So when my friend Caya asked me to accompany her to her friend's wedding in Çeşme, Turkey, I hesitated for a second. I was also already planning on going to Beijing & Indonesia this summer, and I had never met the bride or groom, but then I thought WHY NOT? So we flew from Amsterdam to Istanbul and from Istanbul to Izmir. We arrived after dinner time, the groom kindly picked us up at the airport and we went straight to a pre-wedding party. The family, bride & groom were all so lovely and hospitable - I had never met them in my life, so I'm very greatful I got to be there and share these special moments with them.
Çeşme is a coastal town surrounded by clear blue sea and is known for its beaches. We had a couple of days to spare until the wedding, so we decided to walk to the beaches of nearby Ilica. That was notttt an easy task. We probably walked the wrong way, but we couldn't find an entrance/exit to the beach ANYWHERE. And we couldn't even see the coast line, although we knew the road lay parallel to the sea. And the sun was burning like a mofo.
So finally we found a path that presumably led to the beach, although it wasn't really clear if we were allowed to go there. We managed to find a private beach belonging to some hotel/restaurant and for about €5 each we could use their facilities and get something to drink. The sea water was extremely salt which is kinda lame for your eyes, but super chill and warm anyway.
That night we ate on the terrace of our hotel and the warm hotel owner prepared the meal himself. And GOD that was delicious. There was lots of food, but the absolute highlight was the in salt barbecued bream. I don't usually eat fish right of the bone, let alone bream, but this was amaaaazing. Best fish I had in my life. So if you ever go to Çeşme, stay at the Yalcin hotel and let the owner cook you dinner. Fan-tas-tic. (Sorry for the blurry image, I was so enthousiastic about the fish I couldn't hold my camera still)
Next morning we were planning on going to Izmir, so we ate in the Çeşme harbour before we walked yet another long walk to the bus stop (the harbour is lovely by the way, if I ever have my own yacht, I will def come sailing back here). The bus was nicely airconditioned and even came with a steward who provided us with cold water.
And then we arrived in Izmir.. Izmir is a large metropolis and a typical Turkish city. Initally we wanted to go to a large shopping mall (Forum Bornova), but it was extremely expensive to get there, so we decided to just go sightseeing instead. It was very crowded. People were chasing us (hello! please come with me and drink something with me somewhere). It was nice to see a real Turkish bazaar, but all those people and men following us made me claustrophobic. We went to see the famous agora. We looked at it, looked at each other, hesitated no second and hailed a taxi to take us back to the bus stop. And immediately went back to quiet and calm Çeşme. I have no photos of Izmir. And you know, maybe that's just for the best :P
And then we arrived in Izmir.. Izmir is a large metropolis and a typical Turkish city. Initally we wanted to go to a large shopping mall (Forum Bornova), but it was extremely expensive to get there, so we decided to just go sightseeing instead. It was very crowded. People were chasing us (hello! please come with me and drink something with me somewhere). It was nice to see a real Turkish bazaar, but all those people and men following us made me claustrophobic. We went to see the famous agora. We looked at it, looked at each other, hesitated no second and hailed a taxi to take us back to the bus stop. And immediately went back to quiet and calm Çeşme. I have no photos of Izmir. And you know, maybe that's just for the best :P
So we had dinner in Çeşme and shopped 'til it was pretty late. Shopping here was fun, shopkeepers offer you coffee and have nice chats with you in their shops. And there were all these men speaking Turkish to me, and then be all like 'Oooh I'm sorry, I thought you were Turkish and just showing your Swedish friend around!' We also met a jeweller who once lived in NL and she and her brother spoke Dutch, very surprising.
Anyway, we had a great time here and the wedding was sooo lovely and beautiful. Çeşme was nice and quiet. Maybe I'll come back someday. But I think I'll skip Izmir the next time, haha.