Going Home!

My adventure in China is another chance for me to explore the world after leaving home “Turkey” 22 years ago. I keep introducing my home country at every social gathering, at work, and among the people who do not seem to know about this beautiful country.
    When we moved and settled down in Shanghai a year ago, the first thing that captured my attention was the advertisements about Turkey and Turkish Airlines on TV.   I felt very proud and excited. And I decided to write about my own experiences in my hometown and reach out to more people.
    We started our annual Turkey vacation on August 22nd 2011 from Shanghai to Istanbul flying with Turkish Airlines.   The flight was an extraordinary experience.  Our 10-hour flight was pretty comfortable and entertaining under the caring assistance of the flight attendants as we enjoyed their delicious selections of dinner and a mid flight snack.
  Every year during the plane descent over Istanbul's Bosporus Bridge, my eyes well up with tears   and an unimaginable feeling of peace fills my heart. 
    “Istanbul” as a city has become a subject for many movies, novels and a huge page of history on it's own. Poems are written about Istanbul, people fall in love in Istanbul, and people fall in love with Istanbul!  
    Today I will talk about a small but very lively town  “ Bodrum”which is often called “Halicarnassus” in the history pages. 
  10-hour drive south of Istanbul, Bodrum is situated on a peninsula at the corner of where the Aegean Sea meets Mediterranean waters. The roads are newly constructed and the scenery was beautiful during the whole trip. 
It was a harvest time in Turkey so we kept seeing fruit and vegetable stands all along the roadsides.  As well as colorful onion bags hanging from the stands we also saw an assortments of melons lying on the tables. Closer we got to Bodrum displays changed to baskets of peaches and fresh figs. We purchased a basket of each; the aroma of the peaches and sweetness of the figs were heavenly. 
    Driving through Lake Bafa, the highway continues straight and then starts to zigzag along the skirts of high mountains.  After an hour adrenalin drive, the famous medieval Bodrum Castle appears unexpectedly when you turn the last corner of the road. The Mediterranean Sea seems to take you in its arms. It is one of the most breathtaking sceneries you may see in your life, I assure you. Today The Bodrum castle hosts “under sea archaeological” museum, which attracts a diverse population of tourists.
    There is more in this ancient city that you may also visit like“ Amphi Theater, where many concerts are hosted during the summer months. 
     The Mausoleum of King Mausolos architecture had a unique shape, which looked like a pyramid and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The structure was still intact until it tumbled in to a heavy earthquake in 1304 AD
    Bodrum is a fascinating city; the sun shines somewhat differently here, making you feel warm and more energetic. You wouldn't like to waste time sleeping.  After enjoying the delicious lunch menu of “gozleme, burek, an open face mozzarella filled pita, a thin crust pizza baked in wooden oven which is called “lahmacun” and fresh vegetable selections; Bodrum days always turn into long and very entertaining nights.  Narrow streets welcome you into cozy taverns; restaurants serve fresh seafood and lamb kabob. 
  And if you like to shop, you will enjoy small galleries, authentic art stores and leather goods and boutiques in the ultimately relaxed atmosphere of the city.  And you can bargain for beautiful Turkish kilims and carpets. Moreover, the liveliest discos may keep you up almost right before the sunrise while little cafes are getting ready for the early risers. 
    Bodrum is quite unique with only two-story white painted houses decorated with rich hot pink colored bougainvillea 
    The marina of Bodrum hosts many elegant boats and yachts from all over the world
    We left Bodrum and continued driving past many Furniture stores, Marble and Granite shops, Garden goods shops, Supermarkets and Malls; all in white painted buildings all the way to a town called “Turgut Reis”, 18 miles west of Bodrum. We arrived in this very cute town from the hill, and this time we felt like hugging the Aegean Sea
    Turgut Reis was the supreme commander of the Ottoman naval forces in the Mediterranean who commanded the Preveza Battle and defeated Andrea Doria in history.  His name was given to this little town in his Honor.
  Turgutreis spreads through a big valley of planted fig trees, gardens and orchards. The town has sandy beaches, authentic stores and the Marina.  The coastline has steep mountains where many villas, and vacation resorts are being built. 
  Continuing along the seashore and driving another 15 miles and passing through many touristic locations, we finally arrived at our little cove of “Karaincir” which means black fig in translation. This little town has one of the best swimming spots in the world. 
    Karaincir actually is a village; there are no discos, entertaining bars, or boutiques nor much nightlife here. You see more of local people around but it is the most serene place for me. 
  Visitors or locals rise early in this town, enjoy the sunrise and a walk along the sandy beach. Collecting seashells, breathing in the fresh air, enjoying the soft sound of the morning waves of the sea cove, is the reason why we fall in love with this place. Sea is “azure” in the deep meaning of Blue color. 
  This serenity can take us all the way back to our childhood and bring us back and carry even further to our dreams.  You feel like you can reached the unreachable! 
     “This is home!” 
      Until I meet you in another beautiful part of our world, stay happy:)


Originally published in AWCS Magazine (American Woman Club of Shanghai) in 2011
Edited August 2014
EDB
Go back to what a wonderful world..