When I hit Antalya, Turkey earlier this year, I expected a lot (think sandy beach, sun, palm trees), but the vibrant street life caught me off guard completely – in the best possible way.
It’s the kinda place where people go for all-inclusive beach holidays and end up not seeing anything but the hotel bar and maybe the pool, but oh my, there’s so much more to Antalya. Like the historic centre Kaleiçi with its stunning Ottoman houses, ancient ruins and the old harbour waiting at the end of it.
Don’t even get me started on the food. I’ve had fruit that tasted like it’s been picked five minutes ago, dürüm that makes me want to write poetry – and traditional Arabic tea that always seems to shout something like ‘Have hour-long conversations while you’re drinking me!’.
And then there’s the farmers’ markets. Traders teasing each other, families having lunch together or couples making out on a busy street always make me fall in love with life. They remind me that ever too often, the simple things (that usually aren’t even things) are the ones we should spend most of our time and energy pursuing, as they carry us through rough times. People in Turkey know that best, that’s for sure.
