Some photos from my Turkey trip

[Griffi97]

Really beautiful photos. Thanks for posting them!

What was the experience like culturally?

[cascademn]

Originally Posted by Griffi97

Really beautiful photos. Thanks for posting them!

What was the experience like culturally?

Hi there!! Thank you!

It's hard for me to feel I have a good grasp on the culture, since I do not speak turkish and thus wasn't able to interact 1:1 with any of the turkish people -- aside from 'hi', 'thank you', etc within the restaurants, etc. Also I think one has to stay a great length of time to *really* understand, rather than just get cursory impressions.

But our guide was very good and enlightened us on much of the culture, which was really interesting, and I also got to know him somewhat well and so that was a positive experience, just hearing his own impressions of his country, his concerns, and where it's heading.

We also got to experience a *little bit* of the culture firsthand. One evening we had a homestay with a family in a small village on the edge of a lake near the Taurus mountains, and our guide played translator so we were able to ask the family (parents of the son living in one home, and then the son, his wife, and 3 children in the house next door) questions that we had about their life and their views. So that was really interesting, and was one of the highlights. And it was special to share a meal at their home.

Anyway, I didn't have any bad experiences with the culture, and it was interesting to see the different regions -- some areas more secular, other areas more conservative, and then most of it seemed somewhat in between. Certainly a rich history, a unique culture (layered in history and various traditions and ethnicities), and as I learned, the nation could be self-sufficient in terms of all its resources -- food and everything else.

Amazing food, very nice people.

Truly, I wasn't ready to leave. I hope to go back someday.

[Geoff]

That's interesting, because Turkey has a poor reputation and record with female travellers, particularly blonde ones. I'm glad it worked for you though!

[cascademn]

Originally Posted by Geoff

That's interesting, because Turkey has a poor reputation and record with female travellers, particularly blonde ones. I'm glad it worked for you though!

Where did you hear that?

I do have to admit I grew weary of all of the stares directed my way, so I didn't wander around as much on my own as I have in other places I've visited. I just wasn't terribly comfortable; not speaking from a safety perspective, because I felt perfectly safe, but you know, I'm quite an introvert and don't like feeling like I have a spotlight on me as I'm walking down a street. But there are quite a number of places in the world where blonde female travellers will get unwanted attention.

[grendiecat]

I went to Turkey by myself and while it was beautiful, it was way too hard to be there as a single tall blonde female. I didn't go in a group/tour though. I've traveled all over the world (and mostly by myself, including all over South America) but Turkey was too much for me. I wanted to be there for three weeks but left after five days and I'm intimidated by almost nothing. Almost got kidnapped, boys/adolescents just run up and touch you, stressssssssssssssssful. I did manage to see a number of the sights in Istanbul and came away with a beautiful rug and some other artwork. I would never go there again without a big guy along. One of the toughest sights to see was around the University in Istanbul--women dressed head to toe in black, wearing fairly heavy coats in the hot weather. My would be kidnapper, had I not dashed for the locked door of his store, told me that this was because the women had to cover their entire body so the wouldn't distract the men from their spiritual studies. Of course it's always the woman's fault. I did meet some neat people, including a Turkish Greek named Nicholas who read my tea leaves, and without one opportunity to peek at my passport, told me exactly what my birth date was--freaky!

[Geoff]

Yeah, my "evidence" is mostly anecdotal, but where female colleagues/friends have been to Turkey, they sometimes come back saying they got fed up of being hassled, or felt generally uncomfortable whenever they weren't "escorted".

[Tallulah]

Just now seeing these, cascade--WOW. What an amazing place! I would love to travel there. It's going on my list. Beautiful pictures!

[cascademn]

Originally Posted by Tallulah

Just now seeing these, cascade--WOW. What an amazing place! I would love to travel there. It's going on my list. Beautiful pictures!

Hey, thanks Tallulah!!

It was an amazing place. **big sigh**

[01011010]

The one with the ruins in the rock is gorgeous. It's like staring at history and all it may have entailed.