Before I fall to pieces

Turkey; Istanbul, Goreme, Erzincan, Dogubeyazit

Days 12, 13, 14- Istanbul, Turkey

After a whirlwind 11 days through Europe we had finally come to a country I was most looking forward to. Not only was the weather guaranteed to be warm and sunny but I was also going to get to see Mama, Meral and Tim. It was nice to be going through familiar territory and to have loved ones fly out to be with you was a mega bonus.

Once we had crossed the Bulgarian, Turkish border we drove to Istanbul and arrived to Sultanahmet where the group would be staying for the next 3 days, I then went my separate way and crossed over to the Asian side to meet up with M, M &T.

It was so good to see them again it almost felt like the past 11 days had been a dream and that I hadn’t parted from them at all. I had a delightful next three days where I gave them a summary of how my trip had been so far and also filled them in with the rest of my itinerary. We got to do a few cores including going to the dentist and shopping. Met up with my good friend Asli and also visited dada’s grave. Before I knew it our 3 days were up, it seemed to pass so quickly..

The morning of the 7th June Ozbus departed Istanbul and set out on a 12 hour journey across through Turkey to Goreme. Mama, Meral and Tim came to wave me off and also got the opportunity to briefly meet everyone. Eventhough it was sad to say my farewells again I really counted myself lucky to have had this time. I really look forward to seeing mama in December when she will be visiting me in Sydney and I wish Meral and Tim the happiest and healthiest times with their bump on the way and I am sorry I won’t be there for the birth…

Days 15, 16- Goreme, Turkey

Goreme is well known for its Luna landscape which has been used in a few Star Wars scenes but originally known for its fairy chimneys/ caves where people BC used to live in and is still used for the same function leading into the twentieth century. Throughout our few days stay we were given the option to do several activities, one of which was a hot air balloon ride but as I had recently done one back in England I opted out and decided to go abseiling instead. Ok, so why didn’t anyone tell me it was 50 metres high and why didn’t anyone stop me from going first!! Well the theory of going first was get it over and done with… but 50 metres is just pure madness… Everyone was so nervous but the idiot I was volunteered to go first and had to put on a brave face in order to keep the moral up. Under my glasses were eyes of fear… I was clueless to the route down, couldn’t get any help from the instructor who was at the top … no good when you’re half way down!! So once I managed to get to the bottom safe and sound I made sure I was at the bottom of the rock cliff to instruct everyone else down. No lie this was one of the scariest things I have done in my life definitely more so then a bungee. I am proud of myself for doing it and even more proud to be alive and telling the story. We had the option to have another go but once was more than enough for me thank you very much..

Day 17- Erzincan, Turkey

Due to EU regulations the driving laws is that you are not allowed to drive more than 8 hours a day. So Erzincan was purely a convenience stop. There was nothing much to do there so a few of us got some alcohol and had a night in. Once we cross the borders of Turkey to enter Iran we won’t be able to drink for a good few weeks, a form of detoxing me thinks..

Day 18- Dogubeyazit, Turkey

Only after a 2,5hour journey from Erzincan we arrived in the small but busy settlement of Dogubeyzit, well know for Turkey’s tallest mountain Mount Ararat. It was definitely a man’s town or at least it seemed that way so when 15 women went walking down the street we did somewhat stand out. Little did we know that this was only the start of all the attention we were going to get..

Till next update. xx

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