From Kiev to Antalya – the couple (and cat) who changed EVERYTHING

Some of you may remember Yuriy and Lena, a lovely couple from Kiev who we met on their first vacation to Fethiye in 2017.

We were so struck by their absolute delight in Fethiye that when they sent us a letter describing their vacation, we posted it.

They had such an incredible visit that, true to their word, they returned for a second visit in 2018.

Now Yuriy and Lena have packed – lock, stock, barrel – with Terra, their 20-year-old cat, and moved to Antalya.

We know there are so many people out there who would love to do the same and so we asked Yuriy, Lena (and Terra) to share – in their own words – their story.

From Kiev to Antalya – the couple (and cat) who changed EVERYTHING

“They say the best place on Earth for us cats is Antalya” – said our tuxedo Terra, 20, last summer, and left us no choice but to pack our things and book 3 tickets for the late October ferry across the Black Sea. Deep in our hearts, we knew she was right. :)))

In short, it was a 3 day trip by car-ferry-car from Kiev. There was a tired night in Odessa, a crazy cold and inhospitable night in the port of Chernomorsk, a beautiful night somewhere in the middle of the Black Sea and an exciting day on the road from the rainy but friendly port of Karasu to Antalya. . Our Antalya.
We’re home, finally.

It would be just unfair not to mention that our desire to move was first pinned down by Fethiye. From 2017, we spent two summer vacations in this heavenly city, met fantastic people there and rooted our hearts on Çalış beach. And I guess that was the point of change. But, thinking about it, we opted for Istanbul. Another place we couldn’t resist and fell in love with. Yes, we are “mega-cop kids”. But. The Mediterranean Sea and the mountains are far from Istanbul. Not too far, sure, but you know.

So, yes – Antalya!

The art of living can be simple. In the middle of the routine office run, you take a vacation once every two summer (or every summer if you have the chance) to go to Turkey …

But sometimes something happens, and all of a sudden you realize that some transformation awaits you. And, maybe, not everything will go as planned. Well, where is the guarantee that what you have in your life right now hasn’t already “gone wrong” ?!

They say that in order to move forward you must be aware of your current limitations. And overtake them.

That’s why, torn apart by thoughts and doubts, we decided to try to change EVERYTHING – our country, our work, our home, our financial guidelines. Sticking to our nature and constantly seeking and finding new meanings – that’s the main thing for us, we decided.

So, as you already know, we set off from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and plunged into the depths of Turkey, Antalya.

Anyone might be thinking – Oh, what is Antalya! There are a large number of Ukrainians, Russians and other people from the former USSR living there. Yes, it’s true. But in Antalya, most of them live in tourist areas along the coast.

We took the risk of settling in a quiet and spacious residential area with very little tourism, 15 km from the sea, where for 10,000 people there are 1-2 English or Russian speakers. And, strangely, no one speaks Ukrainian. In addition, at any time of the day or night, the peaks of the mountains point to our windows.

Scary? Nope

It was scary to make the decision to change EVERYTHING and get our 20 year old cat Terra vaccinated before the trip. Would she survive this trip? It was scary. The rest were trifles.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, our plans for spring 2020 ended in smoke, but … we re-planned everything. And finally got what we wanted. In August 2020, we have already celebrated TAPU in our hands. Our own house. In a completely Turkish house, where there is a bunch of easy-going Turkish neighbors and their wide, astonished eyes. But now we had to go back to Ukraine and prepare for this historic trip to Turkey. Or rather, even three trips. But wait, let me tell you everything in order.

It happened when we only have three members of our team – Lena, me and our cat Terra, who is with us all our life as a couple. And after Terra caught the plans hovering in the air to change absolutely everything in our lives, she yawned and wistfully noted that she wouldn’t mind basking in her old age on the Mediterranean coast under a palm tree!

