Here it is: Mersin, Turkey - Finally!

Mersin was okay. Yes, just okay. It rained, rained, rained....all day long....there was even lightning and thunder. No bueno.

There were however some good parts. The meat market was really neat - there was a lot of fresh fish....and goats and cows. The meat was literally all hanging ready to take home fully skinned - or if you like you can just take home a giant piece of intenstinal lining. Up to you. (This is the part where I warn you that there are some sort of nasty photos in the gallery....but I just couldn't help myself.)

We (Travel Buddy and I) basically hopped from place to place doing our best to stay dry.

One of my favorite things of the day was the fresh pressed carrot juice. For some reason carrot juice rejuvinates me like nothing else. If I'm feeling melancholy a little carrot juice can potentially bring me out of the dumps. It's actually quite impressive.

Hands down though, the best part of the day was having a bit of tea in a little tea shop. The room was tiny, tiny, tiny. One young fellow stands behind the counter brewing tea. He has a walkie talkie and is receiving orders from all over the area - he breezes in quickly and will take a whole tray of tea in dainty cups through the neighborhood. You'll see little platters with empty cups sitting on the sidewalk and you just have to assume that a runner will be by soon to pick up the tea cups. The tea was good and on a rainy day was exactly what the doctor ordered.

All in all, I wouldn't couldn't Mersin as a future travel destination but, I will say that Turkey is great. The people have an easy laid back way about them, good food and fresh produce and meat abounds....and there is always a warm cup of tea nearby! What else could you want or need?!

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