Thursday, July 21, 2016

In a Turkey Coup

Hello my dear friends.  It seems ages since I've written but it's only been two weeks.  It's been a busy time for me and my family since leaving on our Europe adventure on June 17th.  I've visited lots of places and have discovered some new and exciting places too.  I thought I'd share a little bit of what's been happening...

We've been in Turkey for almost three weeks.  After our ten night cruise, we stayed in Barcelona for two nights.  Getting to Turkey was a bit of a problem since our flight from Barcelona to Istanbul was cancelled; they put us on a different flight that arrived at a different airport in southern Turkey.  Luckily, my dear son had a shuttle waiting for us that whisked us off to our home in the south central coast of Turkey.  It felt so good to have finally arrived even though it was early, early morning.

We adjusted quite easily to our home since we had done so much work on furnishing it back in November.  But, this time the weather was a bit hot and humid for us.  Now, after being here for this period of time, we have gradually gotten used to it.  We leave the doors and windows open and let the sea breeze be our air conditioning.

Friday evening, July 19th, my husband had retired for the night and I was reading some article on the internet.  I couldn't get the Facebook link to load.  I didn't think much of it until I received a Viber message from my daughter telling me that Turkey is in the midst of a coup.  It was probably just before  11:00 or midnight (sorry, but my phone clock was off).  She was worried as was I a bit.  I turned on the TV and the two Turkish channels (which I couldn't have understood anyway), were off the air.  Luckily, BBC and Euronews along with RT were on and broadcasting at that time about the tragedy in Nice.  They soon switched to Turkey and what was happening.

All seemed to be quiet here in the mountains above the sea but my daughter wanted me to take some precautions like register with the State Dept., etc.  I messaged my son, whose home is next door, and he and his work colleague got in the car and went downtown where they filled the car with gas, bought tons of water, food, and went to the ATM to get some money.  My son said there were lots of Turkish people at the ATMs getting out Turkish Lira since they didn't know what was going to happen.  I stayed at home, watching the news and listening for anything out of the ordinary.  The only thing I noticed was that Facebook and You Tube were blocked along with the two Turkish TV channels.  I stayed up until around 2:30 AM and then went to sleep.

The next day, all of us read the read and followed the happenings as best we could.  My husband gained the most info from the Arabic TV channels that we receive.  This is when I found out that the US had blocked all flights flying into Turkey and flying out of Turkey to the US.  This was not good news as I felt so bad for those people who were in the midst of their travel plans to return to the US.  Luckily for us, we had a place to stay and our schedule was flexible.  It wasn't until late Monday that I received an email from the State Department saying that flights to and from the US would resume on Tuesday, July 19th.  If this flight ban would have stayed in place, we were going to fly to Kiev for a couple of days.

As of now, everything here seems normal and quiet.  The goat herder pictured above still takes her goats on their morning walk in this beautiful, nature filled area where we are.  And, the Turkish people have been so kind to us.  

It will soon be five weeks since I've left home and upon reflecting what has happened during this time period, it really saddens my heart:

1.  June 28th - 3 suicide bombers attack Attaturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, 40 killed
2.  July 7th - five police officers are killed in Dallas, Texas
3.  July 14th - 84 people are killed in Nice, France
4.  July 15th - coup in Turkey, many lives lost
5.  July 17th - 3 officers killed in Baton Rouge

and the list could go on and on.  The world is such a small place right now and somehow we are all connected.  At the beginning of our trip, I enjoyed watching the international news and getting a break from our presidential race.  I found it quite fascinating to follow the Brexit happenings and see how swift a new Prime Minister was elected.  After all what has occurred, I am planning to maybe take a little break from reading or watching the news.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all those in our world who have been affected by such tragedies.

On a brighter note, I'll be home in a couple of days.  I'm excited to see Lilly my cat and get back to my routine.  And, I should have a completed knitted item to share with those of you who knit.  And, lastly, I do have some fun photos to share, too.  I hope each and everyone of you are enjoying your summer.  I'd love to hear from you if you have the time.

With my best Wishes,

Pat

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25 comments:

  1. Glad you were not too effected by the going on in Turkey, we are living in a small world and the sadder side of life sometimes gets a little too close.