We had to explain to our queen of cats that the Black Sea is just a big puddle of salt water, that’s not scary, and that was enough for her flawless conduct for 2500 km of travel by land and sea .. (heartbreaking feline songs during the first 4 hours of our drive – don’t count)

Those with experience of moving overseas probably know all about this “workflow” – wrapping endless stuff, re-packing, an attempt to figure out “what’s needed and what’s not so much needed”, goodbye / explanations / sadness / hopes for the future meetings …

After selling most of our stuff, we still had our old car, but even a third of the stuff that was left didn’t fit. Therefore, we borrowed a bigger car from our friends, packed the “unpacked” and set off on a journey – across all of Ukraine from Kiev to Odessa, then on a ferry across the Black Sea and further to across all of Turkey!

As I mentioned, there were 3 trips, 2 of which I took myself. After the first trip, when I brought Lena and the cat to Antalya, I returned the car to my friends in Kiev, got into our car with all the rest of our things and did everything again. way from Kiev to Antalya. (I counted about 14 days in total spent on the road between the old house and the new one)

If you still don’t get bored with all this mess of my emotional memories, here are a few more details about the trip.

Crazy queues at customs in Ukraine, bureaucracy and hours of waiting at the seaport for freight and passengers. I don’t envy those passengers who were there on foot, without cars. The conditions of waiting to land for hours in inhospitable almost wintery weather are simply anti-human. Seriously. (On my second trip I met a middle-aged American there who was trying to figure out what was going on and how to get through all the complicated paperwork and wander along the unlit open-air unpaved walkways. )

The ferry, where no one else wears masks and 99% of the passengers are truckers. For the entire ferry, there is only one cabin for passengers with pets, which must be booked one month in advance. And what can you plan “a month ahead” in 2020, I wonder? When the country’s borders can be closed at any time. And don’t forget that state veterinarian certificates are valid for THREE days – and you have to be on time.

Okay. In this charming atmosphere of exploring the new reality of unpredictability on the Chernomorsk-Karasu ferry, we arrived in Turkey. At Turkish customs, an officer looked at the cat’s veterinary passport in surprise and waved his hand – well, cat, so what?!? – move away, feel free to drink tea here! Ok, maybe he said it in other words, but we have his idea

It is difficult to convey the feeling when we left the port in Turkey. Probably, this is comparable to when you propose to your loved one, and are afraid that they will say “no”… and then you hear “YES”. This is perhaps how we can describe our first kilometers in Turkey.

650 km Karasu – Antalya – and we are at home.

In a place we can call HOME. It won’t become a house right away. We understand that very well. It will be a long time before the walls where we live, this whole neighborhood, the people around us really become our HOME. But now we are on this path. Little by little, step by step.

They say the Great Trail begins with a small step?

(Ah yes! – let’s add some non-lyrical facts.) We are fairly mature people (although not very serious). I am a television director, my wife Léna is a freelance photographer, our cat Terra is the most serious member of our team, and we were quite normally settled in Ukraine, in Kiev.

But, at one point, Lena said, “What’s the point of living without the sea? What is the use of waiting for the rare sunny days? Maybe we should try to change EVERYTHING ?! “

I have to clarify here that the three of us grew up by the sea in Odessa and the smell of sea salt is the smell of our skin (and our fur, to someone, of course).

Yes, we will rebuild all of life. Yes, we will fall off our rungs of the social ladder. We are going to walk away from many close people and risk relationships with them… Yes, this is all a big risk and the cost of a mistake can be very high.

But there is a “But” – if we don’t try now, for the rest of our lives, we’ll say “What if …”.

It’s not for us. We look forward to trying to move forward and discover new sides of our personalities. And the local cultural background, the friendly people and the absolutely fantastic nature are the best conditions to explore our “new us”.

This is how our journey began. And we are on this path. Happy and happy to share our story with you.

%) to be continued! %)

Terra, Lena, Yura

PS: Learning Turkish remains a challenge. Turns out the hardest thing for us isn’t grammar, it’s words. “Sorun deÄŸil” for Terra, however 😉