Following wisdom from the desert

Todd barefoot on the travertines | Photo by Lauren Girardin

In the middle of the Sahara Desert, Todd and I got advice for our travels to Turkey, a place that at the moment seemed as far away as the stars in the black night sky. Sam, a chatty Chicagoan told us to “hike barefoot down Pamukale‘s travertines at sunset. All the tour groups will be gone and you’ll have the place to yourself.”

Two months later, Todd and I have spent the day with new friends Cara and Zac (read their blog) clambering around the salvage yard-like ancient ruins of Heiropolis, gleefully mocking bikini-clad tourists posing for photos on the steps of the Roman theater, and enjoying a barefoot walk down the white travertines at sunset – just like Sam suggested.

Though we didn’t have any travel suggestions from Sam for our next stops, we had the Turkey guide book she gave us when we parted ways in the Sahara. The book may not have told us that we’d find wild blackberries in Ephesus or kitchy propaganda in Ankara’s Ataturk Museum, but it got us there.