I only arrived Wednesday evening to Antalya but I it feels as if I had left home a long, long time ago. Maybe only due to the difficulties with the snow in Hungary, I could easily spread my excitement among my friends. "Réka, we've been waiting for this trip..." said my beautician on Monday.
If I had had to pick a destination for the spring break, it probably wouldn't have been Turkey but I was invited by a friend who's working here.
I spent Wednesday travelling. I booked a flight from Vienna so I had to take a bus from Budapest but first I had to get there from Érd. I woke up early in the morning to arrive here late at night. :) But it was worth it. Here I don't need the coat. :)
On Thursday, I had breakfast with old and new friends, then I took off to buy myself a purse. (I know, it's amazing what I can forget to pack...) Luckily I had some time for sightseeing, too. In the afternoon we took a bus to the XY (famous Turkish archer, I don't know his name) memorial competition. Or to be exact, to the official practicing before the tournament, organized in the backyard of a hotel. I've never been to such an event before but now I had a chance to observe it closely, although illegally. Officially, only the "authorised support staff" could have stayed on the field but I was disguised by binoculars and leisure clothes. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, I had to wipe my glasses regularly but it was funny to see athletes fetching their arrows with umbrellas in their hands.
After that, we returned to the apartment but didn't have much time because we had to leave for the local opera house to watch a modern ballet performance. Our host drove the six of us there by car. It was the first time for the boys to watch ballet and I think they were very lucky. Beethoven's 9th Symphony is an excellent choice and there was a large group of dancers alternating with soloists of different character. Everyone was passionate after the show but for different reasons. My association with the Ode to Joy is, without doubt, Europe and the EU. I only learned that night that the same music was used as soundtrack in Die Hard 5. ("Fortunately we are not all the same" as my mother would say...)
All my local friend were busy on Friday so I was free to wander in the city. (Pictures in this album.) This was unbelievably great. I don't remember the last time I just enjoyed being alone and not worrying about the university or my divorce. (Surely, I could have been writing my thesis but I didn't travel this far for that. The weather was also lovely, it would have been a sin to stay indoors.) In spite of the fact that I'm not good in orienting, I managed to find the sea and then my way back. I like living at a place where everything is within walking distance. Here, it only takes a few minutes to go to the shopping streets, the old town or to the port. The color of the sea is the most vivid bluish green and the water is completely clear.
As I wanted to immerse in the ambiance of the place, I even talked to people trying to sell me something I didn't need. (I usually ignore merchants unless I'm looking for something specific.) They were very nice although I didn't buy anything. Many of them enthused over "Macaristan" (= Hungary), mentioning last night's football match that ended in a draw. I haven't seen the game but I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I've heard about it".
At the port, dozens tried to talk me into boat trips and at a restaurant a waiter literally blocked my way. Still in surprise, I accepted the apple tea he offered me. (Tastes quite good, a bit too sweet, I wondered why it was served with sugar cubes.) He was a skilled compliment maker and despite I was sure that he's used those words a million times before, it was flattering. He insisted on saving his number in my phone (I didn't want to give him mine) so I promised to text him in the afternoon. Obviously I didn't, I'll rather avoid that side of the port... :)
I truly love the atmosphere of the place. I experienced something similar in Skopje's Albanian district and in our last week in India, when we were walking in back-streets and I smelled that spicy, oriental scent that fills the air and takes me to an exotic wonder-world. Another core element of the mood is the muezzin's cry. His call for prayer can be heard everywhere in this mainly Muslim country. Early Thursday morning, I listened to the first one of the day. It sounded before sunrise and blended with songs of birds awakening.
If I had had to pick a destination for the spring break, it probably wouldn't have been Turkey but I was invited by a friend who's working here.
I spent Wednesday travelling. I booked a flight from Vienna so I had to take a bus from Budapest but first I had to get there from Érd. I woke up early in the morning to arrive here late at night. :) But it was worth it. Here I don't need the coat. :)
On Thursday, I had breakfast with old and new friends, then I took off to buy myself a purse. (I know, it's amazing what I can forget to pack...) Luckily I had some time for sightseeing, too. In the afternoon we took a bus to the XY (famous Turkish archer, I don't know his name) memorial competition. Or to be exact, to the official practicing before the tournament, organized in the backyard of a hotel. I've never been to such an event before but now I had a chance to observe it closely, although illegally. Officially, only the "authorised support staff" could have stayed on the field but I was disguised by binoculars and leisure clothes. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, I had to wipe my glasses regularly but it was funny to see athletes fetching their arrows with umbrellas in their hands.
After that, we returned to the apartment but didn't have much time because we had to leave for the local opera house to watch a modern ballet performance. Our host drove the six of us there by car. It was the first time for the boys to watch ballet and I think they were very lucky. Beethoven's 9th Symphony is an excellent choice and there was a large group of dancers alternating with soloists of different character. Everyone was passionate after the show but for different reasons. My association with the Ode to Joy is, without doubt, Europe and the EU. I only learned that night that the same music was used as soundtrack in Die Hard 5. ("Fortunately we are not all the same" as my mother would say...)
All my local friend were busy on Friday so I was free to wander in the city. (Pictures in this album.) This was unbelievably great. I don't remember the last time I just enjoyed being alone and not worrying about the university or my divorce. (Surely, I could have been writing my thesis but I didn't travel this far for that. The weather was also lovely, it would have been a sin to stay indoors.) In spite of the fact that I'm not good in orienting, I managed to find the sea and then my way back. I like living at a place where everything is within walking distance. Here, it only takes a few minutes to go to the shopping streets, the old town or to the port. The color of the sea is the most vivid bluish green and the water is completely clear.
As I wanted to immerse in the ambiance of the place, I even talked to people trying to sell me something I didn't need. (I usually ignore merchants unless I'm looking for something specific.) They were very nice although I didn't buy anything. Many of them enthused over "Macaristan" (= Hungary), mentioning last night's football match that ended in a draw. I haven't seen the game but I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I've heard about it".
At the port, dozens tried to talk me into boat trips and at a restaurant a waiter literally blocked my way. Still in surprise, I accepted the apple tea he offered me. (Tastes quite good, a bit too sweet, I wondered why it was served with sugar cubes.) He was a skilled compliment maker and despite I was sure that he's used those words a million times before, it was flattering. He insisted on saving his number in my phone (I didn't want to give him mine) so I promised to text him in the afternoon. Obviously I didn't, I'll rather avoid that side of the port... :)
I truly love the atmosphere of the place. I experienced something similar in Skopje's Albanian district and in our last week in India, when we were walking in back-streets and I smelled that spicy, oriental scent that fills the air and takes me to an exotic wonder-world. Another core element of the mood is the muezzin's cry. His call for prayer can be heard everywhere in this mainly Muslim country. Early Thursday morning, I listened to the first one of the day. It sounded before sunrise and blended with songs of birds awakening.
No comments:
Post a Comment