Turkey: An overview of my adventure

Trip overview

For this trip I booked onto the Intrepid Travel Turkey Highlights trip. None of this is sponsored or affiliated with Intrepid to be clear. This is just me discussing my trip. The highlights tour is 8 days total but 6 whole days with the first day being a half day and day 8 just being breakfast. You do a lot in those 8 days and it is tiring but so rewarding. I saw such a range of places and had a huge variety of experiences. I picked this trip also for the fact that the further distance travel journeys were done by either plane or train. A lot of trips I looked at had hours in buses which I didn’t fancy. There is a maximum of 12 for the group size which is a good balance between not being too intense but still having a quite personal experience. You get to know everyone in the group too.

I have traveled with Intrepid before on shorter trips within a larger trip. I love the ethos of the company and the fact they always use local guides; invest back into the communities tours visit; reduce their carbon footprint as far as possible; and are B-Corp certified. Lastly as a disabled traveller I found Intrepid and our group guide to be so helpful and supportive. I was advised on things like what documentation to take in alongside my medication and I was helped to find a pharmacy and order more painkillers mid trip. Amongst many others things too. Travelling with a physical or mental illness is stressful and joining and organised group just helps take away some of the stress. If you want to see the main famous sites in Turkey then this is definitely the way to do it. Although quite a few of the 2022 dates are already sold out.

https://www.intrepidtravel.com/uk/turkey/turkey-highlights-138842

The only downsides to be aware of are that there are a lot of early mornings and long days so it is very tiring. A couple of days to have a lot of hours on a bus going from place to place. You have to be able to carry your baggage yourself and walk short distances through town including up and down stairs. Finally the vegetarian food options (as I found out first hand) really aren’t great and food locations aren’t chosen with vegetarians in mind. So I personally as a vegetarian wouldn’t have eaten at most of our picks. But nothing is perfect and the pros far outweigh the cons.

I know some people prefer to avoid mentioning money and costs in travel blogs. But I certainly find it helpful, just as a rough guide. So cost wise the ‘Turkey Highlights’ tour varied from £729 to £855 depending on dates. That includes all your travel within Turkey (not your international flights); your accommodation for seven nights plus the night on the train; lots of activities; six breakfasts and one lunch; and of course the guide who is with you throughout the trip. I paid the single supplement so I didn’t have to share a room which added an extra £200. Almost everyone on my tour had done this but of course it is totally up to you.

I added in a bit of additional time in Istanbul at both the start and end of the trip. So I flew in on Thursday and then met the group Saturday afternoon. Then at the end the group trip ended Saturday morning and I flew back on Sunday. There is so much to see in the city that I would recommend staying longer if you can.

16/6/2022: Istanbul

Well everyone welcome to Turkey! I didn’t speak much about the trip much at all before I actually left because I honestly wasn’t sure my health would ever allow me to get there. But there I was in Istanbul. I began my journey by getting the train from Aberdeen to London on Wednesday. I had one night there and had dinner with my old Uni friend Hannah. Then on Tuesday I flew out to Istanbul. Turkey is my 39th country I have visited in my life!

I didn’t end up getting to my hotel until nearly 21:00. But I still took the time for an evening walk. So many people were still out and about. Shops and cafes were open. People of all ages enjoying the cool night air. I felt so safe. It is amazing to be experiencing somewhere totally new. My first time travelling abroad without friends or family since before my accident.

17/6/2022: Istanbul

In the interests of honesty the last couple of days have been absolutely exhausting. So in the morning I had breakfast and then I have been sorted out my medications, drank some coffee and watched Netflix. Remembering my mums advice which is that is okay. The huge achievement was getting here and the next big steps is meeting the group tomorrow. Anything else is a bonus.

After gathering some energy from my chilled morning I headed out into the city. Very quickly I established that no one signals where they are going on the road here and traffic lights are more of a broad suggestion. I was nearly run over about 10 times an hour. I could already tell I loved the city. It reminded me in a lot of ways to that feeling I got in the big Asian cities like Bangkok, Singapore and Hanoi. So much going on everywhere, so many cultures and languages, your senses are being swamped on every side. As a solo traveller especially I can blend in and be one of the crowd. Don’t get me wrong with my blue trainers, gymshark top and bum bag I am very obviously a tourist.

