Grand Isias

After the fiasco with our accommodations in Şanlıurfa, we had sent a note to the travel agency to advise them of our displeasure and dissatisfaction with the quality of the hotel … and especially the lack of pandemic protections at breakfast. We had also strongly suggested that they check with the planned hotel in Adıyaman and change it if it also provided self-service breakfast. They must have done that without delay as Ali had told us earlier in the day that we would now be staying at the Grand Isias.

This hotel, located in Adıyaman Merkez is head-and-shoulders above the one in Şanlıurfa, the presence of the General Manager who was making the rounds to speak with guests to make sure all was being done to ensure their comfort was evident everywhere.

Everything is spic-and-span clean; a welcoming ambiance permeates the property; pandemic protections are in place … even at the front desk where the clerk was behind a Plexiglas barrier; table service in the restaurant for dinner and buffet breakfast served by the hotel staff in evidence for tomorrow morning.

After checking in, we quickly settled into our rooms … partaking of the saran-wrapped plate of fresh fruit, and another of dried fruits and nuts ... compliments of the property. The only downside was the festival noise from across the street, but that ended about ½-hour ago … around 10:00p, so that wasn’t a big bother.

Since we’d had a light lunch at the dam, and got plenty of activity with the climb up to the summit of Mount Nemrut, dinner was on everyone’s mind. We opted to dine in the hotel restaurant. Mui had saç kavurma, a sauteed lamb dish cooked and served on an iron plate; I opted for spaghetti Bolognese; Deniz had Adiyaman Köftesi, which he said was reminiscent of sucuk (Turkish sausage) in both taste and consistency. Dessert — baklava — was compliments of the hotel to apologize for the delay serving us while the kitchen was busy getting out the food for a tour group that is sharing the hotel with us.

Tomorrow is the last day of our tour … with sightseeing on the way back to Gaziantep. Time to get some shuteye.Baca lagi