Two months after I moved back to Portland, Oregon, in the mid-zeros, I payed a visit to some friends in the playground of LA, and - even though I'd lived in LA before - the bright sunshine actually hurt my eyes. The fact that I hadn't expected the sunlight to sting made it even more poignant.
The first morning in Turkey was like that. Rather than start off in the vibrant chaos of Istanbul, we flew into Dalman, which is down Southwest, to play on the beach for a couple of days before heading back up North. Apparently, we'd gone to the right place for sun, because that first morning was unforgettable. The sun streaming in through the closed curtains was so bright that it woke me up at 6:30 and I got up to hang out on our huge hotel veranda and watch the world come to below me. From behind my heavy-weight Jackie O's.
In all my years of traveling one of the things that bugs me the most is touts. People who trail behind you wherever you go (because you stick out like a lamb in a bullring) and try to get you into their "Uncle's" shop, hotel, restaurant, tour, or whatever. In Egypt, these people almost got me killed trying to cross a main road when a couple of them stood in front of me and blocked me from seeing whether there was on-coming traffic, or I could cross the road. The best way to get rid of them is to pretend they're invisible and when they see you're not interested they'll wander over to the next potential victim.
But the previous night, my rule had been broken twice, both times with spectacular results. When we arrived in the harbour town of Fetayihe, we'd been traveling most of the day, and were a little spent. Now, of course, there's a guy deep in conversation with his buddy and the minute we walk into the neighborhood all conversation stops short as he rushes over to offer us a deal at his hotel. Very much against my wishes, PJ (my husband) takes him up on this offer, and we find ourselves in a small, but clean room in his "hotel", that doubles as this family's house. There are about 5 or 6 guest rooms, and we got one of two that opens onto the West-facing terrace, which looks out over the harbour, complete with palm trees and sailboats. not to mention that there are clean tables on the terrace and plants everywhere. The hotel was friggin gorgeous. And I made sure to let this man know how much I loved the place and that yes, we'd return the next time were in Turkey. By the way, it's called the Tan Pension, and if you're ever in the area, they do a super deal for bed & brekkie.
The second time my rule had been broken was 2 hours later at dinner. One thing Fetayihe is famous for is their fish market. It's tucked away in a square off the main drag, and is decked out with restaurants & outdoor seating, so that people can go choose fresh fish from the vendors, then take it 10 steps to the restaurants that cook it up for you with rice & salad and bring it out to your table. When we entered the fish market, it was already early dinner time & there were people around, but we were still a couple of sore thumbs, and got the attention of the nearest restaurant owner who was immediately at our side telling us how to do things. We waved him off, but then looked around at the other restaurants in the square and sho' nuff, his was the best. So he led us to the fishmonger, and we went through the process. As by now you might expect, the meal was amazing, and I even got PJ to luxuriate there for a little while chatting, drinking and watching the crowd watching the kitten that got itself stuck on the wire holding up the Christmas lights.
The kitten was rescued, of course.
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