But I was not at any point of the trip overpowered with ‘attention’ in a way you can be unfortunately as a solo female traveller ranging from offering advice or to ‘help you’ to low level harassment. There was in the interests of honesty a lot people selling things who did target me. But I never once felt unsafe or threatened or anything it was more just annoying and could make it hard to relax. The trick I found was just totally ignore them. Because if you engage you’ll get sucked into a difficult sales pitch that you may well not want to be in. You don’t need to be polite (you don’t need to be rude either) just don’t engage at all.

My other skill as a female traveller is that I have mastered the art of always looking like I know where I am going even if I don’t (thanks Google maps). Then don’t acknowledge the person bothering you in any way. Don’t even look at them. Keep walking. My experience is that pretty much instantly leads to them looking for the next person to encourage into their restaurant or whatever. I have done a lot of travelling on my own now l, although not since I became disabled, but that gives me confidence in myself and what I am doing. You absolutely can travel as a solo female and you will have an amazing time. You can get immersed into the world in a way you don’t with other people around.

I thought the museum I wanted to go to was closed (it wasn’t I just wasn’t at the right entrance point). But fate works in mysterious ways because after trekking around Istanbul (nearly getting run over about 300 times and also asked if I was lost and need taxi about 500 times) I was very tired. But then I have stumbled across a beautiful little café by the Hippodrome and looking across to the spires of the Blue Mosque. So I was very content.

I got to the museum of ‘Islamic Art and Architecture’ in the end. I reckon the Turkish coffee fuel helped me locate it. It would have frustrated me not to have found it. Especially as it just turned out to be the case that I wasn’t actually at the main entrance.

I want to talk about one exhibit in particular which is these magnificent door wings in the photos below. I found the amount of information about their ‘lives’ (might be the history grad in me) fascinating. I wanted to try and incorporate it into this blog in the hopes others will also find it interesting.

The door is estimated to be from the 12th or 13th century. But it was brought to Istanbul in 1982 where it underwent years of repair, restorations and conservation. One of the two door handles on the door of Cizre Great Mosque was removed and stolen on December 1969. It was eventually tracked to the David Collection in Copenhagen, Denmark. Attempts for the handle to be returned have been ongoing since 1990. The pieces return was negotiated at meeting in Copenhagen in 2001. However the handle was not returned because of the strict policies of the Davids Samling Private Museum’s authorities. I am not sure what the current state of talks are, the sign didn’t update me on that. I believe talks are still ongoing but for the moment the second handle remains in Denmark. At some point I will look it up and find out. I know I am a top class blog researcher…

A lot of western history is based around the Christian faith so it’s different and teaching me a lot to me in a country with a large Muslim population. It was the same in Bali which is majority Hindu and Thailand which was majority Buddhist. Although I am aware that Turkey has a complex religious history. But my point is this is a history I don’t know that well at all. The early Islamic empires and their art, architecture, science and cultures is something I want to educate myself far more on. One thing I have definitely been learning a lot about is the art of Turkish carpet making. The museum had a corridor dedicated to displaying a whole range of carpets. Many of them well over 100 years old.

It is almost worth paying the 75 lira entry fee for the museum just to come and see the beautiful raised courtyard. It’s a very peaceful place to sit away from the hustle and bustle. Lots of shade from trees, buildings and umbrellas from the sun and a great view of the Blue Mosque. You can hear the birds tweet in the garden and smell the lavender. There is a café but I didn’t check it out (incredible I know) but it would be a fab place to chill with a drink and snack. There is in general more green space in Istanbul than I had expected not huge grassy parks mostly but flowers, small green oasis’s and wide tree lined avenues. It gives you some breathing space from the busy and often narrow old streets.

