Back in Turkey March 1 and leaving with the boat April 4, 2002.

The month of February that I spent at home in Coventry, RI with Chris, MaeSue and Tyler went way too fast. Most of the time I spent running down boat parts, visiting doctors and my dentist. Hardly any time was left over for visiting with old and dear friends, but I am sure they all understood my time limit. Before I knew it, the month had disappeared and it was time to return to Turkey, the boat, Dan and Duke. As usual it was just heart- breaking having to say good bye to my loved ones at Logan airport, but on February 28 that had to happen!

A short night later I arrived back to Antalya airport in southwestern Turkey and was met by Dan, Duke and our new friends Aglim, Kian and their pet squirrel, Findik. Of course it was wonderful to see all of them again, but memories of "home" was still overwhelming in my mind, so I felt at little sad at times. Aglim and Kian had offered to drive Dan to the airport to meet me in one of their campers, and on the way back to Fethiye, it was planned to do some sightseeing along the coast and stop over-night at a couple of places! Before we left the city of Antalya, we located a big grocery store, where we bought supplies for a couple of days, and soon we headed south along the shoreline of Antalya Bay!

After traveling on a nice and wide road for a couple of hours, we took a left turn down a very steep and twisting road and ended up by the beach at Cirali Limani, which lies close to Ancient Olympus. Since it was still only spring, we were the only tourists around and had our pick of places to stay. Aglim, Kian and Findik found a spot in a camping area where they parked their camper, but Dan, Duke and I took in at a small motel. Since Aglim could converse with the people at our establishment, it was agreed that the owner/manager would cook supper for us later on in the evening. Once we had located our room, we walked over to Aglim's camper for some wine and a visit, before we all walked back to the restaurant and ate supper. We were the only guests, so we had the cook and waiters full attention. We enjoyed chicken with vegetables and bread and quite a lot of wine to wash everything down with. It was a wonderful evening, but since I had had a very long day by then, it soon was time for us to say good night and head to our room, while Aglim and Kian headed back to their camper. It was quite chilly outdoors and inside our room, and no heat, so the extra blankets for our use were piled on top of us, and eventually we were warm enough to fall asleep.

Saturday morning I woke up when I heard Dan and Duke move about. The sun was warming the land outdoors, but inside our room it was still chilly. We opted to get dressed and go for a walk in the sun to get warm, along the wide and very long beach, which stretched out on the other side of the road. Duke was in heaven; he could run free and investigate anything that his nose took him to, but of course his paws and legs soon got imbedded with sand. From then on we had sand everywhere! Absolutely no shells were washed up on the beach, but I happened upon a small and very dried starfish, which must have washed way up on the shore and couldn't get back to the water. It was added to my collection of shells, as well as a very nice, smooth Turkish rock! At 0900 we met Aglim and Kian at the restaurant again for a Turkish breakfast, that was served outdoors in the sun, as it was too chilly under the straw roof and walls of the restaurant. Our breakfast consisted of bread, small packets of jelly, a boiled egg, fresh vegetables cut up, Turkish olives and a slice of Turkish cheese. Of course Turkish tea was also served, but Dan was partial to the Nescafe! The breakfast was delicious, and I looked forward to many more such meals! Before we left the beach area to continue our trip, we stopped and enjoyed a freshly squeezed drink of oranges and grapefruit. A woman cut the fruit in front of us. She then held the halves over an electric machine that squeezed all the juices out of the fruits, and soon we gulped the drink down. Aglim said it was a good thirst quencher after a night of wine drinking; we agreed!

