Another bird in Turkey

Three girls from Belarus began chatting with me as I waited in the customs line in the Istanbul airport. I was a bit tipsy since the Turkish guy who sat next to me on the flight from Oman decided to keep buying me free beers. He didn’t speak English, but he continued to press the flight attendant button and ask for two Carlsbergs. I noticed the slogan on the bottom of the can read: Probably the best beer in the world. This was not true, but I respected his attempt to socialize without words and accepted his generous offerings.

Typically I may have continued my conversation with the girls from Belarus, but I had someone to meet. I walked toward baggage claim, failed to find any familiar faces, and headed straight to the men’s room. When I walked out, I heard, “Hi Bri.” Jordan had seen me walk in from a distance and stood by the doorway to surprise me.

Jordan and I dated four years ago. We had stayed in touch over the years, but hadn’t spent much time together. We would now be spending the next three and a half months with one another. When I told her I planned to head to Turkey in mid April, she suggested a plan to meet me there and then travel back toward England, where she is currently working toward her Master's.

Since she is significantly shorter than me, she reached up to give me a hug. We had a lot to catch up on and didn’t exactly know where to start. We collected our bags and hopped a cab toward the European side of Istanbul, which is the only city in the world that lies on two continents.

The guesthouse Jordan had picked out was perfect. It was just a short walk from where the Black Sea connects with the Aegean. We instantly became friends with the staff, which included a trio of Turkish brothers in their 20s and 30s. We hung out on the rooftop of the guesthouse during the day, drinking beers with the staff, playing guitar, telling stories and listening to Radiohead and Coldplay while overlooking the beautiful city with so much history.

Jordan and I celebrated our first night with a nice dinner on the seventh story of a building that lied between two famous landmarks in Istanbul – the Blue Mosque and Ayasofia. Our waiter hopped in pictures with us and wrapped us in blankets. He thought I spoke fluent German, so he continued to tell us stories in the language we didn’t understand. We thought it was funny to continue to nod our heads. Jordan asked to keep the wine cork. He handed it to her and told her one moment. He then returned with at least a dozen more corks with much lesser significance. Jordan and I laughed. It was good to see her again.

Istanbul impressed me more than any other city I had been to throughout this trip. I went for runs along the boardwalk that lined the sea, watching dolphins splash in and out of the water. When it came time to leave, I wasn’t ready. We said goodbye to the gang at the Metropolis Guest House and caught an overnight bus toward Cappadocia – a city made of caves that lies in the middle of the country.

***

With some occasional bickering, Jordan and I got along great just like old times. We fell in and out of sleep on the 12-hour bus ride. I got yelled at for having an open beer, and was woken up on two occasions so the bus attendant could drench my hands in sanitizer. I assumed this was because food was on the way. This was not the case. They just liked clean hands on their buses. We arrived to the chilly city around 8 in the morning. We had done no research other than hearing this was a cool place to come. A man immediately spotted the two confused travelers and pounced. He arranged a place to stay for us – a room built into a cave which I would hit my head on a total of six times – and tried his best to talk us into two days worth of tours. We held our ground and settled for a trip to an underground city used in the 13th century and a night of Turkish food and bellydancers.

At the dinner I was introduced to a drink called Raki, which tastes like black licorice and is supposed to be mixed with water. Since it was all-you-can-drink, Jordan and I took advantage along with the Australian couple we sat next to. It’s been complicated explaining to people that “no” we aren’t married, “no” we aren’t engaged, and actually, we aren’t even dating. Halfway through the show, the guests were pulled out of their seats to dance. We followed the Turkish steps, our arms crossed with strangers.

Cappadocia reminded me of the landscape of Utah, only less red in color. I’m always amazed most by the places I’ve never heard of, like I’m the first person to discover it, like it’s my secret and I can share it if I please. I went for a run one evening, having not much of an idea where I was headed. I was bored with the main road, so I took a path that looked interesting that headed into an area that looked similar to the Badlands of South Dakota. I went 20 minutes without seeing another person. The path was dotted with snake holes, or what I imagined were snake holes, so I considered turning back. I continued to see red arrows painted on the rocks, so my curiosity got the best of me. I ran up a staircase carved into the rock when I reached a cave café. “Hello,” said the young man running the place who introduced himself as Eammon. He said I looked thirsty. This was true. But I didn’t have any money with me. “It’s okay, come back tomorrow and you can pay then,” he said. I accepted his gracious offer, soaked up the view as the sun set over the cave town, chugged the water, and continued my run back toward the city.

