For the rest of the 9 nine days we were in Turkey, our mornings were crazy! The climate being moderately cool to chilly, curling up under the covers be it in our cozy hotel at Istanbul, the cave hotel at Cappadocia, the flirty Ramada at Antalya or while at peaceful Pamukkale was especially appealing with it being a dream vacation. But were we going to go spend the best hours of the day under the covers? Nooooooooo!
The break of every dawn saw us wake up groggy from the previous late night, craving a few more winks but with absolutely no lack of zest for the day that lay before us. Seeing each other every morning was a reminder that we were doing something incredible that would remain with us for life.
The one time I woke up first, I tried to crawl back into my warm sheets after switching off the alarm hoping I wasn't spotted but the alarm was too loud! So while I began to get ready first (or was forced to rather!), they got a few extra minutes to shut-eye! Hmphhh!
So where to start from? The magnificient Hagia Sofia, delicacies at Hafiz Mustafa, the GRAND Grand Baazar, of how Cappadocia captivated us with the Love Valley, the Imagination Valley, the Open Air museum? Or maybe talk about our experience at first hand pottery, the bewitching Düden waterfalls, the intoxicating old town and breathtaking Konyaalti beach at Antalya, the beautifully restored Hierapolis site at Ephesus, our valiant paragliding episode (still got goosebumps from that one!), our beautiful evening at the natural hot spring pool or our breath taking hot air balloon ride? Yep, that's quite a big list.😊Or better yet, maybe the Foooooooooood??!!!! The sumptuous spread of olives, cheese, meat, spiced & flavoured teas, the infamous turkish coffee and my favourite and unforgettable hilarous moment of halloumi. Sigh!
There we were, taking in all that gorgeous Turkey had to offer, at every point thinking our heart cannot get any fuller, yet greedy for more! The next day wouldn't disappoint and it continued to sprinkle gems onto our already overloaded backpack of memories, bit by bit. And while home and our young ones tugged at the corner of our hearts, not for one minute did it strike us about how long it was since we were out of school. So began the crazy squeals of laughter, narration of old stories, school memories and some late discoveries, talks about friendships gone sour and sweeter over time and of course, teen crushes. Well, maybe not just crushes from teen age? 😉
When was the last time you did something for the first time? Jotted down a bucket list but been putting it off in the assurity of tomorrow? In the end, we only tend to look back on the chances we didn't take, the relationship we failed to embark or work on, the decisions we waited too long to take... not the time we spent working in the office or doing the dishes & vaccuming the floors. This trip was a first in a lot of ways for me personally. My first solo international flight, first friendcation, learning that befriending strangers are perfectly doable, signing an informed consent form which we had to do for paragliding, and a few more which are privy to public forums, because what happens in Turkey, stays in Turkey. 😝.
If you are planning a trip to Turkey, I am sure you are already aware of the most beautiful spots that are a must see in the place. My personal favorite was Antalya. Besides being a mind blowing blue & green beach town; the quaint, beautiful, charming & pulsating streets of Old Town completely captured my heart. We took a beautiful walk close to upto an hour after dinner, towards the beach the night we landed at Antalya. I can still picture us on the walk way lined with streetlights, gorgeously decorated eateries, various shops where we were encouraged to try out more of the never ending flavours of Turkish Delight, and the sight of the thriving crowd even close to midnight, was a vibe I'd never forget!
There are moments in our past that are forever etched in our memory. When we started off on our trip, I was told to "Etch every bit of every day in my memory" and that's exactly what I did. The paragliding where we laughingly bid goodbye to one another (with my teeth chattering out of sheer fright & the cold on the hilltop!) & we trusted our lives at the hand of a polyster/nylon canopy that would be no bigger than 4-5 metres to be handled by a complete stranger, after which we screamed in elation on landing! Yep, quite literally a zindagi na milegi dobaraa moment that was..Sigh! The hot air balloon ride at the break of dawn where we saw the world spread out below gradually, while the sun rose gently, right above the travertine pools at Pamukkale and where we later spotted a balloon almost touch the waters and quickly accelerate the ascent!
The beautiful evening walk through the paved, twisty and sometimes steep walkways at the mountainous & serene Cappadocia, our beautiful time of heart to heart conversations at the natural hot spring pool in Pamukkale or when we just walked aimlessly around the walkways of this old geological phenomenon - Pamukkale or cotton castle, were some of the peaks of our time together. How we marvelled at the enormous architecture of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace, the pomp & pride of the harems and stone carved hamams at Dolmabahçe Palace. The grandeur of the roman theatre at Hierapolis, the restored library of Celsus & the ruins of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus are a few of the truly fascinating sights we set our eyes on. The excitement while at grand bazaar with each of us trying to get the best deal possible and the amount of tea tasting we did at the spice baazar with the million flavours that was available were most entertaining! I think that was the one day we had to skip lunch since we had stuffed ourselves by sampling tea and turkish delights.
They say people don't take trips, trips take people and eventually turn them into story tellers. I am no story teller but I would tell you this - With all the picturesque beauty and diverse culture that this country warmly greeted and wrapped us with, Turkey saw us revel in & renew our age old camaraderie blended with the sound experience that life had brought on in 24 years. After all, it is not always that one is blessed with friends who stand the test of time! Be it through laughter, tears or moments of baring our heart, Turkey saw us skip along on her streets, dance on her waters, reminisce on her beach, stroll through her tulips and stand in awe at her magnificent, age old yet resilient mountains and carefully restored cities.
Though it has now been over a month after our return, the trepidation with which I started off and the sheer sense of master stroke with which I came back is still afresh in heart & mind! I do not know what tomorrow holds for anyone, myself to say in the very least, but this I know - This trip & every bit of it is a space in my heart I will always go back to, for the joy & warmth of this fills me with a sense of hope and courage, of better things to come in the future, with some of the best people I am blessed to have befriended as a child.
I could keep writing of the numerous aspects of my friendcation that will shine vividly in mind for a looooooong time, but no matter how much I try to, I doubt I can convey the essence of the whole experience. Every time I review my post and I am about to hit "Publish", there surfaces another memory!
To have been able to do this at a time when we are hopefully wrapping up the pandemic and seeing life slowly beginning to get back to normalcy or what pre-covid times were, we were incredibly blessed is the very least I can say. When boarding our flights headed back home, while excited to meet our family and share our wonderful experience, we knew this was something we would want to do again. With paragliding, a hot air balloon ride, my first international friendcation at an exotic place ticked off my bucket list, what do you suggest I try next? Would you see the same faces with me again you ask? Oh I would most certainly bet on that and maybe a few more faces as well!
Teşekkür ederim Türkiye! 💃
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