Turkey

It was a long trip with short flights, Warsaw to Athens to Istanbul to Antalya. 

I arrived in the Athens airport about 9:30 P.M. with a connecting flight to Istanbul at 7:45 A.M.  So, I was overnight in the airport.  First, the Athens airport is not a major airport.  Warsaw Chopin airport is no great shakes, but Athens is even less impressive.  You take buses to and from the plane sitting on the tarmac and the terminal itself looks like it is out of the 1950s.  Furthermore, and I readily admit that I know nothing of the challenges of Athens, but there are roving squads of police, some carrying fully automatic assault rifles.

I was hoping that I might be able to nap a bit, but I got approached by a squad of them.  One of them said some thing in Greek and I explained that I speak English.  One of the other police officers approached me and said in English, "Are you sleeping in the airport?"  I said, 'I'm trying.  My flight doesn't leave until 7:45 A.M. and I'd like to get a bit of rest.'  He looked at me skeptically and said, 'Show me your passport and boarding pass'.  I did so, he looked at them and then asked, 'Why are you going to Istanbul?'  I answered, 'I am going to Alanya, where I have rented an apartment on the beach for three months.'

He then got a lot friendlier, but at the same time another police officer with lots of rank (three somethings), came up and started talking, sternly in Greek, with my police officer, pointing at me liberally and looking, generally, not very friendly.  I listened to this for awhile and then everybody wandered off after rousting a homeless guy.  The big boss never did look at me with anything other than disdain.  The welcome mat to Athens definitely didn't feel left out.

I ran into a young, British lad on his way to a Syrian refugee camp to volunteer for a year before attending University.  He was particularly keen on political issues and we talked nearly all night.  He looked at my blog and then we exchanged e-mail addresses and promised to stay in touch.  It made the 10 hour layover not at all unpleasant.  We also chatted a bit with a mother and two college age daughters from Seattle.  Of course, the Wuhan virus is a hot topic for most travelers.

I flew from Warsaw to Athens and then Athens to Istanbul on Aegean Air.  The fare for both was just $102.  That included only carry-on luggage and, I just barely got my suitcase and backpack to meet the weight requirements.  I did that by wearing a whole lot of clothes.  When I got to check in, they said, 'What the heck' and let me check my suitcase through to Istanbul for free.  There were two particularly friendly young ladies who also were at the gate and smiled at me a whole lot.  I am not exactly sure why, but I seem to be memorable.

For the low cost of Aegean airlines, I was surprised that they fed me dinner on the first leg and breakfast on the next leg.  At dinner I asked the flight attendent how much a red wine would be and she told me that it was free.  So, I said, 'All righty then' and she pulled out a SPLIT!!  For those who don't know, that is half a bottle of wine.  Crazy. 

When I got to Istanbul, I had a six hour layover to Antalya.  The Instanbul airport is at least 5 times larger than it needs to be.  There is a whole lot of walking past empty check-ins and security areas.  When I got to passport control, there was no waiting.  The young man asked why I was coming to Turkey.  I told him that I had rented an apartment on the sea in Alanya and I was going to 'veg out' for three months.  He just smiled and stamped my passport.  You get an e-visa but they put no visa in your passport.  So, that saves some room.  Every time I go to Belarus they take up two whole pages.

I took Onur Air from Istanbul to Antalya, which was $71.  But the seats were nice and I actually had enough leg room which was odd.  The Antalya airport was sort of what I have heard Turkey is like.  The airport WiFi is 2 Euros per hour, but you still need a Turkish SIM card.  So, I went to the airport  cell phone vendor, but they wanted $42 for the basic package that I paid $3 for in Poland.  I was surprised by how cheap Poland was, but this was way too much.  One restaurant had WiFi but they wouldn't give me the password until I ordered.  So, I ordered a chicken curry.  Then he said, 'But you need to order a drink, too'.  I said, 'Don't push it or I will not buy anything!'  So, he reluctantly gave me the password.

The chicken curry was good and it came with bread, french fries, and a Russian dish, Olivia, which is like a mayonnaise based salad.  The price was a reasonable (for an airport restaurant) $6.  I had booked an inexpensive ($25 per night) hotel in old town.  It was small, but cute.  The Antalya Old Town rather reminds me of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. 

I met a young, Korean college girl (Sophie) in Warsaw and we hit it off.  She is very bright, funny and unlike most of the other people in the hostel, was inclined toward museums and Chopin concerts.  She flew back to Korea for Spring semester on Feb 10, but because of the Wuhan virus, her semester got postponed (25% of her class is Chinese).  So, we agreed to meet in Analya and since I have an apartment she is couch surfing for a minimal subsidy of the rental.

In Antalya, after meeting her for a not very good dinner and some awful Turkish music, I went back to the hotel and slept for about 12 hours.  The next morning we met up for breakfast, walked around Antalya, had some lunch and then went to the bus station to take a two hour bus ride to Alanya.  For some reason, Nomad List gives Alanya a bad rating for walkability.  Why, I don't know.  The beach is about 2 km long and the city goes back only about 6 blocks before it runs into the mountain.  After Warsaw, everything seems ridiculously close.

The apartment is 60 m^2, but I'm sure that includes the two balconies.  The first apartment had a partial ocean view on one balcony and faced the mountains on the other side.  Sophie was disappointed and asked if we could go downstairs and see if we could get an apartment that faces the beach.  They said yes, but that it would be an additional 20 Lira (about $3.25 per day).  I told her that I would pay half if she would pay the other half and she agreed.  It was worth it. 

The apartment is incredible for $400 for the month.  But, it is still a $400 per month apartment.  The Kitchenette is a hot plate.  The tap water is undrinkable (I"m used to that from Belarus), It has one heater in the bedroom and the living room can get chilly at night.  They do have a lot of very heavy blankets, though.  They only have hot water for part of the day and right now, the water heater is broken.  The Internet is bad.  The Android works...barely, but the Windows apps work almost not at all.  Fortunately, Blogger is one of the few sites that does work.

I reserved this place in two week increments and I am going to visit a real estate office and see if I an get something more pleasant for April and May.  However, if not, this is definitely good enough.  Years ago, my wife and I rented an apartment on the beach in Marcos Island and this is better.  So, it will definitely do.  Beach places do tend to be a little more rustic.

If you go anywhere in Europe or East Asia, the pop music is Western 12 tone scales.  However, in Turkey the regular music that you will hear in restaurants, stores, buses, etc. is the weird Arabian sounding music.  It makes me sick to my stomach.  Sophie is also no fan.

After arriving, we went to the grocery store and bought some food.  When we brought it back we discovered that only about half of it is edible.  Oh well, live and learn.  Generally, the Turkish Riviera, as they are starting to call it, is very pleasant, but don't come here for the food, the music or for hot showers.  I will tour Western style apartments later, because they are inexpensive and really look very luxurious.  They mostly cater to upscale Russians who want a condo by the sea.  OK, that kind of describes my wife.

More later.