Lost in grief over Today’s world…

I never thought I’d be spending my time witnessing a genocide on a “daily basis”. I never thought of how fast the world’s cruelty would ware me out and keep me up at night. I never thought how lonely and isolating this journey is… UNTIL, my husband pointed out that I WASN’T ALONE.

So this piece is for you, myself, and anyone who is struggling to live with themselves in the midst of the current geopolitical climate, where the disfigurement, murder, and displacement of CHILDREN is deemed justifiable by most Western powers and even necessary by all Zionists for the purification of the so-called “promised land”.

As I write this, my heart is filled with sadness and the essence of my being is full of anger and rage. Yet, I still try to remain composed and remind myself of the importance of being factual and not provocative towards those who are indifferent. For slipping on a regular basis would only undermine the cause I wholeheartedly believe in.

I thought I’d start with that to set the tone for what is to come in the subsequent paragraphs…

Our creator’s Promise

From what I have read and from my personal experience, I have realized that God tests us in three ways:

  • Success: how do we react after we get what we want.
  • Deception: how do we react when we don’t get what we want.
  • Uncertainty: how do we react when our patience is tested with the delay of what we want and/or pray for.

As a believer, I have failed the test not once, not twice, but on a regular basis ever since this genocide has unsurfaced publicly in ways never before since 1948.

Being tested with deception and uncertainty is not easy and should not be taken lightly. But that is no excuse for public outbursts (kind reminder to myself). Recently, I realized that I have become so overwhelmed by my activism that my faith has taken a huge hit.

With that being said, the Palestinian cause and our faith (in whatever form it manifests itself) is intertwined. For whatever change we would like to see in the world starts from within.

Therefore, as a Muslim, I should remind myself that every good deed will never go unrecognized and that all of this is not in vain for Allah (Arabic Translation of “God) has a plan. The oppressor will never stand before our creator victorious.

A hole in my heart called Palestine

The Palestinian cause is not foreign to me, as an Asian-Arab born and raised in the Middle East. It has always been a part of my identity as it is a part of those who grew up in the same region as myself and beyond.

Furthermore, this is not my first time being vocal about it. Growing up, I remember owning a Keffiyeh (Palestinian scarf) and watching the news, witnessing the bravery of the Palestinians resisting their oppressors; be it by throwing stones or peacefully marching. Either way, Israelis have always found a solution to either murder or mutilate them and then justify their actions, taking the whole world for fools. But I am no fool you see and neither are you.

Continue reading “Lost in grief over Today’s world…”

Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Cappadocia (4)

If you missed part 1 of this post series, go back, otherwise continue reading.

The format of this blog post will be quite different from the previous three. As our time in Cappadocia was limited, all the activities will be listed in chronological order starting from our 3:00am alarm.

1) 3:30am – Air Balloon flight

Pickup from our Hotel was scheduled at 3:30am. Tired & half asleep, we were impatient to have all the people joining us in the air balloon inside the bus. Once complete, we went to Gorëme to pickup the breakfast bags before heading to Ürgüp for take off.

At Ürgüp, we witnessed the air balloon get inflated; it took roughly 20 minutes to be ready. Shortly after, the group was inside the air balloon basket, excited for takeoff. The flight took roughly 1 hour, flying over the valley with a magnificent view of Gorëme, it’s mountains and ancient settlements at sunrise.

2) 10:00am – The Helios Cave Hotel

We arrived home at around 7:00am mesmerized & speechless but exhausted due to lack of sleep. We went straight to bed to nap a bit before breakfast (given that breakfast ends at 10:30am). Hours later, we woke up to an alarm tired yet excited for what the day had in store for us.

On a side note, I had to mention our hotel as an experience because it is not every day that one gets to sleep in a cave. Our suite was well ventilated yet had the right amount of humidity enhancing the quality of our sleep.

3) 11:30am – Underground city (Kaymakli)

Given that we are really into caves and exploring ancient cities, we decided to explore Kaymakli. It is an underground city that was used as a shelter by the aborigines of that time against different conquerors.

The entrance fee was 75TL per person. It took us around an 1 and a half hour to explore all the levels of this city. It is worth mentioning that Kaymakli can be kind of claustrophobic for people who don’t like narrow pathways or tunnels.

Continue reading “Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Cappadocia (4)”

Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Cappadocia (3)

To continue from where we left off. Now we are on DAY 3; in our Hotel Lobby looking for a TAXI.

From what we’ve noticed, unlike most countries, in Turkey, UBER is used as a platform for Taxi drivers to find clients and vice versa as the Taxi network is quite developed. All Taxis are metered with the price varying depending on the region. In Ankara, the fair starts at 7.5 TL.

Knowing that, we decided to grab a Taxi pre-Uber era style. Our Taxi driver could have easily passed for my grandpa, he had such a warm smile, radiating kindness.

Farewell Ankara

Upon arriving to Anıtkabir, we were greeted with what seemed like tens of tourists buses. Indifferent, we proceeded running our way to The Mausoleum.

