Turkey (Izmir and Instanbul)

Turkey was one of the places on our itinerary of stops that I was least excited about... basically only because I didn't know much about it!  But we enjoyed our time there once we got busy exploring!

The first stop we made was to Izmir (formerly known as Smyrna).  Many times people who visit this city will take the short trip over to visit Ephesus while being so close, but our day there was short, so we stayed put.  The pastor among us was a little disappointed!

When we got off the ship, we decided to walk towards the markets.  When we have nothing else to do, our instinct is to shop and eat!  There was a great track that ran along the coast where we walked.  The boys loved being outside.  They spent lots of time running, playing, and finding dandelions.  It's the small things, people!







One of the things that surprised us most in Izmir was the array of stray dogs that can be found walking around.  We are no strangers to stray dogs, as India is FULL of them, but we noticed something very quickly about these dogs.  They were all tagged.  Apparently, they have an initiative that takes in stray dogs, vaccinates them, and then releases them.  Everyone was petting them, feeding them, etc.  And my boys were not to be left out!



Another thing that shocked me as we walked was this man.  In India, I live in a city that is often referred to as "The City of Lakes," and I'm just saying- we could really use this guy in my city... although he'd probably need some backup to get all the trash out of our water!  Can I get an AMEN from my teammates?

We did finally make it to the markets, shop a little, eat of course, and then it was time to head back to the boat!

The following day we stopped in Istanbul.  We were just a few days shy of the riots that began there back at the end of May.  I was thankful we missed the madness and chaos.  We would have been very sad if we had missed this city!

Our first mission was to see a few sights.  We visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia first.  We were content to see them for free from the outside, but I'm sure they are beautiful inside as well!







Then Jason led us to the Basilica Cistern.  I'm sure there is so much history and information I could offer you about these places, but I'm just not into that sort of thing!  For me, this was huge underground hole that was dark, held lots of water, and had beautiful columns all throughout it.





Aren't you glad I'm not your tour guide?

Before our trip, we sat down and researched all the possible things we could do in each city, and all of the above things were already decided.  But there were a few things we added "just in case" we needed something else to do!  My favorite thing that we did was actually on the "just in case" list.  I couldn't be happier that it found its way into reality!

Let me introduce you to a TURKISH BATH!  I've probably had thousands upon thousands of baths in my life.  But none of them compare to this experience.  If I could have this done daily, I'd sign up in a minute!

The reason we hesitated to do this was because, first it was expensive online, and second, we weren't sure what we would do with our boys.  The solution to the first problem is: don't go to the highly populated places you see online.  And the solution to the second problem is: find a place that will treat your kids to a bath as well!

Before the bath, we all went into a dry sauna, followed by a steam room.  They boys thought they were suffocating, so we just skipped to the next round pretty quick!  Jason and I then proceeded to be treated to a 1 hour body massage.  Our kids stayed busy swimming in a very large whirlpool!  And after the massage, the bath began.

I was in a separate room from the boys for my bath, but I got to sneak in on them and see them getting washed up!  I'll share their pictures with you!

First, they scrub you with a loofah.  I don't have a picture of this.  But it's followed by the bubbles... and their are LOTS of them!  They fill this pillow case-like cloth with air, tie it up, and squeeze the air out.  The result.... MOUNDS of BUBBLES and giggly boys!





You can see from Jack's picture that we weren't totally exposed (for those of you who are thinking we are crazy for having someone bathe us!)



Once you've been sufficiently cleaned, they pour warm water over you to wash away the suds!



Finally, if you're between 3 and 4 feet tall, they'll wrap you up tight in a towel!

At the end of the bath, we spent some more time in the whirlpool, but Jason and I got a mud mask first!



It was such a fun experience and is definitely at the top of my list!  I'm not sure my boys have ever enjoyed a bath so much!  Please don't die without experiencing at least ONE turkish bath!  It's worth adding to your bucket list.

That wraps up our fun in Turkey!  We are thankful for the memories we made there.  Next stop... Mykonos, Greece!