[Say goodbye to Turkey and say hello to Türkiye. International organizations, including the United Nations, have already adopted Türkiye, following a formal request from the Turkish government.]

I am back in this alluring country after twelve years. Heading straight to Bodrum as first stop, located 840 kms south or an hour flight from Istanbul. Bodrum is a port city in the southwestern region of the country and lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Kerme of the Aegean Sea (opposite the Greek island of Cos).

When people wax lyrical over Bodrum, they are often describing the heavenly bays of the Bodrum Peninsula – often referred to as the jewel of the Turkish Riviera. The name refers to both the largest town and the peninsula as a whole. The Bodrum Peninsula has a rocky swath of sandy beaches and cypress trees, punctuated by whitewashed villages and ancient olive groves.

There were two stops yesterday on the way back from Ephesus: House of the Virgin Mary, a Catholic pilgrimage site based on the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to the stone house by Saint John and lived there for the remainder of her earthly life; and İsa Bey Mosque, one of the oldest and most impressive works of architectural art remaining from the Anatolian beyliks.