We hit a rough patch in the middle of our time in Turkey. Our arrival to the country found us in good spirits due to high expectations. Istanbul had always been a dream destination of Ben’s and because of this, it had become one of mine. We were both excited to see what this country had to offer because we had heard mostly good things and we even allocated a ton more time for the visit here than in the rest of the Middle East under the assumption that we would need every second of it.
We had a great introduction in Gaziantep, our first Turkish city, when our hosts wowed us with their warmth and generosity. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm gradually waned with each new city and I wouldn’t say that our memories here are as positive as those in some of our previous countries. You could chalk it up to road weariness or frustration over our netbook – of only 6 months – dying right at a time when it was most essential (I was in the middle of a job search). You could blame it on the fact that we had just come from Syria where prices were cheaper and where we were used to their kind of friendliness. Maybe it was the cold weather or the time of year. I would say it was probably all these things combined with the continuous onslaught of experiences that put us amongst some of the worst scam artists and most dishonest vendors we have ever met. It was in Turkey that our guard came up out of necessity.
Our arrival, one stop before Istanbul, to the city of Selcuk found us mentally agitated and emotionally weary. We had just spent the last few days in the small town of Pamukkale where our hotel owners had given us the runaround and most of the business owners, who survive on tourist money, were like hungry wolves ready to pounce on us every time we stepped out of the hotel. We welcomed the change to another Mediterranean setting where life seemed a bit less intense. However, the first order of business was to find accommodation, which had become just about as enjoyable as sticking our hands in a blender. Couchsurfers are few and far between in these towns so the hunt for budget accommodation was necessary.
A few blocks away from the bus terminal, Hotel Antik (Antique in English), caught our eye. It didn’t have the star rating, the lavish lobby, or the uniformed concierge that screams “expensive” so we went in. Immediately, we noticed the manager’s style of “selling the rooms” to us. Instead of showing us the most expensive room and telling us this is 
all he has, only to relent when we start heading out the door, this owner showed us a couple different rooms of different prices…all of them slightly over our price range. The rooms were brightly painted in welcoming colors and there were objects hung to the walls to give them even more of a cozy feel. I was taken in by the bright colors, décor, and cleanliness, of course, but we were both a bit hesitant to agree due to our budget. He was casual in his demeanor and told us that he understands the traveler budget because he has traveled before. He seemed understanding that we may not be able to afford the room and was friendly about us needing to shop around before making a decision. We chatted some more about traveling, about the newness of the hotel, and about the ruins in neighboring Ephesus before heading out to check some other hotels.
Eventually, we found ourselves back at Hotel Antik, and even choosing a room that was the more expensive of the two. We were so taken in by the manager’s honesty that we decided that spending a few extra lira would be a worthwhile investment considering what we had put up with over the past several weeks. We learned that his name is Gursel Senturk, that he used to be a carpet seller (he appraised our newly bought Antalya carpet and we found that it was not 40-60 years old as previously touted, but brand new), that his young cousin helps him at the hotel, that he had just opened it up a few months ago. Like a new house owner, he proudly showed us around the lobby area talking about the artifacts he had hung on the walls and the work he had done to the place. We could sense that this building was this owner’s pride and joy.
He introduced us to his young cousin, who requested that we call him Ronaldo (after the Brazilian futbol player), and we found out that today happened to be his 18th birthday. In fact, we were invited to celebrate later that night with some other hotel guests. We took the rest of the afternoon exploring Selcuk and then made our way back to the hotel. Already, Gursel, Ronaldo, and 2 guests from Japan were celebrating. We had brought wine and the Japanese women brought some biscuits. We spent the next few hours having a mini-party in the hotel room chatting, snacking, and drinking with Travel Channel in Turkish as background noise from the TV.
The next morning, we went up to the rooftop patio and ate a traditional Turkish breakfast, included with our room fee. Although Gursel and Ronaldo had stayed up long after we had gone to bed the night before, they were still up bright and early to serve us breakfast. Gursel even stepped out in the middle of our dining to purchase strawberries from a nearby market so that we would have a little something special for our breakfast.
I am sorry to say that our stay in Selcuk was a brief one as Istanbul was calling, but unlike many of the Turkish towns we had visited prior to Selcuk, we left with fond memories. Gursel’s genuine and caring ways refreshed us and gave us new energy to face the next destination and beyond.