Thoughts and first impressions on Turkey

When we first landed in Istanbul, I knew I was going to love it already. We had just been on a 10 hour flight, so I was really tired, but that didn't stop me from exploring Istanbul that night! Coming recently from Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, Istnabul was a bit of a culture shock! One thing that was surprising, was the fact that it was so clean! The roads didn't have a speck of garbage on them, and even if they did, cleaners would come by and sweep it up! It was my kind of city! Also, even though Istanbul is an old city, it seemed very developed and civilized. I loved the European style of the city too. The roads were all cobblestone, and there were so many cute shops selling carpets and Turkish delight, guys selling simits (bagel type bread) in the square, and lots of people walking around. I loved it! The food was also delicious too. My favourite dishes are the meze platter (a plate with lots of different dips, such as hummus, spicy salsa type dip, grilled aubergine dip, tzaziski and yogurt dip), grilled meatballs (sometimes it has lamb and beef, but I like the beef ones), pottery kebap (a specialty in Cappadocia, where its a beef, tomato, onion and pepper kind of stir fry served in a clay pot that they smash open when it's served to you), and doner (chicken or beef, tomato, onion, lettuce and peppers wrapped in a pita). I have lots of other dishes that I like, but those are my favourites. Another thing I love about Turkey, is that the places we've been to so far are so different. For example, Istanbul is a huge old city with lots of life, Goreme (in Cappadocia), is a small town with a really interesting rocky, desert like terrain, and now Antalya, which is on the coast of the Meditterean Sea and really mountinous and lush! I love Turkey so far, and I can't wait to drive all along the coast in our rental car. Turkey is defiantly one of my top 3 countries and Istanbul is one of my favourite cities! Turkey was also a big culture shock from the rest of the places we've been to on this trip! I love it so far!