little getaway

me and doctor decided to take a long weekend off and head out of the city, from all the craziness. such a cliche but it really helped. doctor had deserved his vacation and for me it was good to get out of the house and my head for a bit. we headed to Özdere, near Izmir, to an all inclusive hotel. 7h drive more less. nothing fancy, just a very basic place but with the food, drinks, pool and beach. what also helped was getting some good news while there. the date for defending doctors thesis was confirmed, its tomorrow. yay for that. also different sources (police, university) are saying that one working for the government can acquire this or that kind of paper, enabling them to exit the country legally.in september doctor should have graduated and it shouldnt be necessary as he won't officially be working for the gov anymore, but in turkey nothing is certain, so...you better cover all angles. and even now, a lot can happen in a month. but it gave us hope that there are proper channels in dealing with the 'exit' problem...

 looks like lunch.

 me and dctor chilling.

 pool area.

 the quiet and shadowy end of the beach. stony too, but only in the beginning. the water was wonderfully clear and shallow for at least a 100m. perfect.

 beach.

doctor in the sea. he was probably a dolphin in previous life. 

sunset!

next to the hotel there the military's holiday resort. i saw families there too. one day as we were chilling on our sun beds near the fence wall, 3 guys were trying to escape, the fence only goes into the water a few meters...  it looks like it's so easy...  poor guys were stopped by a guard like this. in a few minutes a motor boat came over - obviously planning to pick those guys up, had their escape been successful. i have no idea what happened to the escaping soldiers but im sure nothing good. considering there are repor....rumors of torture and rape taking place after the arrests of a lot of people (who's counting anymore?). aaaanyway im just gonna keep low profile, wanting to get out alive and all...

view from the balcony. 

random turkish scenery. 

Ataturk statue carved into rock, kind of like Mount  Rushmore...  i felt like profile pic would do it the most justice, its not as lookalike as one would hope. this one is near izmir - and really makes you raise your eye brows in "wtf".

another pretty majestic Ataturk statue. located on a hill by a small town. 

on a car ferry heading to istanbul

my bf is listening to 40's musicals (instead of his usual black metal stuff), i think he might have hit his head too hard on the pool bottom. the bump in his forehead doesnt look too bad though. he had some birthmarks removed over a week ago and one of the wounds opened during the holiday too - had to get him re-stiched on our way back. and i got a weird crack on the sole of my foot that aches. holidays are rough.

i decided to try the following series:
Marcella. verdict: yes! love lady detectives
Stranger Things. verdict: Stephen King horror...  im over it, unfortunately
The Night Of. verdict: might make me anxious or uncomfortable but i want to try

Bosphorus bridge is now: 15 July Martyrs' Bridge. there, we woke up these news this morning. 
hotel being built in kadiköy, near a famously smelly creek
chemical castration regulation introduced to sex offenders in turkey
Turkey investigating people who say coup attempt was a hoax