Cross Road since Prehistoric times...Turkey: A Day in the Life of a Village

This blog is now a collaboration between me and Smita (Turkey and San Diego) . For some reason I can not edit it in Turkey. I am very thankful to Smita for helping out (and fixing my grammar) :)

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It is 6 am and we are saying good bye to Istanbul (Anatolia, Contantinapolis and other names) and flying south. My few more observations about the city are:

1) Our fearless leader took the group to Taxim square in the evening and it was just like any other busy square with people, restaurants and shops. No signs of looting, violence or damage. But, this morning on the BBC news, they showed pictures of the looting, burning and violence at the same place. (You have to figure out the truth yourself) .

2) In spite of 18 million people and people everywhere, I felt very safe walking around at any time of day or night. There were women and children and no “eve teasing” or “staring .

3) No place is too far from the ocean and the big grass areas decorated by red , white and yellow begonias and picnic benches line the beach areas.

4) Did you know that new James Bond movie was shot in Istanbul? Also did you know that the latest Dan Brown book Inferno is set up in Hagia Sophia and the OAT guide showed him around? And, did you know that the oldest Orthodox Christian church is in Turkey? Now you do. And did you know that Turkey is second largest producer of Olives (the first is Spain).

We flew to Izmir and drove through country roads to the village called Dongejal. We passed the olive farms, figs and Pomegranate orchards. The village was a small typical village, had running water, electricity and Solar power. Solar power is very popular in Turkey. Our host was a retired Dental assistant. They had a beautiful home (pictures attached) . They have their own garden, Olive trees and 23 chickens. The chickens were laying eggs and did not stop making noises :). The lady cooked a very delicious meal. The whole experience was wonderful. We talked mostly through smiles, “Masha Allah” and Thasukaria (thank you).

We also had tea in the village tea house, where only men and American tourist women are allowed. Men come here to socialize and chat. Kiwi tea was wonderful, I highly recommend it and will try to buy some to bring back home.

Now we are at Kusadasi, near Ephesus. The hotel we are staying at is called Kismat (luck in hindi and in Turkish) and is owned by the grandson of the last Suleiman. It is overlooking the Aegean sea and is just gorgeous (sample picture attached).