Turkey

Best of Turkey

October 25, 2014 /

We visited Turkey for 9 days from June 10th, 2014. A day before flying into Istanbul we found out that we could get a free visa into the country with our Salvadorian and Colombian passports, while US citizens had to pay 20 USD. So, of course, we decided to switch passports once again and enter as Latinos! The more we use them, the more we get to appreciate the beauty of having dual citizenship 🙂

After spending a few days in Istanbul, we traveled by bus along the Mediterranean coast for 17 hours making stops in Kuşadasi and Kaş. We love Istanbul, a city of today with multiple secrets of the past, a place where east meets west, where Muslim women cover their heads, and non-Muslims reveal everything else. Surrounded by the sea, we saw green gardens and trees everywhere, which was a change in scenery after weeks of traveling across the desert in Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. The Arabic architecture is simply stunning! Blue ceramic tiles with delicate decorations in the harem of the Topkapi Palace transported us to the times of Ottoman, the great empire that one time spread deep into Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Signs of delicious kebab and baklava around the city were our everyday temptation.

From Kuşadasi, we got to visit the ancient ruins of Ephesus, once the capital of the Roman province in Asia and the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. Kaş, our last stop, offered us precious turquoise waters along the coastline and many reasons to leave with resistance… Turkey is magical and our only regret is not having more time to fully explore it!

Below are other great things we enjoyed about Turkey:

Food and Drinks

  • Kebaps

  • Pickled Vegetables

  • Fermented Black Carrot Juice

  • Turkish Pizza

  • Aryan: yogurt drink

  • Turkish Tea

  • Baklava: Mediterranean dessert with honey, nuts, and layers of dough

  • Lokum: turkish sweets, also known as Turkish Delight

  • Efes Beer

  • Turkish Ravioli

  • Turkish Pancake

  • Fruit Wine

  • Baked Mussels Stuffed with Rice

  • Pomegranate Orange Juice

Favorite Sights and Activities

  • Walking Around the City of Istanbul, Where East meets West

  • Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea in Kaş

  • Exploring the Ancient Roman City of Ephesus

People

  • Yahya: from Syria, our CouchSurfing host in Istanbul.

  • Agata: from Switzerland, Yahya’s girlfriend.

  • Bedri: from Turkey, Gisela’s friend from Los Angeles we were able to meet up with in Istanbul.

  • Ali: from Turkey, our CouchSurfing host in Kuşadasi.

Native Words

  • Su = Water

  • Çay = Tea

  • Bira = Beer

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