Meet Emily Kate Merrick!
She’s a 001 Country Per Year challenge taker and an aspiring documenter of life’s curiosities and intricacies currently living in Århus, Denmark. Today she’s posting her favorite photos from traveling to 15 countries!
2011 DESTINATIONS: Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Egypt
TRAVEL TIPS FOR TURKEY: This year we spent three weeks in Turkey with two weeks on the road headed east, and nothing was as valuable as a journal, face wipes, a good guidebook and a change of underwear. After a few days in the height of summer, you somehow manage to acclimatise to waking up clammy and stuck to the sheets of your cheap hotel, and you begin to love it.
We skipped the tourist-headache that can be the Agean Coast in July and headed south east from Istanbul over 2 weeks. Taking the long haul buses/coaches is the cheapest option but make sure you book a couple of days in advance to popular places like Cappadocia or anywhere along the Black Sea coastline. At the rest stops, make sure to ask the driver or hostess how long you will be stopping for before you wander off and come back with no bus waiting for you!
The ruins of the city of Ani, on the Turkish border with Armenia were a history lover’s crumbly dream: towering churches split in half, bullet-ridden frescos and locals herding cows across what once was a powerful city.
Van (recently rocked by huge earthquakes) was a chilled out fusion of Kurds, Turks and students, situated right by a huge freshwater lake. Lazy days wandering around the bazaars and drinking tea with welcoming locals in dingey cafes full of old men and backgammon boards.
Antakya (Hatay), right by the Syrian border, was a crazy mash-up of Arabic and Turkish culture and had the best baklava bar none. The hospitality of strangers was overwhelming: once as we sat on a curb in the bazaar, wondering what to do and munching on some fresh bread, the local store keepers came round and gave us tea. No sales pitch, no conversation, just a firm nod and a quick smile, and he was back to his shop. We tried to pay him and he refused, pressing our hands with a firm and comforting handshake.
If you are in Turkey, remember to drink Raki at dinner and çay any time. Whenever you get a chance to eat, drink, smoke shisha or dance with the locals, do so, and it will make your trip.
TRAVEL GOALS: Go, explore, learn, and document it with words, photos and video!
COUNTRIES VISITED: England, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Thailand, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Egypt.
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