It has actually happened - one of those "listen to our spiel and we'll give you..." deals actually delivered! The first one I attended was on Ed's and my honeymoon, way back when. We were broke and in New Orleans. We couldn't afford to see any of the shows. But the campers in the spot next to us told us about one of these deals. Apple Realty was selling land and gave them tickets to a show for listening. All excited, we went. Many couples were ushered into a large room full of small tables. We got Hurricanes (minimum rum) and our very own salesman. So the land was on a riverside in southeast Arizona. We had driven through that desert every Christmas for years. Ed asked, "How many months a year is there water in that river?" I'm trying to kick him under the table. But he kept on going. Finally, our salesman brought over the manager and we were escorted out the back door and down the fire escape into the alley - with no tickets!
Well, Kenba Travel actually gave us a nice one week tour with top-of-the-line hotels on the Turkish Riviera. We landed in Antalya and were bused west along the Mediterranean to Kemer. I paid for the VIP upgrade so I could have all the tours plus lunches and dinners. My friend Jannicke stuck with the original offer, which was breakfasts and a few tours. Here are Jannicke and I at the end of the trip.
On Valentines Day, we toured Phaselis, a little farther down the coast and an ancient city that survived from 400 BC to 700 AD. I love Roman ruins and here were an aqueduct, a couple of bathes, a theater and some market squares.
Our guide, Nilay, has great Norwegian, as far as I'm concerned. She speaks Oslo dialect, which is what they teach us in "get the foreigners integrated" language classes. She lived there till she was 17, when her parents moved back to Turkey. Now she has her own 17 year-old son.
The 17th was shopping day for me. First, we stopped at a jewelry factory where I gave in a bought a jade necklace. Second was a leather store. That's what Turkey is known for, and that is where my big splurge happened. I bought a lovely teal/green jacket, supple, smooth, reversible, and even waterproof. I'm wearing it in that first picture with Jannicke.
This is also the day of a terrorist bomb attack in Ankara, Turkey. My friend Gokce lives near enough to the blast site that she heard it and saw the smoke, but she and her family are fine. (We met in German classes at Bellevue Community College.) I had talked with a few Turks about current events. The guy who sold me my jacket was born in France of Turkish parents, and moved back to Turkey at age 16. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to stay, what with Syria being right next door and all the conflicting battle lines.
The last few days of the tour were in Belek/Side, east of Antalya along the coast. The 18th was a boat tour. The almond trees are blooming! We visited a large modern mosque.
River cruising was relaxing. And then we docked at the Mediterranean and swam. Or some of those Viking-blooded Norwegians swam. I only got up to my knees before freezing in the 16 C water, and getting out.
Turkish Aften was that evening. It was a huge place with delicious food, and folk dances from the different areas of Turkey. They even had a male belly dancer with pinpoint control over his body. Quite impressive!
Well, Kenba Travel actually gave us a nice one week tour with top-of-the-line hotels on the Turkish Riviera. We landed in Antalya and were bused west along the Mediterranean to Kemer. I paid for the VIP upgrade so I could have all the tours plus lunches and dinners. My friend Jannicke stuck with the original offer, which was breakfasts and a few tours. Here are Jannicke and I at the end of the trip.
On Valentines Day, we toured Phaselis, a little farther down the coast and an ancient city that survived from 400 BC to 700 AD. I love Roman ruins and here were an aqueduct, a couple of bathes, a theater and some market squares.
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| When a Caesar comes to town, you make a big deal out of it! |
Tea is very good - black tea to which you add sugar if you want. Coffee of the Turkish sort is in tiny cups with a slightly different flavor. Food throughout the trip was basically disappointing - I was hoping for more spices and variety. Ah, well.
The high point of my trip was Pamukkale, which is an antique Roman hot springs town, formerly Hierapolis. I swam among the submerged columns and marble shapes in the warm, soft water. The hotel had hot baths, too, so I got two swims in one day.
The long trip back to Antalya gave Kenba a chance to drop us into a carpet cooperative. Their designs were amazing. The materials could be wool weft and weave, cotton weft with wool weave, or the finest yet, silk with silk.
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| Pamukkale basically means "cotton" and it is even whiter than cotton |
Around sunset we stopped at Perge, spelled Perga in my Bible, where Paul and Barnabus taught on the way to and from Asia (eastern Turkey).
The 17th was shopping day for me. First, we stopped at a jewelry factory where I gave in a bought a jade necklace. Second was a leather store. That's what Turkey is known for, and that is where my big splurge happened. I bought a lovely teal/green jacket, supple, smooth, reversible, and even waterproof. I'm wearing it in that first picture with Jannicke.
This is also the day of a terrorist bomb attack in Ankara, Turkey. My friend Gokce lives near enough to the blast site that she heard it and saw the smoke, but she and her family are fine. (We met in German classes at Bellevue Community College.) I had talked with a few Turks about current events. The guy who sold me my jacket was born in France of Turkish parents, and moved back to Turkey at age 16. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to stay, what with Syria being right next door and all the conflicting battle lines.
The last few days of the tour were in Belek/Side, east of Antalya along the coast. The 18th was a boat tour. The almond trees are blooming! We visited a large modern mosque.
River cruising was relaxing. And then we docked at the Mediterranean and swam. Or some of those Viking-blooded Norwegians swam. I only got up to my knees before freezing in the 16 C water, and getting out.
Turkish Aften was that evening. It was a huge place with delicious food, and folk dances from the different areas of Turkey. They even had a male belly dancer with pinpoint control over his body. Quite impressive!
The last day was relax at the hotel, The Siam. Unfortunately, the pool was just as cold as the Mediterranean, so we just laid around creating vitamin D. In the evening we danced to live music. And the next day we boarded our plane back to slushy Bergen.
I learned about a country which had never been on my bucket list, I met lots of nice people, and I practiced my Norwegian, all thanks to an hour with a travel agency!
Looks like it was a great trip. Jannicke resembles Judy Dench, I think.
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