Türkiye

Once again, we started the day slowly enjoying quite a spread for a late breakfast.

Set Breakfasts are a big thing here In Türkiye, and it seems like the more plates there are the better. It’s almost like a game of Tetris when they come to deliver all the plates and work to find a place for everything to fit (see pic). That, and the servers are very particular about silverware! Paper placemats are the norm so you do not have to worry about your used utensil being left on a plate. They will rearrange it for you so that everything remains just so. Tonight, I even did a little test and moved the knife on the placemat about an inch closer to the plate to see what would happen. When the server returned with our next dish, guess what, he moved my knife back into place. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll work up a little hidden camera and let you in on the fun!

Back to our day…. After breakfast we set out for another hike, this time to the other end of the island. This part of the island is home to the Aya Yorgi Greek Orthodox Church. It was filled with immaculate frescos and paintings of which no photography was allowed. So, I have no pictures for you. However, the next time you are on the island of Büyükada, just stop by and have a look for yourself. It’s worth it! 😉

The area around the church offered the best views we have seen and the hike up and down got us on a real trail, off the pavement and near a pretty cool fire look out (the tall white circular building in the pics).

While on the church’s grounds, we had an interesting brush with some kind of government official who was visiting with quite the entourage, complete with guys in suits with hidden ear pieces and 8 or so other dudes with guns hidden in their flowing cover shirts. I tried to act suspicious, but a goofy old dude with a floppy safari hiking hat didn’t seem much of a threat to them.

Speaking of guns, we learned from our guide early in our tour that police officers are not allowed to shoot anyone in Türkiye. That’s right, they carry handguns but can only use them to fire off warning shots and then hide until the arrival of reinforcements. Not that these guys with Mr. Bigwig were police officers. Because of that, I decided I best not find out whether the warning shot rule applies to these dudes or not!

We finished the afternoon with some rest and a swim in the pool followed by hopping an electric bus (no gas powered anything allowed on the island). We did a final bit of browsing through shops and had another fresh seafood dinner before heading back to our hotel. There was a bit of a snag catching a bus when a street concert blocked the road near the bus depot. But, we made it, and enjoyed a bit of the concert as well!Читать далее