I ran into a couple I assumed was American and asked them where they were from. “Minnesota,” they said. I obviously told them I was from Iowa. “Go Midwest,” I said. I have no idea what that means. It appeared my secret city was not just my secret. When I’m feeling adventurous, it’s frustrating to see familiar types of people. When I’m feeling homesick, it’s comforting. This occurrence fell somewhere in the middle.

The people at the guesthouse took a liking to us. Jordan went shopping with a girl she couldn't communicate with and I taught the kid my age how to play Happy Birthday on the guitar. Again, it was time to move on.

***

One night later, Jordan and I found ourselves on yet another overnight bus, this time 14 hours, heading toward the southwest coast of the country. Upon our arrival to Fethiye, we were offered a one-night, two-day boat trip throughout the islands off the coast. Jordan and I fought a bit about the decision. I have been traveling for nearly four months. She had been working hard at school and was ready for a vacation. I am running out of money. She has been saving up for this trip. I am used to traveling alone, and now there is another bird in my cage. We decided to take the trip, and it turned out to be a great decision. It seems the new bird has some pretty good ideas.

We spent two days relaxing, sailing through the navy blue water of the Aegean Sea. We clicked with an Australia couple living in London who offered to have us visit when we make it to England. Lisa and Jordan discussed celebrity gossip and England. Mick and I climbed waterfalls and talked about our similar ideas of embarking on cross-country cycling trips in the near future. We convinced the captain to let us stay on the boat a few extra hours on our second day. Most people were on the trip for four days and were surprised we were getting off so early.

“We have to get to Greece,” Jordan told them. I felt a bit guilty about our easy lives. There was a couple from India on their honeymoon on our boat. Jordan and I were just two budget travelers signing up for whatever happened to come our way.

We spent the next night in a touristy town called Marmaris. The man who approached us at the bus station offered his pension – what they call guesthouses – and we accepted on the condition that he had hot water since the last place we stayed in failed in that department. “Of course, are you kidding me?” he said. “You don’t have hot water, you don’t pay.” We were sold. We sat down for a late dinner with the couple from Chicago we met on the bus ride that evening. They had both completed med school and had many questions about my ambitions. They were curious about my lifestyle and I told them I respected their commitments. We had opposite mindsets – two people who had better be damn sure they knew what they wanted, and a kid who changed his mind about life on a daily basis. Jordan and I headed to bed. We were not speaking since I yelled at her for letting our passports and a big chunk of money out of our sight for 10 minutes so the man who owned the pension could book our ferry tickets. When I woke in the morning, I headed into the bathroom where I took a freezing cold shower. Jordan and I spent a half hour in the lobby arguing with the staff about the promise. They offered breakfast and coffee and another night’s stay, none of which we needed since we were fasting that day and we were leaving town. They said they were unable to contact the owner who had made the promise.

“You promised we didn’t pay if we didn’t have hot water. We didn’t have hot water. We want our money.”

Neither side seemed to be giving in. Finally, we walked away as I sarcastically told them they ran a great business, offering empty promises to their customers. Jordan and I went to hop a shuttle bus to the ferry station. None of the drivers we approached spoke English, and we finally climbed into one that seemed the most promising according to the direction it was heading. We were dropped off nowhere near a ferry station. We wandered around, looking for the company’s office when we heard a whistle. We turned around and saw the owner who had promised hot water but had also arranged the ferry tickets.

He said we were running late and helped us find the proper way to catch the 4 p.m. ferry. As we waited at a stoplight, Jordan and I looked at each other, knowing exactly what one another was thinking. “Do we mention the hot water situation?” We both individually decided not to, wanting no more problems. We boarded the ferry, fell asleep leaning on each other, and woke up with Greece outside the window.