Turkey - The place

Back in May we headed on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Turkey. The very fact that the trip was "spur-of-the-moment" should have been a pretty good indicator that it wasn't a typical trip for us. I'm a planner and planning our trips a little more advanced and in depth allows me to relax and enjoy while we are on the trip. Add to the that little fact, the further fact that we were headed for a beach resort (not a place we would typically head to). 

Though we had never been to a resort; I felt pretty confident in saying that we are not resort people. We enjoy exploring and seeing as much as possible; something that doesn't really seem to go hand-in-hand with resorts (and now, post-resort, I still stand by that). But, we were adamant that the point of this trip wasn't to explore, it was to spend time together in the sun. After one very long and grey winter, and in the midst of one very grey and chilly spring, we decided that we all needed some serious vitamin D. We did a bit of looking, booked for the warmest destination we could find in our price range, and with less than a week to get everything packed we were on our way. 

When we told the kids that we were going to Turkey, Atticus was pretty concerned and hesitant so we asked him why; he said, "well, we don't eat Turkey" (we're not big meat eaters around here). Once we established that Turkey was a place, not just an animal, the kids did a happy dance, ran to their bedrooms and started emptying their drawers and shelves of their clothing and bringing it to the living room to be packed. They were packed by the end of the day. Perhaps we should have waited a little longer before we told them we were going to Turkey because, as it was, it was a verrrry long week of waiting for our little toddlers. 

Since we were flying out of Hannover, the journey was a bit longer as we had to take the train between Bremen and Hannover first. But, we managed, and after one flight and a very humid bus ride we arrived at our resort - very tired. We even had entertainment on the train when we managed to book seats right next to a lady who did little magic tricks for the kids.

 We were shown to our room, which was definitely not the standard we were expecting and it was even  in a building across the street, but it was late and all we wanted to do was sleep (that, and Jason had convinced me that perhaps the hotel room would look better after a good night sleep and that sounded like good wisdom). Well, morning came and the hotel room was still old, dirty and with a very hard mattress (complete with pokey springs) I'm not sure any of us had a good night sleep. We were going to be here for 5 nights, if we wanted to decent rest on this trip it was certainly not happening in this room. We asked about switching rooms and the manager said she would check and get back to us after breakfast. I was pretty impressed with how easy going the kids were, and how much fun they had with Milayla pushing Atticus around in the stroller (quite the switch!).

A funny thing happened over breakfast. I was so worried that we would be stuck in that room for our entire stay that I actively convinced myself that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was and worked very hard to find all the positives about the room. I was determined to enjoy this trip, and if that meant enjoying that room, then I would find a way to do it. I even went as far as to tell Jason that maybe the room wasn't so bad after all and that we could make do; besides our goal was to be outside getting sunshine so there was no need to bother switching rooms. Jason applauded my ability to be positive but suggested that we still see if switching is an option and I am quite glad I listened to him instead of just trekking back to our little 'ol hotel room across the street.

After breakfast we stopped at the hotel desk to ask about the room. They had a new room available, should we want it. The manager assured us that it was a very nice room, but that we could go take a look at the room and decide for ourselves if we would like to switch. On the elevator ride up to the new room (which was in the main building) I told myself not to have my hopes too high, after all, maybe the manager was just telling us it was a nice room so that we were more likely to think it was a nice room. We arrived at the room and opened the door to find a very nice room. In fact, compared to our first room, it felt more like a mansion. Everyone had a bed. The kids had a separate room. And the bathroom shower was still sparkling white. Oh, and the beds, the beds were heavenly. 

And with a new, restful room in place we were free to enjoy the beach and the pool to our little hearts' content. Except that it started raining. Then pouring. Then thundering and lightening. It was really shaping up to be some trip. We looked at the weather forecast for the week. Big mistake. Nothing but rain. Joy.

The rain didn't much matter though, considering that Milayla woke up with a very bad eye infection and we were in search of a doctor, and the in search of an open pharmacy to get her medicine. It was quite an interesting feat, made a little bit easier by the fact there was a doctor on site, though not so easy to find an open pharmacy on the weekend. Thankfully, Milayla's eye started getting better pretty quickly, but she still had the infection during the entire trip. Poor girl. When the sun finally did come out we headed for the beach and she just wanted to cuddle and sleep. I certainly didn't mind the cuddles, though I sure would have loved her to get some play time in the sand. 

