Turkey Time!: Several Wonderful Journeys

I had a very busy weekend which was amazing. It started Friday, when Judith and I went to the biggest Prince Island and spent the day walking around. As soon we got off the ferry, many café owners were trying to get us to eat there. It is super expensive so we ignored them and kept walking. After about ten minutes, we reached a much quieter area and started our journey. We went up many incline roads and finally found some trees and started walking on the path. It was so wonderful to be in nature where it was so peaceful. We walked for quite a while until we came across the actual road people take to get around the island. There were many horse drawn carriages.

So we started walking on the road and came to a huge area with many carriages and people. We started walking in the direction that said “Big Way Trail” or something like that. Little did we know, how big it would be! We were walking and saw a sign for the beach which made me really excited. After much more walking, we found the path down to the beach. After lots of steps, mostly earth made, we got to the bottom. It wasn’t like what you picture a beach, it was a small concrete area that you could sit and dangle your legs. So we took off our shoes and relaxed. I jumped on all the rock and felt the cool waves splash against my legs for a while as it was a warm day. There were two Turkish guys and one came over and talked to us in very good English for a while. He had been drinking but he was nice just very chatty.

We headed back up the mountain to get to the path and by this point, we wanted a carriage. But we walked another forty minutes or so until we got to a place where they were. So we then enjoyed the rest of the way back to the ferry in style! While we were waiting for the ferry, we got some ice cream and it was delicious. It was getting a little chilly so then we got some Turkish tea. We finally got on the ferry and since it was windy, it was kind of hard to walk around to find a seat! We parted ways after Judith tried her first chicken doner (a chicken sandwich I love) by the sea side in Kadikoy. I was so tired by the time I got home and got some sleep for the next day.

Saturday morning, Judith and I met up in Kadikoy again and were planning on going to Şile, which is a town about two hours away on the Black Sea. We tired to go to one area but no buses were running from Kadikoy so we took several buses to finally get there. As were on the bus, it starts to downpour and we decided that we should turn around as we wanted to chill on the beach but since it was raining, everything would be wet. So we took a complicated way back to Kadikoy and went to a mall. We watched The Vow which was good and I got to go to a Claire’s. First one I have seen here! We had iskender which is one of my favorite foods for lunch. We headed back home in the late afternoon and spent the evening relaxing.

Yesterday, I went to church which is always great. It was a small crowd but, as a new church, that happens. Everyone is so nice and the worship is powerful. After the service, the translator shared his testimony. After that, Jim who is about 25 and works at the church, invited me to hang out with one of his friends and her siblings. It was such beautiful weather and it really fun just walking around. We did have a late lunch waiting for his friend. It is nice to be able to joke around with him as he is American and understands! After we went through a very large park with many flowers and relaxed by the Blue Mosque, I said goodbye as I wanted to bet rush hour. I did stop at a little shop and bought a sweet shirt that says Istanbul: My City. So I got on the ferry and then the bus and headed home after a long wonderful weekend with friends.