Our destination this day was planned to be at Kale Koy, The Sunken City, which could only be reached by boat from the small town at Ugagiz on the mainland. Even though Kale Koy was located on the mainland also, no roads led out to the point where the small village was situated below an ancient castle. Once we reached Ugagiz, Aglim found a local man who was willing to take us over to The Sunken City in his newly launched wooden boat. I mean newly launched, because the planks hadn't had time to swell yet, so by the time we reached the dock at Kale Koy, the floorboards were under water. Our gear and food did not get wet, and we were most happy to be getting off at the dock! Since Aglim new the owner of one motel right by the dock in Kale Koy, he had called ahead to reserve two rooms for us. Of course once again we were the only guests and had the run of the place. If we wanted to eat supper later on that evening, we had to gather some firewood, so Aglim, Dan, Duke and I walked up the steep mountainside to the top, where we hoped to find some sticks and branches. Once above the houses, we could see numerous sarcophagi standing erect or laying tumbled over everywhere, and it was an impressive sight. Just to think that these sarcophagi had been there for two-three thousand years! Farther up by the castle walls we found some good firewood, and once we had gathered enough, we climbed up to the top of the castle to admire the beautiful view. Out over Kekova Roads, with its islands and bays, in towards the mainland at Ugagiz, and all around The Sunken City could we see. From this vantagepoint it was easy to see why this place was called The Sunken City! Small rocky islands stuck up out of the water here and there, and on some spots a stairway leading into the water or into the air was visible. A sarcophagi was still standing in the shallow water between two higher areas, but the theater, that was carved into the rock wall below the castle, looked like it had done thousands of years ago. At some point in the past, it seemed a powerful earthquake made the entire area sink into the water, and thus the name of The Sunken City!

Our evening meal was to be prepared outdoors on the grill, and soon Aglim and Dan started the fire. Once the coals were good and hot, the potatoes were thrown into the coals to cook. I was a bit surprised over that, but even with blackened skin, the potatoes were delicious with butter, herbs and spices sprinkled on top of each half! The meat followed next and almost with the same procedure; some pieces were grilled on top of the coals but most were placed on a rack first and then on the coals. What a wonderful meal of potatoes, meat, cut-up tomatoes, and green onions dipped in salt! This evening the food was washed down again with wine for me, and for Dan and Aglim it was raki (Turkish booze made from anis) with water, but Kian drank only coca-cola! We had a wonderful time eating, drinking and visiting, and I think we were the only ones about, besides stray dogs and cats, who came to see if we had dropped something edible on the ground. Duke chased them all away, as he didn't want to share the goodies!

Sunday, March 3 would be our push to reach Fethiye, after we had eaten a Turkish breakfast in Kale Koy and been taken by boat back to the camper and the mainland. Before we got all the way back to Fethiye, we stopped at the ancient city of Patara. One time that city had been an important port, but when the harbor started silting in, the city was more or less abandoned. A huge crumbling theater was visible, as well as a beautiful arch that supposedly was the portals to the city, plus some other walls here and there. A lot of the city is still buried under layers of sand, and so far the Turkish people haven't had a chance to dig it all out! By the time we reached Hyde Park, where our boat laid anchored, the park was full of people, but that didn't stop us from reaching our boat. What a wonderful few days we had enjoyed with Aglim and Kian, but now it was time to get back to reality again!

While I had been home in the US, Dan had been busy preparing the boat for all the new parts I was bringing back. Once my suitcase was unpacked, Dan could look over and inspect all the new goodies, before he started to install them. A NavTex receiver was installed in the chartroom. A new automatic pilot for the emergency tiller was installed and tested. A new heavy duty bilge pump was replaced in the engine compartment. A battery regulator with all related wiring and re-wiring was finished off and installed in my cabin. Numerous parts were put away for back up, and the new dvd-movies added to our collection. Slowly the boat was put back in order, but still the question of what to do with our life raft kept coming up! While we were in port at anchor, it had been placed on a shelf in the back of our utility room. Of course it couldn't stay there once we would be under way - it needed to be accessible just in case! Eventually we found out that a Zodiac dealer was located in Gocek, and with Aglims' help we dropped our life raft off at the shop to be refitted into a hard case. The Zodiac dealer happened to have a used hard case, which they would repaint and put new stickers on and reload our raft inside, for only one hundred dollars. We immediately agreed, and thought we had gotten a bargain! Before we were ready to leave Fethiye, we also had a rack built of stainless steel, which was mounted outside on the arch on starboard side. Finally we had a permanent spot for the life raft and very accessible if needed! All we had to do was loosen one pin and let the case fall into the water! Much better than taking up room on the seat in the cockpit or lying on the seat inside the salon!

In between all the work, we managed to have some more fun. One day Tom rented a moped and we all set out to retrace our previous tour over to the Ghost City, to Gemiler Island, to the lagoon in Oludeniz and out to Kabak, where the road ended and we had to turn around! On the way back down the high coastal road, we happened to see some goats on the side of the road. Could it be they were climbing some trees looking for edible leaves or branches? Yes, that was exactly the case, so I hurried to get my cameras out. This had to be documented, because who would believe us otherwise! The goats were oblivious of us; they were much more interested in getting all the tasty leaves or branches they worked so hard to reach!

