Finding Unexpected Joy in Turkey

I never expected to be able visit ” target=”_blank”>adjust my day. 

So how could I travel to Turkey, where the buildings are so ancient that accessibility isn’t really an option? I saw photos, I heard stories and travel tales, I tasted fresh Turkish delight and made gozleme. I hung evil eyes (gifts from loved ones), and read voraciously. Turkey? It was my Mt. Everest. And then. Turkish Airlines asked the ” target=”_blank”>White House Travel Bloggers Summit to visit Turkey.

I asked if they could help make it accessible. ” target=”_blank”>flying from Chicago to Istanbul was effortless. Airport handicap access is not the same the world over, but I had no issues. In fact, in Turkey, Turkish Air has these amazing trucks that lift up to the plane and then drop down and take you to the airport – all in your wheelchair. Genius. At first, handicap accessibility was easy. I can do up to a flight of steps, so walking a few steps up into the bus that took us into Istanbul was no problem. Our hotel (the Renaissance Bosphorus) was completely accessible. I began to wonder if I had made much ado about nothing. ” target=”_blank”>I discovered a tree in a bathroom, a secret garden, new friends with a wicked sense of humor, and a slice of life in Istanbul. It was glorious.

” target=”_blank”>Kusadasi, to visit Ephesus, the ” target=”_blank”>Hotel Kismet in Kusadasi, one of the staff very kindly took me down the hill in a golf cart, so I could swim in the Aegean as often as I could. For a mermaid such as I, this was more than welcome – it was life-giving and soul-nourishing. I know he was busy, and I appreciated his efforts.

” target=”_blank”>fall in love with this venerable culture and country, which welcomed me with open arms.

  ” target=”_blank”>Wandering Educators.