Turkey

We wanted to kickstart our big move with a mini holiday and it just so happens that ANZAC Day falls at the end of April each year and neither of us had been to Turkey before. The Fanatics Tour company (www.fanatics.com) offered a 15 day Turkey Tour which included ANZAC Day so this was perfect for us. What we didn’t realise is that we would fall in love with the place so much. Turkey is such a beautiful country and has so much culture to offer. We had a small group of 24 and a large coach so everybody had enough space making us all feel comfortable. Each and every individual brought so much to the group and once again we were lucky to have a group that got along so well together but to top it off we had two brilliant tour guides who by the end felt more like friends to us all. 

If people asked us whether we would go back to Turkey the answer is definitely yes. There is just something about this place. We never expected to get what we did out of Turkey. The people there are so nice, warm and welcoming, there are so many different sites to see (unlike other countries where you get sick of seeing the same thing in different places), its cheap, doesn't rely on tourism so much that you feel bombarded with people trying to sell you things and make a buck and if you move away from the Tourist strips there is some absolutely delicious foods to try. Turkey even opened our eyes up to Islam more and understanding the religion, something which many people are less likely to do these days. We also learnt quite a bit about the Turkish history and how it was linked to Greek history, something we did not know. There is so many things which made us gush as well such as the colours, texture and culture which is so clearly evident and alive in their magnificent places, designs and architecture.

Although there are always things which make you wonder in other countries and for us it was how such a civilised country still used squatters and the no toilet paper down the hole rule as well as the fact that their taps are marked hot and cold yet it is opposite (yes everywhere not just one tap that we tried). Finally, though if you ever make your way to Turkey be prepared to eat a lot of bread. So much bread that we are sworn off it for a while now (except for vegemite toast because we miss that).