Dalyan – 19th August

I had very kindly been invited to a friend’s house for a Turkish breakfast on Tuesday 19th August. I’ve known Murat from trips I’d been on with family and friends in the past and have always enjoyed his tour guide skills. He does bespoke trips as The Lost Tour Guide now, both in the Dalyan area but also Istanbul and even Montenegro. We hadn’t caught up in ages and Murat had ordered a copy of my book, ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ which he wanted me to sign for him. I arrived at Murat and Sıdıka’s house where their daughter was a little shy at first. I bought her a notebook and a small purse as a little gift and she wanted to see Dad’s book too.
The family welcomed me to eat a feast in their home and I felt a little sorry for Sıdıka as Murat and I chatted about all sorts of shit, including my family, who he had got to know well over the years. My sister was on the other end of the phone and we sent a video and photos. She was in Scotland where her dog, Sumo, was posing for a photo with my book.
After a delicious home cooked breakfast by Sıdıka, we took a few more photos and then it was time to give some attention to Lina Su and the cat – the cat didn’t want our attention and escaped, while Lina Su and I did some drawing. I could’ve stayed longer but I had to get back to work, so I said thank you and farewell with plans to catch up again when Captain Caveman arrived.

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I walked home along the river and caught a glimpse of the garden boat as it went by. Lots of the co-operative boats were lined up in readiness to take tourists to Iztuzu beach after lunch and I noticed they had reduced the return fare to just 100 lira (£1.83). The sun was hot and there were not too many people around. Back at home, I was busy until 8.15pm when I knocked up some veggie fried rice for my dinner and looked forward to an early night – the trick is to fall asleep before the Jazz bar starts playing music.

Gratitude List
1. Having a Turkish breakfast with Murat and his family
2. Selling more copies of my handy travel tips book this month
3. Being busy.

Photo credit – some photos (the better ones) by Murat Deniz, The Lost Tour Guide.