Turkey post #1

We were proud of ourselves for taking this trip. I think that's the first thing I have to say. Turkey with a 16 month old? Who does that? Fools. People who don't think things through.

Oliver and I though, we aren't fools. In planning this trip, we thought of ourselves as bold, limitless parents. We could do this, and not only would we have fun but we would accomplish something. Two and a half weeks travelling around Turkey with a toddler. That's an accomplishment.

I will readily admit that some things were hard. The flights, for example :

Nils slept the whole way over, and was awake the whole way back. A sleepless night for Oliver and I one way, most of it spent frozen in place while he slept across our laps. A curious little boy on the way back, determined not to spend any time sitting down.

Sitting anywhere turned out to be difficult. While Oliver and I wanted nothing more than to relax and enjoy a nice dinner :

Nils wanted to run around - pet the stray dogs and cats that were everywhere, dash into the street, touch breakables, etc. Meals were rarely leisurely.

(This little fit was very short lived - he was all smiles the moment he was off Oliver's lap and onto the floor.)

Sometimes we got frustrated, but we reminded ourselves that Nils hadn't asked to come on this vacation. He would probably be happier playing with his toys and buddies back home. We had to be understanding, and try to find ways to make things fun for him.

That turned out to be pretty easy. All he wanted was to run around. So we made sure he had plenty of opportunities for that :

 Up in the hills of Bozcaada, a beautiful island in the Aegean...

 At the ruins of Behramkale, from where you could see Greece...

In downtown Fethiye...

In the main church of Karakoy, a town forcibly abandoned in the 1920s when Greece and Turkey exchanged Greek Muslims for Turkish Christians...

On the boardwalk of Patara Beach...

 In Antalya's main park...

 In the courtyard of Istanbul's Blue Mosque...

In Istanbul's Hippodrome.

Bottom line: we had to be flexible. Flexible not only in our itinerary (i.e. frequent stops to run around in circles), but in how we handled everything. There were many snacks on the go...

Naps on Oliver's shoulder...

And naps in unusual places.

And you know what, it all worked. Oliver and I high fived at the end of the trip. We did it! And it was amazing! Gol, it was amazing. I want to write one more post on the trip, one in which Nils is not the centerpiece. Because Turkey deserves some more of my attention. It was that good.