Author Topic: My love affair with Turkey Blogg  (Read 2236 times)

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Offline heatherhanum

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My love affair with Turkey Blogg
« on: May 14, 2016, 16:15:43 PM »
                                                      My Blogg
My love affair with Turkey began 22 years ago. I had completed training as a Social Worker got a Job in a hospital Team. Once I had learned the ropes and settled into the job I talked about planning a holiday abroad, just me and my hubby as my sons didn’t want to join us. I got talking to a colleague who became my best friend. She told me to go to Turkey. I went home that evening and told my husband we were going to Turkey. At first he was unsure. 'its a bit far' he said. 'Well my friend Lynne is convinced we will have a great time.' I got a few brochures and after consulting with Lynne I booked for 2 weeks in Çaliş.
The holiday approached and after a good flight the transport took us on our journey to Çaliş. On the way there we could see local  people sitting on Balcony s watching TV or eating a meal together on the floor. The old buildings, Vast open land and the smells of Jasmine and other plants were hypnotic. We arrived at our hotel at almost midnight. The transport dropped us off at the back of the Aytur Hotel. We both wondered where on earth we were staying. Everything was so different and the back of the hotel looked uninviting. We were greeted and taken to our room to unpack.  The young woman on reception  Nesreem asked us to join her downstairs in the bar for a welcome drink. Me and hubby were both still wondering what sort of place we had come to.  When we arrived downstairs to the bar area we could not believe our eyes. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. The beach being so close, The views the colors and lights; Breathtaking!  We were having a free complimentary drink when the Bar man said he was closing up and if we wanted another drink we should help our self and pay in the morning. Well we couldn,t believe it.  The bar closed but all the drinks were left on display, the tıp box on the bar and us two sat speechless. We had our drink then went for a walk along the front. We then returned to our hotel which was basic but clean, what more could we want.
Next morning we enjoyed the breakfast and noticed how friendly and helpful the staff were We honestly felt like lottery winners.
The 2 weeks went by so quickly and we already knew that we would return. We got to know all the staff at the Aytur but one barman stood out from the rest. Tarkan He was 23 years old. He was so helpful and a real comic. The holiday was fantastic and he made our experience extra special. We tearfully said our goodbyes and hoped we would see him again. The the next few years we booked the same holiday with the same company at the same hotel and were fortunate to visit twice a year. We lived and dreamed for our next holiday to Turkey. Each time we would see our friend Tarkan  our friendship grew. One evening he invited us to meet his family in Fethiye. That was the start of another beautiful friendship with his family. He had a baby son who was about 12 month old. His family lived all around the village and over a period of time we met all of his relations and his close family friends. None of his family spoke English so unless Tarkan translated we would get by with other forms of communication hand gestures you know what I mean.  We attended Turkish weddings, Birthdays and other Turkish events. We felt extremely honored and privileged to be taken into this big closely knit, warm family circle. I was given gifts of food, socks etc every time we visited. At family gatherings the men would gather in one room and the women and children would be in another. Women would serve the men tea and ensure they were comfortable. Women and children would happily chat and I would look on in awe of the closeness and generosity of these people. The family were very traditional in every way. My mum and her family are from Scotland and seeing the traditional Turkish reminded me of attending family gatherings with my Scottish family. Only difference was there was no alcohol involved with our Turkish Muslim friends. As time went by it was an expectation that me and hubby attended family gatherings and if we visited Tarkan at home word would spread and family would come to say hello. These were people with very little income and massive hospitality.  I learned a few Turkish words and when I spoke them they were met with great appreciation that I had tried. Back in England we were both working and saving for our next holiday. We decided to travel to other parts of Turkey but always returned to Çaliş. We got to the point where we stopped going out for meals, cut back on spending so we could visit Çaliş an extra time so we were booking a trip to Çalis 2 or 3 times a year. We worked and saved for our next trip. I have 2 sons, one is a singer song writer and the other a trained Chef so  our house was filled with music and smells of food cooking, we also had their friends come and go. I loved the buzz of having young people around. Hubby wasn't so keen but never openly objected. One day both sons announced that they had planned to move out and rent their own place, they were in their 20s after all... The day came when they both excitedly packed and left home leaving me and hubby in a quiet house.  No music, no cooking smells just me and hubby. He was skipping around the house with a smile from ear to ear. He was so ecstatically happy. I was the opposite, grieving the empty nest. I missed my boys... I said to Hubby is this it, just me and you for the next god knows how many years. He smiled and said I hope so!
 I suggested that we should learn Turkish, then we could practice with each other and occupy our free time. We enrolled on a 12 week Turkish course at Warwick University.
To be continued maybe ...... 8)



Offline rusty

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Re: My love affair with Turkey Blogg
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2016, 18:36:29 PM »
Great......really enjoyed reading your blog  :)

Offline ArtyMar

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Re: My love affair with Turkey Blogg
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2016, 23:55:06 PM »
Great start to your new blogging career, Heather! (mods, please put it in the bloggers' section - thanks!)




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