I settled down in Starbucks again for the evening. Can I just say it was the equivalent of £4.30 for an iced drink, sandwich and a cookie (taking home for later). In the U.K. just the drink could easily cost you £4.30! I have my trusty Kindle with me which is my absolute go to for eating alone. I highly recommend having something to do that isn’t just scrolling through your phone again and again if you are eating alone. My kindle helps me forget about the fact I am sitting on my own and relaxes that on edge part of my brain allowing me to enjoy the meal and not to rush. I do know Starbucks isn’t cultural but I am really tired and dehydrated and sore. I know I need to just sit down and get some food and drink. I don’t have the energy to find somewhere authentic. That does frustrate me a bit because I know I am not as robust as before my accident. But this is my life now and my ongoing gastrointestinal issues make me even more worried about food and what I eat. I need to learn to cut myself some slack. I would encourage anyone who travels to remember it is supposed to be fun and you don’t need to be stressed from the pressure of trying to create a ‘perfect’ holiday. And yes that is a reminder to myself as well.

It has really been a great afternoon and I have fallen right back into my passion for solo travel. I have probably (okay definitely) taken a few too many photos, so when I get back to the hotel I am going to pop my PJs on, stick on the ‘Snowpiercer’ on Netflix and sort through my pictures. Oh and try not to get too anxious about meeting the group tomorrow!

18/6/2022: Istanbul: Group tour day one

The other side of solo travel is when something isn’t right you only have yourself to try and fix it. And sometimes that means you have to stand up for yourself. Like when the taxi the hotel promised they would book for you isn’t booked and they try and tell you every taxi driver is busy. I was meeting my travel group in the afternoon so was already very nervous. It was a mixture of trying to be tough but also not have a melt down. Solo travel is amazing 90% of the time like the last couple of days have been incredible but now I just want to send my mum up to the desk and get her to sort it.

When eventually the hotel staff said my taxi was here, which was already 30 mins late, I didn’t think that meant it was parked half a km away. So I had to power walk along with a member of staff to the taxi rank and then the taxi man didn’t know where I was going. Then he didn’t even drop me off at the hotel. Close enough was clearly supposed to have to do. So with my big bags and now stressed, hot and sweaty I had to try and find this hotel and join the group meeting and introductions in a big hurry. I felt really self conscious for being late to the first thing. But no-one else minded and I didn’t miss much. Plus there was nothing I actually could have done to have got there faster.

Day one was spent doing our introductions and meeting our guide Ihsan who really opened up as the days of the trip went on and was welcoming and so knowledgeable. We all introduced ourselves by saying where we were from and then one thing we were and one thing we were not. It was a pretty diverse crew with people from The U.K., Germany, France, the US and Australia. But after the formalities were done it was time to head back out into the city for our first formal activity. We started by hoping on the metro to Sultanahmet for the beginning of a walking tour of the old town.

A couple of us who had been in Istanbul for a day or so already broke off from the official walking tour to look inside the iconic mosques. After being slightly underwhelmed by the Blue Mosque, it was almost entirely under construction, we headed across to Hagia Sophia. My day was made just seeing this absolutely stunning building. Photos just don’t do the scale of the place justice. The decoration was so intricate. It was built in 537 but originally as a church for the Roman Empire. Then in 1453 when the Ottomans captured Constantinople (as it was then known) they converted into a mosque. When that decision was made all the iconography, such as the mosaic depictions of Jesus, Mary, Christian saints and angels were removed or plastered over. The Islamic architectural features were added in including four minarets, a minbar and a mihrab. It remained a mosque until Turkey became a secular republic at which point in 1935 it re-opened as a museum and was that until very recently. In July 2020 Hagia Sophia was officially redeclared as a mosque. I share that to help represent the hugely varied history of Turkey. As well how in recent years there has been a slow move away in many aspects of particular life from that strictly secular approach on the 1930s.