Thankfully, the trip wasn't all about bad hotel rooms, rain, and eye infections (nor did any of those things effect our ability to enjoy time together). There was sun, exploring, a castle, turkish bus ride adventures, a museum, a camel, plenty of time on the beach, play grounds, waterslides, waterfalls, bazaars, mosques, Turkish baths, massages at the spa, fresh squeezed orange juice stalls, mountain exploring, pool side fun, a turkish popcorn bowl and a buffet with plenty of vegetarian salad options. 

Such an embarrassing photo. I cannot remember how I got cajoled into this one, but I did, and Jason wanted to make sure that I put it on the blog... Milayla was pretty happy about it... 

One thing that was really interesting to me was all the advertising - it was SO modest! Not only that, but the women were so classy and fashionable here. It was beautiful!

I love seeing how well these two play together!

the view of Alanya from the castle

Atticus loved looking out the castel onto the mediterranean - you can really see how much bigger he has gotten in this picture!

marching through the castle

 Love that smile!

So happy! 

Atticus working on a mosaic at the museum

Milayla was so attached to this bucket and her lovely white hat. It was adorable how much she cared about them!

I love that this picture makes mine and milayla's landing in the pool (after going down the slide) successful, because it wasn't. Right after this picture was taken, the momentum of going down the slide knocked us both under. It surprised us both!

putting together a mosaic at the museum

There were plenty of good things, but the absolute best thing was being able to focus in on time together without anything else pressing for our time. 

I also loved that we all took afternoon naps. After a morning spent in the sun, afternoon naps felt lovely. I think one of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip was our pre-dinner time; after we were all cleaned up for dinner we would head down to the beach, which was nearly empty every evening, and just sit in the sand and talk. I loved how the kids inquire about a myriad of topics while we watched the sun set and listened to the waves gently calm our souls. I always enjoy where conversation with a toddler can carry you, particularly with our toddlers; they are continuously amazing me with their natural desire to inquire and learn.

Atticus made a 'sunshine' out of rocks.

It is sure to be a trip that we will remember. 

Taking a stroll while snacking on fresh blackberries - so good!

And though there were times that I wondered if we should have been out exploring the beautiful country more, I am glad that we settled down in one area and focused in on slowing things down, relaxing, time together and sun. We really enjoyed our time in Turkey; Atticus even let us know that he would be okay if we decided to move there (no, we are not moving to Turkey - at least not that we know of ;) ; and would love to go see more of it some day soon.

Sometimes I wonder if our efforts to expose the kids to travel and culture would be better placed elsewhere but then I see the balance that it creates in our family and how excited and curious it gets the children. And my heart is filled with gratitude that we get to have these experiences. Of course, our balance of how our time is spent will likely require adaptation as we all learn and grow and our life evolves, but I am glad to be having these experiences now and laying the foundation for many wonderful experiences to come. Going on trips really reminds me to plan more exploring right were we live - because it does wonderful for all of us 

the waterfalls in the canyon

Now, seeing that this trip was meant to be a relaxation trip, we only brought the small camera and the idea was to only take a few pictures here and there. Well, as you have already been privy to, even with my best restraint we still managed to come home with quite a few, albeit though, lovely pictures. I am grateful to have them though as they help to remind me of all the little things of the trip and these incredible people that I got to enjoy it with. So grateful for this family. 

Enjoy the photos :)

When the path in the castle ran out, the kids decided to try exploring by going 'up' - it didn't last long before we intervened.

See all those barrels on the roofs? Hot water heaters. What a great way to effectively use all that sunshine!

waiting out a rain storm in our hotel room - the boys were trying to see if they could make the carpet pattern into a maze - they did.

Atticus holding onto Milayla's hand - so sweet

Milayla getting a much needed sleep on the bus after an afternoon in the city

The flowers there were so beautiful

They LOVED the glass elevators

perfect beach shot :)

Milayla had lots of fun practicing going up the stairs there

the drive to the mountains

whenever we had to wait inside Atticus liked to sit in the lobby and watch the elevators go up and down.

the boys heading down the waterslide

Our flight home ended up being changed - twice - so we ended up on a 1am flight. Needless to say, we were all pretty tuckered out by the time we made it to the train home to Bremen. But, what a great trip we ended up having.