We got back from Turkey a couple weeks ago and after surviving the chaos of lost baggage, jet lag, and consistent wondering as to why I live in America vs. Europe (this last one was the most common thought actually) I am now able to reflect and think about the trip we had.
It was a wonderful time with some wonderful people. Now, if this was a travel blog, I would write more about the sights we saw such as the Blue Mosque or the Grand Bazaar. But this is not a travel blog – and the links are there for you to read about. 
What I will remember the most won’t be the details of these places but more so some of the funny encounters and awkward situations
You know you are Iranians in Turkey when you notice these things…
- My family speaks Azari, similar enough to Turkish, so we figured we would be fine. Was this true?NO! Well… half of us were fine. It was not the half of us that were Persian. They understood us, we did NOT understand them (as much). But hey, at least half of the communicating party was fine.
- In one of the restaurants, we asked for the check, twice. Instead, we got two cups of tea or “chai.”
- We said “Merci” multiple times.. and they said “Oh are you from France?” :/ no…(Note to self: “Thank you” is really only the same in French and Farsi)
- Best form of communication when you have no other form? Smiling!
- If we started our convo in English when we were in a cab, our wallets were automatically more empty at our destination…
- Hookah/shisha/water pipe was part of a breakfast meal… What?!
- On a carriage ride our driver was very excited to share with us the couple Persian phrases he knew: “dooset daram” and “jigareto” So we taught him: “mimiram barat“.
all the key Persian phrases for survival. - Cats, Dogs and…more cats.. Oh My.
- One day, 60 of us got on a bus to go to a wedding. Enough said.
- You make sure the store owners in the Bazaar know that you are from Iran, not America, so that you can get more of a discount.
Bottom line: Turkey was awesome, these memories were amazing… go when you can!