There are places that are filled with love, excitement, extreme, adventure... And there are places that heal our tired soul!
Today my walk will start in Çeşme, continue in Antalya and end in Kemer... I hope you will be interested in feeling the emotions that each of these cities of Turkey awakens in my heart with me... So, let's start!
Perhaps those of you who follow my journey know: for the last month and a half, my daughters and I were in Cesme, where we went to visit friends. And so came the last day, which I spent walking alone... remembering all those exciting moments I had in this small town on the shores of the Aegean Sea, which fascinates with its unique ancient architecture. A last look at the mosque, a favorite of the famous Turkish lentil soup with peppers and arugula...
The bus left at 2 am. Traveling by bus on a night flight is very comfortable. I have to give due respect to the carrier "Pamukkale", which provides comfort, tea and sweets :) A wonderful flawless Turkish road, cowered a little snow... Farewell to dear friends was left behind. Life is an amazing thing. It is able to fill the gaps in an unexpected way wherever we are... And now we found people close in spirit in Turkey, which suddenly became our second Motherland.
But separation also has its advantages. And we are going again to Antalya, where the Ukrainian consulate is located. We need to complete our procedure for obtaining a residence permit...
We arrived in Antalya at 9 o'clock in the morning and waited for several hours in a cafe for our check-in at the airbnb apartment. My Victoria @bugavi found a wonderful cozy apartment on the fifth floor. What beautiful views of the city and mountains from a height. It was very close to the old town for only $28 per night. We were happy. And for a few hours, we immersed ourselves in this sweet warmth under the air conditioner, turning it on at 30 degrees, to heat up the apartment faster.
Later we went for a walk and found a cafe to eat. The day was surprisingly warm. After the windy Çeşme, it seemed to us that summer had arrived :) While walking, we enjoyed the color of the city of Antalya, in which antiquity was combined with modernity. An interesting picture stood near one of the shops. Two faces - light and dark. My association: two sides of the soul of each of us!
We walked along our favorite central avenue, where trams run along a winding road that snakes past tall palm trees. It looks very beautiful and I think: this alley, on which the famous Hadrian's Gate is located, is a kind of visiting card of Antalya!
We found a very cozy two-story cafe on the alley, where you could order your favorite lentil soup. Having climbed to the second floor, I saw beautiful views of the alley from a height. Palm trees and old houses with unique roofs that seemed to have holes created beautiful pictures. Also here you could see a park that was on the seashore. It turns out it was so close! We decided to walk there.
We sat on a bench for a few minutes, watching the red Antalya tram drive between the palm trees. The tram had a rounded shape and very harmoniously fit into the ancient atmosphere of the city. I suddenly felt insanely tired. A sleepless night on the bus showed itself. A red dog was sleeping nearby. We joked: we would like to be like this dog - to be able to sleep where he wanted to sleep, on a bench for example :)
We passed the square where the yellow Antalya taxis stood and we walked for five minutes by the beautiful round fountain, along the alley to the sea. An open-air restaurant already worked here. The tables were located in a pine park, and nearby on the slope there were wide wooden benches on which people sat and lay, basking in the sun.
And we found a free bench and lay down on it. It was amazing, but all three of us immediately fell asleep on that bench like that red dog and we slept for over an hour! It was a strange practice, but I have never slept so sweetly as in this park on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea :)
The sun warmed us so much that we woke up from its warmth and we felt rested :) We hurried to the Ukrainian consulate to get the necessary documents. But in the evening, we walked for a long time along the main avenue, later we went to drink tea in our cafe, where the beauty of the alley, illuminated by lanterns, could be seen from above. And the red mystical night tram ran between the palm trees...
The next day we finished our business at the consulate and arrived in Kemer. We were still tired. The stress and excitement from the active events of our trip took their toll, and we needed peace and relaxation. In February, Kemer rests from active tourist life. And this city has become so familiar to me that I feel like at home. After walking through the quiet streets, Daryna and I went to exercise machines in the open air. Later we went to say hello to our beloved Mediterranean Sea. We sat at Cafe Deniz and drank the best Turkish Dibek coffee, which tastes like chocolate.
We took photos in rainbow hearts on the seashore. Darinka @darine.darine sat astride her friend's camel :) Kemer is a place that fills my heart with homely warmth and harmony... A place where I lick my emotional wounds... A few weeks will pass and I know: I will recover and soon I will be ready for new adventures again :)
Thanks for the great initiative #wednesdaywalk by @tattoodjay :)
This post is written about where I am now. But I'll be back to telling my travel story, sequentially describing all the places I changed in my #TheLongestTrip
I thank everyone for your support ❤️