Turkey

Wow! What an awesome place so far. The sounds, the sights, the smells, the air are all quite different. Crossing the border was a 2 hour adventure through 5 checkpoints. We were thankful that our luggage didn’t get checked. We’re staying in a town called Edirne. It’s near the border of Bulgaria and Greece.



Our hotel is so awesome. We’re staying in a building built during the Ottoman Empire by the great architect Sinan. It was built as an Inn already in 1571, both people and animals were put up there for up to three nights for free. The room has a domed ceiling and an old fire pit.


I could imagine travelers arriving with their carpets and bed rolls spreading them out on this platform overlooking the courtyard, animals tethered at the iron hooks. There was a huge party with very loud Turkish music in the courtyard last night. We thought it was a wedding. It seemed to have all the makings of a wedding but it turns out it was actually a circumcision party. It did create a cool ambiance though it was very loud. And by the time midnight hit we had had enough and were ready for it to be quiet.
Earlier in the evening our new tour guides took us under their wings and paraded us off to a charming little restaurant where we had great salad, yogourt and wonderful meatballs. A huge bird was sitting in the tree of this outdoor courtyard. We thought it might be a peacock (or peahen rather, is that the the female version?) but I didn’t think they sat in trees. It had a crazy, loud call.