A change of scenery. No more pointy little rock shacks, matriced underground cities, or faceless Christians... Warm sea air, littered beaches, and crusader islands at 5:00pm on the Mediterranean coast. A welcome change after a long bus trip. We've changed in our Hittites for Romans and chilly mornings for sun and sand.
Although this is my first few minutes here on the Eastern Mediterranean, my first impression is that the Turks and the tourists of Turkey smoke too much and leave all their nasty butts behind. The beach here in Kizcalazee is covered with millions of spent cigarette butts providing an extremely poor first impression. Beyond that the sea is beautiful and the beach is superb. The ancient crusader castle just a few hundred yards off the beach on a lonely island adds to the dramatic and satisfying effect. Although I prefer the shell covered beaches of Florida and the pristine Hawaiian beaches to this nicotine littered dune, I do like the idea of relaxing after a quick paced week...
The season is ending in coastal Turkey, all that is left are the Northern Europeans with near Canadian tolerance. I expect tomorrow we'll find more beached tourists with their glossy white skin, their bloated bellies, and their godforsaken Speedos. Although the bikinis and topless sights will be much reduced, I think I prefer this to the more disgustingly hot season. 75oF and sunny with warm water from a season of convective heating beats Minneapolis as fall turns into winter and winter turns to absolute zero, hypothermia, and sure static molecular death with tongues frozen to flag poles... Ok, maybe it is only October, but I need something to gloat about.
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