TOP 20 DELIGHTS OF TURKEY

(TURKISH DELIGHT...GET IT?)

[Or, if you prefer Jen Mae Joslin, Twenty True Life Turkish Principles]

1. In Turkey, both Asia and Europe have their claim on the land. You merely cross a bridge to get to the other one. This mix of cultures is strange, but strangely incredible. Throw in 3, 000 mosques just in Istanbul alone and you have a culture unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

2. In Turkey, ferries and sunset cruises are all sorts of delightful. Not only is it the perfect way to see so much of the country in a short amount of time, but it’s magical. How could it not be? Beautiful water, 81 of my favorite people, and funny birds that enjoy getting much too close. Hello divinity.

3. In Turkey, there are so many bodies of water just waiting to be touched. Let me refer to my list…We touched the Bosporus Strait, water from the Basilica Cistern, the Dardanelles, the Aegean Sea, and Lake Iznik. I LOVE THIS LIST.

4. In Turkey, it rains a whole lot. We luckily only faced two days of the insanely cold and windy rain…which is an accomplishment according to the weather reports. Oh, and this is delightful because pictures with umbrellas are just that much cuter.

5. In Turkey, there are just too many beautiful scenes to document. Here's a taste.

6. In Turkey, the Blue Mosque is actually gray…until you walk inside and the exquisite tiles leave you speechless. I fell in love in a heartbeat. And yes, the fun scarf styles were signs of respect in each mosque we visited.

7. In Turkey, kissing is a whole lot more fun. (I have no idea how we took so many photos like this. There are more…I kid you not.)

8. In Turkey, I didn’t have my own camera (yes…I dropped my camera about a month ago). It was a bit traumatizing. But the delightful thing is that I have wonderful friends always ready to push me into any photo moment. Not only did they take 120394823 photos for me, they also took random artsy ones of me the whole week. Oh man, I’m one lucky girl. 

9. In Turkey, there are so many prime ballroom dancing spots. And with the darling Swag at my side…we always found an opportunity in this delightful country. (p.s. Swag-I LOVE INSTANBUL...note the "insta.")

10. In Turkey, Hannah and I were forced to suffer all sorts of pee fright as we ventured from public restroom to public restroom. Thank goodness we didn’t live during the Roman Empire.

11. In Turkey, I found it a whole lot of fun to demand people to drop to the ground in the middle of the street and take photos with me. People were just running to join me (Thanks for supporting my weird picture needs Spencer).

12. In Turkey, there is a famous and supposedly cool ancient city named…Troy. Turns out, the only cool part of this pile of rocks is the Trojan Horse…which was under repair. FUNNIEST PART OF THE WHOLE TRIP.

13. In Turkey, preaching the gospel to “fake” investigators to get some extra practice is way more fun. My favorite may have been walking through the streets of Iznik practicing street approaches with some of my lovely friends on the program. Or perhaps my favorite was being asked in Ephesus by a stranger what religion we represented. As I responded with ‘LDS’ and then quickly added ‘Mormon,’ the man smiled and said that’s what he would have guessed. I may have fallen head over heels in love with the idea of preaching the gospel…in the limited way we are allowed to on this program…in the same ancient city that the apostle Paul did.

14. In Turkey, we ate the most delicious food. From scrumptious rolls, to warm crepe-like pitas, to lintel soup, to warm apple tea, to the oh so tasty baklava. We seriously ate our way through Turkey that entire week.

15. In Turkey, they find it overrated to eat turkey. Say hello to our fishy friends. Don’t ask me why my fishy face was such a sad attempt (I’ll work on it). While I am not a huge fish fan so this isn’t a delightful tid bit…Ragan did wake me up on the plane and have me eat a piece of turkey while we were flying over Turkey on Turkish Airlines. How delightful is that fun fact!?

16. In Turkey, we ventured to a place called Assos. It’s mentioned in the bible and has cool ruins, but all you really need to know is that for that hour-I felt like I was at Lake Tahoe and it made me so incredibly happy (it may have been my favorite Schade devotional too).

17. In Turkey, we visited another site that is one of the many pictures in the back of our bible. We may have had a little too much fun finding the exact spot this bible shot of Ephesus was taken. Looks cool, huh?

18. In Turkey, I broke into song much too often…ranging from Hercules to Anastasia. At this particular statue moment, John and I were playing Herc and Meg. Love it. (And shhh don't tell anyone my leg is showing.)

19. In Turkey, gymnasiums are not quite the sporting facility we see them as now. Back in the days of Hellenism, they involved wrestling, oil, and boys that needed to wear a little bit more clothing. So naturally, the girls reenacted in Sardis in the freezing rain.

20. In Turkey, I found a beautiful fountain outside the Haga Sophia and Blue Mosque. On the first day I wasn’t aware that we would be returning to this exact spot the last day of our trip. So after we had walked past the fountain I mentioned that I was bummed I had missed my chance to make my Turkey fountain wish. Ragan pulled me away from the group and we sprinted back to the fountain. Luckily, we caught back up to the group and no one was really aware of our rebellious actions (This photo was a reenactment haha…and yes, I made a second wish).

BONUS DELIGHT: In Turkey, you can actually find delicious Turkish Delight. I know, I was surprised as well. So, you can trust me when I say that Honey Pomegranate Turkish Delight is divine. It’s also incredibly expensive. I suggest walking in with a nice smile to get a free sample (and then walking back in an hour later with a scarf and a pony tail to get another free sample. Mom, don't worry I didn't actually do it!).  

 THE END. 

Now we are back in Jerusalem beginning to study the New Testament...which is especially amazing during the final week of Christ's life. Can't wait to share with you all about that. I'm so blessed. Love you all.