Our friends Aglim and Kian had to start thinking about their business, as their off-season was coming to an end. One of the first things they had to do before the tourist season started, was to go inland to the city of Denizli to haggle with the factories about pricing for their screen-printed tee-shirts. Lots of garment factories make their home in Denizli, and since Aglim lived there once, he knows his way around. We had seen beautiful pictures of Pamukkale, which is a calcium mountain close to Denizli, and it was a place that Tom, Dan and I wanted to see before we left Turkey! When we found out that Aglim and Kian were going to Denizli for a few days for business, we decided to rent a car and follow. Dan had made reservation for a small rental car for the morning of March 21, when he and Tom drove into Fethiye on our moped to pick it up. Soon they returned to Hyde Park, where the moped was locked up, our belongings moved to the car, our boats secured, and by 1000 we were on the way. Aglim's boat was tied up to ours, and his manager was supposed to stay on Aglim's boat during the nights we were away and keep an eye on all three boats!

Once the gas tank was filled in town, we headed out from Fethiye and to begin with, we followed the road towards Antalya. As soon as we reached the higher mountain areas, I noticed that spring wasn't as far advanced as in Fethiye. The trees had hardly budded yet, and no colorful flowers bloomed as down by the shore. In one month, when I was home in the US, the lower areas around Fethiye had absolutely exploded in color! Bright yellow seemed to be the most abundant color, but sharp reds and blue also stuck out. So did the pollen; at times we had a variegated yellow layer on top of the water behind our boat! Anyway, the sun was not as warm and the winds this high up as we now were, felt kind of icy, but at least all the snow was gone. Our first stop was right after we had taken a left off the Antalya road, and now we were actually heading for Denizli. We had to go northeast to go north, as Denizli lies almost straight north from Fethiye , but with high mountains in between! We found a small restaurant open for business, and there we stopped and ordered coffee and omelets for Dan and Tom. The omelets were served in small individual serving pans. Both Dan and Tom ate their food, which was floating in oil, and I was glad I had only ordered coffee for me! Back to the car again and slowly the miles ticked by, and eventually we rounded one last curve and a huge valley stretched out in front of us. Too bad we couldn't see much, as the entire valley was filled with smog; we had arrived to Denizli! So much for industrialization and jobs - the environment has to suffer! We called Aglim on the phone to let him know we had arrived and agreed on a place where he would catch up with us. Aglim soon arrived, and we now followed him through the city of Denizli and out on the eastern side, where eventually we reached Pamukkale. The first village we entered was totally geared for tourists, and if we hadn't had Aglim's guidance, we probably would have stopped there. Since Aglim knew the area, he drove straight through the village and up along the northwestern edge of the calcium cliffs, till we reached another smaller tourist village without all the hype! Here you could choose your own hotel without being influenced by the screaming salesmen! Once we found a suitable motel, we reserved three rooms with calcium baths; one for Aglim and Kian, as they would be joining us later in the evening, one room for Tom and one for Dan, Duke and I! Since Aglim had to return to Denizli and work, we decided to drive over to the calcium cliffs and have a better look at them and the ancient city, Hierapolis, which had been built on top long ago. Along the road leading up to the top of the calcium cliffs, lay scattered in various stages of disrepair, numerous sarcophagi of different sizes. Farther along the road we saw impressive gates and outlines of other buildings. Up on the side of the mountain we saw the theater, but we never hiked that far. We hadn't known we would encounter an ancient city on top of the cliffs, but it definitively added to the mystery of the region. The calcium cliffs in themselves were an awesome sight, even if the warm calcium water had been diverted and was only let out where the caretakers saw fit! Pamukkale means cotton, and that's what the mountain looked like when the sun was shining on it. In one particular area the water flowed over the steps on the mountain, and some brave people were wading around barefoot in the warm water. We never tried it, as it was quite chilly and raining by then. Dan and Duke soon returned to get the car, as we had parked at the beginning and walked quite a bit, while Tom and I continued out to the south side of Pamukkale and had a look. Soon we also went back to the car, and then it was time to return to our motel room for a hot and relaxing calcium bath!

