We made a wonderful new friend while in Turkey – one of the kindest little people we have ever met. Her name is Tulay (pronounced like July but with a “T”) and she invited us to visit her home town while we where in the country. So we did! With her friendly ease and grace, she gave us a better personal, local, cultural, and fun experience than we could have ever hoped for. First, we visited her smack in the middle of Turkey for a couple days where we ate the best baklava EVER!
Then, she took us to Cappadocia to see the surreal landscape they call Fairy Chimneys. Local myth has it that Fairies once had dwellings there. Maybe. But they must have been pretty religious fairies. Scientists say that a volcano erupted leaving soft ashy sediment that was later eroded by wind and rain. All that aside, Cappadocia is really something to see with your own eyes. Her good friend Irem then took us to her home town along the Red River (Turkey’s longest river) that is known for its pottery. Great fun, great people, great experience.
Finally, Tulay invited us to visit her family’s village way, way, way, way out in the Turkish countryside. We met the sweetest, most loving family EVER! We can’t even explain the kindness and good graces we experienced while in the village. It was heart-warming and genuine. They fed us a lot of delicious Turkish food as well as some authentic Circassian food. We slept better there than we have slept anywhere during our travels; really. We were very sad to leave. We love Tulay and her family. We feel privileged to have met her and to know her.
