Along with a whole plane load of Israelis, we boarded the airplane for the 2 or 3 hour ride to Turkey. Once there, we were all distributed into our various buses that would take us to the pre-arranged hotels. Our bus was filled with about a dozen and a half of us, excited and ready to go! Only first the driver thought he would let us sweat it out a bit first. And sweat, I must say, ended up being the theme of the weekend! But the driver had water for sale!!!.........but only for Turkish money, which none of us had! whatever.
Anyway, we finally arrived at our beautiful hotel, at the same time that another bus of some other nationality (Germans maybe if my memory serves me right). Instead of having us all line up and dealing with us one by one in order, they collected all of the passports and then had to organize them, and then began to call names........but not to check us in..........to give us a check in form.........then you returned it...........then waited more...........then they organized some more...........then they finally began calling names one by one to check us all in. WHEW! It was exhausting!
Once we finally arrived in our room, we were pleasantly surprised...we had asked for a family room, and were given a room that was more like a mini townhouse.........our room was on the entrance floor, then there were steps going down into another room for the kids. Unfortunately, our friends, who asked for the same type of room, did not get it. I felt guilty for a second, but they managed.
The hotel was fabulous..........the water slides in addition to the pools were the highlight, and the kids had a BLAST! There was also a cool gameroom, and a mini bowling alley! We were thrilled.
EXCEPT..............(you knew there had to be an except, right?)
There was no air conditioning in the Dining Room OR the hallways OR common areas of the hotel! Picture getting all showered after a day at the pool, and primping up for dinner (ok, so I don't primp that much, but others do!), and walking out of your room only to be hit by scorching heat! ugh. Then, you walk into the Dining Room thinking you'll get your reprieve, but noooooo, instead, you feel like you are on the menu, being cooked right along with the chicken! ugh. It was awful!
I think one of the only areas that were air conditioned was the lobby! Oh, and the little shops each had their own a/c units.....to lure us in I suppose! Well, it worked, and we spent quite a bit of time wandering in and out of the shops just to get a break.
In one shop, i got more than just a break from the heat, I got a good laugh as well. It was the everything shop........you know the kind, where they sell everything from gum to cigarettes, to condoms to barbie dolls. Or, in this case, FULAH DOLLS! Have you ever seen these things? I was so amused by the selection of Fulah Dolls.........complete with Berka for your daytime wear, and for the time when your Fulah doll is feeling a bit more daring...............a sleeveless evening gown and high heels!!! I was cracking up. I tried to get a picture, but unfortunately my camera phone was acting up. BUT, DON'T FRET...........YOU'RE IN LUCK............it just so happens that I found a pic online. So here my friends, I give you......................Fulah! haha enjoy! And oh, make sure that when you book YOUR trip to Turkey that you check on the status of the a/c in the Dining Room of your hotel, it makes all the difference! :)