In each room was a big, about 5 x 5 foot, and quite deep, 3 feet, cement tub, which we proceeded to fill with the calcium water. Each hotel was supplied with a big pipe leading from the hot springs, I imagine, and from this main pipe, smaller ones went into each room. Cold regular water was also available, but we used only hot water in our tub. Since the tub was quite large it took a long time to fill. Both Dan and I sat in the water from the beginning as it was filling, and before long the steam was so thick we could hardly see each other. Once the tub had been filled to the top of the drainpipe, we just laid in the water enjoying its warmth and soothing qualities. The cement had absorbed a lot of the heat from the water in the tub, but the water that emerged from the hose was so hot we couldn't put our hands under it! After 45 minutes in the hot water we couldn't take it any longer; Dan felt lightheaded and I felt like spaghetti, so it was time to cool off! Maybe all our ills were gone by then, as the water is supposed to cure a lot of different disorders. The bath is also supposed to relax a person, but I felt invigorated and ready to go, so soon both Dan and I were dressed and walked into the village looking for a cold drink and something to eat. Ice cream hit the spot, so did a bag of chips, a bottle of coke and raki, plus postcards and a book about Pamukkale. When we were returning to our motel, we ran into Aglim and Kian; they had come to relax in their tub after a hard day's work, before we all went out for dinner at a local restaurant in the village. The following morning we followed Aglim and Kian to the lower village, where we had breakfast together, before they continued back to Denizli and work, and we had decided to drive out to yet another ancient city, Ephesus, by the shore town of Kusadasii.

By 1030 on Friday morning, March 22 we had left Aglim and Kian in Pamukkale and followed some back roads through small farming villages, before we emerged onto the bigger road between Denizli and Aydin. Driving along in a long flat valley, we happened to notice a stork standing erect in his nest at the top of a high electric pole. What a sight! Our trip continued along beautiful and green valleys, up and down mountainsides and eventually by early afternoon, we reached the city of Selcuk. Because Ephesus was close by, we figured we would stop and drink a cup of coffee, while we put together a plan of action. As we were parking our car in the town's square, a very nice young man came up to us and asked if we were looking for accommodations? Of course we were, so soon we had been convinced to follow him to his family's "pensiyon", where we could stay for 7,500,000 Turkish lira per person, about $5.50 US. We could check out the rooms before we decided to stay or not! Since the rooms were clean and each room had a bathroom, we said we would take the rooms. At the same time we ordered Turkish breakfast for next morning, which would cost about 5 dollars for both Dan and I. The hotel provided free bus service to Ephesus, and we could also go up the mountain and see where Virgin Mary supposedly had lived out her life. If we wanted to after the sightseeing, we would also be taken to either a ceramic factory or a leather factory or both! Again Tom, Dan, Duke and I were the only ones in the minibus when we set out. We said we wanted to see where Virgin Mary had lived, so the driver started up a winding road, which eventually came out at the top of the mountain. From then on we had to pay to get in, and at that time both Tom and I said no; we were not that curious about the place! Dan would have paid to satisfy his curiosity, but since neither Tom nor I wanted to go in, we didn't! Instead the minibus started down the mountain and dropped us off at the top gate to Ephesus. We decided with the driver and the "guide", who spoke English, that they could pick us up at the lower gate at 1700; that would give us about three hours to walk around and see everything in the beautiful ancient city of Ephesus. The entrance fee to Ephesus was about $5 per person, and it was well worth it. The city is one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world, and it was humbling to walk among all the beautiful preserved ruins with their intricate decorations. I found "the public latrines" the most amusing. Around a small pool were four sides of seating with openings carved into the rock, and under the openings flowed the water washing away any waste that fell into it. I guess when the urge came, you just walked into the latrine and sat down doing your business while visiting with your friends and neighbors! Somehow I can not imagine people in this day and age doing anything like that! It was a lot of ruins to see and admire, but eventually we had worked our way down and out to the lower gate, where I bought a book about Ephesus. By then we were tired and thirsty, so a cold beer and a sprite certainly hit the spot. Shortly before 1700 the minibus returned to pick us up, and it felt good to sit down and relax for awhile. The "guide", was the owner of the ceramic factory, and we agreed to go over to his place and see what they manufactured.

