The next day we seriously cleaned up, and then packed all the warm clothes we had. For TURKEY!
I was so excited about going to Turkey. I think it is one of those places that is in the middle of everything but seems so hard to get to. I couldnt wait to see what it was like there, especially with it being somewhat a part of Asia, Europe and even the middle east. In europe at the moment, as well, there is a hot debate over whether or not Turkey should be allowed to join the EU. It is something that facinates me and something i can see from a completely withdrawn viewpoint, meaning, i can be much more critical on the situation than someone born and raised in Europe, carrying all the ideals and mentality of a continent behind them can. I ask people all the time about their opinions on Turkey and the EU all the time, and it was so exciting to be going to the country where all the controversy started, and to see what it was really like.
We left early in the morning (about 5) and caught a charter flight to Bodrum, a touristic town on the West coast of turkey. We hopped off the plane, and of course the first thing i noticed was the heat. It was so hot. I loved it. We were bundled into a big bus/taxi/van thing and taken to the town, about 40 minutes away. German is spoken by almost all the tourist companies, as it is an incredibly popular destination for tourists for Germany and Austria. On the way there i looked out the whole time. I couldnt have been more excited. Everything, the sights, smells, sounds, heat, sun, people everything. It was all different. We were certainly not closer to Australia than to Austria, but it someone felt like this was my domain. It was Michis first time into Asia, and even though i consider this not really a part of Asia, it has its similarities. But it got me thinking, i understand and know the Asian world very well, not only through travelling a lot through there, but the country i come from. And now to come to Asia from the other side, with everything that i have learnt and adopted in Europe behind me, that was an interesting concept. I looked at things that i had seen before with both old and experienced eyes, but also wide opened and excited ones. I loved to see the various buildings and architecture on the way there. It was something i had never experienced before. The colours, shapes and forms, both unlike and so similar to things in both Asia and Europe, its a real melting pot. I had only seen the tip of the iceberg, and yet i knew this was a country that was uniquely special, and had its own influence. I was looking so forward to meeting the people and discovering the culture, something i had not seen before, although i had been through Asia, this was all new, and thats an exciting idea.