Really beautiful photos. Thanks for posting them!
What was the experience like culturally?
Hi there!! Thank you!
It's hard for me to feel I have a good grasp on the culture, since I do not speak turkish and thus wasn't able to interact 1:1 with any of the turkish people -- aside from 'hi', 'thank you', etc within the restaurants, etc. Also I think one has to stay a great length of time to *really* understand, rather than just get cursory impressions.
But our guide was very good and enlightened us on much of the culture, which was really interesting, and I also got to know him somewhat well and so that was a positive experience, just hearing his own impressions of his country, his concerns, and where it's heading.
We also got to experience a *little bit* of the culture firsthand. One evening we had a homestay with a family in a small village on the edge of a lake near the Taurus mountains, and our guide played translator so we were able to ask the family (parents of the son living in one home, and then the son, his wife, and 3 children in the house next door) questions that we had about their life and their views. So that was really interesting, and was one of the highlights. And it was special to share a meal at their home.
Anyway, I didn't have any bad experiences with the culture, and it was interesting to see the different regions -- some areas more secular, other areas more conservative, and then most of it seemed somewhat in between. Certainly a rich history, a unique culture (layered in history and various traditions and ethnicities), and as I learned, the nation could be self-sufficient in terms of all its resources -- food and everything else.
Amazing food, very nice people.
Truly, I wasn't ready to leave. I hope to go back someday.
