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In case I haven't spoken with you in a while, you may not know that I'm headed out for three weeks in Turkey! Departure date is April 6, and I will be back in the states on April 24. I have loved traveling since I was very young, My grandma Olga used to take me on day trips to San Francisco, flying space-available from Southern California. You see, my dad was a commercial pilot, and that made it very easy to go just about anywhere.
When I was 8 years old I went to Europe for the first time, also with Olga. She was a great travel companion. Easy-going, relaxed and had a great sense of humor. She also encouraged me to connect with people in the places we visited. I remember one time in Amsterdam, we were in one of the main town squares, and there was a Dutch boy, a bit older than me, feeding the pigeons. We didn't have any language in common, but Olga encouraged me to ask him if I could help him feed the birds anyway. Somehow he figured out what I was asking and shared his bird food with me. What a great memory!
I never got to travel with Olga again after that trip, but everywhere I go I remember the things she taught me about being away from home. Basically, that I am home no matter where I am!
I now have many more trips under my belt: I have lived in New York City, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, San Juan Island, and now Whidbey Island - both near Seattle. I have seen much of North America, the north part of Argentina and part of the Andes, and I have been to Europe three times. This trip to Turkey will be the first time I have been to the Asian continent. In case you didn't know - Turkey spans both Europe and Asia, with the city of Istanbul occupying peninsulas on both continents. For thousands of years it has literally been a cultural crossroads, and I am thrilled to be able to visit!
I will be traveling with a new friend - another photographer that I met two summers ago in a photography workshop. I read his account of his trip to the Balkans in 2008, and it sounded like he travels the way I like to - close to the ground! Robert is a retired police officer and trainer, and he really does his homework. Usually I am the one who over-plans an excursion, but I am really getting to relax on this one. Robert has beat me to everything - from planning the route and researching the sites to visit, to preparing a Turkish language cheat-sheet. He even has a plan for how we can work together to get good candid people shots - we work together, almost double-team the Turks. One of us engages and distracts while the other one shoots. I think it will work!
Here is a map of my route. I will post a live map later so you can see how the route and dates change as we go along.
And finally, here is a video made by the friend who will be 'renting' us his car (a 2007 Toyota Yaris) for our journey. He videotaped himself crossing one of the Istanbul bridges in the very car we will be driving. Enjoy!
