My view on Istanbul

I have written three or four pieces about Istanbul by now, that probably shows how much I love this city:) I have been visiting different parts of Istanbul throughout our stay. Thankfully the city was not as crowded because of holiday season, Istanbul traffic can become such a headache...We also made few trips to the museums, but not as much as I wanted...

I was shocked to see the nonstop ongoing constructions in ancient city, at some point I felt helpless and sad... Sometimes it is hard to see the sky because of sky scrappers.

Few weeks after I arrived I was brave enough to hop onto Havatas (nonstop bus, picks up from Sabiha Gokcen Airport and arrives to Taksim, it runs every hour and it is faster and cheaper! than driving own car, only 50 minutes for 10TL) I went to European side, and could not recognise it, how much can a city change in only one year...While I was walking to the metro station, at one point I felt claustrophobic, and sadness covered me. I looked around, suddenly felt very helpless and alone. Could not recognise where exactly I was. I was surrounded by people who seemed like they were all late for something, their faces did not show any sign of emotion...Than I noticed I was in the middle of Taksim square, which became one ugly concrete! (little info, Taksim is the area where historical Gezi demonstrations took place last year). Obviously, city governor kept his promise, and built the ugliest walkway I have ever seen in my life! There were cheap looking mid size pots sitting in the middle, with few plants in them that looked like they were trying to stay alive in this ugliness! I thought 'this is got to be a joke!' With one senseless and arrogant move, ancient Taksim area became dull and soulless place...It lost its charm and character forever...

The city is developing that's for sure, but I hope sooner rather than later government and city governor will stop this, otherwise this beautiful ancient never sleeping city will become one big concrete megapol...

The funniest thing is government advertise this as 'the new Dubai'!  I even saw one of the mall named as 'Mall of Istanbul', what a creativity! Dubai has a mall with almost same design named 'Mall of Emirates!'  I can't help it, this makes me ask 'Why would you want to change Istanbul's unique character and imitate somebody Else's success story, can not you create your own'??

There are newly opened shopping malls in every corner, seems like it is never enough...On the other hand there are not as many parks, playgrounds and green areas. Even mother nature shows red lag all of these, this summer there were more than 5 small size tornadoes in Istanbul. Locals were all shocked and scared, people did not know what to do, they were just frozen when it happened. Thankfully no body was injured. There was also water shortage, local news were saying all dams in Istanbul were in lowest level after 50 years. Are not all this say something??

Too much politics:) But at the same time, I want to be honest and open in my pieces/blogs either it is about Kenya, Turkey or somewhere else.

Two weeks break at the coast in Turkey

With only few exceptions, last 13 years no matter where we lived we spent our summer vacations in Turkey. Not only our parents live in Turkey we also enjoy very much Istanbul and coastal towns.

Like past years, we went to Belek, Antalya. After we had our first child, we opted to spend our vacations in all-inclusive child friendly resorts where you never worry about what to eat and where to eat. There are tons of fun activities for children ageing 2-15 years old. Don't we all say 'Happy child happy mom and dad:).

Turkey is home for thousands of hotels and resorts, they range two to five stars. Depending on your budget you can stay either at B&B or all inclusive hotels.

One of my hobby is read and search on the internet for resorts, boutique hotels or tiny B&B. Once we decide on our destination, I start my research right away. I have a list of websites that never change, like Expedia, Tripadvisor,  Booking, ETS (Turkish travel agency), Kayak, live forums, and hotel websites. Sometimes I feel like I should have been a travel agent! But seriously, I once read 'you gotta to do what you like to be successful'. Anyways.

This was our fourth stay at Belek area. Each and every visit we stayed at different resorts. So far, we vacationed at Rixos Belek, Hilton Dalaman Golf&Spa, Cornelia Golf&Spa, and very recently at Voyage Belek.

Let me give little bit of info about Belek: Belek, holiday riviera in Antalya Province, is one of the most popular touristic destination in Turkey. This cute little town is home for two to five stars hotels that serve every budget. Belek is only 40 minutes drive from downtown Antalya. Visitors have many transportation options, bus to taxi to rental cars. Busses are very reliable, depending on your destination taxi fees are also fixed and they are displayed openly at Antalya Airport. Last few years,
Belek has also made quite a name for its championship golf courses not only in Middle East and also in Europe. The climate is very pleasant throughout the year, high season starts around May till October. The temperature can get as high as 40 C degrees! Make sure you pack lots of sunscreens!!!!

Belek has also home for historical sites, Hellenistic city Perge which is rated second after Ephesus and great Amphitheatre Aspendos,  can still hold up to 15,000 people! The ancient Aspendos still hosts many ballet and opera festivals. The Roman ruins at Perge is also one of the best preserved archaeological site. All the beaches are blue flag, and all of them provide on site parking, showers, changing rooms and clean toilets, majority of them free of charge to the public with few exceptions.

If you choose to stay in one of these all inclusive hotels, you never get to bother to go out, because all hotels offer their own entertaining options throughout the day, aqua gym to yoga to midnight parties. So there is something for everyone. If you ever plan to go to Belek, I advise you to read and search enough to get a sense what you really want from your stay.

Tourists mostly use air travel to get to Belek, majority airlines either fly via Istanbul or direct from
Russia or some European cities.

Highest season starts right after school closes, so by the end of June till September nightly rates are much higher. But if you are flexible with your dates, it makes a huge difference to stay during months of May,  June, September or October. Reservations are made months ahead, and all hotels work in full capacity. So if you ever stay at one of these hotels do not be surprised of high volume!

Bodrum

After staying at Voyage Belek Golf & Spa for one week we arrived Bodrum yesterday. 

Let me tell you it was something we will never forget!!! Because there are no direct flights from Antalya to Bodrum, we had to transfer from Istanbul! I still do not get it, there are still no flights between Antalya and Bodrum. They are both very popular touristic destinations. So When I made our reservation I made sure we have enough time between the two flights! But it did go well like I planed! First flight had a 30min+ delay. When we arrived at Sabiha Gokcen Airport it took one hour for our luggages to arrive. So I ended up flying with my children living behind my husband at the airport!! By the time my husband arrived at kiosk desk, Turkish Airlines told my husband they sold his tickets to by standers!!! So he bought one more ticket to get to Bodrum. His new flight had another delay!! By the time he arrived my in-laws house it was 11pm!!!! So we spent whole day at the airport and flying between two cities that are only 45min by air!!!

Hello from Turkbuku, Bodrum:)