19/6/2022: Istanbul – plane to Izmir – Bus to Kusadasi

Flew very early (this will become a running theme you shall see) from Istanbul to Izmir and then drove to Kusadasi. which is a large town on Turkey’s Aegean coast. The town itself is a fairly typical beach resort place but the historic castle on Pigeon Island and the stunning sunsets over the sea were magical. It is however a fantastic base for exploring the surrounding area. We took in Pamukkale World Heritage Site and the Ephesus Ancient City amongst others. So I am glad we had a few days there as there is so much to see near by. Which is my feeling of Turkey in general. There is so much here.

I had an afternoon on my own chilling at the hotel to try and recharge my mental physical and social batteries. I then made the slightly silly decision that I would walk down to the beach for coffee. I was tired, it was a route or rather a whole place I didn’t know and it was 35 degrees. About 5 minutes in I paused taking photos of the pretty flowers and gardens and realised I was so hot. I spent the rest of the walk sort of rushing from one patch of shade to another. So by the time I got to coffee I was so hot and bothered and had a screaming dehydration headache that I didn’t even hugely enjoy it. But I learnt my lesson and got a taxi home. There are so so cheap here so definitely made sense to utilise the service.

Then I joined up with three of the other group members for an evening stroll along the seafront to Güvercinada (Pigeon island). There is a lot of history behind this island with its historic fort. The Grand Vizier Oküz Mehmet Paça, one of the important figures of the 17th century Ottoman Empire, states his Mülkname (1612-1613) that he constructed a castle, and a caravanserail, and a seaport in order to prevent the enemy ships from disturbing the travellers and pilgrims. The castle on Güvercinada (Pigeon island), from which Kusadasi derives it’s name and is the symbol of the city, was fortified in order to defend the harbor of Kusadasi. Some researchers claim that this inner castle was built by Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa in the 16th Century. The walls surrounding the islet was built by llyas Aga in 1826 according to an inscription found on the upper side of the castle gate. Güvercinada was linked to the mainland with a road in the 1960’s and then the castle underwent considerable restoration work.

It ended up being such a nice evening having dinner with three of the other girls from the group. There was a lot of trust between us in sharing our stories. It was really nice to have a proper in depth conversation as well as just chatting about travel stuff. And the food was so cheap! The total bill for the for four of us, main course, dessert and soft drinks, was the equivalent of £25.19. And we couldn’t even finish all the food. It was a really local place too which I like. It was called Bül Bül if you ever find yourself in the area.

20/6/2022: Kusadasi: Day trip to Pamukkale

The day trip out to Pamukkale and the ruins of Hierapolis is an optional day trip. It is a three hour drive each way. But being in a private air conditioned mini bus and stopping en-route meant the journey was absolutely fine. I am glad I went because I don’t know what will survive the next few years I wouldn’t say it was a must do. That is just because of the amount of damage done to the site by substandard protection.

Pamukkale, translates from the Turkish as “cotton castle”. But most of it does not resemble the title. The first thing you will notice is that half the pools are totally dry with no water in them. This is because for half the day the water is channeled into one half of the site and then it swaps to the other half for the next part of the day. To add to As recently as the 1960s hotel were being built directly on top of the historic Hierapolis ruins. Today the walking of people all over the rocks has turned lots of them from white to almost black. There has been an attempt by management to concentrate people into swimming in just a few of the pools, which are really very busy and not that iconic crystal blue water. But people don’t like sharing I suppose and kept paddling where they were not supposed to. There is minimal security to stop people and hardly any signs. But there are still sections where you can get an idea of what the whole place used to look like and those are really magical.

I found the Roman ruins at Hierapolis, which are right next Pamukkale more impressive than the pools. Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the 2nd century BC in what was known then as the Seleucid Empire. Although the earliest references to the sites use can be traced back to the 7th century BC when then Phrygians built a temple there. One thing I found especially interesting about Hierapolis as it’s Jewish history. In fact it is estimated that by 62 BC the city had around 50,000 Jews living there! I would highly recommend doing the short 10/15 minute hike up to the old theatre. You just don’t see the size and details when you are standing below it on the hill.

