June 26 - 28

Hannah and I hopped a bus to Ayvalik. 

It was an 8 hour trip to reach our destination.  From there we went to Cunda Adasi (Cunda (pronounced Joon-da) Island), and stayed two nights at Tutku Pansiyon.  It's a good place to stay - clean, air conditioning, wi-fi, our own bathroom, and the people working there and running it are nice.  They speak no English and my Turkish is laughable, so we pulled up Google translator and "talked".  Awesome! 

There is a restaurant serving delicious food right next door, with a kind man who speaks English.  He helped us get bus tickets back to Izmit, among other things. 

Our first meal was amazing - fresh olive oil in all of it, lamb, these amazing baby squash that Hannah devoured, sea grass, three dishes out of various beans, and of course bread. 

And there is always breakfast (free at the pansiyon)!

We walked around the old town centre (late 1800s Greek architecture)...

...and went swimming in the Aegean Sea.  I think Hannah's mantra for this trip is, "Mom!  I made friends!"

Shop owners said my credit cards were not working, so we headed back to Izmit a day earlier than I would have liked to.  I could easily spend a week exploring just Cunda Adasi, with it's olive tree jungles and nature reserves.  Not to mention checking out Ayvalik itself.  Another time!

Taking off...and touch down!

June 23 - We left Seattle, had a layover in Chicago and reached Istanbul on June 24.  The flight was perfect.  We got through Seattle's ticketing and security in about 25 minutes, no problem.  In Chicago, we had a two hour layover that may as well have been 25 minutes.  We got off the Seattle flight, hopped a tram to the international terminal and as soon as we got to the Istanbul gate, they boarded.  More than an hour in advance!  It was great. 

A flight where, as you board, the on-board chef greets you at the door, is definitely the flight for me!  The food on Turkish Airlines rocks!  Lamb, eggplant, fancy cucumber salad, oven roasted tomatoes, fresh fruit, cheeses...seriously good food.

There are two airports in Istanbul.  We landed in Ataturk.  Buying our visas ($20 USD each), getting through customs (no questions, no paperwork) and picking up luggage was a breeze.  And then we saw Mom!  Wow, is she beautiful.  Yes, we cried.  It's been a year and a half since we've seen her. 

Aimee's friend, Teran, drove his car to escort us back to Izmit. 

We experienced Istanbul traffic, saw how popular the parks are (packed with people in hammocks, playing soccer, grilling on small grills), rode the ferry and saw some of Istanbul that way...

...and made it to Izmit where Mom lives.

Then we ate.  This night was "fish and wreckers", with some of Mom's friends.  The meal started with a whole bunch of little dishes, bread, salad, fruit and cheese.  Well, technically the fruit and cheese went with the wrecker (a anise liquor drink).  I took a sip of Mom's and it was yummy, then ate my fruit and cheese with the dinner.

 
Then came the fish.  Salt encrusted sea bass, which they poured alcohol on and lit on fire to cook at our tableside.  Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes. 

D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!

Friends who came to the dinner were Oz, Hande and Ozgur (getting married Saturday, June 30, and they invited us to the wedding!), Aimee, Teran, Sulemann and his two cousins whose names I didn't catch.  Thank you all for your welcome (Sag!)!

Hande and Ozgur came back to Mom and Aimee's apartment with us to stay the night.  Sleeping over at friend's houses is commonplace.  Hande took Hannah outside into the night to discover frogs and butterflies.  It was great end to the first day in Turkey.