One down, one to go…

Hello All!!

I arrived back in Zurich last night from my Turkish holiday. But…I’ll get to telling you about that in a minute! Prior to my sporadic post in Turkey, I haven’t blogged in a while…what you’ve missed: I now have my new work permit for staying another year, I have a Swiss driving license (so I’m legal on the roads), and I attended my first Swiss wedding…quite interesting!

I’ve been here over a year now. In fact, last Wednesday, September 12^th, marked exactly a year. It was such a nice day. I did a little bit of work but mostly nothing. My family decided to have a traditional raclette meal to mark the occasion and my newly married American friend down the street came as well. It was just lovely. The girls dressed up in their nicest dresses and we enjoyed good food, good wine, and a really good time together! Over the course of the evening I was given a surprise…I knew I was getting the tickets for Megz and I to fly to Antalya the next morning; but, Kai did even one better, as he was to be the pilot for both flights, and got us cockpit passes to be there for the takeoff, landing, and any in between bit we wanted for the flights to and from Turkey. It was, perhaps, the best gift I’ve ever been given!

The next day we woke early (I mean, REALLY early!) to get to the airport for our 6:25 departure. I was mostly awake by the time I got there, I guess. Being the procrastinator I am, I had only just packed about 20 minutes before I left; so, I was hoping I hadn’t left anything essential at home. We boarded the plane, took our seats, and after a few minutes we were ushered into the cockpit to take our seats for takeoff. The whole experience was AMAZING! Takeoff is my favorite part of a flight, and to see it from the front of the plane with no obstructions was just spectacular. We were able to see sunrise from the air and Kai and his co-pilot showed us the devices in the cockpit and tried to tell us what some of them do as well as pointing out cities, lakes/rivers, and mountains below which were of interest to us. The flight was just under 3 hours but it went by rather quickly.

We arrived in Antalya, collected our bags, and took a taxi to our hotel. It was such a charming little place. Located in the old town of Antalya, called Kaleiçi, this little pension was exactly what we were looking for. The place is managed by an Aussie named Mike. He was so knowledgeable about what to see and where to go and what things were just a tourist rip-off. He recommended the most fantastic restaurant within walking distance. The place was so good we ate there four times during our trip. We even watched Mike sit down with an Australian girl named Lisa, with whom we quickly made friends, to help her plan her 2 weeks in Turkey. This guy…he knows Turkey!

Antalya is located in the southern part of Turkey along, what is known as, the Turkish Riviera. Most of Turkey is considered, continentally speaking, Asia. This was my first trip to Asia!!! (Though I hardly think it counts…they are more like Europeans…) This place is so beautiful it’s hard to describe…mountains cascading into the most beautiful and clear blue/green colored water. Megz and I quickly decided that being on a boat was where it was at! We took three boat tours in the four days we were there. The highlight, I guess, was the 6 hour tour we took around the Antalya Gulf, which leads out into the Mediterranean Sea. We were even allowed, at one point, to jump off the boat and swim…so we did. We met heaps of really nice people on the boat; although, the funny thing was, most of them were Iranian. That’s right…we were on a 6 hour boat tour with, as far as we could tell, ourselves, one Israeli couple, and about 40 Iranians. When the music started they all began their Middle Eastern dancing. It was so interesting!

So, most of our time was spent on or around the Sea. It was quite nice. The weather was hot, though I’ve heard what we experienced was mild for Turkey, but the breeze made it bearable. Megan and I found ourselves in many stores and walking through the bazaars to find traditional Turkish wares. The last night there we even went out, with a South African woman, we’d met to see a Turkish rock band play at a local bar. They played mostly English music with few Turkish songs mixed in here and there. It was interesting to see they like the same music we like and they rock out to them in the very same way as well!

We were there during the first week of Ramadan, an Islamic tradition in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in which a lot of Muslims fast during the day. They eat before sun up and after sundown. Megan and I tried to be respectful and only eat at inside eateries during the day and not carry drinks or snacks with us as we walked. It was, again, strange for me to be in an Islamic country and hear the call to prayer blasted throughout the streets multiple times a day.

On Sunday we went back to the airport for our trip home. We checked our luggage, looked around in duty-free, and went to wait for boarding. That’s where we got another surprise! Kai came through the boarding gates to collect us early. We boarded the plane before anyone else and then we were given the privilege to put on really unattractive, bright yellow, vests and walk around the plane from the outside…so cool! Kai talked to us all about different parts of the plane and were able to see some of the things he must inspect or sign-off on before the plane can be boarded or push back for take off. Then, back on board, we took our seats in the cockpit for take off…we were able to see the sunset over the mountains in Antalya. The flight back was perfect. It was a clear night, so we were able to see plenty from the air. The flight crew reserved a special row for us and we were able to spread out a bit. Everyone was fantastically nice to us and, as we were so exhausted, we got to take a nap for about an hour before heading to the front to see the landing.

The whole trip was amazing. I’d definitely recommend Turkey to anyone who is frequently bitten by the travel bug, as I am. It was a trip of firsts for me as well…first time in Asia, first time to swim in the Mediterranean, first time to be in a Muslim country during Ramadan, first time to ride in the cockpit of a (what I think was a 757) plane…I’ve personally decided I’d like to travel around Turkey for 2-3 weeks next year before I go home. I’d originally discussed doing this around Italy but I think I’ll trade that in for Turkey…so much to see and do…culture, great food, it is an archeological paradise, and the sea!! I still haven’t decided if it’s my favorite place yet, not ready to trade in Italy, but it is amazing!

On a sad note, my great grandfather passed away over the weekend. He’s been quite ill for a while, maybe you remember me writing about this back in March as well. Please remember my family in your prayers, most especially my great grandmother, but also my sister who was quite close to him when we were younger. Jen, I wish I were there for you right now…wish I were there for the whole family…and safe travels back to GA when you return. Love you all!

Well, that’s all I have for now. Hope you enjoy the pics! I will be getting more from Megz soon and will add them at a later date. If you want to see more click on the link to her blog at the left side of my blog page…see Megz…now you MUST update soon!

All my love,

LuLu