Knock, Knock. I opened the door and was immediately comforted by familiar faces of family, and someone who speaks Turkish. Bonus!
Looking back on my time with my cousin, his Turkish wife, and their daughter (I'm just going to say cousins from here on out), it was pretty special. For years I had been planning to visit Turkey as one of my stops during my trip, but my hope was that I would be able to be there when my cousins were visiting.
Traveling alone is rewarding, but it's nice to just tag along and not make the decision. It's nice to know someone has your back. Do you know how difficult it can be just to use the airport bathroom with a 70 liter bag on your back? It's simple with family... can you watch my bag? Sure.
Erich, Betul, Suer, Behrna, Gökan, and of course, little Vero. You housed me, feed me (well I might add), helped translate, quarantined me with my 24 hour bug, and got me on-time to my bus outta Turkey. Thank you for all you did for me!
Here's some pics from our adventures together.
Local political issues: Construction, Traffic, Quality of Life, GOV Conservative vs. Progressiveness.
The blue mosque, I think?
My cousin and I failing miserably at windsurfing in Cesme.
The Turks have a saying, "the fish will cry without Raki." I happen to agree with that statement.
Intense game of backgammon between father in-law and son in-law. Little Vero is already an expert.