Goodbye "Black Box"

Turkey was a terrible place. Just look at these pictures! Doesn't it look like a horrible place to visit?

I arrived on August 2nd and got on board the M/S Piccolo. After that is was day after day of hoping from cove to cove, eating a multi-course breakfast lunch and dinner (not to mention tea time), then jumping the a sea with water so clear and warm it was like jumping into a fish tank, hiking through ancient ruins, exploring small towns, then finding a quite cove to spend the night on the deck of the boat, falling asleep under the Milky Way counting shooting stars. It was a ghastly time (If you're not picking up on my sarcasm, please do so now...)

If there is such thing as a vacation from a vacation, this was it. We all spoiled and indulged for a week. Here are a few new friends I made along the way:

I spent the majority of the week in my swim suit, drinking Cappy Juice and Ruki, and the food... Turkish food is amazing. Before this week, I'd never heard so many vegetable compliments. At lunch and dinner, we were constantly saying "Pass me some more broccoli," and "That cauliflower is amazing," and "I think I'll polish off those beans," and "send over some of that Melony Goodness" (I capitalize "Melony Goodness" because she became a reoccurring character at our table, along with her little brother "Figgy Goodness"). Yes there was plenty of meat and salad too along with lots of olives (for breakfast), but how often do you encounter a cuisine that features vegetables so well.

When I started my trip towards Turkey, I have to admit I was a little nervous. Part of it was that everywhere I went people were mention on the embassy bombing in broken English or the universal and unofficial sign language splaying their fingers out and making a"bhoosh" sound. Then meeting Mario in Greece didn't help. I had heard a little bit about the Greeks not getting along well with the Turkish, but I didn't realize the full extent of "not getting along" until after I talked to some people from Greece. It was my American tour guide in Athens that mentioned that a lot of the Greek historical sites have stories involving the British steeling from them, The Italians bombing them and the Turkish burning them. The Greeks have some understandable grudges.

I was visiting my mom's cousin Nikki in Pescara when I told her about the "Black Box" of my trip, which was my travel through Greece and Turkey because I didn't have much of a travel plan. Being a seasoned traveller herself, she cautioned me against thinking of my trip as a "Black Box" because black implies ominous and a box implies a confining space. It was at this point that I decided to rename this part of my trip "The unwritten book". Then I wrote it, and what a story it turned out to be! You don't really need a plan, just a destination and a good attitude, and things work themselves out.

The only thing I would caution a single female travel to watch out for in Turkey are the guys "selling rugs". Men in the southern Mediterranean tend to be a bit aggressive and often confuse lust and love (and selling rugs). They're also very smooth. They'll take you out for tea, compliment your hair and eyes, offer to take you to dinner if you let them... and before you know it, they're "selling you rugs" if you know what I mean... well sometimes they actually do end up selling a real rug. The men are generally respectful and will treat you well, but the do expect you to instantly fall in love with the attention and compliments. This can get old, but if you're only around for an afternoon and upfront about you the fact that you're not going to "buy his rugs" (if you know what I mean) like I was, you can have a pretty good time. Fesih taught me the (literal, not euphemistic) difference between Turkish and Persian rugs (while serving me tea in his store and gazing longingly into my eyes and introducing me to his father, another rug seller. Come on! they had to know I wasn't falling for it! Introducing me to his FATHER?!). Turkish rugs are made with double knots and Persians are single knotted. Fesih also took me out for a couple of cups of tea, a tour of the Mosque and we played a few games of backgammon, a popular game in Turkey.