humoring the carpet-salesman guy explaining the history and making of kilims to me without buying anything (I told him I wasn't going to from the start). Approximately 42,000 older Europeans and Americans paths' crossed in Topaki Palace and Ephesus combined from cruise ship trips. One motorbike ridden on while wearing my pack because I didn't understand the hotel owner and was randomly standing in the street when I really belonged 100 yards down at the bus company place! Repeatedly awakened on the trip from Istanbul to Goreme by the woman next to me trying to ask me questions in Turkish and offer me food - nice, but I'm sleeping here!

Many jetons bought (small blue plastic tokens used for the metro system). Repeated amazement of the systems in Turkey: buy your ticket at any site, stick it in the turnstile reader, an automated voice says "Please Pass" and you walk through the turnstile. This was especially interesting when the turnstile was outdoors and after walking through you're in some holy ruin. EZPass on the highways and one of the most clean, efficient city lite rail tram systems I've ever seen.

178 YTL ($120) spent on bus fare. Approximately 20 YTL spent going to the bathroom. Most places you must pay between 50 kurus and 1 YTL to use the toilet. At least there's always paper and soap! A few Turkish words learned: merhaba-hello; teshakur ederim-thank you; bay/bayan-man/woman; tavuk-chicken; tuvalet-toilet; cay (said chi)-tea; tamam-okay/no worries; checheve-cheers!

Zero times my life was at risk (this is unusual as I usually think I might die at least once while travelling, usually transport related). One fresh squeezed pomegranate juice drunk (too bitter!), a few grapefruit juices drunk (delish!). Two nights spent sleeping in a fairy chimney, which come to find out is an ancient term because people from afar saw candlelight flickering and thought that humans couldn't be living in these stone turrets so it must be fairies. One scraped elbow suffered when stumbling out of aforementioned fairy chimney to descend the 14 steps to my shared bath in the middle of the night. Approximately 580 photos taken. Doner (schwarma) sandwiches eaten for only 1.5 YTL. Delish! 15 free Turkish breakfasts eaten (all rooms/hostels come with breakfast) consisting of cukes, feta cheese, tomatoes, boiled egg, bread, jam, honey, olives with tea or coffee. Way to many clothes packed! The comfort of sneakers as travelling shoes re-realized. Buses that serve drinks and snacks like on a plane!

Totally overwhelmedness in a bazaar like I've never been before. Two hellacious days of pouring down rain. One of the best dates of my life. More Christian/Jesus/Mary depicting mosaics and frescoes than I can count. Successful and mostly hassle-free shopping. Being known by name and I them, at one little bar/restaurant in Istanbul. Free towels, soap, breakfast and internet at every hotel/hostel I stayed at. Being in Istanbul on 29 October - Republic Day - celebrating the founding of modern Turkey (and modern it is)! Turkish yogurt (better than Greek).

Tons learned about WWI and Turkey. Left with a bag that weighed 27 lbs and am returning with 33 lbs. Not bad! One city bus trip navigated in a downpour - totally sucessfully! One trip up a tower to see the city from on high - one of my favorite things to do everywhere I go. Two obscene pastries eaten (one day after the other) as a rainy-day-in-Istanbul activity. One ancient hill-carved monastary visited. Orange tights purchased for 4 YTL. One very early shuttle bus to the airport to begin the journey home. 6 hour layover in London.

SUCH A GOOD TRIP.

Other thoughts that I think are important:

When I travel, I am a different person than I am at home. I'm calmer, I worry less. I go with the flow. I'm open and friendlier. I'm less opinionated. I listen better.

I need to adopt some of these things for my regular life, which it seems to me now is a misnomer anyway. For am I not a traveller in my life? Am I not discovering and learning every day? Should I not be as open in my day to day as I am when I am a foreigner? Should I not take in stride whatever happens in the way I am so willing to when I am away? Yes. The answer is a big yes.

Living in Thailand taught me to relax. Before my years of mai pen rai (no worries!) I didn't know how. I failed at relaxing, but now I do it well. It is time to take another lesson from the world and make it mine all the time. Because why do I travel if not to learn more and then integrate the lessons? Just to say I've been places? Not I. I want more.

And so, I will try to be more open at home. To look around more, not hurry to no where so much, to smile at people and be friendlier. I will try to worry less. I will attempt to stop living so comfortably with annoyance (one of my favorite defaults) and instead will take a moment to determine if energy could be better spent another way (my guess is yes). I will attempt to be more free of myself - of my own self-constraints that keep me from feeling all the time the way I feel when I travel.