Goodbye Turkiye (for now)

 

With my 90-day Turkish visa about to expire, the search began again for a new home.  And though it took me a while to get used to Antalya, I’ve come to love it almost as much as Istanbul, making it doubly hard to leave the country this time.

Newsflash:  I really like Türkiye.

So it was interesting to see an article about the country adopting a new digital nomad visa.  The qualifications look good.  The country wants you to bring in $3,000 a month in salary OR have $30,000 in savings.  I don’t have the job yet (and the hunt for one remains a soul-sucking nightmare), but the savings part looks good.  Also, the other stipulations seem pretty reasonable though I need to do more research.  I still have my heart set on living in Portugal, but hearing news of this visa started me thinking about how great it would be to have a place in both countries.

I’m not rolling in dough like that, but it was still a nice thought.

Since I didn’t want to piss off the Turks by overstaying my welcome, I knew I’d better skedaddle.  Time to boomerang back to Portugal except ... I’m not sure what’s happening to the Airbnb prices there.  I really want to go home but finding a place to stay in Funchal for less than $100 a night is getting tough.  The mainland is no better. 

And, alas, I feel another trip to the U.S. is looming.  I don’t want to return but … mail and supplies and … whatever. 

The fact is, I really hadn’t intended to be nomadic for this long.  My life has become the definition of ‘winging it’.

On my last day in Antalya, I revisited a beachside restaurant called the Dubai Club for lunch.  Not only did the lady with the butt-length braids at the front entrance remember me from the previous week, but one of the waiters also remembered my order.  How did he do that?  I mean, I know I’m somewhat distinctive as one of the few black tourists in the entire city, but still …

The same waiter brought my bill later on.  I asked him when the place closed and he said the restaurant was open from 9 to 2 or 3 in the morning.  He works 10 to 17 hour shifts a couple of days a week.  When my mouth dropped open, he said he was young so he could handle it.  A beach in Antalya is a gorgeous place to work, and he was indeed a young guy, but that schedule is just stupid.

Before long, it was time to pack up and move again.  Grabbed an Uber/cab back to Antalya Airport.  Since this is a smaller airport, getting through the lines wasn’t too arduous, leaving me some time to wander around.

Can someone please tell me why there’s an Arby’s in the Antalya Airport?   Why?  McDonalds and Starbucks I can understand as they are everywhere.  But Arby’s?  Really???

Anyway, another 1 ½ hours back to SAW.  I grabbed another cab and headed for a hotel that was closer to Istanbul Airport for my next international flight.  Now, by this point, I had taken numerous taxis to and from both SAW and Istanbul into the city.  The cost was usually around 1000-1400 lira – approximately $30-$40 USD.  Imagine my shock when traveling between the airports saw the price almost triple.  Are you serious? 

That bill just added to the stress of the travel day even as I checked into the hotel.  The lovely receptionist listened to my woes, telling me I got scammed and offered me a cup of coffee. I declined, deciding to drop my stuff off and find something to eat.

The Fly Point Hotel is located in the Arnavutkoy neighborhood of Istanbul.  This is very much an in-between place for tourists needing access to Istanbul Airport.  There are a lot of hotels in the area and the restaurants have most of their prices in euros instead of lira.  I was still in lira mode so this surprised me more than anything else.

Taking a walk around, I was happy to see the mosques, flags, stores, and animals that are part of the Turkish experience.  The rest of the area was kind of industrial and not much to look at.  It just made me miss Balat and the Bosphorus.

A single night in the hotel, my last Turkish breakfast for a while (buffet style this time along with a cappuccino from one of those nifty coffee machines), then I checked out of the room.  I sat in the lobby of the hotel for a few hours as my flight didn't leave until around 6 p.m.

A quick (and cheap) Uber to Istanbul Airport and, after going through initial security, I checked the big board for my flight.  How come every flight was listed for several hours before and after mine and yet my flight was missing?  I kept checking my phone and checking the board but came up with nothing.  

Eventually I had to hit two information desks before I could get an answer.  Apparently, my flight had been cancelled and I'd been bumped to the next one leaving at 7.  After some more waiting for the ticket booth to open, I quickly checked my bag and got my ticket.

Even though my initial entry into the country was over a year ago (!), the experience is still quite vivid in my mind.  Because of that, going through Turkish passport control will always make me nervous.  But, once again, there were no issues.  I hadn't overstayed my time and the laws hadn't changed since entering the country.  Sphincter unclenched, I traveled the 20 miles through the airport to wait for my next flight.