I had a wonderful time at the 5 Senses of Turkey event courtesy of Thomas Cook Airlines. A bunch of travel and lifestyle bloggers were invited to experience what Turkey has to offer by transforming Paradise by Way of Kensal Green with traditional and authentic music, wine, mezes, fashion and more! The venue was absolutely beautiful; the overall ambience feels like I was transported into Turkey and I was excited to get to know what Turkey has to offer through Thomas Cook’s 5 Senses: Taste, Sound, Touch, Smell and Sight. It was a fantastic event for an airline as a way to promote their new routes and what better way than to tease us.
Taste:
I think everyone had the same idea by diving straight to the bar which is a great sign! I was torn to choose between the 3 mouthwatering cocktails: The Antalyan Dream (which is a Turkish delight martini with rose water), Paradise Night in Izmir (gin, galliano, orange blossom, pomegranate and mint) and a Dalaman Citrus Ice Tea. Thankfully I arrived rather thirsty so I managed to sample the latter 2 cocktails with some of the lovely bloggers I met on the night. I was very nervous to turn up without a plus one as it is daunting to mingle and make the first moves to chat to one another. Thankfully; we were all like minded with the same interests that united us here at the event! The delicious cocktails already had us in the mood to discover more of the 5 senses and just in time; the warm meze platters arrived to feed the hungry bloggers. I am no stranger to Turkish food; it’s one of my favourite favourite cuisines (my best friend is from Gazientep, Turkey and my future-brother-in-law is Cypriot Turkish) so their food goes down very very well for me 
Sound:
I enjoyed every detail of traditional and authentic experiences and the musicians of the night really brought the room to life. The guy on the drums was a flirt though; caught him a few times winking at us haha!! If I was tipsy enough I am sure I would have joined in with a bit of belly dancing with the outfits offered in the room too! The guys were fantastic as they offered the authentic music of Turkey and not Justin Timberlake’s What comes around comes around fusion to Turkish rifts! (Image taken from Thomas Cooks official blog).
Touch:
I am so proud of myself; the two wonderful ladies behind the sense of “touch” station got us hands on to creating our very own body scrub! I seem to have this idea that Turkey really love their rose water as I seem to have sampled this in their cocktails and now in a body scrub. I am a sucker for rose water; who doesn’t like to be smelling of rose petals? Sugar scrubs are fantastic for face exfoliation and sea salt scrubs for body exfoliation. I am so sad I never got to learn how to make Turkish Coffee; I absolutely love their coffee. Correct me if I am wrong but apparently; when you finish drinking your coffee; you tip your coffee cup upside down, once you have waited after a minute you flip the cup back up and can tell your own fortune by looking into your cup. My last Turkish coffee experience was that I was going to marry an admiral in the village under a hot sunny day my best friend was able to confirm this with smile 
Scent:
The handsome gentleman behind the sense of scent drew us in with Turkey Bazaar of traditional apothecary, essential oils and spices. The bottles in various shapes, sizes and designs were so beautiful and delicate it matched the scents that came with it. Some were harder to guess but of course; I got the rose water essential oil scent correct as bloggers; we love to take pictures of all things shiny and pretty so this was a popular station to admire the beautiful creations of these delicate bottles. We were very lucky to have him to tell us more about these scents and all the history that came with it.
Sight:
Last but not least; we all secretly enjoyed dressing up in exotic accessories and props! I’ve already had a fair bit of wine and cocktails that evening so I went all out with the fes hat, the belly dancing wrap and cape! It was a fabulous cape I must say and a great giggle with the bloggers…although I probably was still a couple of cocktails away from my attempt to belly dance.
The night came to an end and I really enjoyed myself meeting bloggers I’ve met before, spoken to but never met and new faces in general. My favourite part of the evening was for sure the cocktail sampling and as an avid tea drinker myself; the ice tea mocktail was my favourite (I wished I had another). I came home with a generous goody bag with all the information I needed to know that Thomas Cook has to offer for their new routes to Turkey: Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum and Izmir.
Antalya:
Antalya is the biggest city on the Turquoise Coast, with the imposing Taurus mountains providing a backdrop and the Düden Waterfalls rushing through, it’s not short on beautiful natural phenomena. However it is also home to some of the region’s most interesting historical sites such as Hıdırlık Tower and Hadrian’s Gate.
Dalaman:
If you’re looking for azure blue water and golden beaches , this is the place for you! Head to the famous inlets of Fethiye and walk in the footsteps of James Bond in Skyfall at Calis Beach. Check out the pebbled beach and blue lagoon of Ölüdeniz, which is frequently named as one of the top 5 beaches in the world by travellers.
Bodrum:
Fall in love with this romantic town on the water, home to row upon row of wooden sailing boats ready to carry you off into the sunset. The town takes on a magical hue at night when the imposing 15th century Bodrum Castle glows in the moonlight. The city was home to one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World: the Mausoleum of Mausolus and you can explore the ruins as well as lose yourself in the museum of underwater archaeology!
Izmir:
This metropolitan city has over 4000 years of urban history and has been ruled by the Persians, Alexander the Great and the Romans before being taken back by the Turks. As a result, the city is full of historical buildings and ruins – look out for the famous Izmir Clock Tower or take a day trip to the unique Library of Celsus at Ephesus – one of the few surviving Roman public libraries.
Not only 1 new route but 4 new routes to Turkey; how am I suppose to plan my holiday to Turkey by choosing one? I love my photography and catching the beautiful, olive, Turkish tan whilst laying on their sandy beaches in Dalaman, the Calis beach that was made famous by James Bond for Skyfall. I genuinely felt like I was in Turkey that evening and a week later; I feel like I have the post holiday blues. Thank you Thomas Cook and Michelle; the fantastic cabin crew member who came down from Manchester to tell us everything we needed to know and absorb about Turkey. I wish I was in Dalaman now and experience the 5 senses all over again.
May x
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