Ramadon Holiday

We have made it back it Istanbul safe and sound after a week long trip through western turkey. Traveling down to Paumkkale known for its calcium terraces then to Fethiya, a resort town on the Mediterranean, and finally to Ephuses. Along the way we met up with another student from Yeditepe, Ishmail, traveling home for the Bayram holiday. Ishmail quickly became our unofficial tour guide while welcoming us to this family and village.
While in the village we toured his family farm, eating freshly picked grapes and figs. For lunch, his mother made for us a totally homemade meal of bread, cheese, tomatoes, butter and roasted corn. Later that evening we went to "Iftar" the breaking of daily fasting at 7:00 pm where the village joins to eat and fellowship.
We traveled to Fethiya that night in the back of a pickup taking in the fresh mountain air and beautiful starlit sky, quite a contrast from Istanbul. Ölüdeniz was a beautiful beach, mostly populated by English tourists, a short distance from Fethiya where we soaked up the sun and did a considerable amount of snorkeling. Our group also took a 12 island tour through the Mediterranean on a sail boat.
Additionally Ölüdeniz was my first experience at a topless beach; however, many of the exhibitionists were retired, buxom, English woman. It did spark a small desire to bring the speedo back into popularity in the U.S. as it is a very popular little article for Europeans. Again, most of the spandex clad men where will fed English men.
Our final stop was in Selçuk outside of Ephesus. The ruins where astounding. Only four to five percent of the city has been unearthed. While in Selçuk we met some very friendly men who own a rug shop and they invited us for nargile, and some great conversation. I took a look at their carpet collection and was awestruck at the magnificent works of art, and the price. I settled for purchasing a few scarves. These men were actually Kurdish from the city of Van in eastern turkey. It just so happens that these men are cousins with another man I met in Istanbul through a friend back in Montana. We ended up smoking, drinking wine and chatting in their shop until 1:30 am.
Turkey really does have a beautiful country side which to me is overshadowed by Istanbul's popularity. It's nice to be "home" but I loved the quiet small town atmospheres.