Turkey-1985- day one

A cold shower which turned my skin blue. This was the first morning in Turkey. After the shower, I headed out to explore. There was a hill behind the 'hotel'; a mound might be a better way of describing it. The view from the top of the mound took my breath away. I stumbled on a scene from a fairytale....cobble stone streets....horse drawn carts full of hay and other merchandise.

The streets were lined with little shops. Do memories have smells? I swear I smell the bread from the little bakery. There was a butcher shop, a carpet shop and oh my the coffee shop! Not coffee shop as in 'starbucks'-- no, no, no, this was a shop which actually sold coffee for you to take home and make- brew or whatever. The owner offered to make me some "Please try"-- I was game. Little did I know what I was in for. Turkish coffee was something I had never tasted before. When the man handed me the tiny cup, I thought it was so cute. Oh my, how can looks be so deceiving. The cute, little cup of coffee packed a punch like I've never had before. It was powerful. Put me on a caffeine high for hours- maybe even days.

Back up on the mound, I turned to look at the magical town. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. All I wanted to do was have the imprint of that memory forever etched in my mind. I didn't want to lose the brilliant colors, the rhythmic sounds, and the warm smells. Now 23 years later, I close my eyes and the memories flood over me. I take a deep breath and smile.