Impressions of Turkey

Today is my last day in Turkey. I'm looking forward to coming home, but I'm going to miss all of the wonderful experiences this amazing country has to offer. I came for the cultural experience, but there is so much history here too. Different religions, people from all over the world... kind of like the US.

On my way to Izmir to visit the bazaar and head for the airport for the first leg of my return to the US, we made a stop in Selcuk to buy a few more souvenirs. On our earlier visits - shopping and doing the night photography - we had made several friends and wanted to say goodbye... gulle gulle.


Parking the car, we noticed an unusual number of kids and families on the streets. Then we saw the main square had wreaths all around the Ataturk statue. Some kids walked by, and we greeted them. They seemed to speak a bit of English, so we asked them if it was a holiday. They said yes, it was National Sovereignity Day and Childrens' Day, also!


After getting their photos and saying goodbye, Robert went to make his purchase and I went to a couple of other stores to say my goodbyes. The fellow above and his brother were very friendly a couple of nights ago and offered to be "my brothers" if I needed to buy or negotiate a carpet purchase from one of the other merchants. One of them is a guitar player and they both want to connect on Facebook.


Above is some ancient Roman mosaic tile work from Ephesus. This one was on the road in front of a residence. I think it is a sign of welcome to all visitors to this home. Just like our experience with the Turkish people on this trip!


My final impression of Turkey is that, of all the places I have ever visited, the Turkish people are by far the most friendly, generous and helpful in the world. I would visit Turkey again in an instant. The photo above is of our hosts at the Ephesia Hotel: (from left) Mehmet, the food and beverage manager, Reza, the hotel owner, and Omer, our restaurant waiter. I hope to see them and Turkey again soon!