My birthday was in March, for the first time abroad! I used to often dream of going to a warm country at the end of winter to spend March on the shores of the warm sea. But of course I never thought that the reason for my long journey would be war!
Turkey, which we arrived in March, was not yet warm, and the sea was not yet warm. But this year I got a reboot in so many areas ... Minimalism has always been my top priority, so I haven't gotten much change in my value system. But when I found myself in Kemer on the eve of my birthday, I thought: what do I want to do and where to be to make this day special. In the conditions of war, when I read the news every day and hear about the terrible victims in Ukraine, banal gatherings in a beautiful restaurant for me - this is something that would make my birthday empty and unpleasant! That's why something special had to happen! And I got a week of driving!...
First of all, I will tell you what was the reason for such a special gift that my daughter Victoria organized for me!
Two months before the war, I was improving my driving lessons. I paid for about 20 classes, spending about $ 400. And if the war hadn't started, my son would finally have given me the long-awaited Lif car. I deliberately gave up other cars because I wanted an electric car. So I was honestly preparing for the beginning of an important crucial period in my life. But the war shattered our dreams ...
The day before the birthday we had to move to a new home. So we decided to transport a bunch of our backpacks in a rented car. I needed a car with an automatic transmission. But there are much fewer of them for rent and they are of course more expensive. So I refused at first. And I was scared to start driving in an unfamiliar country in someone else's car! But my brave daughter Victoria was determined! She said: either today, mom, or never! You will always be so afraid. And you do not know when you will return to Ukraine. Time will pass, you will forget everything again, you will begin to doubt your abilities. Especially when everyone around says that it is almost impossible to start driving at the age of 54! So come on, start! I give you this driving.
Then we went to the car rental salon and a friendly Turkish Mr. Ali said that there was a car with an automatic transmission. It was a cute white "Fiat", which I immediately liked :)
I got behind the wheel and despite the fear, I was able to reverse, get out of the parking lot and we left !!! My kids were thrilled! Their faith in me and in my driving talent worked wonders! Darina sat in the back seat and wrote a post, completely relaxed, with the confidence that her mother is a great driver. In the first turn, I barely touched the mirror of the oncoming car, but no one noticed))). And so began the week of my driving, my unforgettable gift in honor of my first birthday abroad!
After we brought our things to the hotel, we went to the gas station to replenish gasoline, because the board showed only 3 divisions. Ali said that would be enough for about 100-150 km. It was a funny case, and at the same time stressful. I was afraid to go to the highway, I was not yet morally ready, but the gas station was near the highway. Somehow we got there. And the gas station worker, who knew one word in English, asked: full? :) Well, we answered: yes, of course full)))
Then my son laughed at us, saying: you will now drive for a month to use a full tank of gasoline! But the funny story is that fearing to go on an unknown highway in the evening, we drove a small piece of road "against traffic" and quickly returned to the surrounding area. Thank God, at this time no one went to meet :)
On our birthday, we first went to our favorite "Moon Light" park in Kemer. There were few cars here, and I could learn to park, because I only tried to do it a few times in my driving lessons, and to be honest, the feeling when the car reverses is completely different and the view in the mirrors does not seem to be true))) Are you also felt so at first?
It was a very cold day and a strong wind was blowing from the sea. But you know that on a birthday we love any weather! Darina and I collected seashells, which are very beautiful here and they are different than on the Black Sea in Odessa. We were still wearing winter jackets, and my Victoria was making such a joke - she pulled the jacket over her face and she was out of sight! We all laughed a lot. This distracted us a little from the war and the sad events in Ukraine!
We walked, drank tea on the beach, later went to our favorite hospitable restaurant "Pasa Kebap", which for the first time after arriving in Kemer fed us Turkish lentil soup Chorba and surprised us with many gifts: pita, butter, cheese, salad ... And a lot of tea! I don't know if it's because we are from Ukraine, or is it just a feature of their institution !? But it is only here that such generosity. And in the evening on my birthday, the restaurant staff made a pleasant surprise for me. They sang all together "Happy Birthday, miss Olga!" :)
And also came to me for my birthday, one new friend from America, and gave me a very beautiful Turkish plate, which I then had to leave at the hotel )))
We walked for a long time that day on the beach in Moon Light Park, it was a full moon. The sky was very beautiful and I wanted to live this moment here and now, without thinking about the terrible reality that is happening in my country ...
