1/29/2023 0 Comments Alaçatı & Çeşme VisitToday was a ton of fun!! Dr. Baian took me on a trip with one of our tour guides and his wife to some of the coastal towns in Turkey. We set off in a van early in the morning and drove for about 2 hours through Izmir and out to the rural areas of the coast. It was so beautiful getting to see the countryside and different towns across the coast. We stopped in Alacati first around 1pm to try and grab some food. We got a little turned around and walked for awhile, and then finally came up on the main town area. We sat for some tea and treats to warm up, then walked around the town. Alacati is a very popular coastal town in Turkey, the streets filling with tourists over the summer. It was even very busy while we were there. There were these beautiful windmills overlooking the town which was a cool site to see. We then got back on the road and headed to Cesme. Cesme is another coastal town in Turkey, where you can see one of the Greek islands in the distance. While walking around the town during the day it felt very posh, fancy restaurants, and beautiful homes. Unfortunately at night it turns into an escape route for refugees smuggling themselves across to the Greek island in very poor conditions. Sometimes refugees will wait in the tree lines for days waiting for a signal from one of the smugglers, where they have a short amount of time to run across and get in an extremely unsafe boat to try and make it across unnoticed. It felt very strange walking around the beautiful (and kinda boujee) knowing the despair that comes out at night for refugees trying to flee for the chance at a new life. I wish we had more time to visit Cesme again to meet with some of the NGOs to learn more about what happens here and how they are helping.
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