As I sit here in my chilly apartment, covered from head to toe in fleece, I find myself longing for the warmth of Turkey. Three weeks ago, three of my Peace Corps lady friends and I took a week long excursion through Turkey for our Autumn holiday. We started planning it a few months back, and instead of heading only to Istanbul as many before us have been inclined to do, we decided to start in the south and work our way up. We had six days to plan for and we wanted to make sure that we crammed as many different cities as we could. In the end, we ended up seeing and staying in three different cities, Kas, Pamukale, and Istanbul. Below you can find the map of our journey that I borrowed from the blog of my fellow travel companion, Kristen.
As you can see, we covered a lot of ground. All together, we ended up traveling by bus for almost 24 hours through out the week. Thankfully, Turkish buses are quite nice and as comfortable as a bus can be. We also got to see a lot of beautiful places and scenery that we wouldn't have been able to see on an airplane.
Through out the week, I kept finding new things to be impressed with. The food, the smiling faces of the locals, and the amazing customer service were all so welcoming to find after having been in dreary Ukraine for so many months. Turkey was the first predominantly Muslim country that I have ever been to, and the thing that I noticed the most was the overwhelming sense of spirituality that peered from every corner. It was every where, and it was delightfully refreshing.
Here are some of the highlights in pictures of our lovely journey.
Days 1-2: Kas- A quaint, small town located in South Eastern Turkey on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
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| Mountain view from the bus ride to Kas |
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| View of the Med. Sea from the rooftop terrace at our hostel |
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| Some of Kas. This city ended up being my favorite. |
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| The sea was simply breathtaking. |
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The secret beach we discovered while hiking. We spent an afternoon lounging in the sun, swimming in the sea,
and dining on cheeseburgers and Turkish beer. |
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Megan, Catharine, and I decided to make our Ukrainian friends proud, but having a
glamour shot photo session in the sea. |
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| My dear friend, Catharine, and I waiting for our desert on our last night in Kas. |
Days 3-4: Pamukale-Home to an ancient Roman spa-town, the Cotton Castle is a series of calcified pools full of the clearest water that I have ever seen.
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| My first view of the Cotton Castle. |
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| Crystal blue water pool |
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| That's not snow, my friends. |
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| Ancient amphitheater ruins |
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Sunny ruins
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| Kristen talked me into doing a jumping shot, which is usually not my forte. |
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Days 4-6 Istanbul- Historic and huge, Istanbul was full of ancient mosques, labyrinth like bazaars, and amazing street food.
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| View of Galata's Tower |
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| Me in front of the Blue Mosque |
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| "Dates, sugar dates, and beans. Sugar dates and pistachios!" |
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| The Blue Mosque |
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| Gorgeous ceilings |
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| Stained glass |
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| Mine and Kristen's favorite street food: steamed oysters. |
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| The Maiden's Tower |
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Catharine, Kristen, and Megan-the three best travel companions a girl
could ever ask for |
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| Standing in front of Hagia Sophia. |
Of course, the trip was over entirely too quick and before we knew it, we were back in Ukraine where we were greeted by colder temperatures and unsmiling faces, both of which had been absent in Turkey. It was a perfect week filled with lovely people and great adventures. I'm sure the memories of the our fabulous journey will come in handy as the winter months in Ukraine start to creep in
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