When Mickey and I were plotting the start of our adventure together post-family vacation, the roughly 200 countries as options felt overwhelming. Literally... where in the world do you go? We fatigued quickly, mulling over the seemingly endless possibilities.
“My cousin Andrea is getting married in Turkey?” I said.
I knew nothing about Turkey, but throwing out the random idea with a reason behind it felt slightly better than throwing a dart at a map, and I sensed we were quickly moving in that direction.
Mickey’s eyes lit up. “No BAD story ever started with ‘this one time, at a Turkish wedding...’”
Five minutes later, we booked two one-way tickets to Istanbul.
We drank wine and ate warm, flakey gozleme w/ the wedding party in remote mountain villages, and got dressed up and danced until our feet hurt at the wedding. I took in early morning coffee with my Aunt Connie, and went for a run along the Mediteranian Sea with my Uncle John. Post-wedding, we journeyed into the Pamukkale salt pools, hiked 17 miles all over the peaks and valleys of Cappadocia, and visited the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. We ate iftar (the sundown meal that breaks the fast for people celebrating Ramadan) in downtown Istanbul with thousands of Turks. It was magical. Moving. Inspiring.
Turkey is one of my favorite places we visited last year, and we honestly probably wouldn’t have gone to there if we hadn’t gotten that invitation to my cousin’s wedding. And if we wouldn’t have gone to Turkey, then we probably wouldn’t have gone to Israel, or Jordan, or taken a ferry down to Egypt... the list goes on and on. Every decision you make leads to the next one. We said yes on a whim, and made the rest up as we went. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Sometimes it’s fun to know where you’re headed and where you’re going. And sometimes, it’s fun to just jump and figure it out as you go. My natural inclination is the former, but I’m trying to stretch myself to be more of the latter sometimes bc it seems like most of the greatest adventures life has to offer aren’t down worn routes and well-laid plans...
Next up: Israel 🇮🇱
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