At the ceramic factory we were met by a young lady, who spoke very good English! She explained about the different stages the clay goes through from beginning to the end. The white clay is used for dishes and objects that could possibly have food in them, and red clay is only used for decorative pieces. A young man, who was considered to be a "master" of his craft, showed us how he manipulated a slab of clay into a beautiful bowl with a cover. He also made a type of a pitcher, which he cut in half, to show there was no air bubbles in the clay, which is a no-no. When the clay is baked, the bubbles normally help to break the piece, so no bubbles are very much preferred! Once the clay piece has been made, it sits on a shelf for a couple of days to air dry, so it won't crumble or get distorted when it is moved into the oven. The baked goods are then hand-painted with enormously intricate patterns. First the pattern is outlined with black paint, then the different colors are filled in, using watercolor, and last a layer of glaze is added! Back to the oven for the last time, and out comes an absolutely gorgeous piece. This particular ceramic factory specializes in copying old original patterns from way back in Turkish history. In the store, where all their goods are displayed, you can choose a decorated piece of ceramic from about 10 dollars up to six thousand dollars! They ship all over the world and they even have a website, so if you want, you can order through the Internet! Of course I had to buy something as a memento from this place, and it was a tough choice. The piece I choose, was a small ball decorated with Ottoman people, who to me depicted what I thought the Turks looked like. The ball hung on a strap made of camel and horsehair braided together! It was small enough for me to store onboard, not too cheap but not too expensive either! A small kangaroo with a baby bird in its pouch, and decorated with a 15th century pattern, I bought for my little grandson!

On Saturday, March 23 it was time to start heading back to Fethiye and our boats, so after another delicious Turkish breakfast, we said good bye to the very friendly and nice people at the "pensiyon" we had stayed at. The road now took us south towards Mugla, and along the way we passed a huge fresh water lake. I must say that was the first inland lake I had seen since we arrived in Turkey. More storks in their nests, whether it be high up in a tree or on top of a chimney, or as in the city of Selcuk, on top of an ancient pillar belonging to the Church of Saint John, did we see. I had never thought of storks in Turkey, but certain areas of the southwest coast are well known for their stork population. The weather wasn't the best this day, kind of gray and overcast. Once while we were quite high up in some mountains we encountered hail, but farther down in the valley the hail melted into a downpour of rain instead. As we were coming around a downward sloping curve along the road north of the town of Mugla, we noticed that traffic had stopped ahead of us. We tried to go by but were waived back by a policeman! What was going on? Maybe 15 to 20 minutes we just sat there and watched to see what would happen! All of a sudden some bicycles came from the opposite direction, and we guessed that a bicycle race was going on, but why stop traffic? The same happened a short distance down the road again, but once the traffic started moving, we got off the main road and took a short-cut down to the main road east of Marmaris. Slowly we were getting closer and closer to Fethiye, and when Aglim called to inquire where we were, we told him we were about two hours out from Fethiye. Seemed it had been quite windy, with thunder and lightning Saturday night in Fethiye, and Aglim's manager did not want to stay onboard Aglim's boat any longer. That was fine, as we would be back and onboard our boats by nightfall! Three more wonderful days of sightseeing in Turkey, and we have only scratched the surface of what's to see in this vast country!

