Turkey: Observations, Raves and Rants

We've been able to relax for a few days at the Delhi Hyatt (thanks to Paul's many stays at the Hyatt up in Cambridge!), so we've had some time to take a deep breath and revisit our experiences and observations from the Turkey trip.  

The overall experience was unexpectedly wonderful.  

Unexpected, because we had no idea that Turkey's countryside would be so beautiful.  I highly recommend a road trip through Turkey.  It's much like the little towns and villages that you would see in Switzerland, with the snow capped mountains in the background and each town dotted with a mosque instead of a chapel.  Then there were the gorgeous and abundant wild flowers in the fields and the sides of the highway.  And, the people in the country side are friendly and sweet and offer to sit and have tea with you often. 

Cappadocia was a contrast of green, lush countryside and other-worldly fairy chimneys for which they are famous.  Add to that the amazing story of the Christians who lived there as they fled from the Romans and built churches and homes in the rocks and it's all just that much more amazing.

  

Our hotel was a family run business (father and son), open for about a year and doing very well.  When we were there, they were full and getting very good reviews on Trip Advisor.  One of the interesting things about Turkey is that it is 98% Muslim, which means calls to prayer throughout the day and night.  We barely noticed it in Istanbul, but in Cappadocia, the mosque was a block away from our hotel.  The first call to prayer was at 4am...ouch!  We all agreed (me, Paul, and our friend Bill) that it added to the authenticity of our experience.  

Istanbul, like most great cities is a great combination of modern and old.   The Hagia Sophia was built in 360AD!  The highways, buses and trains are quite modern and new.  For our daily breakfasts we were offered cereal, yogurt and omelettes as well as the traditional Turkish breakfast which consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, white cheese, olives and a spam-like meat product.  Istanbul is also full of hustlers - hawkers that are trying to sell you what they have - be it a rug, a meal, a hotel room, a partnership in a future business - it's all a part of the Istanbul experience.  Everyone is your friend, sometimes for real, and sometimes if they think they can sell you something.

So, all of this (and more!) make Turkey unique.  And we expect to go back in the future to see more of what we missed this time around and to revisit some of our fond memories.  

Other observations:

1. Cats!  In Turkey they seem to be largely favoured over dogs.  They're everywhere.

2. The faces of the children.  They have such great character - most of them having the facial characteristics of an older person.

3.  Call to prayer occurs five times a day.  Because of this, there are wash stations along the highway so everyone can wash up before prayer.  We called them "Park n Pray" stations.  Offering free car washes at the “Park n Pray” could be a profitable business!