We could not wait to arrive in Turkey for two reasons: first, we had always wanted to experience this country where Europe & Asia intersect; and second, it was our last destination until we headed back home.
Our first stop in Turkey was the touristy Mediterranean beach town of Antalya in the south. Imagine a beautiful strip of land positioned between the sea and the snow-capped mountains, a calm clean ocean, soft sandy beaches, endless swimming pools, numerous restaurants, and throngs of large German and Russian tourists. It was a beautiful place, but we felt like we were in Disneyland with all the people, pulsating late night music and an overabundance of “all you can eat” food. We realized once again that it is hard to “vacation” when we are in traveling mode. We also confirmed that we are an all-inclusive resort’s dream family – none of us eat our weight in food and being hungover with two kids on the beach isn’t our idea of fun — so we don’t drink much. That will change in the next five years when the boys will be able to demolish a buffet in a single sitting!
After some R&R on the beach, we headed north for the real reason we visited Turkey – four days in the history-rich city of Istanbul. Jay found an apartment in Sultanahmet, the old (really old) town with its narrow winding streets, uncountable restaurants, 1500+ year old sites and numerous tourists. Swirling crowds were everywhere – it has been a long time since we have been in a place with so many tourists.
Istanbul is surrounded by water – sitting on the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe from Asia and connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean via the Marmara Sea. We spent our days walking to all the “must-see” sights packed into Sultanahmet – the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and an ancient underground cistern built by the Byzantines. We went shopping among the 3,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest “shopping malls” in the world. And we jumped on ferries and trams to see the sights across the strait and spend the afternoon in Asia! The food, the sites and the sounds (the four mosques in our neighborhood all fired up at 5 AM) were everything you would imagine in such a fabulous international city.
Istanbul was the perfect place to ease back into the Western world. Next stop, a country that seems very foreign to us – the USA!
