Welcome Back!
I guess all good things must come to an end, and so our three weeks in Turkey flew by. It was definitely an incredible adventure, filled to the brim with visual inspiration. So much history and pattern! To celebrate my dad's 70th Birthday, my parents had booked a 13 day excursion to Turkey with Gate1Travel. Since going on the trip was a fairly last minute decision, I did not have too much time to research the sites or set expectations. As our super knowledgeable tour guide explained on day 1, "If you think you are on a holiday, you are wrong. This is a tour to visit Turkey's history, culture, historical sights and natural wonders. You will need a vacation after this."
The first thing I learned about Turkey was to appreciate the Turkish people's wry sense of humor. (Not unlike the fabled Polish humor). The second, was that he was totally right. It was very rigorous schedule. We covered a lot of ground: had scheduled 9 minute restroom breaks, 30-40 minute meal breaks, and sometimes 6:00 am departure times. This was definitely harder than work! Our daily breakfasts (crazy, overflowing buffets) and bottomless cups of Turkish coffee provided the stamina to keep up the pace. We ran over 2000 year old ruins like no tomorrow. I was also surprised to learn that Turkey is home to an insane amount of history. History from the Bible, History from Homer's (fabled) Illiad, literally the stuff that graces History book covers. Some of the sites are so world famous, they seemed deja-vu. (Hello, Hagia Sophia) We walked along the walls of Troy, strolled through the house where Mary was (supposedly) born, swam (well, waddled though, as calcium pricked our feet) the pools of Pamukkale and saw cities (even Roman toilets) built 600BC! Somehow I didn't quite comprehend the amount of history we would discover.
Unlike the trip to Morocco that we went on last year, which I planned for months, (see the month of Morocco here) this time I barely had time to put together a Pinterest board of Turkish crafts. Turkey is not like Morocco (as I had envisioned) and has even more culture and craft inspiration. It was exotic, but very European at the same time. There were fabled carpet shops and modern Swiss hotels, the past and the present living side by side. The drivers were as crazy as I had been warned about, but the the sites were even grander than I had envisioned.
I did read a helpful guide about Istanbul from Lux Guides and looked online at several Blogs for Shopping recommendations. Luckily, we had a few extra days before and after our organized tour to enjoy walking around Istanbul and uncovering lesser known gems. I am definitely glad we had this time, as these were the days I got to search for craft and design stores, chat with inspiring shop owners and haggle in the Grand Bazaar. We visited the Grand Bazaar again, drooled over the colorful tiles, and ate lots of (chicken) kebabs. (I can vouch that the chicken in Turkey is top notch! If chicken was nowhere to be found, I could always rely on tomatoes, feta, cucumbers and and garlic yogurt.)
Of course the food was delicious and the historical sites mind blowing. But, my favorite recollections involve the colorful shopping and the super gracious Turkish people. Everyone we met was so kind and helpful: from an English teacher I met on a bus in Antalya (over admiring her pretty purse) and our stellar, always helpful tour guide, to several merchants in diverse shops. I cherish these meetings as my fondest memories in such a welcoming country. I can't wait to display several stores (some of them even sell online) and their gorgeous wares! Ceramics and hand woven textiles, especially suzanis and kilims, were my Turkish delights.
This month on BigBrightBold, I will showcase Turkey and Istanbul, the legendary capital of two of the world’s greatest empires. Istanbul, built on seven hills and spanning two continents, has kilometers of retail, design, restaurant, museums and culture. There were so many sites and shops, and I look forward to sharing them with you! Sit back, relax, and check in daily to enjoy the (magic carpet) ride.
Come back tomorrow for my five favorite things about Turkey.
Thank you Serdar for your endless energy and enthusiasm: for corralling our lively group and sharing all your expertise! Thanks Peggy for sending the group photo! Hope our tour mates can enjoy.
September 29, 2013 
