Turkey

Today marks our seventh month at post, although I'm not sure I should really count it as seven months in Moldova because I sort of spent a month of that out of the country; first in the US and most recently in Turkey. I was just telling Michael Ball the other day while I drove him to work how before we got here, I kept imagining how different life would be in Moldova for us. How the boulevards and plazas, the people & society seemed so foreign at that time, but now, I don't even give a second glance when I drive past them. I guess part of feeling "at home" involves being able to ignore your surroundings.

Every year Turkish Airlines decides to come out with a crazy deal on fares to all sorts of interesting places from Chisinau, including Istanbul. So, back in January we decided to book a few flights and plan a spring getaway with some friends.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't particularly excited about going. I don't know if I had just been watching too many documentaries about poor Moldovan women who had been trafficked there or if the recent bombing of our Embassy in the capital was tainting my opinions. After all, it was a sober reminder that we are not as openly embraced in many parts of the world as we are here in Moldova.

I was aware that the Ottomans ruled a shockingly large portion of this part of the world back in the day, but I must admit that I didn't know much else about Turkey. I knew a few factoids here and there...like the fact that in the Romanian language the majority of the words {yes, plural & very telling} they have for "bribe" have Turkish roots. Therefore, I began researching the place and created a Pinterest Board {naturally} with some ideas. Our friends also did some research and planning {most of it I might add} and the result was delightful.

We absolutely loved Turkey. It helped that it was significantly warmer than Moldova, but in general it was just lovely. The people were warm & hospitable, they love children {which is a plus when traveling with three of them}, the food was great, the terrain plush & mountainous, and they have more ruins & historical sites than they know what to do with. We spent a few days along the coast and visited a Crusader Fortress, then spent a day road-tripping from ruin to ruin including Pammukale, where there are thermal pools famous for being the same ones Cleopatra swam in, a few days near Ephesus in a little town in the mountains called "Pleasantness" and the remainder of our time in Istanbul, visiting the Spice Market, the Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque, and on Easter Sunday took a boat ride on the Bosphorus River.

Traveling with kids also brought back many memories of my own childhood, where my parents took me when I was that age and how I viewed the world at that time. I have vague recollections of them taking me to the ruins of Teotihuacan right outside Mexico City and to museums with Diego Rivera's famous murals whenever we had visitors. I also remember the many road trips we went on as a family, within the US and back and forth between the US & Mexico.

Personally, I welcome anything that prompts me to stop for a moment and reflect on my life, on the wonderful people who have surrounded me and on the many rich experiences I have been blessed to have had, however little they were probably appreciated at the time. This trip was just that, and I am grateful for the opportunity. I might even have to go back there before we leave Moldova if Turkish Airlines has a crazy sale again!

Oh, and I took a ridiculous amount of pictures, which I have {graciously} curated down to a handful for this blog entry.

Crusader Fortress

Windmills along the Coast

Painted Bird in a Terraced House | Textile Market | Library

Library in Ephesus

Thermal Pool | Pammukale

In the little town of "pleasantness".  Couldn't agree more...

There is a story that the village was settled by freed Greek slaves who named the village Cirkince (meaning "Ugly" in Turkish) to deter others from following them. The village's name was changed to Sirince (meaning "Pleasant") in 1926 by the governor of Izmir Province. 

Temple to Artemis

View from our Hotel Window on Easter Sunday | Istanbul

Hagia Sophia

Boat ride on the Bosphorus