I’ve been thinking for awhile about what to write about Turkey but my words could never do this country justice! I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Turkey for a month and traveled around first with a tour group for two weeks, and then alone for two weeks. I have done a lot of traveling and Turkey was definitely one of my favorite places! I love how there’s so much history, you feel like you’re at the cradle of where civilization. I visited the birthplace of Abraham, the ruins at Troy and Ephesus that were thousands of years old, and mosques and churches that were old as old as time.

I also adored how all these cultures came together, Christians, Muslims, Jews, everyone was working together and had different traditions and outfits, it just all seemed to work. Especially in Istanbul there was a very open feeling, on one side of the city there was old mosques and churches. Then you go to the other side and you feel like you’re in a completely different place, crowded streets full of eager shoppers, so much more westernized it made you feel at home! The people were incredibly nice there as well,  everyone inviting you in for tea or dinner or to stay at their houses. And if you’re lost all you have to do is say where you’re going and a local will guide you to your destination, there’s a reason why they call it ‘Turkish Hospitality’. 🙂

Some of my favourite places in Turkey definitely include the South West coast, turquoise water and rusty coloured rocks, snow peaked mountains, and sunshine as far as the eye could see! I also really loved the South East as well close to the Syrian border. It’s full of sand coloured mountains, lots of small towns that live right in the mountains, it truly is breathtaking! And who can forget the Cappadocia region where fairy chimneys dominate the sky, so haunting! I’m truly grateful that I got the chance to go to Turkey and I will cherish the memories for a lifetime.

What can I really say about this photo? It pretty much speaks for itself

I’m obsessed with lone trees in the middle of fields!

Love her beautiful blue eyes!

This was the same woman, working away on the boat

Love the Turkish flag

Ruins in Hasankeyf

A nice view just outside the Open Air Museum in Cappadocia

A typical view over Cappadocia

The shop where I had the best baklava of my life!

I’m addicted to old doors and windows so this had it all

How Turkish people heat their homes and their tea

All the shops like to display all their merchandise like this, literally out in the open

Grand Bizarre, Istanbul

This was taken while hiking in Kas

As a group we got to go on a boat excursion, it was a definite highlight of the trip

The evil eye is everywhere, on cars, boats, on people!

Antalya, one of my favourite cities!

A cool building just outside of Ephesus

The library ruins in Ephesus

The theatre in Ephesus, feels like you’re on the edge of the world

Again their merchandise is literally out front where everyone can see

A nice mosque taken inside an even nicer garden

This was taken in Ayvalik, a town FULL of dilapidation and old doors and windows!

There are abandoned cats everywhere, it’s really quite sad

The breathtaking Agia Sophia, my favourite church in Istanbul

Man peering into a mosque in Urfa

Haha, love this photo! This man is smoking a waterpipe, which was very big there!

The beehive houses in Harran

New vs. Old

There’s that eye again, it was everywhere!

More ruins in Ephesus

Mardin, an incredibly addictive city close to the Syrian border

I adore the mustache!

Nice view from my Hotel overlooking Kas