Hi all,
Today I want to give you a summary about the trip to Turkey.
People
We found the people from the Fethiye area super friendly. They went out of their way to explain and help you, even if they only knew two words in English.
Diego’s friend explained to us that most people neither believe nor follow the Muslim religion, that he was a Muslim by “culture”, but that he considered himself an agnostic and that he lived his life according to his principles without following any religion.
A friend I met on IG also told me that in Turkey men are very disrespectful to women and even abusive.
Personally, with this issue I had no problem. I found them all very respectful and that they are not criticizing how tourists dress or what they do. I went with my boyfriend, maybe the situation changes if a woman travels alone.
Also, it gave me the impression that people work well. For example, in Ölüdeniz they were building a hotel and we were impressed by how fast it was going; in Spain it takes 3 months to make half a wall. Also, when you went to the places to ask something, they cared to assist you.
Only those of the agency with which we did the balloon flight in Cappadocia behaved badly. It gave us the impression that happens like in Costa Rica that as they have so much tourism, they don’t care about treating you badly because, even if you leave unhappy, more tourists will always arrive.
Food
I loved the food. The first night in that horrible area of Istanbul we could not find a place where you could eat something that did not have meat, but the truth is that during the rest of the trip it was wonderful. In Spain it is always a problem because it seems that you say the word “vegan” and their brains get blocked, they would rather lose a customer than think of making you something without meat.
In Turkey, in that aspect, they are much more advanced mentally than in Spain. Above all because they are interested in working and making money. When we said that we were vegan, the situation was like “yes, sit down that I have something and if not, I’ll make it for you”. Even if they were non-vegan places, they could always serve you a lentil soup, rice, hummus, salad, and some legumes.
Internet
The internet from the mobile phone worked well almost always, in fact, it was the one we had to use to work in Cappadocia and Istanbul.
In Ovaçik‘s house the internet worked almost always well, but every now and then it went down. Also, the power went out several times.
In Istanbul and Cappadocia, the internet was horrible. The slowest thing you can imagine. It didn’t even work for me to send an email. Like in Costa Rica, we do not know if it is because they paid for the cheapest or because the internet was simply slow in the country.
Whatever the case, you cannot trust the internet that you will have in the accommodations in this country and if you need to work remotely, you will have to ensure an internet with good speed and connection on your own.
Scenery
Turkey has beautiful beaches and in the southern part you have a good temperature almost all year round. At the end of October, we were still bathing on the beach in the Fethiye area.
Also, the hiking trails we did through Fethiye, and Cappadocia were beautiful.
Garbage
It seems that the national sport is to litter everywhere. This greatly ruined being able to enjoy the sites since everything was full of garbage, even the most remote places.
Smokers
With the issue of garbage and people smoking everywhere, Turkey was a lot like Spain to me.
The beaches were covered in cigarette butts, and they didn’t bother to clean them either.
Turks added to English and Russian tourists live by smoking. In Spain, people who smoke are generally rude and care little if they are bothering you with their smoke. I think the Turks don’t even think it can bother you.
In Turkey recently, smoking was banned inside the sites, but people do not pay any attention to those regulations. They continue to smoke inside offices, restaurants, bars, and national parks.
Love for cats
I was captivated by the way the Turks take care of street animals, to the point of getting into the middle of a cat fight to make them stop. Society long ago opposed to the killing of street animals, so the kennels take them, mark them, castrate them, and release them again.
In short, Turkey has a history that is amazing and very rich; It does not give the head to get an idea of how many thousands of years there have been civilizations populating that territory. The landscapes and the beaches are beautiful, and, in that respect, it is worth it. Then we have Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Ephesus which are the top places recognized worldwide.
The bad thing is that the Turks are mentally far behind in terms of pollution, recycling, garbage collection, caring for the environment, sustainable tourism, etc. All the beauty they have they are destroying. It cannot be that your heritage is full of garbage, cigarette butts and graffiti.