Turkey... so much to say. Simply, I have loved every minute of it and every minute has been unique. Every minute represents a new friend, a new place, a new thought, a new resolution.
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| Istanbul by night |
I arrived in Turkey in the middle of June...I think.
I remember getting on the bus in Sofia having already organisied my ticket the day before. I got on the only bus that arrived at 11pm that night to be told that I had to buy a new ticket as my ticket was for a different bus company...that was obviously invisible.
So after that waste of money, I realised I had no Turkish lira for toilet stops, so all in all, I was pretty excited about the bus trip so far. But I managed the bladder control issues and the customs officer that sent me running all over the Turkish border like a headless chicken to organise a visa, while the rest of the busload of people were waiting for me as I was the only foreigner.
No, the best part was when the bus was on fire...literally. I woke up to smoke in the cabin and the engine on fire as we tried to remove our baggage from next to the fire-laden motor which was next to the petrol tank... Actually it was pretty bloody funny and from then on I knew I was going to love Turkey, I even had a bush pee seeing as the time for rules were over.
We waited a couple of hours on the side of the road until we could get a ride into Istanbul, and then to Taksim where I would be meeting up with Kirney.
I’ve now been in Turkey long enough to realise that whatever happens, everything always seems to work out for the best. Take point, for example. Kirney had just a few too many drinks the night before I arrived and whilst sitting on the loo in the morning feeling bad about missing the morning market, she suddenly remembers that she was supposed to come and meet one of her supposedly good friends who had no phone and no idea where to go...5 hours late. Luckily, the bus did blow up and so timing worked out just about right.
As I waited in Taksim square, Kirney comes up in typical Kirney fashion, apologising for how late she is whilst crying at seeing ‘her friend with that back pack that we walked across Spain with’. Love her. That morning we went to her friend Arzu’s house in Taksim. I spent my first wonderful day in Turkey catching up on lost time with Kirney and watching while they manoeuvred braiding a client’s hair with Arzu’s dog Chuckles taking over the apartment, for the next 8 hours. And this is what she does with her one day off work. The girl has 3 jobs, a boyfriend, and still manages to go out and enjoy Istanbul and take care of her friends.
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| The controlled chaos |
We wandered back to her apartment and lugged my gear up the 6 flights of stairs to meet her wonderful boyfriend Ali, her kittens Mimi and Roma, and her friend Bec who was back in Turkey for the 7th time.
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| Kirm cooking up a storm |
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| The babies. Mimi and Roma |
We sat down to a lovely home cooked Turkish dinner and then crashed for the night. Perfect beginning to an adventure that would last 2 months and still counting...I’ll get writing shall I.
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| The view from Kirney's balcony |
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| Yum |
