A Family That Bathes Together Stays Together!

Spending the last week in Bodrum, thanks to my parents time share, has been filled with experiences that will be discussed at family events for years to come. Katie's parents and sister Sarah joined us in Turkey and we spent the days laying in the sun, scuba diving and exploring the Turkish specialities that the Bodrum region has to offer.


We stayed at a resort called Club Flipper. It was located on a quiet bay on the Bodrum Peninsula. It provided a home base for us to go exploring and also a relaxing sanctuary with it's five pools and two beaches. From "The Dolphin" we explored the ancient Bodrum Castle that housed an Underwater Archaeological Museum for the numerous ancient shipwrecks that scatter the local waters. The amount and quality of the artifacts that were saved after thousands of years on the ocean floor was amazing. The castle itself was a piece of history that was used throughout time to defend the port of Bodrum. As recently as the First World War it still held military significance. The French ended up destroying it in a naval battle but it was soon rebuilt and turned into the museum it is today.


This museum gave us the itch to do a little underwater exploring for ourselves, we decided to go scuba diving the following day. The day consisted of a reef and wreck dive, while Coke, Kirk and Sarah snorkeled above us. An old military ship had been sunk three months earlier for the main purpose of the diving industry. It had little sea life living amongst the wreckage but it provided us with a learning experience on how to navigate the close corridors of underwater wreckage. We learned that the waters off the coast of Turkey do not include an abundance of colorful fish but we were still able to see a large eel and numerous schools of small fish.


Having explored the treasures under the water's of Turkey we decided to see what the little towns and people had to offer around Bodrum. This is when we learned of the delight of the Turkish baths. The baths in Turkey are world famous and this was one experience we were looking forward to from the beginning stages of our planning. What I did not realize at the time was, it would become a family affair.

Let me first start the story off by explaining that Turkish Baths are not usually coed and clothing is not optional. I spent the first part of our trip getting used to the idea of spending an afternoon in a steam filled room naked with my father-in-law. After coming to terms with this and marking it up to a new experience we all headed for the oldest Turkish Bath in the area. When we arrived the boys were separated from the girls (as expected) and we were given towels to us to make our way through the common areas. So it begins!!!!

Kirk and I were quickly shown to the steam dome after changing into our unusually thin towels (think loin cloth). As we sit in the room and discuss the news of the day we start to relax and let the heat take it's effect on our tired muscles. Our conversation covered every topic except the lack of clothes we are wearing! I was content with the level of embarrassment that I had already experienced. We even joked about how funny it would be if the girls walked in and saw us sitting there as nude as the day we were born. Just then the door opened and Sarah was standing there wrapped nicely in her towel. She obviously was as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Soon, Katie and Coke came walking in the room. I can't explain the level of embarrassment that comes over one when they are sitting in a steam room with their in-laws with little more than a loin cloth to cover his pride. As we were not the only ones in the room we did our best to muffle the laughter and the redness of our faces. Once again I had to get used to the situation and chalk it up to new experiences.

The remainder of the bath experience was grand. It was a little easier to enjoy the experience once the message and scrubbing part of the bath started. Having another person lather, scrub and rub your worries away does a lot to help you forget that you are lying naked with your in-laws in the room. Afterwards we all had a great laugh and enjoyed the feeling our our newly exfoliated skin.