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Published: April 11th 2010
Location: Istanbul, Canakkale, Bergama, Selcuk, Fethiye, Antalya, Pamukkale, Bodrum
Length of Stay: 24 Days
Cost per Day: $27
Love it, Love it, Love it....
10 out of 10... Fantastic... Superb... the finest hospitality I have ever experienced and a 1st class travel destination...
I have always believed that one of lifes great secrets to success is to always give more than one receives... and in business... always give your customer more than they are expecting... Well gotta tell you... The Turks do this exceptionally well...
Every day for me has been a wonderful journey and discovery of treats, gifts, unexpected surprises, compliments, generosity and receiving far more than I was giving or paying for... I have even received flowers on 3 occasions and had 4 job offers... all in a mere 3 weeks... Do I like Turkey... absolutely... The Turks... fantastic people... Would I come back... you bet...
Istanbul... absolutely stunning... The previous imperial city of Constantinople and later renamed as Istanbul is the most amazing city I have ever set eyes on... and most other travellers I have met along the way concur that it is possibly the most magnificent city in the world... Its not really
TURKEY
gorgeous... gorgeous... gorgeous... European or Middle Eastern but an incredible mix of both cultures...
Napoleon Bonaparte once uttered... if the world was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital...
Bazaars, markets, tea houses, turkish delight, cobbled streets, hamams - turkish baths, jaw dropping beautiful architecture in the churches, museums, mosques and palaces... you could literally spend weeks just exploring this one city...
AND... its squeaky clean... I was a very happy girl upon arrival...
If you are history buff... in particular along the Aegean coastline, Turkey has more ancient ruins per sq km than any other country on the planet... everywhere you go there are remnants of the magnificent empires that once ruled this land... The Romans, The Byzantines, The Ottomans... you can sense and feel the incredible past just walking through the lanes and alleys of even the small country towns...
I didnt pop into Troy on this occasion, however apparently excavations are still to this day ongoing... They have uncovered 9 successive cities built over the same site that stretch back to around 3000 BC... layer upon layer... The city of Troy that we are all familiar with... the great love affair between Paris and Helen of Troy
and the wooden Trojan horse... well apparently that all happened in Troy City VI or VII...
I also didnt pop into Gallipoli although I did drive past it... The most gorgeous, vivid, bright red poppies grow wildly along the roadside wherever you go... I guess this is why the poppy is the symbol handed out on Anzac Day back in Australia...
So... thats it for Turkey... for now... Truly a fantastic country to visit and so much to see...
Have met quite a few expats here... English, American, German... they all say the same thing... you will be hard pressed to find a country and its people that are so willing to open their arms and their hearts to you as much as Turkey and the Turks do... definately a place that you will want to return to... in fact I would go so far as to say that I could quite easily consider returning and making it my new home...
Do come have a look... you will not be disappointed...
Guess whats up next... Greece... and I am very excited... Greek Isles... here I come...wish you could join me... xx
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Brian
non-member comment
Good times!......
Glad you enjoyed Turkey.......x