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  2. Glad you're safe, you're r it's a scary world we're living in. People ask us if we're not afraid to travel.

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  3. Pat! I am glad that you and yours are doing well and am sorry for the sad and stressful times you and others are in the thick of. I will be looking forward to hearing that you arrived safely back in the USA. I am also continuing to ask the Lord to bless all those in authority with His wisdom in these troubled times. When you get home please give Lilly some love pats from me :) xx

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  4. Travelling can be an truly adventure in this world, staying more and more uncertain.
    Prayers for you for safely coming home

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  5. It's a sad world indeed. Glad you are safe!

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  6. Oh my word, I had not made the connection that you were back in Turkey. So glad you are safe and will think of you travelling safely back to the USA. I too have decided to take a break from the news, I am not an advocate of burying ones head in the sand but just right now I don;t think I can take many more sad sad distressing news. Yes, the world is a smaller place but we seem to be pulling apart and let's not talk about the Brexit, I cried solidly for a whole day...

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  7. It has been a very eventful few weeks and not very good events at that! I am genuinely worried about the state of the world at present. I'm glad you're safe. Stay safe.

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  8. Oh goodness I'm so glad you are safe and well and will soon be home. So many awful things happening just lately it is very unsettling. Take care and enjoy being home with Lilly:)

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  9. What an adventure! Glad you are safe. I have turned off the news (especially politics)... just can't listen to it anymore. I'm much happier! Ha! Lilly will be happy to see you! Looking forward to seeing your knitting.

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  10. What an exciting life you lead! Again, thank you for allowing me to travel by way of your camera lens.

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  11. I am so glad to hear that you are safe, I did wonder how you were getting on. It certainly is unsettling times around the world, I am praying for better times.

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  12. sad news all around the world...almost on a daily basis it seems....what a wonderful vacation you are having!

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  13. Hello Pat. I did send you a message when I heard the news about the disturbing situation in Turkey, but I didn't know you were actually there. It's such a beautiful country with amazing views from your balcony. So glad you're safe and I hope you have a smooth journey home.

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  14. When you look out to such a beautiful view as yours each day it is hard to believe there is so much evil happening, but I'm relieved all is well with you. Enjoy the remainder of your time away!

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  15. It's a frightening thing to be caught up in turmoil (we were in Canada when the Twin Towers fell and couldn't get home) and I'm glad that you are safe and that in your small corner of the world at least, life goes on as normal. It does make you wonder what is happening with so many dreadful occurrences in such a short space of time. Have a safe journey home, looking forward to seeing your photos xx

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  16. It's horrible what happened. Glad everything got under control and righted just a little. The world certainly is topsy-turby these days. It was interesting reading a first hand report. Thank you.

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  17. So glad that you and your family are safe and that all is calm and it is life as usual again. So much turmoil in this world - so very sad. Wishing you a safe journey home. xx K

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  18. Goodness, what a thing to happen while you were there. Glad you are OK and I hope you get home safely. x

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  19. Glad you and your family are safe. There are so many sad events going on and I guess we hear about it so quickly now. Have a safe journey home.

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  20. It is good to hear that you are safe and well, I was due in Instanbul this week for work but can't go because of foreign office advice. I work really closely with colleagues in Turkey and am astounded to hear that about a fifth of the judiciary have been axed, unbelievable. I love my Turkish friends and their lovely families, the world seems very strange at the moment but Instanbul appears to be suffering more than most. Avoid the news if you can dear Pat and take very good care xxxx

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  21. It truly is such an unsettling time. It seems that every day there is a new tragedy unfolding. It is overwhelming! Wishing you safe travels as you make your way home.

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  22. I'm glad you were all safe, the world is a very scary place at the moment. Such beautiful pictures of a sadly troubled land

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  23. It has been a tough week for our old world. I am glad to read that you are safe - your son was wise to move quickly and you were wise to 'sit tight'. What a time!

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  24. I'm glad you and your family stayed safe during your travels. It's been a depressing month. I wish there was more regular people could do to keep the world safe. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  25. It must have been a little unsettling to be in Turkey at that time. And it seems to me we don't know the half of it, yet. It is certainly an interesting, as well as a tragic, time in our history.

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