The Approach of the Holiday - Hoorah!!

It is now merely a matter of five weeks until the family holiday to Olu Deniz in Turkey. This time we are going for two weeks and I am really looking forward to the trip. As is customary (at least in respect of my preparations for the trip) I shall begin the not unpleasant task of selecting my holiday reading. I tend to take a great doorstop of a tome for use in the room or apartment and some thinner titles for the trips to the beach or pool. I also tend to read titles usually linked in some way to where I am staying – I like to think of it as ‘method reading’. I can recall many enjoyable hours reading Zorba the Greek whilst sitting on the beach in Skiathos – it is a slight affectation I know but good fun all the same!

I have a number of Turkish history based titles currently adorning the bookshelves at home but am loathe risking taking them abroad – I will try and acquire the paperback editions where I am able for the trip (they would also be useful for the train journey to and from work) as it is easier carrying them as well as less painful should they be lost/damaged/dropped in the sea etc! Without a doubt my most popular holiday read and also the ‘default’ book of choice is ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ by T.E.Lawrence. I have read this many times but can always find time to revisit it. I have a hardback version of this and have actually worn out a number of paperback versions so this may make the cut again – especially as there is a very cheap Wordsworth Classics edition available for a couple of pounds.

I have a couple of trips planned for the cultural aspect of the holiday – Fethiye has a number of interesting 16th century buildings to look at and there is a crusader era castle nearby which looks worth a look. During a two week holiday we tend to have around four days of sightseeing and the touristy trip stuff and the rest of the time is spent chilling out or ‘chillaxing’ as my daughter describes it………..;-) Needless to say the local cuisine and beverages will be examined at length!

Due to my redundancy last year we were only able to have a week abroad due to obvious financial constraints so this year will be a welcome return to the holiday norm. I can’t wait!