Time to hit the high seas for a short but international ferry ride. Destination: Çeşme, Turkey. Çeşme is a beach-centric town located near Izmir on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Mainly a holiday destination for Turks, the town sports many upscale amenities and wild beach clubs, both of which we were to experience.
We hopped on the ferry at 8AM and all of a sudden hear that distinctive “GRRRRRrrrrrrummmmmbbbble” of motorcycles. Harleys-Davidsons? In Chios?! Within minutes, the Harley-Davidson Club of Chios rolls their hogs onto our ferry. After departing and spending the good part of 15 minutes covertly trying to get a good shot of these beefcakes, they motion to me to take a picture. In actuality, they wanted me to get in the picture with them! Here’s the result:
Turns out, they were returning on the same ferry as I would be, so we made plans to reunite.
I bid my biker friends adieu and we caught a cab to our hotel, the Ilica. What a difference from only a few days before and our Naples low-budget special! The Ilica features three pools, a hot tub, a beach, two sun decks (one with tiki thatched roof), kiddie pool and thermal pool (which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years, but is supposed to be full of good-for-you algae. Um, I’ll pass). Unfortunately, all the glitz and glamor came with an ungodly expensive price tag for sunblock. Sean’s and my paste Irish bottoms require inflated SPFs, and the hotel wanted the equivalent of $45 for SPF 30! And we thought it would be heat stroke that made us pass out! After wandering the streets into the town, Ilica, for affordable sunscreen and Turkish lira, we hit the pool and waited patiently for our friends. In the meantime, we discovered super-awesome floating trampolines to clamber and bounce and flip all over.
Our friends began arriving; we were ecstatic. A wedding brought us to Çeşme, that of our very good NYC friends Onur and Chrissy. I met Onur on a dance floor many parties ago, and met his now lovely wife, Chrissy, soon after they first met. These two are so madly in love, they make the world a happier place every time they light up each others’ eyes. Onur is originally from Turkey, while Chrissy hails from Ohio. As such, they had two weddings: one in Ohio over Memorial Day and the second in Turkey. Fate smiled down on me by lining up the Italy and Turkey weddings so close together, making our attendance possible. I even bought a swanky new BCBG evening gown for the occasion. Many of our nearest and dearest friends from all over the globe flew in for the occasion. It was time to, in my friend Wendy’s words, “make party.”
We congregated on one of the decks, lounging the afternoon away in the sun, dipping our toes in the icy Aegean waters. My friend Jane nearly — accidentally — gave me a black eye tossing sunblock right at my face. Thank you, cheap sunglasses! Then, Sean accidentally referred to the pillows being as “soft as a pillow of butt.” I love my friends.
We gussied up and headed to a small fishing port for dinner. Onur, master of ceremonies, introduced us all to his spitting-image and firecracker mother, the sweetest and most tenacious little woman this side of the Ottoman empire. Onur explained the details of the dinner: We go in and pick our mezzes — Turkish appetizers — and then chose the exact fish we want prepared for our main course. After much jostling and menu comparing, Sean, myself and Onur’s friend Herman decided to split a big grouper.
The dinner, oh my god, the dinner! Amazing! The mezzes overflowed with thick yogurt and spiced morsels. I had so many apps, I could barely eat the perfectly grilled grouper. After many toasts and too much food, someone shouted “There’s cats eating the fishermen’s hauls!” Rushing with the other diners, I caught a glimpse of the most polite fighting over free food I have ever witnessed. I wanted to take all these friendly cats home to teach Wingo a thing or two about patience and sharing.
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| [08.06.05] Cesme, Turkey |
