The Overnight Bus Ride

After our final breakfast on board, we disembark from the Metro Star on July 10. We hug our crew good-bye, and invite them to America.

We hang around Fethiye – eating lunch, picking out and up sunglasses! After trying on sunglasses in one store, we continue shopping, then sit down for lunch. Mark looks at Beth, and says "Did you buy those?" Beth's appalled to find that her own sunglasses are on the top of her head, and she's still wearing the $180 Ray-Bans! (We reluctantly return them.)

We board our overnight bus to Cappadocia at 4:00 p.m. Leon avers this is the last overnight bus ride of his life! None of us slept much, but this night bus ride gave us a microcosm of Turkish life. First, you see the beauty and variety of the countryside. Small tea stands dot the road's edge. Fellow drivers range from BMW's to horse drawn carts. You also realize that other drivers are civil; the roads are in good condition (unlike the bus that needs shocks!) The bus has a TV on, set to an all-soap opera channel. Just imagine –hurtling through the night, no shocks, and constant TV!

My favorite memory from this part of the trip is the military good-bye we saw in Fethiye. All Turkish men must serve 15 months in the service. I was told that over 1 million currently serve. In this town, three men were leaving for the service. One family, individually and collectively, were openly weeping. Another family stood to the side, quietly snapping family pictures. The third brought music: a pipe and a drum. First, the males in the family circle danced; then a few women; then more. I was invited to dance, and did so immediately. It was a bittersweet, “snapshot” of real life.

The five of us arrived in Cappadocia, sleep deprived, at 4:30 a.m. We descended into the fairyland of caves and stone chimneys. After luckily being able to check into our rooms, we gathered on the rooftop and watched the predawn flights of hot air balloons, before falling happily into our beds.