Hi everyone!
I finally got internet at home and I'm able to write my first report. :)
So, I left from Miami the 23rd of August at 3 pm. I first flew to Germany
where I had to wait 7 long hours and almost boarded a plane that was going
to India! Then I flew to Istanbul and when we arrived, while we were
landing, I could see my first view of Turkey...and it was Beautiful! There
were so many mosques you could spot from up in the air. Everywhere. After
that, I took the plane for Dalaman, my last destination.
My host Dad (Ozer) picked me up at the airport with his sister (Hulya) and
nephew (Tuna). We drove all the way to Marmaris and finally got there at
night. This was at 11pm on the 24th.
My new house has 3 stories, I have my own room and bathroom and we have a
dog inside named Tequila.
During my first week I hanged around with the family in Marmaris. Marmaris
is awesome.But it was so hot during my first week! One day temperature
reached 52 C !!!!! No kidding. But now its cool thanks god. ALLAH LA!
Marmaris is a holiday resort town in Turkey. The second one in Tukey most
visited by thousands of european tourists during summer. It is surrounded
by mountains, nice forests and beaches. There's a lot of hotels, bars,
discos (Here we have a street called "Bar street", there's 35
bars/discotheques in it.) ,stores and lots lots of tourists! (It's like
DisneyWorld, but for adults and teenagers). At night it's like Las Vegas
or shinjuku because of so many lights of different colors.
Life here is so different. There are mosques everywhere as I mentioned
before, and each of them play out loud arabic quotes 5 times a day,
everyday. The food is really good. I love it. Tho turkish people just eat
too much tomatoes. Locals are really nice. They all greet me and always
want me to spend some minutes with them. Marshallah! There's lots of
bazaars too. But there's also a lively modern nightlife. It's quite funny
how the islamic world contrasts but mixes everyday together with the
western world here.
Greeting is different. Guys greet each other kissing each other in both
cheeks. So do girls. A guy winking at another guy means "What's up" or
"Hi", but a guy winking at a girl means a whole different thing. I got
used to all these already.
In my 2nd week I went to Istanbul for 10 days and stayed there with my
host Dad's sister Hulya. Istanbul is wonderful! It was a really rich
experience for me. I visited the Ottoman Castle, the 3 biggest mosques in
the world, took a ferry from Asia to Europe crossing the Bosphorus river,
went to the Grand Bazaar, the old city, Taksim, Kadikoy, Moda, The 6
biggest museums, Dolmabache, the Galata...everywhere! And also, I hanged
out a lot with Tuna (my host cousin) and his friends in Istanbul. We
played soccer, went to the movies,went around the city by train and bus,
and walked 19 unforgettable Km from New Istanbul to Old Istanbul. There is
a lot of history in Istanbul and it's just so interesting and fascinating.
Everywhere you are at there is always traditional music being played
somewhere close by, there's lots of cats hanging around the streets and
lots of things to see.I loved it. I'm happy I will be going to Istanbul a
lot. I can't wait to visit it again! Inshallah!
While I was in Istanbul Ramazan (Ramadan, a 30 day period when muslims
don't eat during the day) started. 99% of the population in Turkey are
muslims, but some people do eat during ramazan, that includes me of
course.
After Istanbul I went to Izmir (9 hours by bus) to meet up for the first
time with the other Inbounds in my district. We all hanged out and had a
party that night. I will be going a lot to Izmir also since the rotary
meetings are held over there.
The next day, I went back to Marmaris. (5 hours by bus)
So far I almost know everyplace in Marmaris. It's a small town. Only
20,000 people live here. They all know each other. Everyday I'm at my host
Dad's hotel. I eat there everyday and talked with the personnel everyday.
I'm happy I'm learning Turkish really fast. I'm also learning Russian
since most of the tourists in the hotel are russians.
I often go to the beach or for a walk by the sea or around the forests. I
ride my bike everyday and take the bus when I need to. It's so easy to get
around here.
I finally met some friends at the interact club meeting here in Marmaris.
Now Marmaris is so much fun! We can go to the beach and discos!
Anther thing I would like to mention is that turkish people love soccer!
and tomatoes. Let's not forget the tomatoes.
And, this week it's my first month here and I have been to soo many
places, towns and cities already. So far, I like it very much.
I'm going to Greece in 3 weeks. :p
THANK YOU SO MUCH ROTARY for giving me this opportunity!!!!! :]
my best regards to members of marmaris/pembroke pines rotary clubs and
district 6990, and my outbounds exchange friends who are reading this!
Hadi gorusuruz! |
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