Before my last trip to Turkey, I didn’t know that, it turns out, this country may be completely different. I was addicted to go there – directly – to Antalya, to rest almost every year: the area is already a long time ago known, the sea is immaculate and almost hot, the beaches are more than good.
In addition, she managed to acquire a close company there, and in Antalya I have fellow Turks with whom you can talk at any time and who will pave the way to the best entertainment place of the town in the evening. I was always satisfied with everything: hotels, and cheerful, harsh tourists, and the flow of plastic Chinese souvenirs at every turn. I quite liked the noise, special cafes, hordes of people.
This year, having listened to the magnificent responses about Mersin and succumbed to the admonitions of my girlfriend, I changed my mediocre direction for the first time. In principle, I did not expect any special differences of this trip from all previous ones. I remember very well how I thought before the plane: “well, Turkey is Turkey in Africa” – although this statement in itself is absolutely ridiculous. It turned out that I was completely mistaken in my own judgments.
Mersin is a completely different Turkey, unknown to most holidaymakers. It is no secret to anyone that Turkey has long since become a kind of “affordable” resort in the whole country. For very many people, especially Russians, vacation in Turkey has long been something commonplace. This fully corresponds to especially well-known resorts, but my language does not turn around to include Mersin there.
In Mersin, it turns out, much calmer and more pleasant than in the same Antalya. The region itself is located slightly south of my usual resting place, and it is felt. It is felt that the sea is different, the air is more transparent, it is generally somehow more.
On this very land, on which Mersin was erected, in which I had to live, countless lives had been lived — fascinating and ordinary, unforgettable and forgotten. This is best of all and, first of all, the scale of what happened, is felt after visiting the city museum (in any case, do not miss it if you visit this city!). The expositions are very exciting, they also cost you to spend your precious time on them, and, especially, the lire spent on a ticket.
Surprisingly, the greatest impression, for some unknown reason, was made on me by a citadel called Kizkalesi. Naturally, it belongs to the main attractions of Mersin, but it is not very often mentioned.
In general, the place is unusual, so nice, relatively serene and incredibly comfortable. I just wanted to share new emotions, maybe it will turn out to dissuade someone else to follow the “Antalya rule” and the others and to visit something more kind and true.