When we got back to the hotel I decided to go for an evening walk down to the Marina. I have felt very safe in Turkey even on my own after dark. Sometimes people will try and sell you things and be a little bit hassle but nothing dangerous. I will say that there are a lot of very small children wondering around trying to sell you packs of tissues. And they are quite determined. There is definitely a guilt trip. But from what I have read it is quite important not to buy things from them as they are kept out of school to make more money selling things. This evening though there was this one little girl who after I had ignored her and shaken my head several times and ignored her some more. Reached over and tapped my kindle screen. She thought it was hilarious. I was not really amused. It is a hard situation morally though. The government should do more to crack down on children selling things and offer incentives for getting kids into school. But like everything in the world this is easier said than done.

21/6/2022: Kusadasi- Ephesus – overnight train to Konya

One of the reasons I wanted to come to Turkey was the huge amount of history to be found in art, architecture, archaeology. I have come across a saying several times now that says ‘Turkey is the worlds’ biggest museum’. After a few days here I can see why people would say that! Today started with heading out to Ephesus nice and early to beat the worst of the heat. The trip to Ephesus was incredible. It’s a huge Greco-Roman site and the archaeological team things they have only dug up around 25% of it. So imagine how many other wonders there are waiting to be found.

One of the most famous sites is the Ephesus Library. The library was commissioned in the 110s A.D. In all those years it has been through a lot and some of it needed restored. But it remains incredibly impressive to this day.

It was then time for lunch at The Seven Sleepers Pancake Gardens. The history of ‘The Seven Sleepers Pancake Gardens’ (I keep wanting to call this the seven ‘sisters’ pancake gardens). But it is definitely sleepers and the story behind the name is explained at the restaurant. The rough outline of the story is that during the persecutions of Christians by Roman Emperor Decius, in around 308, seven young men were accused of Christianity. They were given some time to recant their faith, but instead gave their worldly goods to the poor and retired to a mountain to pray, where they fell asleep. Once the emperor saw that their attitude towards paganism (Christianity) was no different than before then ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed. Decades then passed. Then in the reign of Theodosius (379-395) the landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave. He was thinking he could use it as a cattle pen. When he opened it and he found the sleepers inside. They woke up and thought they had only been asleep for a single day. One of the men returned to Ephesus (a large Roman settlement). There the man was astounded to find buildings with crosses attached. The bishop was summoned interview the sleepers; they told him their miracle story, and they died praising God.

I guess it’s a happy ending story? I can’t exactly tell you how that story inspires pancakes directly as opposed to any other food stuff but no complaints from me that it did! Before eating our lunch we got to go through to the kitchen and see the the Gozleme, large thin Turkish pancakes which are covered with a filling then rolled up, being made in the traditional way. I went for spinach and cheese (which was a very common vegetarian option in Turkey). It was absolutely delicious but for me just too much cheese. It was one of the groups birthday and she was surprised with a cake and giant sparkler which was really special. After lunch we visited a traditional carpet making cooperative, went wine tasting and then it was time to catch the overnight train up to Konya.

22/6/2022: Overnight train arrives into Konya – Bus to Goreme, Cappadocia

I woke up absolutely exhausted. I was having an amazing time but it was such a jam packed programme. I was doing and socialising more than I had in years so possibly not surprising that’s how I felt. Although I slept much more comfortably on the 12 hour overnight train journey than I expected!

Breakfast buffet and it was such a joy to see fresh fruit! The coffee was only instant so take away a couple of points for that. But after a long train ride it was so nice to just be driven somewhere for breakfast and not really have to think.

Travelling in Turkey was my first time in a predominantly Muslim country. The population is around 90% Muslim. Although Turkey is technically a secular country it is deeply shaped by faith. This meant getting see a whole lot of Islamic architecture which was totally new to me. It was also interesting to learn about just some of the different branches of Islam. Konya is a very religious city. Stepping off the overnight train you could immediately feel the difference to Izmir.

