Goodbye Turkey (November 27th - December 2nd)(continued)
It is now Wednesday evening and I stayed an extra night in Iskenderun after getting a slight case of food poisoning, the first time I have been ill on this trip. It is quite hot here (about 28 C) and I had no energy to cycle today. I also had no desire to eat so literally slept the entire day. I will leave tomorrow for the border and cross into Syria on Saturday so this will be my last entry for Turkey.
It has been a wonderful experience biking here and spending a month in a very hospitable country. The food has been fantastic and I only had 1 day of rain in the entire time here. Turkey reminded me that showing kindness to strangers and taking a little time out of your busy day to sit down and have a glass of tea with someone can make the difference between just another ordinary day and one that is special. There is no way to count how many people went out of their way to greet me, honk their horn, stop and offer food or to simply asked me to join them for tea. It happened every single day that I biked. In my time here I was never remotely concerned for my safety. I also realized something today that I have not done since I entered Turkey just over a month ago and that is to lock my bike. I would never think of going into a restaurant and leaving my bike unlocked and out of sight when in Canada, the U.S or Bermuda but I never did it here. It may seem careless but it really never occurred to me, such is the feeling of safety and ease due to the friendliness of the people.
