I was reminded today by a good friend of a time in the early 90’s when I went sailing on a holiday in Turkey. I took time off from my nursing in the Middle East.
It was singularly the greatest adventure of my life. And as all good adventures are, one of the greatest disasters. I have dined out on this story many times and to this day still dream of going back and sailing around the Turkish coast again. Besides who doesn’t love a big dirty kebab? ………Just me then.
It started with 12 of us from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia wanting to charter a boat and sail around the Mediterranean. One of the gang was a sailor and suggested we head to Marmaris in Turkey as he had skippered chartered boats from there before.
We were all keen to leave the Middle East for some well-earned rest and relaxation. Not having to wear an Abaya and listen to prayer calls all day was great freedom for us all.
Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time in Riyadh (apart from my jail experience. See blog for further details http://adeleleahy.ie/riyadh-jail-part-1/ and http://adeleleahy.ie/riyadh-jail-part-2/) and enjoyed the culture immensely but we all looked forward to a reprieve from the Muslim way of life at times and a bit of western wildness.
All the best
Stay fab
Adele
