Chris went and a had traditional Turkish barbershop experience today. Haircut, straight razor shave, a facial , the whole works. He looks like he is 10 years younger and feels like a million bucks. Now we are off to Asia for lunch. It's just across the bridge .
Chris: I saw this barbershop on a YouTube channel I follow called On World
Travel. It's a really good channel, it's a young couple from California who travel all over the world. During Covid they couldn't travel internationally so they bought an RV and went all around the US. They did episodes in Marfa Texas, Port Aransas Texas and Austin. Three places we've been to many times and just love so that was cool. But I digress. They did several videos in Turkey. When they were in Instanbul Nate needed a haircut and struck out to find a traditional Turkish barber shop. He found one actually named, Traditional Turkish Barber. It looked like such an amazing experience that as soon as I saw it I told Rhonda, I'm doing that, at that shop, with that barber.
By our last day in Istanbul I had started to waver some, not because I didn't want to do it but because I was afraid it would consume too much time. But Rhonda insisted, you never do anything to pamper yourself, you never spend money just on you. I don't care if it takes all day she said. Besides, I want to see it. So, we spent thirty dollars on a cab and 45 minutes in Istanbul traffic and arrived at Traditional Turkish Barber. The barber and the shop I recognized instantly but man, the place was tiny. But really cool. He cut my hair really fast and I'm thinking is this guy doing a good job going this fast ? But I soon realized he definitely knows what he's doing, those scissors were flying. He was awesome to watch. I hadn't gotten a haircut in a while because I wanted to get one in this shop so my hair was really long. When he was done, I didn't have a single hair on my shirt. At home when I get a haircut I have to go straight home and take a shower to get the hair off of me. I'm running on too long but man, it was just amazing. He put all kinds of creams and oils in my hair and left it on while he gave me a straight razor shave, something I've always wanted. It was amazing, then he lit a little brush type thing that was in some kind of flammable liquid I guess, then blew it out and pop pop popped around the tops and sides of my ears to burn off the hair. It was very hot but it didn't hurt. I've never thought I had a lot of ear hair but I guess I did because it really stunk ! Then a facial mask and creams and oils on my face, lord knows what all he did but by the time he was done my hair looked great, and my skin looked great, Rhonda and I both thought I looked younger, that did last by the way. I looked so good, for me, it looked like I had on makeup. It was the first time I have ever gotten a haircut and felt like I could immediately put on a suit and go to something formal and feel like I looked as good as I could possibly look. It was an amazing experience. There are several barbers in Dallas who say they give traditional Turkish haircuts and facials and I'm definitely going to check it out but none are THE Traditional Turkish Barber. I know him personally.
Rhonda: I have the videos of his experience but we will have to be at home with excellent WiFi to upload them. It was great to watch it and see Chris get pampered. I think it changed his life!
Then we went and found a taxi to go over to the Asian side of turkey for lunch at a restaurant that Seda highly recommended. We were looking for a taxi and this kind older man came and said let me help you find the right one. He walked us to a taco stand and picked out the right one and talked to them and negotiated the price. He told us he loves his country and he wants visitors to be happy and there are good and not so honest cab drivers. He wished us bon Voyage and put us in the taxi. It was the sweetest thing. It reminds me that if we are in downtown Dallas to do the same to tourist. It means the world to have that kindness.
We got back to our room about 430p and went to the bar for a wine and snacks. We played Rummy Cube for a while and looked out at the water. It was a lovely day. We were in bed and asleep by 8pm for a very early and very long next day in Egypt.
Love y'all.
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