Once on site, we were shocked to be the only tourists around. I guess that we crashed not one but several graduation photo shoots and elementary school field trips.

We couldn’t tell what was more beautiful, The Mausoleum itself or the love the Turkish people have for their founder and their country.

With our hearts full, we rush out of Anıtkabir and luckily manage to find a taxi fast.

We arrive at the bus station (Otogar) 10 minutes before the departure time only to be overwhelmed by the number of bus platforms present; there were more than 60 platforms and several local bus companies.

And to make things worse, having reserved the bus tickets in advance on FlixBus we didn’t know the name of the local bus company. FlixBus in Turkey, is more of a reservation platform rather than a transportation provider.

After 5 minutes of information hunting, we found the name of the bus company and the platform number. At two minutes before the departure time, we were the last two passengers unaccounted for. Up until today, I don’t know how we made it.

And just in case you are wondering, the local bus company is Kamilkoc.

Continue reading “Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Cappadocia (3)”

Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Ankara (2)

To bring you to where we left off, now we are on DAY 2.

Imagine Hubby and I rushing through breakfast to catch a train from Istanbul to Ankara at 9:35am. Instead of calling an Uber, we decided to try the metro for the first time. After a 17-minute walk from the hotel, we arrive at the metro stop “Marmaray Sirkeci Istasyonu” only to struggle to buy a ticket.

The so-called stand-alone ticket machine wasn’t so stand-alone as the instructions weren’t clear. And to make things worse, the only person that offered to help us, unfortunately tricked us as well.

But HEY, let’s look on the bright side, he taught us how to use the machine. So, the trick is to buy a transport card and then top it up with cash depending on your destination.

The machine doesn’t sell individual tickets. It only tops up transport cards.

The card cost 25 TL, we topped up 75 TL, and used 15TL (per person). PS. One transport card can be used by several people as long as you tap-in accordingly (ex: 2 taps = tickets for 2) into a given metro stop.

After that small anecdote, we managed to reach our destination Sogutlucesme Station and catch our train on-time.

Unexpected surprise

The train was beyond amazing. We booked first class but there was also business class that included a private cabin. The ticket price included train catering (14 EUR per person). We were served food & drinks during the trip using a food cart similar to the ones used in an airplane.

After roughly 5 hours, we arrive at the Ankara Central Station. Lost, we went to the help desk to ask for the location of metro Baskentray direction Kayas. The kind lady directed us towards the old side of the station where we found the metro stop and the stand-alone ticket machine.

While waiting in-line for our turn to buy the ticket; the machine bugs for some reason and stops working. We were told that an alternative way of buying a ticket was by taping-in our credit card on metro platform (entrance).

Several people were in the same situation as us. One by one, they were taping-in their credit cards and succeeding. For some reason, our visa card didn’t want to work. After a couple of minutes of struggling, a kind local tapped us in using his credit card and made sure that we were on the right platform and even asked us for our metro stop (Kurtulus).

The kindness shown from this man made-up for the wickedness of the other one. Reminding us that somehow good always balances out evil.

Continue reading “Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Ankara (2)”

Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Intro (1)

I’m writing this from a very comfortable bus (an autocar to be exact). I thought I’d document my trip to remember the places I’ve been to and faces I’ve seen. Today is Day 3 out of Day 12 so you can say that we’re at the beginning of our trip.

Hubby and I usually look for a good balance between comfort, local-living, and adventure. So, if you are into that as well, continue reading.

PS. This is my second attempt at writing this as I lost my first draft. So, here goes nothing…

Before I get into the deeds of how the past 2 days went. Let me give you a little bit of context. We are a young couple based in Paris, who decided to come to Turkey for 12 days (and 11 nights). Our dates are 25 May to 05 June, so you can say that we are traveling off-season during a period where the Turkish Lira roughly amounts to 17.5 TL per 1 EUR.

Several people have told us that we’ve got a good deal but deep down something didn’t sit right with us. Enjoying services that should have been doubled in price for what they are worth doesn’t seem fair somehow.

Having said that, we’ve decided to travel differently; by being less of a tourist, supporting small local businesses & using public transportation.

We’ve decided to be fully immersed in day-to-day Turkish living during these times.

On a positive note, Turkey is as beautiful as it has always been, if not more. And we can’t wait to follow through with our schedule.

Trip Overview

Hubby planned a closed-loop trip with a couple of stopovers starting with a day in Istanbul:

  • Paris to Istanbul (by air) – 1 night
  • Istanbul to Ankara (by train) – 1 night
  • Ankara to Gorëme/Capadocia (by bus) – 2 nights
  • Gorëme to Konya (by bus) – 1 night
  • Konya to Antalya (by bus) – 1 night
  • Antalya to Pamukkale (by bus) – 1 night
  • Pamukkale to Istanbul (by air) – 4 nights
Continue reading “Turkey backpack trip 2022 – Intro (1)”