Well it’s been a year since my last travel adventure began. This time instead of taking in the sights and sounds of Central Africa I have made my way to Turkey to experience Europe, Asia and the Middle East all rolled into one land full of rich history and culture.

I haven’t even been here for a full two days and I already love it. It’s unmistakably different from the sunny dust-filled streets of Rwanda with our first full day being cloudy, cold and rainy. Not exactly the stereotypical Turkey we think of right?

After a night in Istanbul we flew to Erzurum in Eastern Anatolia. While it’s definitely a conservative Muslim city, it is also home to Ataturk University which provides the city with a stark contrast between the two sets of moral codes. It also provides a stark contrast between last summer’s experiences in Africa and the new ones I’ll have this summer. The only difficult part to adjust to is that here in Erzurum English is not widely spoken. In Rwanda I could speak English and French without a worry but here in Turkey it’s hard to buy a Coke without running into some speed bumps. I love this challenge and am looking forward to the Turkish lessons we’ll be taking tomorrow morning.

(Visiting a mosque in Erzurum.)

That’s all for now! Apologies for the poor content of this post but I’m surprisingly still exhausted. Until next time!