The city of Konya is very closely linked with the whirling dervish sect of Islam developed in the 13th century by Celaleddin Rumi, considered one of Islam’s greatest Sufi mystics. We learnt about this in the Melvana Museum which is a part of a wider complex and community of Sufi Islams.

After leaving Konya we headed back to the road and out towards Goreme, Cappadocia. On the way we stopped off at the Kaymakli Underground City. It’s a vast underground network of tunnels, rooms, arches and carved stone. Definitely avoid if you suffer with claustrophobia. But if you don’t it makes for a really interesting tour. The underground world was first used by the Phrygians in the 7/8th century BC. They would have found the soft volcanic rock easy to cut into. However over the hundreds of years the main expansions have been done by Christians fleeing persecution from various groups. Amazingly there were still people using the caves up until the 1920s!

Arriving into Goreme and driving past the incredible shapes and fairy tours was as amazing and otherworldly as I had thought it would be from photos I had seen. We started this leg of the trip off strong with dinner in a local woman’s cave home. Being honest I had this image of us eating dinner in an actual mountainside cave. Which seemed a bit much. I was fortunately wrong though. The cave house is a house built back into the rock like a cave. The front rooms look like ‘normal’ house rooms but then the back rooms were walled in by the rocks of the cliff. It was like that trend of an exposed brick wall but this is the actual natural cliff shaping the whole room. The house just blended right into the insides of the cliff. We were served a delicious, and fully vegetarian, home cooked meal.

23/6/2022: Goreme, Cappadocia

Sunrise hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia, absolutely magical. This is another optional activity but I would so highly recommend. It was worth every single penny. Although I almost missed it! Somehow fully dressed I managed from sitting to go back to sleep. It was a very early start but also shows how exhausting this trip was for me. Managing illness and medications abroad is draining but the effort and exhaustion were well worth it. Luckily though a group member saved the day by hammering on my door and yelling my name (I should say they had tried texting, phone calling and gentle knocking by this point). So her shout probably woke up the whole corridor (sorry guys) but it meant I didn’t miss the balloon!

The sunrise hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia was probably one of my top life experiences ever. It lives up to all of the hype. You feel like you are weightless floating through the air. To see that many balloons of all different colours floating over a landscape diverse in geology, archaeology and history. It was just breath taking. We had almost an hour flying. The view subtly changed as the hour progressed and the sun came up. It made me quite reflective actually. If you had come to see me in hospital in June 2019 and said I would be doing this 3 years later I would never have believed you. But I am here. Things are not in anyway way perfect but things are so much better. Most importantly I have joy for the present and excitement for the future (with a healthy sprinkling of anxiety though).

After returning to the hotel post balloon ride it was still pretty early in the morning so we had some breakfast and a bit of a chill. Then it was time for a two hour hike through the valleys of Cappadocia.

After a non-stop morning I felt in definite need of a relaxed afternoon. I chilled at the hotel for a bit before joining another girl from the tour for some souvenir shopping. Then she headed back to the hotel and I sat quietly in a cute coffee shop with my book.

We had a dinner at ‘Fat Boys Restaurant’ which was highly recommended by our guide Ihsan. So he joined some of us for the food and bravely offered to pay for our food *if* we didn’t like it. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) we all enjoyed our meals. I went for the Vegetarian Testi Kebab (Sebzeli) which is a traditional pottery kebab in Göreme. The best bit of this dish is that it arrives in a ceramic oval which is sealed shut. Imagine an egg shape and one you have to crack. So you get given a hammer! Then you need to hammer away on the seal between the top and the bottom ceramic egg shell halves (there will be photos with this not very clear explanation). There is a ball of bread dough sat on the top half but when you break the ceramic that is taken away. When the seal is broken and lid is lifted there is this wonderful steaming beautifully smelling food revealed. Mine was all vegetables (slight story of my Turkey trip there) but you could get all sorts of meat added too. But my gosh those vegetables were cooked and flavoured to perfection. But the hammering open my meal has to be the highlight of the evening.

