A Little Turkish Sunshine

I began blogging at Emm in London in July 2008 and our trip to Turkey was the very first trip I blogged about.  We had only arrived in London a year before but by July, we certainly needed a beach holiday.  So it was that we headed off to the Grand Newport Hotel in Gümbet, near Bodrum, for an all-inclusive holiday.

This was the view that greeted us when we arrived at the hotel at about 7am in the morning.  The hotel overlooked a bay which lead to the Aegean Sea. 

For seven long days, the temperature soared into the early 40°c (which is very hot in Fahrenheit) and it was still hovering around 30°c at midnight each evening.  Suffice to say, I was in heaven.

I am pleased to say that we didn’t spend every day by the pool and we managed to take an excursion to the ancient city of Ephesus.  Ephesus is a photographer’s dream and it really helps to have a knowledgable guide like we did because I found it just fascinating.

The photo above shows some columns from the temple of Hadrian and the next photo shows the breath-taking, exquisite Celsus Library.

We like to maintain a good mix of culture and relaxation on holidays like this, so in addition to our day trip to Ephesus, we went on an excursion to a Turkish village, sampling their food and seeing how they make their famous Turkish carpets, and we also went on a Turkish night, complete with belly dancers and traditional food.

The last day of our holiday was perhaps the best as we left the hotel and spent the day in a beachside bar at Bitez Beach.  Well, not inside the bar, exactly, but beside the sea. 

I definitely want to return to Turkey but I think we’d head out for Istanbul next time and try to see something new.  I’m really keen to see the Bosphorus Strait and bridge.

As far as beach holidays go, I am planning a trip to Croatia in around September next year and I have promised that it will include at least 2 or 3 days lying on the beach at Split or Hvar.  I cannot wait.

This past week was so successful in terms of getting things done! I have worked for four days, studied for 3 nights and a day, gone out twice to meet up with London bloggers and I even squeezed in breakfast with my family today and three taxation mock exams.  I didn’t pass them all so I guess I’ll be even busier in the next 36 hours as I take a day of study leave and write the exam on Tuesday.  Fingers crossed!