Istanbul! How cool was it to be in one city on two different continents!!!! That blew my mind! But what caught me first is how alive everything was. Driving from the airport in Asia to our guesthouse in Europe (I know.. It sounds quite cool.) I saw that this city definitely never sleeps.
Buildings light up and dance, all around amazing tulip plantations show you which way to go. I was captivated by the beauty of Turkey. My heart ached at the sight of everything. I knew that this would be my favorite country!
When we reached Mavi Guesthouse we were tired. But we had warm showers and soft beds. I felt like a tourist. I felt like an adventurer. Haha.. I actually just felt spoilt!
Figuring out our Macedonian visas left our team with 4 free days. The first day was amazing. I remember opening my eyes and seeing only white. I felt like I was in some sort of sunrise movie scene.. Beautifully awakening from my slumber.
A rooftop view. Literally. I just lay in my bed soaking up everything. Beautiful Turkey! I enjoyed being a tourist. Walking around the streets of Turkey. Taking photographs. Meeting people. Drinking tea with strangers. It was amazing.
Then the day of breaking comfort finally arrived. We took a bus out of Istanbul to Izmit and had a 2 day challenge to get to Izmir. The first day of our traveling we didn't cover much ground and decided to sleep next to a shipyard on a very polluted beach. It sounds disgusting but the twinkling lights on the other side made it worth it.
At sunrise we were invited for tea, we ended up having the coolest day ever. We covered all the existing ground between us and Izmir in one day. After scavenging, being spoilt and fed to the point of exploding and even working in a nap we reached Izmir at nightfall.
With no idea where to go we were dropped in party central Izmir on a Friday night. We couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Walking around in circles for about half an hour we finally found a Burger King and scavenged "to the full".
Still not knowing where we were going to sleep we just asked around for a park or a camping spot. We ended up in a plantation on a campus of a Turkish university. Quietly pitching our tents. Stray dogs guarding us as we slept.
The next morning during D-Groups we were kindly asked to leave the premises. Saying sorry we quickly packed and tried to find wifi.
We scavenged a breakfast suited for kings out of a dustbin and still had some leftover which we decided to pack in as lunch. We got lost completely trying to find the Mc Donalds where we were to meet up. After taking crazy rides and walking 8,2km we finally reached it and spoilt ourselves with a Mc flurry each. Well deserved.
At nightfall we slept in a park. This was the start of our faith week. What a start. At 1am we got woken up, "off the grass!" We moved our tents and why? So that they could wet the grass with sewage water. Lucky. They didn't wet the spot we slept on? Makes complete sense why we had to move then.
The next day we just walked in spirit. Oky. So here comes my absolute favorite part of the Turkey experience. We slept in a different park this time. Everyone in their tents. Suddenly at 5am I woke up with Louw shouting. Sitting up I saw my tent was open. I first thought this was a joke but when I looked my day bag was open. Luckily my phone, wallet and passport were all fine. My shoes and jacket were missing though.
Praise God for my passport and valuables. Praise God for someone having warm feet and arms! God provided both in the weeks after! Which by itself are cool testimonies!
Cool things started happening next. We met people who took us into their office building and just let us chill, fed us and just gave us a chilling spot after 2 days of camping.. 5 days of not bathing for my hiking team..
We found a couch surfer who took us in, fed us, loved us and washed our clothes and we stayed for only two nights.
God provided a little paradise afterwards. We stayed on an olive farm in Urla. It was WONDERFUL! Outdoor oven where Mother made delicious food. Warm beds for the girls. Grass for the boys. A shower and hard work and a lot of love. Even a movie.
Turkey was just a place where God taught me that he provides even when it's not to your expectations or standards. He provides none the less.
I feel like in every country I just want to scream out how much I love God to the locals.. Hoping someone would understand.
I enjoyed Turkey simply because I Loved God through it.