Whilst playing Mexican Train with my friends yesterday we were discussing a number of interesting topics. Where we have travelled, how we have travelled and what plans we have for going again.
This got me to thinking about the very first trip that I did to a far off land. A boyfriend was visiting me on a Sunday in Pietermaritzburg, and was telling me about all the trips he had made around the world during his younger days.
I was astounded at his travel experiences and said that the furthest I had ever been, was Cape Town. He had the Sunday Times with him and in the Magazine section was a photograph taken of the Aegean Sea, with Turkey in the background. The article headline read, Room with a view – for only R100 a night.
Of course this was when money meant something and even that was too much for me to consider. He laughingly invited me to accompany him. I truly thought he was kidding. But he wasn’t.
I was over the moon. My dream was to go to a country that was older than my South Africa. I mean, 1652 was when Jan van Riebeck arrived in the Cape. I wanted to see OLD, really old, and he assured me that Turkey was going to fit the bill nicely.
According to Fred, there was absolutely no reason to plan the trip in any detail. He bought me the Rough Guide to Turkey and asked me to go through it and let him know what I would like to see, and leave the rest to him.
Being a committed and seasoned traveler, his one request was that I only took hand luggage. One suitcase that would fit in the overhead section on the plane. He said he hated to have to wait for the luggage when we landed, and wanted to be first out of the airport.
Fortunately it was in the middle of summer. I packed three pairs of silk shorts and blouses, a pair of denims, undies and a windbreaker. Then the bottle of whiskey went into the case as well, at Fred’s suggestion.
We flew from Johannesburg to Sofia Airport in Bulgaria and changed flights there. The little plane that looked like it was held together by pop rivets had just two open propellers on either side of the plane under the wings and the little windows were also under the wings.
Once the wheels were retracted we had a lovely view of the countryside. I was very relieved when we safely flew over Istanbul and the end of that journey was in sight.
I was amazed at the size of the city at night from the plane, it was huge. We had no bookings made and didn’t know where we would stay for the night, but Fred was not worried at all.
On landing we went directly to the Info Centre. A friendly bunch of people who were able to speak jolly good English. We told them where we thought we would like to be situated and told them how much we were prepared to spend on accommodation and, before long, they had the perfect place lined up.
This was how we arrived at the Ilkay Hotel. Thank goodness the cost that was quoted included a free ride from the airport to the hotel and this was more than appreciated.
After a twenty minute wait, a short little Turk, Gustaph (most of them are short and very few are fat) arrived and put our two bags into the car. Our initial ride through this city was scary to say the least. On the wrong side of the road, traffic that seemed to be going in all directions at the same time – the hooting and shouting.
We went approximately 25 km’s along the highway, saw the first of the ruins of the Topkapi Palace wall. They went on for 15 kilometers, but broken down in places and apparently housing a number of Gypsies, which we were warned about.
But I had reached my destination. I was in Ancient Turkey with three weeks in front of me to explore and discover.
That will be all for tonight but I hope you enjoyed sharing this happy memory with me. I will continue tomorrow.
Blessings and love 💕