24/6/2022 – Goreme, Cappadocia – Plane to Istanbul

Early morning flight back to Istanbul. Where we said goodbye for our first group member as she was travelling back to Germany later that day rather than going back in Istanbul. It was a bit of a moment actually. You haven’t known anyone for that long but you have spent a very intense period of time as a group unit. I am a keen solo traveller so I did worry that a group trip might not be the right thing for me. But it definitely was. The group was lovely and it was great to hand over the organisation, and the pressure of planning and delivering, to some else. Plus I always had people to share the experiences with and importantly photograph me at places. I’ll never stop solo travelling but I am inspired to look into some other group trips, particularly for places that are harder to do on your own. As someone with a disability I worry being somewhere remote on my own if I have a medical problem or an issue with my medication because I wouldn’t know how or where to sort it. A guide can help with all of that. They can speak the local language too which is very helpful for actually explaining your problem.

After an afternoon having some time on my own exploring Istanbul (and attempting to send some postcards) we gathered together as a group one more time. We took the 20 minute ferry ride across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul. This is the only capital city that sits across two continents. It was fun going one way in the day light and then back in the dark with the skyline lit up by lights.

We had our last group meal across on the Asian side and I delivered the group thank you to our wonderful guide. I had been collecting our guides tip. But I also got everyone to sign a postcard for him (I wanted a card but couldn’t find one with the short notice). He was so grateful for it! He was saying that no group has done something like this for him before and that he will send a photo of the card to his parents. So I think I did a good organisational job there. Ihsan was a brilliant guide so it was well deserved. I love the Intrepid ethical travel motto and a part of that is always hiring local guides. So you get someone who knows and loves the place they are showing but you have also invested money back into the communities you are visiting.

After dinner we formed a dessert squad. After my slightly tragic plain white rice at dinner (thank you gastroenterology problems) I really wanted something else but that would be really easy to eat. Then I saw that the shop we had gone to for İzmir Bombasi, which is is a cookie in the Turkish cuisine filled with chocolate spread, had sorbet. Which was just perfect for what I was wanting in that moment. So I was content.

25/6/2022: Istanbul

I am going to miss the ‘nightlife’ here. Not alcohol and parties but the fact that everything is still going at 21:00. Families are out and about. People are going shopping, getting coffee, strolling. You can walk around after dark as a solo female at this time and feel totally safe. Back home after 18:00, and that’s the latest mostly, cafes are all closed. In the evening everything becomes centred around alcohol or you have to have a sit down meal. There are some exceptions of course. But I can say for sure that Union Street after 21:00 has never felt like this. I feel safer here in a lot of ways. Although I do understand I am in a central and quite touristy places. However I am very sensible on my own but less on edge for sure.

There is such a range of people here too. Diversity is the biggest thing I miss about living in London. I am surrounded by different ethnicities, languages being spoken, nationalities, religions and more. It’s just a big melting pot. I want to come back here for sure. I think Istanbul would make a really good solo trip away. The other places we visited on the group tour I am sure you could do on your own but it would be quite tricky and also quite expensive.I think trying to find a food tour that was either completely or could provide well for, vegetarians would be a lot of fun. There are lots of street stalls of food. But having some guidance on what to try and how you are supposed to eat the things you are trying would be helpful. Like the large roasted nuts, not even quite sure what kind they are. My guess is hazelnut because Turkey grows a lot of that (it’s the number one supplier to Nutella). But I welcome any corrections on that.

As amazing as this trip has been, not perfect, but amazing, I was I am ready to go home. My body has done enough. It would have been nice to get up at 4:00am tomorrow. Now had I known that British airways would cancel my Heathrow to Aberdeen flight and I would need to take the 20:00 one and spend pretty much ten hours in Heathrow, then I clearly would have booked a later flight. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. So it is what it is. I have a hotel booked in Heathrow so I’ll be comfortable at least.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip diary. I have tried to share the highs, lows and realities of travelling with a chronic illness and without someone you know. It has overall been an incredible experience. I know I can be so proud of myself and what I have achieved. Here’s to the next adventure!