What the f***!  It took my card!

 

I have never been a damsel in distress.  Even when I'm in distress I don't play the damsel roll very well; I'll be the first to admitt that I never did learn the girly flirty ways of my gender and many times I've been left on my own to figure out how to deal with furstrating events. However, when I ran into a bump in the road on my recent trip to Turkey it was wonderful to get some help!  Receiving the help and support of others really reaffirmed my hope in humanity.

 

Turkey was fantastic!  I would have to say that visiting Turkey is in the top 3 of my adventures this year.  Did you know that the tulip is originally from Turkey?  I have never seen such beautiful tulips in my life!  The colors were striking!

 

My good friend, Wendy Walis, met in Istanbul for the trip.  It was great to see her and spend the time with her.  It was a great experience to share with her.

 

Istanbul was great.  To see the great historic sights of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophie, the Basicilla Cistern, marvelous Chora Church,  and the Topkapi Palace was thrilling.  I love it when I stand in  historic places and I can feel the weight of the ages pass me.  It gives me goose bumps.  The Grand Bazaar was mind boggling.  The twist and turns of the shopping arena with the different sections was over load.  The Spice Market was not that thrilling.  Glad we didn't spend that much time there.  It was so enjoyable to be able to walk the streets of the Old City in the morning and in the evening.  Eating dinner on the roof top terrace watching the Blue Mosque and Hagai Sophie lit up was magical.  Istanbul was wonderful.

 

The Izmir area was beautiful.  The Aegean region was lush and green.  We had 2 days there to explore.  We walked around the city center and got  haggled by the sale guys.  Look at my leather; I've got great carpets to show you; I can give you a great price.  By the time I left Turkey I was sick of carpets, leather, and ceramics. 

 

Kusadasi was a jumping off point to see the great city of Ephesus.  Ephesus is one of the great ruins that need to be visited.  To walk the streets of  this ancient city and imagine the Romans that lived there a thousand years ago was historic.   Seeing the old pipe and sewer system that served the city was very interesting.  The public latrines were much larger than the ones we have today.  Many historians have made comparisons to the ancient Roman Empire and to the U.S. and how the U.S. is mirroring the economic fall of ancient Rome; however,  after seeing the Roman public latrines, I think we are  a little behind ancient Rome.  Ehpesus was a highlight.

 

Ah, captiviting Cappadocia.   I fell in love with Cappadocia; what a magical place!  The geolical rock formations were awesome.  The ancient carved communities by the early Chirstians were inspirational.  To see the work and dedication of those believers was heart warming.  The walks along the valleys was refreshing.  The early morning balloon ride was fantastic. Incredible is the only word  to describe Kale Konak, our hotel in Cappadocia.

 

"What the f***!  It took my card!"  I exclaimed as the alarm continued to blare.  I have used my debit card all over the world and I have never had any problems - that was until I tangoed with the ATM in Uchisar, Turkey.  I put my card in the ATM, and entered my pin number.   The alarm started blaring and  my card was gone.  After hitting the cancel button numerous times the alarm finally stopped. By this time I had attracted the attention of everyone in the village, and they were watching me.  I continued to hit the cancel button in order to get my card back.  Our tour guide started calling the phone numbers on the ATM; our driver started pressing buttons and hitting the ATM; other officail looking people came over and started to call people.  At last I have to admit that the damn ATM won.  I never did get my card back.  All of the phone calls made on my behalf came to the same conclusion - I wasn't going to get my debit card back.  A very long international call to ENT cancelled the old card and new one sent to Dubai.  (Infact when I got back home to Dubai my new debit card was waiting for me - thank you ENT for being so efficient).

 

Yes, I have never been or played the damsel in distress, but when the ATM ate my debit card I was a pissed damsel.  The help of the Turkish people in my crisis was so heart warming and touching.

 

I can share a wonderful outcome of this experience.  The Turkish bath, oil massage, and wonderful dinner I had that night was thoroughly relaxing!  Bring on the bubble, oil, and wine.  Debit card; what debit card? 

 

. . . And the adventure continues. . .