Our very last sightseeing trip was to Dalyan, a tourist spot close to the ancient city of Caunos and half way between Fethiye and Marmaris. Our friend Aglim and his manager, Gunhan were going to Dalyan one afternoon to get their warehouse in order, and Aglim called to ask if Dan and I wanted to tag along. That was a given and it was agreed that we would meet at Aglim's office at 1300. Dan had some errands to run before that time, and I walked into Fethiye with my movie camera, the digital and regular cameras loaded. I wanted to film and take a few last pictures from this wonderful city, which had been home to us for almost five months. Shortly before 1300 Dan and I met in town and drove to Aglim's office on the moped. From there we got to ride with Aglim and Gunhan in Aglim's four-wheel pick-up. It was about one hour drive to Dalyan, and shortly before 1400 we arrived. Aglim found a tourist boat for us, and after he and the skipper had agreed on a price for taking us down the river delta and out to "turtle beach", Aglim and Gunhan drove off to do their work. Dan and I hopped onboard the tourist boat, and soon we were heading down the river towards the sea. As soon as we rounded the first curve in the river, we could see big and small Lycian rock tombs carved into the steep mountain wall. What a beautiful sight and of course my cameras snapped away. Farther in-land the skipper pointed out ruins from the ancient city of Caunos, but we never got close enough to get a good look. That was probably another tour you had to pay for! The river was divided up into a lot of channels, which were lined on both sides with very tall reeds, so all we could see was water, sky and reeds. I don't know how the skipper knew his way trough this labyrinth! Soon the delta seemed to open up and in front of us we now glimpsed "turtle beach". On the delta side there were pontoons where the skipper tied his boat to, before he brought us ashore and told us a little about "turtle beach". A line of sawed-off tree trunks had been pounded into the sand; in front of this line the beach belonged to the turtles and behind the line people could put up their sun-umbrellas and chairs. From May to September this particular beach is visited by the "caretta caretta" turtles, who crawl ashore at dusk to dig their nests and lay their eggs. The beach is off-limits to humans from 2000 till 0800, during which time the turtles are usually on the beach. I don't know what the turtles are called in English, but according to our guide they are one of the biggest species of turtles, and they are endangered of course. The "caretta caretta" turtles can weigh well over one hundred pounds, but there are also smaller varieties of turtle in this delta. We were not fortunate to see any in the water, but saw different seabirds instead. Before we returned to the village again, we had an opportunity to walk along the beach, and there finally, were thousands of washed up shells. Every kind of shape, size and color was available, and I tried to pick some different ones for my collection. Even if they were quite common in Turkey, they were unusual to me. By the time we returned to the dock in Dalyan, we were frozen, as it had blown a cold wind by the sea. We soon met up with Aglim and Gunhan and warmed up inside the pick-up, as we started our return journey. On the flatlands farther inland from Dalyan, we saw very high poles with three arms at the top. On top of each arm there was a big platform, and this was for the storks to build their nests on. One stork had built his nest on top of one platform, and another had chosen a nearby tree, otherwise the rest were empty. Maybe all the storks hadn't arrived from Africa yet to their summer residence! Besides the turtles, Dalyan is also known for their storks!

On our way back to Fethiye, Aglim and Gunhan knew about a specific restaurant in Dalaman, which was run entirely by prison inmates. This particular restaurant was known for its delicious chicken dinners, and since it was getting close to supper-time by then, we stopped. We all sat down and ate a bowl of chicken soup at the restaurant, but the grilled chicken and rice we brought with us to eat later. The soup was served in stainless steel bowls, with stainless steel utensils. As a matter of fact, everything that food was served in or eaten on in this restaurant, was of stainless. Both Dan and Aglim said it reminded them of their military service days! By the time we got back to our boat and could sit down to eat the chicken and rice, everything was getting cold, and somehow had lost some of its appeal!

On Monday, April Fool's Day we moved our boat over to Yes Marina, where Tom had moved his boat already. Aglim had organized a man who would be coming to clean the bottom of our boat and Toms'. Sitting still in Fethiye bay all winter had certainly not helped with the growth on the bottom, which we wanted to remove before we left Turkey. The life- raft rack was also finished off and installed. Fuel we had gotten a few days earlier, when the fuel truck had come up to Hyde Park so we, Tom, Aglim and another sailor could fill our tanks with diesel. More groceries were bought plus cigarettes to hold Dan over for quite some time, some souvenirs to use up the rest of our Turkish lira, and last Dan and Tom went to the authorities to check out. Aglim and Kian came to the marina to see us off and had brought us farewell gifts. We got a carton of cigarettes (for Dan), a bottle of raki (for us both), and a big box of Turkish Delights (for me)! How nice of them and how sad it was to hug them good bye and leave them standing on the dock, as we were finally ready to pull away about 1530 in the afternoon on the fourth of April. As we slowly made our way out through the entrance to Fethiye bay, we happened to be looking high up along the shore, and there Aglim and Kian stood and waved to us. It wasn't long before we couldn't see them any more, and the city started to disappear in the afternoon haze! Before we had reached the open ocean, we got hit with a fierce downpour, but then a huge rainbow appeared behind us over Fethiye bay, and I thought that was a cheery note to be leaving Turkey with!

Looking back and remembering all the places we had spent some time at in the Mediterranean, I must say that Turkey is my favorite. All the other places and people we had seen and met were very nice, but somehow Turkey is special. Was it because I had no idea of what Turkey would be like, and/or was it because we encountered such wonderful and friendly people like Aglim, Kian and their friends? I had always wanted to see the Greek Islands, which were beautiful, but once I have seen them, I have no desire to go back. I can't say the same for Turkey; that is one country that I would return to in a heartbeat. The country is huge, and we only had a chance to see a very small part of it. The historical places are everywhere and there is so much to see. The people are very friendly, and many more people speak English than in any other Mediterranean country. Yes, some day I surely would like to return, but by plane!