Turkish Delight… Turkish Twist

After a great nights sleep we decided to check out the massive outdoor bazaar in Marmaris. However, once we spotted the long beach front and the lively promenade we knew what we had to do. Even though we did not bring our suits, the beach bum attitude had not been shaken out of us quite yet so we took a stroll along the endless boardwalk.

The never-ending boardwalk!

It reminded us a little bit of Perissa with the free sunbeds and straw umbrellas along the sands in front of the literally thousand or so restaurants and bars that lines the boardwalk. We made it about 2km or so the sun and heat started getting to us but with no end in sight we decided to turn back. The employees of the restaurants that line the beach are extremely proactive in their selling techniques but also surprisingly friendly and respectful. We stopped and talked with a few of them who were happy to talk with some Americans. According to them not to many Americans make it to Turkey. We spoke with one hotel/restaurant owner who after several minutes of casual conversation asked me if I was in the CIA ??  We shared a laugh about it after I said no way but I still think he suspected I was; maybe too much shisha or something.

We headed for the shade of a big beautiful palm tree and ended up falling asleep. Almost immediately after, we were asked to move by two security guards. We stumbled out of there half asleep but soon found ourselves engaged in more friendly conversation with locals.

One guy we met was the owner of the local hookah shop, the conversation flowed nicely and he invited us in for a smoke and some cay. After packing the hookah several times and two cups of cay each we finally figured out what we had been missing in our travels.

Shisha!

Then this brilliant idea seemed to strike us at the same time. Communicating basically telepathically we decided on a small hookah and bartered with him for it, plus all the necessities.

Eventually we tore ourselves away after nearly an hour of conversation, shisha and cay. We ate some lunch and did some more shopping since Chels was on the hunt for some cool island gear. We found something to accommodate her needs nicely and continued on with our day. We grabbed a local beer to relax some and caught some of the world cup. After the game we headed back to pick up our things and get out of town.

Local flavor