Andy finished his book today! Sam’s wondering if he’ll get a conversation out of him now????
Today was relaxation day, preparing for the journey home. The car also is probably in need of relaxation, well it’s been rested but keeps flashing up ‘600miles to service’ oops. So we took it to a garage and fed it some diesel, and checked the air pressure in the tyres, pretty much all a VW garage will do to it and it didn’t cast £500 like last time!!!!
Then we were off for a Turkish bath, known to us locals as an hamam. This is something that was introduced during the Roman period and has remained popular for over 700 years. Its popularity is not just for reasons of cleanliness but also an important part of Turkish social culture. They are a place to come with friends and family to relax and have fun. Hamams are known to be beneficial for blood circulation and exfoliation of the skin, one thing is for sure you will definitely feel a few years younger when you come out … we do!
See, ain’t we cultured?
The experience was actually pretty good. We lay on a warm marble slab with a head cushion in a steamy room for about 20min. then some rather excited young man came in and exfoliated us with a hand loafer, before pouring freezing cold water over us. Next they filled something that looked like a pair of old dear’s tights with soap bubbles and spread it all over us before repeating the freezing water soak. All very refreshing.
We then got dressed in a ridiculous tea-towel come table cloth, with 2 other towels for shoulders and head that made us look like 2nd rate shepherds in a nativity play, but when in Turkey…….
After a ‘free’ glass of water we decided to have massages… Sam got a huge fat bloke whilst Andy got a sweaty young guy who sounded like he was about to have a heart attack any moment. (how we didn’t giggle out loud I don’t know,…… They left us for as long as we wanted afterwards to relax, and we almost fell asleep – some cunning ploy??
One thing mustn’t be assumed, that is that Turkish baths aren’t “health” spas, oh no, it is customary for the employees to smoke in the baths whilst looking after you! We were flabbergasted that the guy had to put his cig down to hand us pillows. More about Turkish idiosyncrasies later.
We didn’t have enough cash to pay, but the guy had already said ‘no problem my friend, after you bath I take you to cash machine’ (please insert rough looking, slightly dizzy, cross eyed Turk accent). He was so excited when he saw our car, ‘eees on the wrong side!!!’, ‘yes’, we replied ‘that’s because we drive on the other side of the road’, ‘buuut eees on the wrong side!!!’… oh dear!
While Andy was at the cash machine he wanted a go in the driver’s seat and Sam had to explain the peddle layout to him.
Next we went to Kayakoy. Although the history of this city dates back to 3000 BC, the limited number of sarcophagi and the rock tombs still standing are dated to the 4th century BC. The buildings on the slope were constructed during the 2nd part of the 19th Century and the first quarter of the 20th century. Basically it’s a big ghost town, and we reckon the best hide and seek venue in the world.
Lunch was rather tropical, in a restaurant under a vine. Weird American lady ran the joint, it was all very surreal. Andy’s mixed meat pancake was very good though!
It’s our last day today! We’re planning to find a shisha place for dinner tonight, that serves real kebabs. Them home for tidying and packing before and early night ready for tomorrow’s journey to Greece… route and distance as yet unknown.
Talk to you all tomorrow, we’re back in the car again for a week so who knows what’s coming our way!!!
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