Like the last time we came to Turkey and Greece, we are sad to leave! We didn’t get to do any proper island-hopping this time around so I know we will definitely come back at some point. Below are our top takeaways.
The magnificent Celsus Library in Ephesus, Turkey.
1. We love the food in this part of the world! Besides Japanese, Greek / Turkish is definitely one of the most unique and delicious cuisines we have enjoyed. Alex and I can always get down with a Greek salad, kebab or mezze platter washed down with a glass of Raki or Ouzo!
2. Sadly, the dishes we love so much are not as healthy as we remembered. The amount of olive oil used during our Turkish cooking class was scary and it was impossible to avoid massive portions of (admittedly delicious) bread served alongside every meal.
3. Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, potentially the world’s oldest mall, is a fascinating place. We had fun wandering through the maze of shops (well, at least I had fun!) for a couple hours. I even made a few purchases...which always involves an interesting negotiation process on price. (Alex had more fun with that part I think!)
4. April still feels like winter in Turkey! We definitely expected warmer temperatures given our proximity to the Mediterranean but Turkey was just as cold as New York would be during this time of year. The weather improved as we moved into Greece, but it was still too cold to hit the beaches and islands we had been planning on visiting!
5. It’s easy to be awed by the historic ruins and artifacts scattered throughout both countries. Walking through the ancient town of Ephesus and exploring the Acropolis were definitely highlights of our trip.
6. Tea drinking is basically a required pastime in Turkey. The small, tulip-shaped glasses containing Turkish tea were easy to find during any time of day – on café tables, in restaurants and even on trays being delivered to shop-owners in the Grand Bazaar!
7. Both Turkey and Greece have locally produced wines – who knew? While darker and dryer than some of the wines we are used to, we definitely enjoyed being able to try something local besides Raki / Ouzo!
8. People are pretty friendly. While the language barrier was more difficult in Turkey than Greece, we had a pretty easy time getting around and everyone we spoke to was very helpful. Even the hawkers who tried to sell us trinkets or convince us to eat at a specific restaurant left us alone quickly after a simple “No thanks.” Many even told us to have a nice day (as opposed to some of the less friendly hawkers we ran into in India and Southeast Asia...).
9. Unemployment is bad - really bad - in Greece. Despite a 25% overall unemployment rate and a nearly 50% youth unemployment rate, we didn't notice many adverse impacts in Athens. There weren't any protesters or an abnormally large number of homeless people. We were prepared to see some effects of the country's perilous economic position given a nearing debt payment deadline but the touristy areas have largely been isolated from the rest of the country's woes.
10. Athens had WAY more tourists visiting than Istanbul. I think a lot of people still view Istanbul as an incrementally exotic destination, but we find them to be more similar. Didn't matter to us though - just meant we had a shorter wait for our kebabs than our gyros!
Peak: Ephesus (Turkey) and the Acropolis (Greece) - hard to decide which one we liked better!
Pit: Cold weather in Turkey - we weren't ready for temperatures in the 30s!
Next Stop: Budapest, Hungary