The next day I actively continued my driving practice. I am a person with a commercial mindset and always count on benefits. In Ukraine, I paid UAH 500 (about $ 18) for 1.5 hours of driving with an instructor. So I decided that renting a car for $ 25 a day and a few hours behind the wheel is a very profitable practice. That's how I see everything positively :)
We went for coffee in the park, later explored the new beautiful parks of Kemer, later went for a walk to the sea, parked wherever possible in different ways .... And each time I became more and more confident driver. My girls were delighted with how well I felt the dimensions of the car on the narrow streets and drive between cars. I was happy! It was important to correctly understand the Turkish signs and rules of the road, which are somewhat different from the Ukrainian ones. For example, the DUR sign, which says to stop, also stands here on the ring road, while in Ukraine, if I am on the ring, I have an absolute advantage. And here pedestrians do not have an advantage at pedestrian crossings, as in Europe!
We drove a lot, but our gas level remained "full" ))) And then I decided to go further than Kemer. First, we looked at the map of attractions near Kemer and found several places at a distance of not more than 15 km.
The first place was the small village Kirish. We saw that the road is not through a large route and went. But it turned out that the road lies through the mountains and it's a serpentine, with a lot of sharp turns. I was driving at a speed of 20 km per hour and the main task was not to confuse the gas pedal and brake pedal for fear!
But I found that I passed this road quite calmly and skillfully and got a lot of pleasure from this trip! There were few cars there and only occasionally met! We arrived at the end point and intended to get to the Bay of Large Stones. But there was a hotel and we were not allowed through its territory. People said that you can go there through the mountains 5 km. We decided to go there another time, but this time we just climbed the mountain and saw the breathtaking views of the city from above and the charming Turkish forest, pine trees growing on the rocks and the first wild flowers. It was wonderful!
The next place we decided to visit was the historic bridge over a mountain river high in the mountains. At a distance of 6 km from Kemer. I will write about this trip later. And today you can see what beautiful landscapes opened before us! We didn't even expect such beautiful mountains and a mountain river to be close to where we live.
So, just after crossing the road and leaving on a small road that led to the mountains, we stopped the car and went down to the river. There we enjoyed the colorful stones and walked barefoot on the river!
After driving a few hundred meters, we stopped again in a small parking lot just above the cliff. Here, I'll tell you, I was really scared! The mountains on the left were vertical, like a wall, and on the right was a precipice above the river! We went down to the river again.
The scenery was cool! Blue water and small waterfalls on a background of stones - this is the incredible beauty of Turkey! I concluded that the Turkish mountains are a bit like the Carpathians, but a bit like the Crimea. They are like of these two beautiful mountains and God has given me the pleasure of seeing it !!!
Enjoying the energy of the mountain river and the majestic stone walls around, I slowly drove further up at turtle speed))) So that you understand, if two cars meet here, one must stop and drive away, because the road is so narrow in in some places! And finally we came to the bridge over the river, which is quite high and down to look until it is breathtaking! And on one bank there is a cafe. We ordered traditional Turkish tea, and the host, a very friendly gentleman from England, and he is the owner of a very cool chain of restaurants "Qualista", treated us to cookies, and sympathized with us about the war in Ukraine!
You see, I parked my car on a wide plane, and then there is a sign that the mountain restaurant, where you can treat yourself to trout, is about 3 km up. But I did not dare to take such a step and after walking there, we went home to come when there is still light outside. Later, after dinner, we still loved to drive for a long time in Kemer at night, enjoying the building of the illuminated mosque and palm trees that glow green!
There were still six sections of petrol left on our scoreboard, but we realized that we would not be able to use it completely because there were two days left and we had to give up the car. At the end of our week of driving, we drove a little further, a distance of 14 km on the highway in the direction of Antalya. There we visited the famous place Göynük canyon.
About 1,500 meters we walked up the mountain river, and more and more breathtaking views opened before our eyes. We crossed the river over a suspension bridge and the road was further up, but the mountains became steeper and steeper, and the gorge deeper and deeper.
We saw mountain goats running on the rocks in the distance. Unfortunately, we had very little time to walk there for a long time, so when we reached the highest point, we quickly went back, because we had to go home on an unfamiliar highway.
Thank God we got to Kemer happily, and here is the last parking spot of our car, which we loved very much and felt happy during the week of my fast driving practice!
Every day in this mosque, a magical song is sung several times a day when Muslims gather for prayer. And every time I pray in my mind for my Ukraine, where terrible events are happening, created by inhumans, sadists ... Today they came to Ukraine and deprived the ukrainians the right to life and happiness, given to us by God! Tomorrow they can come to other countries, because they believe that they have the right to do so, because the only thing that gives them pleasure is to kill, torture and rape !!! ...
The world must know the true face of Russia and not allow it to happen again! Killers need to be tried !!!
Information from the official channel of the President of Ukraine
The time will come and the whole line of the state border of Ukraine will be restored. And for this to happen sooner, we must all be focused, ready to boldly face evil and respond to every criminal act against Ukraine, against our people, against our freedom. Evil will be punished.
Photo: Vadim Ghirda, Stas Yurchenko, Rodrigo Abd, Alexey Furman, Wojciech Grzedzinski.